Raise the Rutherford!

Rutherford B. Hayes and Spring Grove Cemetery – Part II

A continuing, slightly humorous series to raise awareness of Rutherford B. Hayes and erect a statue of him in Cincinnati.

Spring Grove Cemetery is the final resting place of a number of individuals who were associated with Rutherford B. Hayes, be it family or friends. It is also one of the few places in existence in the city that Hayes visited (noted in his diary) and he would still recognize to some extent.

The Friends of Rutherford B. Hayes in Spring Grove Cemetery

Hayes moved to Cincinnati Christmas, 1849. He quickly joined the new Literary Club and friendships were formed, many of which would be life-long. All of the men listed below were Literary Club members, friends, and colleagues of Hayes, and are now interred in Spring Grove.

John W. Herron was born May 10, 1827 in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. When Hayes moves to Cincinnati, he and John Herron become roommates and share office space on 3rd Street. Eventually he becomes a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio (1889-94). Herron apparently refused any Presidential appointments. He marries Harriet Collins which would produce ten children including Helen, who would marry William Howard Taft, and Lucy, who was named after Lucy Hayes and who was baptized at the White House while Hayes was in office. It is noted that when Helen visited the White House with her family as guests of Rutherford B. Hayes, she was so taken with it that knew she wanted marry a President. (Watching "The Presidents" on The History Channel, they even commented that William Howard Taft didn’t want to be President but she pushed him to be.) Herron died on August 5, 1912, at his home at 305 Pike Street (about where the Anna Louise Inn is located) and is buried at Spring Grove Section 36; Lot 103.

Isaac Collins was born January 2, 1824 in Lowville, New York. He moves to Cincinnati and is one of the founders of the Literary Club. He eventually becomes a law partner to John W. Herron who marries Herron’s younger sister Harriet who moved to Cincinnati in 1852. Collins dies July 29, 1879, and is buried at Spring Grove, Section 36; Lot 103 . . . about five feet from Herron.

Manning F. Force, born December 17, 1824, in Washington D.C. he moved to Cincinnati in 1850. He and Hayes actually went to law school at Harvard together. He served in the Civil War and was a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient. He was a lawyer and elected to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas and Superior Court. Such a good friend he was to Hayes apparently, Hayes named a son after him, Manning Force Hayes. Manning Force died May 18, 1899, and is buried at Spring Grove, Section 46; Lot 99.

Edward F. Noyes was born at Haverhill, Massachusetts, on October 3, 1832. He comes to Cincinnati in 1857 and graduates from Cincinnati Law School. He eventually becomes Governor of Ohio from 1872 – 1874. As I’ve noted before, he is the person to nominate Rutherford B. Hayes for the Presidency at the Republican National Convention and he is influential in ultimately getting Hayes the nod. And he was an important force in the disputed election of 1872 which Hayes wins by one electoral vote. Hayes appoints Noyes Minister to France (1877 – 1881) for his support. As I mentioned here, Noyes dies in 1890 while at the Courthouse, serving on the Superior Court of Cincinnati. He is buried in Spring Gove, Section 17; Lot 227.

As an aside, it is noted in at least two books, including Cincinnati Observed, that the Noyes home was 1940 – 1942 Bigelow Street in Mt. Auburn. It is still there and I’d like to think Rutherford B. Hayes may have visited him there. Unfortunately home is covered with asbestos shingles and at first glace does not look like much. It needs a plaque or something. The dude looking at me for a time from the porch probably had no idea he was living in the home of a former Governor.
I would also like to mention that Salmon P. Chase who is also buried at Spring Grove (Section 30; Lot 10) was a member of the Literary Club and I would say more of a colleague to Hayes than a friend. (Just my impression – I am no Hayes scholar.) He was about 15 years older than Hayes and would be a Governor of Ohio, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, and appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, before Hayes was elected to his first term in Congress. When Chase died in 1873, Hayes would have just served his second term as Governor.
References:
The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Ohio Historical Center
National First Ladies’ Biography

Eslie Asbury, M. D., "Rutherford B. Hayes and the Literary Club". Queen City Heritage. Volume 47, Spring 1989.