Eventually, Amos Kling offered to adopt Marshall but would not provide for his daughter. As a result, Marshall adopted the Kling surname despite not being legally adopted. This freed Florence for other romantic flings, and she soon met Warren Gamaliel Harding, owner of the " Marion Star". He was five years younger than she was, and his sister Charity was a student of Florence's. Soon the "Marion Star" reported on Florence's trips to Yellowstone National Park with her mother and Warren Harding. Harding and Florence became a couple by the summer of 1886. Who was pursuing whom is uncertain, depending on who later told the story of their romance.