Governor Hayes Responds to Having a Jewish Namesake

April 22, 1873

Add to History Board Share Print
Back to The Collection
Manuscript
See full images and transcript
Governor Hayes Responds to Having a Jewish Namesake
Autograph Letter Signed
1 page | SMC 1210

Quick Reference

  • Rutherford B. Hayes
  • Joseph A. Joel

    Background

    The one-time Private Joseph A. Joel, who famously asked from the commander of the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Rutherford B. Hayes, permission to hold a Seder in the field in 1862, here receives word, some ten years later, that said commander is proud to have a namesake: Joel’s first son, Rutherford B. Hayes Joel.

    I am proud of your partiality and shall always regard with great interest the progress of the young gentleman. I shall try to remember him in some substantial way. Let him be as brave and honorable as his father and he will be a credit to his parents and namesake.

    Hayes and Joel became, after the war, dear friends.
    Autograph Letter Signed (“R.B. Hayes”), 1 page, quarto, Fremont, Ohio, April 22, 1873. To J.A. Joel.
     
    Read More

    all pages and transcript

    Page 1/1

    Page 1 transcript

    Fremont, O

    22 April 1873

    My Dear Joel :

    I am very glad to hear from you that Mrs [sic] Joel & little Rutherford are well.  You would have heard from me before, but I felt uncertain as to the fact.  I got your note so late that I feared my reply would not be in time for the Ceremony and supposed in that case you might have changed your purpose.  I am proud of your partiality, and shall always regard with great interest the progress of the young gentleman.  I shall try to remember him in some substantial way.  Let him be as brave and honorable as his father and he will be a credit to his parents and namesake. --   Mrs [sic] H. is in Cinti. My duty requires me in my Uncles [sic] illness to remain here through the Summer & perhaps permanently. -- The office I shall decline. -- Kind wishes to Mrs [sic] J. & "Ruddy" --

    Sincerely

    R.B. HAYES

    Mr [sic] J. A. Joel. 

    You May Also Be Interested In

    Lincoln Family Friend Edward Jonas Recalls Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    Lincoln Family Friend Edward Jonas Recalls Abraham Lincoln and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    George Washington Dreads Assuming the Presidency: He Feels as if He's Being Led to His Execution

    George Washington Dreads Assuming the Presidency: He Feels as if He's Being Led to His Execution

    Edgar Allan Poe Details His Literary Life and Says "The Raven and "The Valdemar Case" Are His Best Work

    Edgar Allan Poe Details His Literary Life and Says "The Raven and "The Valdemar Case" Are His Best Work

    Jerusalem Consul Wallace and Chief Rabbi Salant Solicit American Funds for the City's Institutions

    Jerusalem Consul Wallace and Chief Rabbi Salant Solicit American Funds for the City's Institutions

    Historic Context
    Rutherford B. Hayes

    Rutherford B. Hayes

    Rutherford B. Hayes was the nineteenth president of the United States. Born in Ohio, Hayes was an abolitionist and, as a lawyer, defended runaway slaves. With the outbreak of the Civil War, Hayes joined the Ohio 23rd regiment as a major. Future President William McKinley also enlisted in Hayes’s regiment as a private. Hayes quickly established himself as a war hero. He was wounded in action five times, and had four horses shot from under him. Following the Civil War, breveted Major General Hayes served in Congress representing Ohio, and later became its governor, serving three  terms. From there, Hayes went on to win one of the most disputed elections of American history: despite losing the popular vote, he was awarded the electoral votes, and won the election of 1876. Though this compromise kept a Republican in the presidency, it meant the end of Reconstruction, which  Hayes had supported. As President, Hayes was conservative in the sense that he banned alcohol in the White House, but he was ahead of his time in advocating for women to be able to present cases in front of the Supreme Court, and supporting equal rights for blacks. He was unusual in that he scrupulously supported meritocracy, and did not appoint cabinet ministers based on nepotism or favoritism. Hayes had committed to serving only one term and kept his word, leaving office in 1881. He died in 1893 at seventy-one.


    Historic Context

    Joseph A. Joel

    Joseph A. Joel (1844-1906) was born in England, raised in Cleveland, and died in Manhattan. In July of 1861, he enlisted as a Private in Company F of the 23rd OH Infantry. He befriended his commander, Major Rutherford B, Hayes, and the two remained lifelong friends. Joel famously organized and wrote about the 1862 Passover Seder that the 23rd OH held in West Virginia after Hayes granted Joel and twenty of his fellow Jewish soldiers leave to observe the holiday. Joel sustained numerous injuries at the Battle of South Mountain, and was soon after discharged in February of 1863. Read more about Joseph A. Joel here. To learn more about the continued friendship between Joel and President Hayes, view this curated manuscript collection.

    Login

    Can't remember

    OR
    Don't have an account? Register here
    Register

    6 characters minimum

    OR
    Already have an account? Log in here
    Password Reset
    You'll get an email with instructions