Lyman S. Ayres
| Lyman Skinner Ayres | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 4, 1824 Oswego, New York |
| Died | May 7, 1896 (aged 71) Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Cause of death | chronic nephritis |
| Resting place | Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Residence | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Nationality | American |
| Citizenship | American |
| Occupation | Department store owner |
| Known for | L. S. Ayres and Company |
| Net worth | $600,000 to $700,000 |
| Spouse(s) | Maria Helen Murray |
| Children | Frederick, Katherine, Robert (died in infancy), and Emma Murray (adopted in infancy) |
| Parent(s) | Thomas Floyd Ayres Mariah Jones |
Lyman Skinner Ayres I (September 4, 1824 – May 7, 1896) was the founder of L. S. Ayres and Company, a regional department store chain whose flagship store and headquarters were located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The L. S. Ayres and Company name remained in use for 132 years.
Ayres was born on September 4, 1824, on a farm near Oswego, New York. He was one of six children born to Thomas Floyd and Marian Jones Ayres. (Thomas and his second wife had one child.) Lyman disliked farming and left home as a teenager to work as a peddler. He spent four to five years in Ashtabula, Lake, and Geauga counties in Ohio, and established a general store in Chardon, Ohio, with a business partner named John Murray.
Ayres met his first wife in Chardon, Ohio, but she died of consumption (tuberculosis) within a few months of their marriage. In 1862 Ayres married Maria Helen Murray, his business partner's sister. Ayres and his wife had three children: Frederick, Katherine, and Robert (died in infancy). The couple adopted Emma Murray, their niece, as an infant. She became known as Emma Murray Ayres.
Ayres sold his interest in the general store at Chardon in 1864 and moved to Geneva, New York, where he and his New York business partner, James G. Thomas, managed a dry goods business named Ayres and Thomas. In 1872 Ayres sold his interest in the firm and purchased controlling interest in the Trade Palace, an established dry goods store operated by N. R. Smith at 26–28 W. Washington Street in Indianapolis, Indiana. The store was renamed N. R. Smith and Ayres. James Thomas, Ayres's business partner in New York, acquired a 25 percent interest in the Indianapolis store. Ayres remained in New York for two years as the Indianapolis store's senior partner and its resident buyer. He took over active management of the Indianapolis store in 1874, when the store's name first appeared as L. S. Ayres and Company. Ayres and his family relocated to Indianapolis in 1875. The family lived at 656 N. Delaware Street and later moved to 1204 N. Delaware Street. Their second home was demolished in 1962 as part of the city's urban renewal efforts and highway construction projects.
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