The Hayes Family of Henry County, Illinois

EUGENIO K. HAYES.

The name of Eugenio K. Hayes is inseparably interwoven with the industrial history of Galva and he was widely known as one of the foremost inventors of agricultural machinery. His ability placed him on a plane far above the majority of his fellows and yet in all of those qualities which make for pleasant social ties he was richly endowed and, therefore, enjoyed the warm friendship and kindly regard of all with whom he came in contact. Moreover he held to high ideals of life, believing in and supporting all those measures which work for the betterment of mankind at large.

A native of Stark county, Illinois, he was born May 21, 1848, and was the son of Harry and Harriet Hayes, both of whom were natives of the Empire state. The progenitor of the Hayes family in this country was Nathaniel Hayes, who was one of the founders and one of the original grantors of Norwalk, Connecticut. He came from England or Ireland but was of Scotch lineage. Harry Hayes, the father of our subject, was born at Galway, New York, and became one of the pioneer residents of Stark county, Illinois, operating a woolen mill at LaFayette. He was always known by the title of Colonel Hayes and was one of the representative men of the community, prominent, active and influential in public affairs. On the 29th of January, 1829, he wedded Harriet Wright and they became parents of four children: Julia A., Mary E., Margaret T. and Eugenio K. The father, who was born April 17, 1806, passed away. June II, 1888. His wife was born September 24, 1824.

Eugenio K. Hayes was indebted to the pubHc-school system of Stark and Henry counties for the educational opportunities which he enjoyed. He was a man of receptive mind and retentive memory and from the experiences of life learned many valuable lessons which were factors in his later success. In his youthful days he resided upon a farm near Saxon and, taking up agricultural pursuits when he attained his majority, he afterward purchased a farm near Kewanee, where he made his home for six years. In 1881 he removed to Kewanee and there entered into partnership with H. A. Perkins in the manufacture of shoveling boards. The firm maintained a brief existence and then Mr. Hayes purchased his partner's interest, remaining in the business alone in Kewanee until 1886 when he removed to Galva. He was one of the foremost inventors of agricultural machinery in the country for his practical experience on the farm had taught him the needs of that life and his inventive genius enabled him to meet these needs. He gave his attention almost wholly to the improvement of corn-raising machinery and took out over sixty patents, securing the first, a patent on a stock cutter, when he was twenty-two years of age. His most noted invention is the corn planter which bears his name. As the years went by he continued experiment and invention until he gave to the world many valuable devices. There was such a demand for his planters and pumps and the other products of his factory that in 1891 he organized a stock company which was capitalized for one hundred thousand dollars, a sum that was afterward increased to two hundred thousand dollars. With this increase of capital the facilities for manufacturing were enlarged until the plant of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company became one of the leading institutions of the kind in the country. The business is still conducted and is a monument to his memory as well as to the enterprise of the men who are now at its head. His work was of signal usefulness and value to the world at large and especially to the agricultural classes and he well merited the success which crowned his efforts. Not only did he possess inventive ingenuity but had the qualities of successful business management which are too rarely found in the inventor. He carefully formulated his plans, was determined in their execution and as the years passed enjoyed the rewards of earnest and persistent labor and sound and discriminating judgment.

On the 19th of January, 1871, Mr. Hayes was joined in wedlock to Miss Matilda J. Back and unto them were born five sons: Ralph W. E., of Galva; A. LesHe, of Council Bluffs, Iowa; Forrest S., Fred D. and Percy E., all of Galva. Mr. Hayes was devoted to the welfare of his family and was ever a stalwart champion of projects and movements for the benefit and betterment of the community. His life was actuated by high and honorable motives that found their rise in his Christian faith and belief. When about twenty years of age he became a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, of which he remained a loyal adherent until called to his final rest. In the various branches of the church work he took deep and helpful interest and contributed generously of his means to its support. He was for several years a member of the official board and for nine years was superintendent of the Sunday school. He believed firmly in the early religious instruction of the young, recognized the wisdom of the Psalmist's utterance, "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." Mr. Hayes believed, too, in temperance and in all those agencies which work for upright, honorable manhood. He not only followed the strict temperance principles himself but endeavored to secure their adoption in the support which he gave to the prohibition party which he represented as a candidate for congress and for state treasurer. He took a very active part in the local campaigns against the saloon when the question of their license was before the public. He was a member of Camp No. 241, M. W. A., but was not particularly active in fraternal organizations, preferring to give his attention outside of business hours to his home, finding his greatest happiness at his own fireside in the midst of his family.

In the later years of his life he retired somewhat from the active management of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company, resigning from the presidency which he had filled for several years but accepting the office of vice president. He passed away July 25, 1903, and in his death Galva lost one of her most prominent and successful men who, however, never made his manufacturing interests the paramount issue of his life. He always had time for those higher, holier duties and fully recognized his obligations to his fellowmen. As an employer he was just; as a friend, kindly and considerate; and as a Christian, thoroughly loyal to the church in which he held his membership.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

RALPH WALDO EMERSON HAYES.

No history of Galva would be complete without extended reference to the Hayes Pump & Planter Company and the men who are prominent in managing and controlling its affairs. In this connection special reference should be made of Ralph W. E. Hayes, the manager of the company and one of the foremost men of Henry county. He was born in Stark county, Illinois, February 19, 1872, and is the eldest of the five sons of Eugenio and Matilda (Dack) Hayes, of whom extended mention is made elsewhere in this volume, together with the ancestral history of the family in the paternal line. The maternal grandfather of our subject was John Dack, a native of Dublin, Ireland, and a shoemaker by trade. When four years of age he accompanied his parents on their voyage across the Atlantic to Canada, and when he came to the United States he settled in Stark county, Illinois, about 1834. Only two years before had the Black Hawk war occurred and the environments of pioneer life were his during his early residence in the Mississippi valley. After three years spent in Stark county he purchased land in Henry county lying at the southeast corner of Wethersfield township. There his remaining days were passed and with the early development and progress of the county he was closely associated, his labors constituting a factor in its reclamation for the purpose of civilization. He married Miss Jane Michaelson, who died at the age of eighty-two years. She was about three years old when she left Scotland, her native country, her birth having occurred in Edinburg. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Dack were born ten children, five sons and five daughters, eight of whom reached years of maturity: Sarah Ann, John E., Matilda J., Albert L., Thomas E., Frederick E., all of whom are now living; William E., who died at the age of twenty-two years; Charles H., who died in Andersonville prison during the Civil war, when he was twenty-one years of age; and two, who died in infancy.

Ralph W. E. Hayes has been a resident of Henry county from the age of three years. The family home was maintained on a farm about two and a half miles east of Kewanee until he was nine years of age, when his parents took up their above in the city of Kewanee, coming thence to Galva, when he was fourteen years of age. He attended the public schools of Galva and Kewanee and was graduated from the Galva high school with the class of 1889, He afterward spent two years as a student in the Northwestern University at Evanston and in the fall of 1891 he entered the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor where he practically completed three courses. He studied both mechanical and electrical engineering and was graduated with the class of 1895. He then returned to Galva and has since been associated with the Hayes Pump & Planter Company. He designs all their manufactured goods, his labors proving an important factor in the success which the enterprise now enjoys. The business had been established in Kewanee in 1881 but in May, 1886, was removed to Galva and has remained one of the most important of the productive industries of the city since that time, employment being now furnished to between two hundred and two hundred and fifty people.

On the 25th of February, 1896, Mr. Hayes was united in marriage to Miss Estella Mink, a daughter of William K. and Mrs. William K. (Fenton) Mink. She was born in New Marion, Indiana, and her parents were also natives of that state. They came to Henry county about 1885, settling in Galva where Mrs. Mink passed away. Mr. Mink continued to reside in Galva until 1908, when he removed to Galesburg, Illinois, where he is now living. Four daughters of the family still survive: Jennie, Estella, Nora and Nettie.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Hayes has been born a daughter, Charlotte Lucile. The parents are members of the Methodist church and Mr. Hayes belongs to Galva Lodge, No. 243, A. F. & A. M., of which he is now senior warden. He has taken the degrees of capitulary Masonry in Kewanee Chapter, No. 47, R, A. M. and of chivalric Masonry in Kewanee Commandery, No. 71, K. T. He likewise belongs to Peoria Consistory, S. P. R. S., and to Peoria Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, while both he and his wife are connected with the Eastern Star,

His political endorsement is given to the republican party and, taking an active interest in its local work, he does all in his power to promote its growth and insure its success. He is now serving for the second term as a member of the city council and exercises his official prerogatives in support of those measures and movements which are of value as factors in a progressive and municipal life.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

ALBERT LESLIE HAYES.

No matter in how much fantastic theorizing one may indulge as to the causation of success, careful analysis will bring to light in the great majority of cases the fact that progress and prosperity in the business world are the direct outcome of persistent labor and intelligently directed energy. This is manifest in the record of Albert Leslie Hayes, vice president and manager of the sales department of the Hayes Pump and Planter Company of Galva. It is true that he entered upon a business already established but it is also true that his close application and unfaltering diligence have been elements which have wrought for continued success in this enterprise.

A native of Illinois, he was born near Saxon, November 19, 1873, his father being Eugenio Hayes, the founder of the business, which is now carried on by the sons. He was one of the most honored and prominent residents of Galva not only in his business relations but also by virtue of the sterling traits of character which he manifested, and extended mention of him is made on another page of this volume.

The removal of the family to Kewanee during his early boyhood enabled Albert Leslie Hayes to pursue his preliminary studies in the public schools of, that city and later he continued his education in Galva, to which city he came with is parents in 1885. He was a high school student here and later entered the University of Illinois, at Urbana, in 1893. pursued his studies there for one year and in 1894 matriculated in the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he pursued a course in chemistry. He afterward made his home in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for nine years and during that period traveled for the Hayes Pump and Planter Company, largely accelerating its sales through the patronage he secured in introducing its products into various localities* For the past two years he has been the vice president of the company and for the past four years has had charge of the sales department.

On the 17th of June, 1903, Albert L. Hayes was married to Miss Eleanor Lehman, a daughter of William H. and Carrie I. (Swan) Lehman. Mrs. Hayes was born in Des Moines, Iowa, while her parents were natives of Ohio. Her father became a resident of Des Moines at an early day and her mother was one of the early residents of Norwalk, Iowa. The former served as a musician in the Civil war and his musical talent was manifest in the choice of a profession, for he is now proprietor of a music store in Des Moines, where he and his wife have now made their home for a number of years. Mrs. Hayes is their only Hving child. Her paternal grandfather, Henry Lehman, was a native of Ohio and for a long period engaged in the grocery business. He married a Miss Gemmel, and they were early residents of Des Moines, where both passed away at an advanced age. They had a large family including George Lehman, a resident of Columbus, Nebraska; Mrs. Carl Koehler, of Des Moines, who is now deceased; Julia, the wife of F. W. Youngerman; and Henry, who has also passed away. The maternal grandfather of Mrs. Hayes was a native of Norwalk, Ohio, and was a newspaper man who about 1850 was the publisher of a paper in Columbus, Ohio. He represented one of the oldest families of the Buckeye state, his parents having removed from Norwalk, Connecticut, to Ohio, in pioneer times, while later they were residents of Norwalk, Iowa, and named the town in memory of their old home in New England. Mr. and Mrs. Hayes are members of the Episcopal church and Mr. Hayes belongs to the Bluff City Lodge, No. 71, A. F. & A. M. at Council Bluffs, Iowa; Star Chapter, R. A. M., of Council Bluffs; Ivanhoe Commandery, K. T., of the same city; and Des Moines Temple of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine. He is a republican in his political views but demands of business leave him no time for political activity. He bonds his energies to the development of the enterprise which his father established and which is one of the foremost industries of Galva.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

FRED DACK HAYES.

Fred Dack Hayes, of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company, at Galva, was born near Kewanee, Illinois, and has spent his entire life in Henry county. He is a son of Eugenie and Matilda J. (Dack) Hayes, of whom extended reference is made on another page of this volume. His father was one of the most prominent business men that has figured in industrial and commercial circles in Henry county. His early life was devoted to agricultural pursuits and later he began the manufacture of agricultural implements and other mechanical devices which he himself had invented.

The subject of this review was educated in the Galva public schools, graduating therefrom in 1897. He attended the Art Institute in Chicago one year, after which he represented the Hayes Pump & Planter Company as traveling salesman. Since 1906, he has had charge of the publicity department of his firm.

Mr. Hayes is an Episcopalian in his religious belief, being a member of the church of the Holy Communion in Galva. He belongs to Galva Lodge, No. 243, A. F. & A. M., and his political endorsement is given to the republican party.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

PERCY CLIFTON HAYES.

Percy C. Hayes is the treasurer of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company of Galva. He was born on the home farm near Kewanee, June 6, 1881, and spent his youthful days under the parental roof. The family removed to Galva during his early boyhood and at the usual age he entered the public schools, therein continuing his studies until he was graduated from the high school with the class of 1899. He afterward received training for the commercial world as a pupil in the Gem City Busines College of Quincy, Illinois, while later he attended the University of Illinois at Champaign for one year. He then entered the service of the Hayes Pump & Planter Company and after spending several years as an employe was elected treasurer of the company in January, 1908, and has since been in control of its financial interests. He belongs to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon, a college fraternity, and to Galva Lodge, No. 243, A. F. & A. M. Like the other members of the family he is a stanch advocate of republican principles, giving to the party unswerving support since attaining his majority.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.