Frederick Ayer

Frederick Ayer (December 8, 1822 – March 14, 1918) was an American businessman and the younger brother of patent medicine tycoon James Cook Ayer.

Early life Ayer was born on December 8, 1822, in Ledyard, Connecticut, and was the son of Frederick Ayer (1792–1825) and Persis Herrick ( Cook) Ayer (1786–1880).

Career Ayer was involved in the patent medicine business, but is better known for his work in the textile industry. After buying the Tremont and Suffolk mills in Lowell, Massachusetts, he bought up many textile operations in nearby Lawrence, combining them in 1899 into the American Woolen Company, of which he was the first president. He was involved in other businesses of the time as well, such as being the co-founder of the Arctic Coal Company. who married American Woolen Company's William Madison Wood. James Cook Ayer (1862–1939) Charles Fanning Ayer (1865–1956) Louise Raynor Ayer (1876–1955).

After Cornelia's death, Ayer married Ellen Barrows Banning (1853–1918) in 1884. They had three children: Frederick Ayer (1888–1969) Mary Katherine "Kay" Ayer (1890–1981).

He died on March 14, 1918, in Thomasville, Georgia, and is interred at Lowell Cemetery. His home in Lowell is now the Franco American School, a Catholic school, and the Frederick Ayer Mansion on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Massachusetts is a National Historic Landmark.