Elijah Hayward (November 17, 1786 – September 22, 1864) was a lawyer in the

U.S. State In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

who represented his county in the

Ohio House of Representatives The Ohio House of Representatives is the lower house of the Ohio General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio; the other house of the bicameral legislature being the Ohio Senate. The House of Representatives first met in ...

, sat on the

Ohio Supreme Court The Ohio Supreme Court, Officially known as The Supreme Court of the State of Ohio is the highest court in the U.S. state of Ohio, with final authority over interpretations of Ohio law and the Ohio Constitution. The court has seven members, a ...

for a short time, and was

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of the

General Land Office The General Land Office (GLO) was an independent agency of the United States government responsible for public domain lands in the United States. It was created in 1812 to take over functions previously conducted by the United States Department o ...

. He was a noted genealogist and historian.

Early life

Elijah Hayward was born in 1786 in Bridgewater, Plymouth County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

. He was descended from Thomas Hayward, one of the original proprietors of Bridgewater, who immigrated from

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1634. His mother's ancestor came on the same ship passage. Hayward attended the village schools, and in 1801 entered Bridgewater Academy, where he learned English grammar and arithmetic for three months. Starting in late 1801, Hayward worked in stores in West Bridgewater, and later

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

. In 1803, he went to

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, to learn shipbuilding. He became partner with David Kingman in 1807, and married his daughter, Eliza Kingman, February 19, 1809. He traveled to England on one of his ships, the ''Belfast'', in 1812, and returned to the U.S. in June of that year after hearing of the death of his partner and father-in-law Kingman. In Hanover, he decided to pursue the study of law at the office of John Winslow, esq. His studies were delayed by the need to attend to his father-in-law's estate, including a return to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

for a lawsuit. He returned to East Bridgewater to study under

Nahum Mitchell Nahum Mitchell (February 12, 1769 – August 1, 1853) was a U.S. Representative from Massachusetts. Born in 1769 in the eastern portion of Bridgewater (which would later be incorporated as a separate municipality in 1823) in Massachusetts Bay, ...

Immigration to the West

In the autumn of 1819, having studied law off and on for four and one half years, Hayward emigrated to

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, where he opened an office. He established a partnership with David Wade, which lasted for eight years. In 1825, he was elected to represent Hamilton County in the

, serving until 1829 in the 24th to 27th General Assemblies. In 1830, the two houses of the Ohio Legislature, in joint session, elected Hayward as a judge of the

for a seven-year term. He only served a part of that year when he accepted an appointment from President Jackson as

of the

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Hayward resigned in 1835, after his wife died, and returned to Ohio and the practice of law. In April, 1851, Hayward was named State librarian by Ohio Governor

Reuben Wood Reuben Wood (1792/1793October 1, 1864) was a Democratic politician from the U.S. state of Ohio. He served as the 21st governor of Ohio. Biography Wood was born near Middletown, Rutland County, Vermont in either 1792 or 1793. While living wi ...

. He served until May 1854. Judge Hayward was a dedicated genealogist, who would spend weeks at a time copying the records of

Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes Plimouth) was, from 1620 to 1691, the British America, first permanent English colony in New England and the second permanent English colony in North America, after the Jamestown Colony. It was first settled by the pa ...

and towns of Massachusetts. He was elected a corresponding member of the

Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...

in 1854. He was a member of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of

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. He was elected a corresponding member of the

New England Historic Genealogical Society The New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS) is the oldest and largest genealogical society in the United States, founded in 1845. NEHGS provides family history services through its staff, original scholarship, website,Puritanism The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

of his ancestors, before rejecting it to accept the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

faith. He died in McConnelsville,

Morgan County, Ohio Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,802, making it the third-least populous county in Ohio. Its county seat is McConnelsville. The county was created in 1817 and later organ ...

in 1864. Hayward left one son, George Hayward, born Hanover, Massachusetts, July 14, 1817.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayward, Elijah Politicians from Cincinnati 1786 births 1864 deaths Democratic Party members of the Ohio House of Representatives Justices of the Ohio Supreme Court Ohio lawyers People from Hanover, Massachusetts Lawyers from Cincinnati General Land Office Commissioners American librarians People from McConnelsville, Ohio 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers