Born: June 26, 1872
Died: May 21, 1968
Married: Lee Davenport
Myrtle Helen Ayer Davenport, nicknamed Myrtie, was a daughter of George B. Ayer and Frances H. Ayer. She had a summer residence on state land on [Lower] Saranac Lake which was valued at $1,000, and was destroyed in 1904 by order of the Forest Commission. She is buried in Pine Ridge Cemetery.
Oswego Daily Palladium, June 7, 1904
ADIRONDACK CAMPS DESTROYED
Structures That Cost Thousands Pulled Down and Furniture Scattered.
Saranac Lake, N. Y., June 7.—The destruction of camps in the Adirondacks continues in the name of the state by the forest commission. Munur’s [sic] camp, erected at a cost of $3,000 has been pulled down, and the furniture and camping utensils thrown out into the woods,
Miss Myrtle Ayers’ camp, at Saranac lake, erected at a cost of nearly $1,000 has been destroyed, and the furniture scattered and broken. Miss Ayes is highly respected and beloved, and every man in this town is greatly incensed, for if the camps on state lands are destroyed it will be a hard blow for this part of the county and will drive away thousands of people who spend the summer here.
Adirondack Daily Enterprise, June 17, 1968
Helen Davenport
It has been learned here that Mrs. Myrtle Helen Ayer Davenport died May 21 at Portland, Ore. at the age of 95.
Mrs. Davenport was born in New York City on June 26, 1872 and lived in Saranac Lake until 1912. Her mother ran Ayer's Emporium in what is now the Carson Building on Broadway.
Mrs. Davenport took an active part in many civic affairs and was named 1955 Woman of the Year in Portland. During World War I she was named chairman of all volunteer patriotic work in the state. The Portland Americanization Council to help children of foreign parents was founded by her and she also worked for the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Salvation Army.
Along with her late husband, Lee Davenport, she was in the life insurance business.
A brother, Frank Ashton Ayer of New York City, is among her survivors.
