Representative George W. Hayes portrait   Save
Ohio History Connection
Description: Photograph of George W. Hayes (1847-1933), a representative from Hamilton County who served in the Ohio House of Representatives during the 75th session (1902-1903) and 76th session (1904-1905) of the General Assembly. Born in 1847 into slavery in Louisiana, Hayes was of mixed African American and American Indian heritage. Initially pressed into Confederate service at a young age during the Civil War, he soon escaped and enlisted in the Union Army. After the war, he moved to New York, and later to Cleveland and then Cincinnati, Ohio. He worked as a public school teacher before his appointment as a clerk with the U.S. Court clerk's office--the first African American appointed to the role. He worked in this position for three decades until he was nominated as a state representative in 1901. Over the years, Hayes served as a long-time trustee for the Ohio Institute of the Blind, the Orphans' Home for Colored Children in Cincinnati, the Union Baptist Church and Wilberforce University. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: P206_B11_Hayes
Subjects: African American Ohioans; Ohio House of Representatives; Ohio--Politics and government; Elected officials; American Indians; Veterans; Educators
Places: Cincinnati (Ohio); Hamilton County (Ohio)