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Time in Office: 1877 to 1881
Terms: One
Birthday: October 4, 1822
Birth Place: Delaware, Ohio
Date of Death: January 17, 1893
Place of Death: At his home, Spiegel Grove, Fremont Ohio
Buried: Oakwood Cemetery, Ohio. (Reinterred at Spiegel Grove State Park, 1915)

Notes:
~ His father died just before his birth
~ Family was originally from Vermont
~ An avid reader
~ Class Valedictorian – Kenyon College
~ Won a highly contested election by about 20 electoral votes
~ Kept a “alcohol-free” White House
~ Advocate for social and education reform

The 19th President of the United States, Rutherford Birchard Hayes, was born in Delaware, Ohio with his earliest education taking place in both Middletown, Connecticut and Gambier, Ohio. He then attended Harvard Law School in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Practicing law in what is now Fremont, Ohio but finding business there a bit lackluster, he left for Cincinnati seeking greener pastures in 1849.

Young Rutherford B. Hayes
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In 1852 Hayes married Lucy Ware Webb, daughter of a Chillicothe, Ohio doctor and herself a college graduate. He was devoted to his wife and often took several pictures of her with him during his military tours and travel.

Successful Military Man and Politician

At the start of the Civil War (1861), Hayes offered his services to the Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Hayes saw a lot of action and was on the move in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland and was severely wounded at the Battle of South Mountain (part of the Maryland Campaign) in September 1862.

Although he refused to even campaign while fighting a war, Rutherford was elected to Congress in 1864, and was reelected in 1866. In 1867 he was elected Governor of Ohio, moving back to Fremont from Washington, DC in 1873. Although Hayes expressed an interest in returning to private life – having been on the road or in office for nearly fifteen years, he was elected again for Governor (his son, Webb C. Hayes served as his Secretary), and the Republican Party then chose him as their Presidential candidate in 1875. So much for time at home with your wife and family!

1876 Map of the Election
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March 4, 1877 fell on a Sunday so Hayes instead took his Oath of Office at the White House on Saturday, March 3rd. A large part of his one term was spent dealing with civil service reform and civil rights laws – along with the Great Railroad Strike of 1877, problems with currency and coinage, and attempts at securing the Texas/Mexico border from Mexican bandits. Foreign policy dealt mainly with China and the issues revolving around Chinese immigration to the US.

Hayes had already stated he would not run for a second term and in late 1880 he returned to his home at Spiegel Grove in Fremont, Ohio. He remained active in local politics and causes, and also served as trustee to three universities until his death from heart attack complications January 17, 1893.

During Hayes’ lifetime, overseas travel was still mainly by steamship, long-distance land travel was by railroad, and the old reliable horse and carriage.

Up next, America’s 20th President, James A. Garfield
Prior President: Ulysses S. Grant