Just over two weeks after the birth of their son, Dorothy separated from her husband and took her infant son to her sister's home in Oak Park, Illinois and then to her parents home in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
After two and a half years with her parents, on February 1, 1916 Dorothy King married Gerald Rudolff Ford, a salesman in a family owned paint and varnish company.
They then called her son Gerald Rudolff Ford, Jr. The future president was never formally adopted, however, and he did not legally change his name until December 3, 1935;
he also used a more conventional spelling of his middle name. He was raised in Grand Rapids with his three half-brothers by his mother's second marriage: Thomas Gardner Ford (19181995), Richard Addison Ford (born 1924), and James Francis Ford (19272001).
Dec 3 1935 Leslie Lynch King Legally Changes His Name to Gerald R. Ford Jr.
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Never seen anything about his name change before. Ford seems like a mystery to me, compared with other presidents. ThankQ for filling in some gaps. :)