Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Rutherford Platt Hayes
HAYES-7
Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory
Introduction
Typed transcripts of Rutherford
Platt Hayes=
correspondence with his parents and his letter book (1884-1894) of business
correspondence are available. Also included in the Center=s holdings are Rutherford Platt Hayes= photograph album of Cornell University
scenes (1880) and several group photographs of Cornell students.
Biographical Sketch
Rutherford Platt Hayes was the
third son of Rutherford B. Hayes, nineteenth president of the United States, and Lucy W. Hayes. He was born on June 24, 1858 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Rutherford attended Michigan State University
and in 1880 graduated with a B.S. degree from Cornell University.
Later he pursued postgraduate work at the Boston Institute of Technology. In
1882 he returned to Fremont,
Ohio and immediately became
associated with the Fremont Savings Bank. He became the cashier a few years
later and carried the bank successfully through the Panic of 1893.
On October 24, 1894, Mr. Hayes
married Lucy Platt. She was the daughter of William A. Platt of Columbus, Ohio.
They had three children, Rutherford Birchard, William Platt, and Birchard
Platt.
Soon after his arrival in Fremont, the Birchard
Library was founded by Sardis Birchard, President Hayes=
uncle. Rutherford Platt Hayes was
appointed one of the trustees. He devoted most of his time outside business
hours to the library and introduced progressive ideas to its management. To
make the library attractive to children, he arranged small desks and chairs and
a large collection of books suitable for them. Boxes of books were sent to
nearby towns, thus anticipating the present traveling libraries. He established
a catalogue which was published by installments in a local paper. He was among
the founders of the Ohio Library Association in 1895 and instrumental in
getting a bill through the legislature for the appointment of a state library
commission. The governor appointed him commissioner for six years.
After leaving Ohio,
Mr. Hayes resided for a short time in Chicago, Illinois where he organized library work and developed a
traveling library, and then moved to Asheville,
North Carolina. In that region he
acquired large holdings of land, including a tract on Deaver View
Mountain, and
Falconhurst, a farm near the city. There he engaged in scientific farming on a
large scale, using his valuable knowledge of soils to considerable advantage.
Mr. Hayes was an active promoter of the western North Carolina Fair which was
held at Asheville,
and as president guided its activities for several years. He was also president
of the Buckeye Water Co., and member of the board of directors of the Blue Ridge Building and Loan Association. He was
active in the early development of Asheville as
a resort and business center of western North
Carolina and prominently connected with numerous
projects there.
During the last fifteen years of
his life he spent his winters in Florida.
First at Umatilla and in 1920 located permanently in Clearwater. As chairman of the board of
directors of the Clearwater Savings and Loan Association, and the First
Mortgage Investment Co., he promoted the business interests of the city and
encouraged people to own homes of their own. He was interested in the
organization of a Republican party in Florida
and was one of the founders of the Lincoln Memorial Association, the purpose of
which was to draw the northern and southern elements of the community into a
closer bond of friendship. Prior to his death he devoted much of his time to
the study of plans for vocational education. Throughout his life, he maintained
his interest in library matters, promoting those of Asheville
and Clearwater and retaining his membership on
the board of trustees of the library in Fremont.
For many years he was secretary of the American Library Association and also
served as vice president and acting president. He was a member of the Military
Order of the Loyal Legion, the Commandery of Ohio, and the Delta Kappa Epsilon
fraternity. Rutherford Platt Hayes died
July 31, 1927 in Tampa, Florida.
Scope and Content
This collection is composed
primarily of Hayes=
correspondence with family members, mainly his siblings, as well as
correspondence with his sons during World War I. Land investments, deed and
insurance policies, and materials related to Rutherford Birchard Hayes= estate are also included. Greatly
interested in botany, Hayes was an avid collector of specimens. Samples of his botanical specimens and
pressed leaves are preserved within this collection.
Inventory
4.5 linear ft.
Papers, 1864-1911
Box 1
Folders:
1. Diary - 1871
Diary - 1879
2. Social Cards - n.d.
3. Cornell
University -
Miscellaneous
4. School Papers - Miscellaneous
5. Deeds & Insurance Policies
6. Land Investments
7. Miscellaneous
8. Correspondence - Brothers/Sister - n.d.
9. Correspondence - n.d.
10. Correspondence - 1864-1872
11. Correspondence - 1873-1874
12. Correspondence - 1875
13. Correspondence - January-June
1876
14. Correspondence -
July-December 1876
15. Correspondence -
January-April 1877
16. Correspondence - May-August
1877
17. Correspondence -
September-December 1877
18. Correspondence -
January-April 1878
19. Correspondence - May-August
1878
20. Correspondence -
September-December 1878
21. Correspondence -
January-March 1879
22. Correspondence - April-June
1879
23. Correspondence -
July-September 1879
24. Correspondence -
October-December 1879
25. Correspondence -
January-March 1880
26. Correspondence - April-June
1880
27. Correspondence -
July-September 1880
28. Correspondence -
October-December 1880
Box 2
Folders:
1. Correspondence - January-March 1881
2. Correspondence - April-December 1881
3. Correspondence - 1882
4. Correspondence - 1883
5. Correspondence - January-July 1884
6. Correspondence - August-December 1884
7. Correspondence - 1885
8. Correspondence - January-March 1886
9. Correspondence - April-August 1886
10.Correspondence -
September-December 1886
11.Correspondence - January-March
1887
12.Correspondence - April-June
1887
13.Correspondence -
July-September 1887
14.Correspondence -
October-December 1887
15.Correspondence - January-March
1888
16.Correspondence - April-June
1888
17.Correspondence -
July-September 1888
18.Correspondence -
October-December 1888
19.Correspondence - January-March
1889
20.Correspondence - April-June
1889
21.Correspondence -
July-September 1889
22.Correspondence -
October-December 1889
23.Correspondence - January-March
1890
24.Correspondence - April-June
1890
25.Correspondence -
July-September 1890
26.Correspondence -
October-December 1890
27.Correspondence - January-July
1891
28.Correspondence -
August-December 1891
29.Correspondence - January-May
1892
30.Correspondence - June-December
1892
31.Correspondence - January 1893
32.Correspondence - February-June
1893
33.Correspondence -
July-September 1893
34.Letter book of business
correspondence - 1884-1894
Box 3
Folders:
1. Correspondence -
October-December 1893
2. Correspondence - January-February
1894
3. Correspondence - March-April
1894
4. Correspondence - May-June 1894
5. Correspondence - July-August
1894
6. Correspondence -
September-December 1894
7. Correspondence - 1895
8. Correspondence - 1896
9. Correspondence - 1897
10. Correspondence - 1898
11. Correspondence - 1899
12. Correspondence - 1900-1916
13. Correspondence - 1917-1920
14. Correspondence - 1921-1930
15. Valentines received by
children of President & Mrs. Rutherford B. Hayes
16. Rutherford Hayes Platt -
Portraits
17. American Library Association
- Group and Travel Images - 1887
18. Group Images - Spiegel Grove
- August 1888
19. Lucy Platt Hayes - 1900
20. William Platt and Rutherford
Platt Hayes - 1900
21. William Platt Hayes - 1914
22. Falconhurst Cabin and Cottage
- Asheville, North Carolina
Box 4
Ledger - Miscellaneous Legal
Forms
Box 5
Botanical Specimens and Pressed
Leaves
Box 5A
Botanical Specimens and Pressed
Leaves
Box 6
Botanical Specimens and Pressed
Leaves
Box 7
Botanical Specimens and Pressed
Leaves
Box8
Rutherford Platt Hayes - Portrait
Cornell University
photographs (1880)
Wellesley College
Female Rowing Crew - 1882
Group images of Cornell University
students
Unidentified image of picnicking
couple
Unidentified cabinet cards (7)
[Ac. 5810]
OVERSIZE
Ac. 5810
Rutherford Platt Hayes:
Diploma, Cornell
University, Bachelor of
Science, 17 June 1880
Marriage application (Lucy H. Platt), 23 October 1894, Franklin County, Ohio
Marriage certificate (Lucy H. Platt) 24 October 1894, Franklin County, Ohio
Membership certificate, State of Ohio Board of Library
Commissioners, 24 April 1896
Certificate, MOLLUS “Companion of the First Class” (First
Lt. James Dewees Webb, Assistant Surgeon, 12th Ohio Infantry), 7 April 1886
Birchard Platt Hayes
Diploma, University
of Wisconsin, Bachelor of
Science (Agriculture), 22 June 1925
Dorothy Ruth Toohey
Diploma, University
of Wisconsin, Bachelor of
Arts, 21 June 1926
Dorothy Ruth Toohey Hayes, Ph.D.
Certificate, Inclusion in the Library of Human Resources of
the American Bicentennial Research Institute, 31 January 1974