Webb Hayes
Encyclopedia
James Webb Cook Hayes was an American businessman and soldier. He co-founded a forerunner of Union Carbide
, fought in two wars, and received the Medal of Honor
.
.
Starting from when he was five years old, he spent six months every winter at his father's encampment
, which was usually Camp White, West Virginia
. He became very close with the commander of the unit, General George Crook
, who later became his godfather
. Crook also taught him how to live off the land including hunting, fishing and survival. Years later, after Crook became famous in the west as a hunter and Indian fighter, the two made annual trips into the Rocky Mountains
for a hunt of big game.
Hayes attended Cornell University
from 1873 to 1875 and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
. He left Cornell to work as his father's secretary when his father was the governor of Ohio
. When his father was elected president, he again served as his father's secretary.
In 1881, Hayes moved to Cleveland to work as the treasurer of the Whipple Manufacturing Company. In 1887, he, with three others, founded the National Carbon Company
, which is now known as Union Carbide
. Hayes stayed with this company for many years as the vice president.
He was the principal proponent for founding the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
, the first presidential library
.
Hayes died on July 26, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio and was buried at the Rutherford B. Hayes Home, Spiegel Grove
, in Fremont, Ohio
.
in the First Ohio Cavalry. He fought in Santiago de Cuba
Campaign, during which he was wounded during the crossing of the San Juan River and the assault on San Juan Hill
, and later in the invasion of Puerto Rico
.
Following this, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
and sent to the Philippines
. Just hours after landing there, he led a rescue party to free captured men at Vigan Island. He received the Medal of Honor
for this action. He went on to participate in the China Relief Expedition
during the Boxer Rebellion
and as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War
.
During World War I
, Hayes was promoted to colonel
and first served as a special agent for the State Department in France
and later held an administrative assignment on the Italian front. After the war he was promoted to brigadier general
Citation:
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
, fought in two wars, and received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
.
Early years and family
Born as James Webb Cook Hayes, he was the second son of President Rutherford B. HayesRutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
.
Starting from when he was five years old, he spent six months every winter at his father's encampment
Military camp
A military camp or bivouac is a semi-permanent facility for the lodging of an army. Camps are erected when a military force travels away from a major installation or fort during training or operations, and often have the form of large campsites. In the Roman era the military camp had highly...
, which was usually Camp White, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
. He became very close with the commander of the unit, General George Crook
George Crook
George R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, who later became his godfather
Godparent
A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...
. Crook also taught him how to live off the land including hunting, fishing and survival. Years later, after Crook became famous in the west as a hunter and Indian fighter, the two made annual trips into the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
for a hunt of big game.
Hayes attended Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
from 1873 to 1875 and was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon
Delta Kappa Epsilon is a fraternity founded at Yale College in 1844 by 15 men of the sophomore class who had not been invited to join the two existing societies...
. He left Cornell to work as his father's secretary when his father was the governor of Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. When his father was elected president, he again served as his father's secretary.
In 1881, Hayes moved to Cleveland to work as the treasurer of the Whipple Manufacturing Company. In 1887, he, with three others, founded the National Carbon Company
National Carbon Company
The National Carbon Company was founded in 1886 by the former Brush Electric Company executive W. H. Lawrence, in association with Myron T. Herrick, James Parmelee, and Webb Hayes, son of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1890, National Carbon merged with Thomson-Houston,...
, which is now known as Union Carbide
Union Carbide
Union Carbide Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Dow Chemical Company. It currently employs more than 2,400 people. Union Carbide primarily produces chemicals and polymers that undergo one or more further conversions by customers before reaching consumers. Some are high-volume...
. Hayes stayed with this company for many years as the vice president.
He was the principal proponent for founding the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center
The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center is a complex comprising several buildings related to the life and presidency of Rutherford B. Hayes. Located in Fremont, Ohio, the center comprises the Rutherford B. Hayes Museum and Library and Spiegel Grove, an estate encompassing the Hayes home,...
, the first presidential library
Presidential library
In the United States, the Presidential library system is a nationwide network of 13 libraries administered by the Office of Presidential Libraries, which is part of the National Archives and Records Administration...
.
Hayes died on July 26, 1934 in Cincinnati, Ohio and was buried at the Rutherford B. Hayes Home, Spiegel Grove
Spiegel Grove
Spiegel Grove, also known as Spiegel Grove State Park, Rutherford B. Hayes House, Rutherford B. Hayes Summer Home and Rutherford B. Hayes State Memorial is an historic site that was the estate of Civil War general and nineteenth President of the United States Rutherford B Hayes. It is located at...
, in Fremont, Ohio
Fremont, Ohio
Fremont Public Schools enroll 4,450 students in public primary and secondary schools. The district administers 9 public schools including seven elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, Fremont Ross. In addition, the city is home to one private catholic high school, Saint Joseph...
.
Military service
He also served in the military. He was a member of the First Cleveland Troop, later known as Troop A of the Ohio National Guard. During the Spanish American War, he was appointed a majorMajor (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
in the First Ohio Cavalry. He fought in Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba
Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city of Cuba and capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province in the south-eastern area of the island, some south-east of the Cuban capital of Havana....
Campaign, during which he was wounded during the crossing of the San Juan River and the assault on San Juan Hill
San Juan Hill
San Juan Hill is a series of hills to the east of Santiago, Cuba running north to south and known as the San Juan Heights or in Spanish "Alturas de San Juan" before Spanish-American War of 1898...
, and later in the invasion of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Following this, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
and sent to the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Just hours after landing there, he led a rescue party to free captured men at Vigan Island. He received the Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
for this action. He went on to participate in the China Relief Expedition
China Relief Expedition
The China Relief Expedition was the name of an expedition in China undertaken by the United States Armed Forces to the rescue of United States citizens, European nationals, and other foreign nationals during the latter years of the Boxer Rebellion, which lasted from between 1898 and 1901...
during the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
and as an observer in the Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was "the first great war of the 20th century." It grew out of rival imperial ambitions of the Russian Empire and Japanese Empire over Manchuria and Korea...
.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Hayes was promoted to colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
and first served as a special agent for the State Department in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and later held an administrative assignment on the Italian front. After the war he was promoted to brigadier general
Medal of Honor citation
Rank and organization: Lieutenant Colonel, 31st Infantry, U.S. Volunteers. Place and date: At Vigan, Luzon, Philippine Islands, December 4, 1899. Entered service at: Fremont, Ohio. Born: March 20, 1856, Cincinnati, Ohio. Date of issue: December 17, 1902.Citation:
Pushed through the enemy's lines alone, during the night, from the beach to the beleaguered force at Vigan, and returned the following morning to report the condition of affairs to the Navy and secure assistance.