DELAWARE — I’ve always been a bit of a history buff, even more a fan of presidential history.
Don’t get me started on William Henry Harrison, the Ohioan with the shortest tenure of any president at just over a month.
So a recent trip to Delaware gave me a chance to brush across the path of Rutherford B. Hayes.
The locals here who are interested already know Hayes was born in Delaware on Oct. 4, 1822. His father died before Rutherford was born, and his young uncle became a sort-of father figure to the youngster.
Rutherford’s mother, Sophia, was a strong believer in education, and sent him to numerous schools in locations near and far to nurture that interest.
What I didn’t know is that the Hayes home was demolished in 1926 to make room for a, gasp, gas station.
Alas, I was pointed to a 7-foot, 700-pound bronze sculpture of President Hayes at the corner East William and North Sandusky streets. They tell me this is the opposite corner of where the Hayes house once stood.
Hayes attended the Murray School, 15 N. Franklin St., where it is said he met his wife, Lucy Webb, although he was apparently uninterested at first, believing her to be too young for him. Much later, they married in 1852 and she bore him eight children.
Hayes was a highly educated man, rare for his station on the quasi frontier of Ohio. In 1838, he entered Kenyon College at Gambier and graduated No. 1 in his class in 1842. He moved on to Harvard Law School and graduated in 1845.
In his law practice, he immediately began defending runaway slaves, and joined the Republican Party. From 1858 to 1861, Hayes served as Cincinnati’s city solicitor.
Like most men of his day, and half of Ohio’s eight presidents, Hayes served in the Civil War. In 1861, Hayes was a major for the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. The future president was wounded five times and mustered out as a brevet major general.
He was twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, then served as Ohio governor for three terms, when he was shockingly nominated for president in 1876. One historian described Hayes’ greatest ability was availability. He was an affable sort among a contentious field.
Hayes ran for the Oval Office against Democratic New York governor Samuel J. Tilden. While Tilden won the popular vote, neither man had enough votes in the Electoral College to earn the election. With 20 electoral votes disputed due to voter fraud committed by both parties, the presidency hung in the balance for months.
Finally, on March 2, a bipartisan commission established by President Ulysses S. Grant to resolve the matter announced that Hayes would receive all 20 electoral votes, and a 185-184 victory. The general consensus is that Republicans got the presidency in exchange for a Democratic demand, the end of Reconstruction in the South.
Some would brand Hayes a teetotaler, with Lucy a staunch foe of alcohol. Hayes was known for his disdain of Washington parties that frequently turned into drunken brawls, and banned alcohol from the White House during his presidency.
Perhaps Hayes’ most notable accomplishment in a fairly bland presidency was his work with Treasury Secretary John Sherman, of Mansfield, in returning the country to the gold standard.
Hayes declined to run for re-election and was pleased by the election of Ohio Republican James A. Garfield to succeed him. Hayes worked closely with the new president on appointments for the next administration.
He then relocated his family to Spiegel Grove in Fremont, to the mansion his uncle built for him, for the remainder of his life.
He worked on educational causes for the rest of his life and died on Jan. 17, 1893 at the age of 70. He’s buried with his wife in Fremont.