Rutherford
B. Hayes Presidential Center
Sardis Birchard
______________________________________________________________
Sardis Birchard was born 15
January 1801 in Wilmington, Vermont. By
the age of 12 both of his parents had died. Sardis lived with his sister Sophia
and her husband Rutherford Hayes, Sr.
In 1817, Hayes moved the family to Delaware, Ohio. At the age of 21, Sardis took charge of his
sister’s family and estate after the death of Rutherford Hayes, Sr. in 1822.
The children included Fanny and Rutherford Birchard Hayes, who was born after
his father’s death. Sardis oversaw Rutherford B. Hayes’ education through his
preparatory school years, Kenyon College, and Harvard Law School
Sardis became familiar with Fremont, Ohio [then Lower Sandusky] in 1824 while delivering hogs in cities along the Sandusky River. He eventually established himself in Fremont and became a well-known merchant and banker. Sardis Birchard carried on an extensive trade with the Wyandot, Seneca, and Delaware until the Native American tribes were removed west of the Mississippi River. His store became the largest in Ohio west of Cleveland and north of Columbus. Largely unsettled, Northwest Ohio’s land could be purchased at the government rate of $1.25 per acre. Birchard acquired landholdings in Sandusky, Wood, Lucas, Erie, and other Ohio counties. His wealth continued to grow through real estate sales and several business partnerships.
On 1 July 1851, Sardis and his partner Judge Lucius B. Otis opened the first bank in Fremont known as Birchard & Otis. After Judge Otis moved to Chicago, Illinois, the bank became Birchard, Miller & Co. which later merged into the First National Bank of Fremont. The bank was the second national bank organized in the state of Ohio.
On his daily trips to his business, Birchard admired the great trees and deep woods of the property that he would later name Spiegel Grove. Its clear standing pools of water reflecting like mirrors reminded him of the German fairy tales of his youth. He named the land Spiegel Grove. “Spiegel” is the German word for mirror. He selected the property for the site of a home for his nephew, Rutherford B. Hayes and his family, with whom he planned to spend his final years. Birchard began building the brick home in 1859. Military and political obligations prevented Hayes from residing there until 1873. However, several of the Hayes children, Birchard A. Hayes and Webb C. Hayes, spent considerable time living with their Sardis in Fremont.
Today, Spiegel Grove is the 25-acre estate that includes the Hayes Home and Museum and Library building. In 1916, the estate became the first presidential library in the United States.
Sardis was generous within the community. He made several public and private donations, including the Home Missionary Society, the Ladies’ Relief Society, the First Presbyterian Church building fund and a public library endowment. In addition to the estimated $50,000 monetary donation for the library, Birchard purchased the historic Fort Stephenson land as a site for the building. Sardis also donated two public parks to the city, present day (2009) Birchard Park and Meier Park. The Birchard Public Library, Birchard Park, and Birchard Avenue all bear his name.
Prior to his death he appointed his nephew, Rutherford B. Hayes, and Anson H. Miller trustees of the real estate for his future library. Sardis Birchard died 21 January 1874 in Fremont, Ohio. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery. President Rutherford B. Hayes inherited his uncle’s business and real estate holdings. At the conclusion of his administration, President Rutherford and Lucy Hayes made Spiegel Grove their permanent home.
This collection, spanning the years from 1821 to 1899, contains correspondence, diaries, deeds, legal papers, business ledgers, accounting ledgers and personal notes belonging to Sardis Birchard. The personal and business correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, occur between 1822 and 1874. Business and accounting ledgers provide evidence of the banking activities of Birchard, Miller & Co., real estate holdings, as well as Sardis’ other business transactions. The personal diaries are largely records Birchard kept during his travels to New England, New York, Texas, and Havana, Cuba. They include destinations, distances, and expenses. Several deeds and tax receipts from 1821and 1899 complete this collection.
In 2008, a scanned copy of the item-level inventory of the incoming and outgoing correspondence was created. The inventory in PDF format can be accessed by clicking on the linked title “Ingoing and Outgoing Correspondence.” The inventory is arranged alphabetically by surname and then chronologically. A hard copy of this inventory is available in the Library’s reading room. Hayes correspondence was transferred to the Rutherford B. Hayes Papers. Photocopies of the originals appear in this collection.
5 linear ft.
Incoming
and Outgoing Correspondence
Box 1 1821-1840
1. Undated
2. 1821-1827
3. 1830-1832; Undated 1830s
4. 1833-1834
5. 1835 January- September
6. 1835 October- December
7. 1836 January- May
8. 1836 June- September
9. 1836 October- December
10. 1837 January- April
11. 1837 May- December
12. 1838 January- May
13. 1838 June- December
14. 1839
15. 1840 January- June
16. 1840 July- December
Box 2 1841-1851
1. 1841
2. 1842 January- June
3. 1842 July- December
4. 1843
5. 1844
6. 1845
7. 1846
8. 1847
9. 1848
10. 1849
11. 1850 January- June
12. 1850 July- December
13. 1851 January- June
14. 1851 July- December
Box 3 1852-1855
1. 1852 January- March
2. 1852 April- June
3. 1852 July- August
4. 1852 September- October
5. 1852 November- December
6. 1853 January- April
7. 1853 May- June
8. 1853 July- August
9. 1853 September- October
10. 1853 November- December
11. 1854 January- February
12. 1854 March- April
13. 1854 May- September
14. 1854 October- December
15. 1855 January- June
16. 1855 July- December
Box 4 1856-1860
1. 1856
2. 1857 January- April
3. 1857 May- July
4. 1857 August- December
5. 1858 January- June
6. 1858 July- August
7. 1858 September- December
8. 1859 January- June
9. 1859 July- December
10. 1860 January- June
11. 1860 July- December
Box 5 1861-1865
1. 1861 January- June
2. 1861 July- December
3. 1862 January- April
4. 1862 May- June
5. 1862 July- December
6. 1863 January- May
7. 1863 June- September
8. 1863 October- December
9. 1864 January- April
10. 1864 May- August
11. 1864 September- December
12. 1865 January- June
13. 1865 July- December
Box 6 1866-1871
1. 1866 January- March
2. 1866 April- May
3. 1866 June- August
4. 1866 September- December
5. 1867 January- May
6. 1867 June- December
7. 1868
8. 1869
9. 1870 January- June
10. 1870 July- December
11. 1871 January- June
12. 1871 July- December
Box 7 Correspondence, Deeds
and Legal Papers
1. 1872 January- May
2. 1872 June- December
3. 1873
4. 1874
5. 1821-1835 Deeds
6. 1836-1839 Deeds
7. 1841-1850 Deeds
8. 1851-1853 Deeds
9. 1854-1860 Deeds
10. 1862-1869 Deeds
11. 1870 Deeds
12. Wills
13. Legal Papers
14. Southern Trip 1840
15. Memorandum Book October 11, 1832
16. Miscellaneous (1)
17. Miscellaneous (2)
Box 8 Paid Statements 1833-1874/ Tax
Receipts 1819-1899
1. Undated; 1833-1855 Paid Statements
2. 1856- 1859 Paid Statements
3. 1860- 1865 Paid Statements
4. 1866-1870 Paid Statements
5. 1871 Paid Statements
6. 1819- 1851 Tax Receipts
7. 1852- 18555 Tax Receipts
8. 1856- 1860 Tax Receipts
9. 1861-1864 Tax Receipts
10. 1865- 1868 Tax Receipts
11. 1869- 1874; 1898- 1899, Tax Receipts
Box 9
1832- 1833 Diary
1835- 1857 Account Book
1840 Diary (Cuba)
1840-1841 Diary
1841- 1857 Cash Book (Business Ledgers)
1841- 1861 Account Book
1842- 1843 Notes
November 1842- April 1843 Diary
1852- 1855 Diary and Notes
1852- 1864 Bills Payable (Birchard, Miller & Co.)
1854- 1855 Deed Book of Sardis Birchard and James Justice
1857- 1873 Cash Book
1857- 1874 Account Book
Notes and lists of paintings and engravings owned by Sardis Birchard
Land Notebooks (2)