Description: Illustrated portrait of Lucy Ware Webb Hayes. She was born in Chillicothe, Ohio, on August 28, 1831, the youngest of three children of James Webb and Maria Cook Webb. Her father was a medical doctor. When Lucy was two years old, her father died of cholera after attending many slaves afflicted with the disease. He also lost his parents and a brother to the disease. Lucy attended elementary school in Chillicothe, and when her brothers attended Ohio Wesleyan College in Delaware, the family moved to be closer to them. Although females were not allowed to attend the college, she was able to take several classes and received credit for them. At age 16, she enrolled in Cincinnati Wesleyan Female College, graduating in 1850. On December 30, 1852, Lucy, then 21, married Rutherford B. Hayes in the home of her mother in Cincinnati, Ohio. Lucy was the first President's wife to be called First Lady. She was against drinking alcohol and became know as Lemonade Lucy for her non-alcoholic dinners. She also established the Easter Egg Roll at the White House. Rutherford B Hayes served only one term as President, retiring with his family to his home in Fremont, Ohio, called Spiegel Grove in 1881. Lucy died of a stroke on June 25, 1889 and was buried in Fremont. Three years later, her husband followed her in death. Later they were re-interred in Spiegel Grove in 1915. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B15F01_044
Subjects: Hayes, Lucy Webb, 1831-1889; Hayes, Rutherford Birchard, 1822-1893; Illustrations; Wesleyan Female College (Cincinnati, Ohio);
Places: Fremont (Ohio); Sandusky County (Ohio)