Page:Sketches of representative women of New England.djvu/489

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364
REPRESENTATIVE WOMEN OF NEW ENGLAND


Church, she raised one hundred dollars for the centenary fund.

Mr. and Mrs. Hayward were graduated from the Chautauqua Lit(>rary and Scientific Circle of South Franiinffliani in ISSS. She was president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and a leader in the campaign against the Tujuor saloons in Framingliam, meeting with great success. Having i)een selected by a special conuuittee to write a history of the town of Hancock, N.H., Mr. Hayward for seven years devotetl all the time he could spare from parish and other public duties to this work. The book was published in 18S9, and contains over a thou.sand printed i)ages of valuable material. It is recognized by histoi'ical and genealogical societies and by the officials of public libraries as one of the best town histories ever issued.

In its jireparation Mrs. Hayward rendered valuable assistance. Diligently searching four volumes of town and one of church records, she compiled the list of marriages, nearly a thousand in number.

In June, 1SS9, Mr. Hayward accepted a call to the First Congregational (Unitarian) Church in Medfield, Mass. He won the love and respect of the citizens of the town, as in former places where he had been settletl as pastor. Popular with the young and ever thoughtful of their interests, he was active in the guild movement (since his death named the Hayward Guild) and in temperance and charitable work. The Norfolk Unitarian Club was organized by him ; and the various branches of work, in all of which he was assisted by his wife, prospered under his charge. His ad- dress on the occasion of the one hundredth anniversary of the church, October S, ISSO, was published in pamphlet form. Mr. Hay- ward was a friend of the Woman's Relief Corps, and in 1891 he accompanied Mrs. Hayward, who was a delegate, to the National Conven- tion held in Detroit, Mich.

As an officer of the National Army Chaplains' Association, which he helped to form in De- troit in 1891, as a Memorial Day orator and a leading spirit in many philanthropic move- ments, he was widely known; and his death, which occurred in Medfield, July 26, 1892, caused soriow in many sections of the country. The conmiittee of the church in Medfield paid the following tribute to his memory: "We look back upon the years of his pastorate as years of pros]jerity in the history of this church and parish and as years marked by dee|) in- tei'cst in all that pertains to the building up of true, noble Christian character and stinui- lating its people to useful Christian lives. We respected him for his true manliness, dignity, and unselfishness." The Young People's Re- ligious Guild remembered with gratitude the interest manifested liy him in their organiza- tion.

Resolutions of respect, recognizing and re- cording his elevated character, his fidelity to duty, the exalted princi|)les which governed his life, his forbearing sympathy and good will, were pas.sed by the Medfield Historical Society, the General J. G. Foster Post, G. A. P., of South Framingham, and by the Relief Corps auxiliary to the Grand Army post in Milford, N.H., where Mr. Hayward gave his last Me- morial Day address.

The Norfolk I'nitarian Conference, in a letter to Mrs. Hayward, testified that "they all regarded Mr. Hayward with honor and re- spect for his sterling faithfulness, his blame- less record, and his earnest devotedness to his profe.';sion. His uniform courtesy, dignity, and friendliness won the affection of all, and made him always a welcome companion."

A former pastor of the church in Keene wrote to her : " You have the comfort of reflecting that you have been a true helpmeet to your husband these many years. By your energy, your sympathy, your judgment, your ready ])lanning for the social interests of a ])arish, as well as for the advancement of the church and Sunday-school, you have shown a spirit of co-operation that must have been invaluable to him."

Mr. Hayward, who had been identified with the Masons, the Temple of Honor, and United Order of the Golden Cross, was an officer of Beaver Brook Lodge of Odd Fellows at Keene, N.H. He had four brothers, two of whom are living in New Hampshire.

Mrs. Hayward is a member of the Daughters of New Hampshire and a charter member of