An original C-SPAN feature series telling the stories of America’s 45 First Ladies through conversations with top experts, video tours of historic sites, and questions from C-SPAN’s audience.

Lucy Hayes
First Lady: 1877 - 1881

Biography

Lucy Hayes

Rutherford B. Hayes
Women’s minds are as strong as man’s – equal in all things and superior in some.

Born - August 28, 1831 in Chillicothe, Ohio

Parents - James Webb & Maria Cook Webb

Married - December 30, 1852 to Rutherford Birchard Hayes

Children - Birchard Austin (1853 – 1926),
James Webb Cook (1856 – 1934),
Rutherford Platt (1858 – 1927),
Joseph Thompson (1861 – 1863),
George Crook (1864 – 1866),
Fanny (1867 – 1950),
Scott Russell (1871 – 1923),
Manning Force (1873 – 1874)

Education – Wesleyan Female Seminary in Cincinnati, OH in 1850

Firsts - 1st First Lady to graduate from college. 1st First Lady to the host a White House Easter Egg Roll.

Post White House residence - Spiegel Grove, Fremont, Ohio

Other Offices – First Lady of Ohio 1868 – 1872 and 1876 - 1877

Died - June 25, 1889 in Fremont, Ohio

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Did You Know IconDid You Know...
  • On December 31, 1877, President Hayes and his wife celebrated their silver wedding anniversary in the White House.
  • As First Lady, Mrs. Hayes oversaw the completion of the Washington Monument.
  • Lucy Hayes was the 1st First Lady to graduate from college. She graduated from Wesleyan Female Seminary in Cincinnati, OH in 1850.
  • Lucy Hayes was the 1st First Lady to the host a White House Easter Egg Roll.
  • Lucy Hayes becomes the President of Women's Home Missionary Society after she leaves the White House.

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