S. G. (Samuel Gardiner) Ayres

Born in Peru, New York, in 1865, Samuel Gardiner Ayres studied at Drew Theological Seminary and went on to serve there as assistant librarian and then librarian. He was also an ordained Methodist clergyman, combining pastoral work with a lifelong interest in religious scholarship and library work.

Ayres is best remembered for careful, research-driven books such as The History of the English Bible and Jesus Christ Our Lord, an annotated bibliography of Christology with more than five thousand titles. He also compiled The Expositor's Bible: Index and helped produce alumni and reference works, showing a strong talent for making large bodies of material easier to use.

He died in Burlington, Vermont, in 1942. Though not a household name, he stands out as the kind of author whose patient, organized work quietly supported students, ministers, and serious readers for decades.