Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Spouses
Birth31 Jul 1830, Milton Township, Wayne, Ohio2023, p 1,2053,2070, p 5; county only
Death31 Jan 1899, Banks County, Georgia2023, p 1; date only,2071, p 4; date only,2057, date only,2072 Age: 68
ResidenceLena, Stephenson County, IL (1864)2070, p 5
FatherJohn William LOOMIS (~1806-)
MotherSarah Ann HAY (1810-1892)
Individual Notes
• An only child.2076
• Called “Johnathon Loomis” in the family Bible.2023, p 1
• The son later took the name of Hay when the maiden name of Hay was restored to the mother. Hence, the name Johnathan Hay.2077
• Soon after [his mother returned to her parents’ farm in Seville], Jonathan left Seville with his aunt Eunice A. Hay, second child of Jonathan and Ruth Hay, born April 4, 1812, and Uncle Ault and went to Oneco, Illinois, where Jonathan remained until 1873, when he absconded, leaving Elizabeth to raise three-year-old Walter by herself.539, p 3, footnote 9
• Private secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant.36, p 10, line 445,23, p G26
• When (Civil) war broke out, Lib’s husband Jonathan, who taught school, went as General Grant’s private secretary.36, p 2, line 48 [Note: this statement has never been proven. Perhaps the family confused this Jonathan Hay with John Milton Hay, who was President Lincoln’s private secretary during the Civil War, and afterwards served the country admirably as a statesman, and was Secretary of State under Presidents McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.]
• I was going through some family correspondence from the Civil War and a letter to my 2nd great grandmother regarding the death of her son was written and signed by Jonathan Hayes [sic]. It is on stationery from the Provost Marshall’s office, Vicksburg, Miss, and dated Sept. 6th 1864. Would you like a copy of it?
Barbara Campbell, California2078
• A WHOLESALE FORGER
How Jonathan Hay Flourished at Freeport, His Sudden Departure, and the Developments that Have Followed.
From the Freeport (Ill.) Bulletin, Oct. 2
For about five years Jonathan Hay was a leading, and, we might say, one of the largest, dealers in musical instruments and sewing machines in the West, with his headquarters at Freeport.
He purchased directly from the manufacturers, and established agencies all over this part of the State, and in many localities in the States of Wisconsin and Iowa, and soon, with his army of sub-agents, did an immense business, sales amounting in one month, about one year ago, to $10,000, as he reported. He had now become a first-class dealer, and one of the largest and, apparently, most responsible in the West. Manufacturers of different instruments wrote him and entreatingly requested that he take their ware, and he should have the most favorable terms. They were desirous that the sale of instruments should be pushed with energy and ability; and for the two years just past he enjoyed an immense trade, his sales being unprecedented. Jonathan Hay was fast becoming, a millionaire, everybody ready to sell goods, his obligations honored at sight, and greenbacks in his hands were apparently a bagatelle.
On Monday, the 15th of last month, he informed Mr. Aaron Wolfe and others that he was going to Iowa to settle with some of his agents there and make some collections; so at noon he leisurely walked down to the Western Union Railroad and took the 1 o’clock train for Savanna, and from there to Iowa. Nothing was heard from him until Wednesday the 24th ult., when a daughter of his, who had been in Chicago taking music lessons, came home and informed Mrs. Hay that she had received a letter from her father, saying that he was never coming back, and requesting her to go to Freeport and convey the sad intelligence to her mother. After Mrs. H. received the news she at once proceeded to sell the goods in the store, which she did in a few hours, selling them at any price, and principally at less than half wholesale rates. She then informed their creditors and the banks and capitalists in the city. The Hay bubble exploded, and, upon investigation, it was discovered that a large share of those notes were forgeries, or, at least, so claimed by the parties represented. In said list the forged notes are marked, and, so far as parties have been seen, their statements have agreed with the explanatory statements in the book, over Mr. Hay’s own signature. Why that book was delivered by Mrs. Hay, is a mystery. The amount of his forgeries in dollars and cents is not so large for the amount of notes forged. The number of notes may reach 150, amounting to about $25,000. Many of these notes are gorged against citizens residing within a few miles of Freeport; and some of them were sold or pledged by Mr. Hay, fourteen months ago, to our bankers and shrewd capitalists.
Jonathan is a fugitive from justice. For three years he studiously endeavored to earn a reputation for honesty, fair dealing, and promptness in meeting all his obligations. He succeeded by a series of forgeries that, for boldness and number, are without a precedent, either in ancient or modern times. His forgeries extend through a period of over three years. The number of notes forged during that time will approximate 500, and generally against good and prominent men of this and adjacent counties. Notes were forged and pledged for money, and, as they matured, were redeemed by new forgeries.
Whither Mr Hay has gone is, of course, only a conjecture. The companion of his bosom amy know; but she is reticent upon the subject. She is busily engaged in securing from the wreck all the property she can. That Jonathan had accomplices, no one will doubt. Who they are, time alone will reveal.
We regard it imprudent, at this time, to give the names of the forged notes, but will do so at the proper time. We might state here the amount of papers held by different persons here in this city; Mr. Wolfe, about $14,000; Messrs. Knowlton & Sons, about $3,000; First National Bank, $1,000; Dr. S. J. Best, about $800; and H. B. Amerling, about $3,000. the above are only a portion of the notes pledged by him. Manufacturers of pianos, organs, and sewing-machines also held large amounts as collateral. His liabilities will approximate $50,000.2079
• Hay was a smooth, gentlemanly-appearing man, of very insinuating address, and reputed to be quite wealthy. Part of his business was in selling pianos and machines, and to take notes in partial payment. Affairs went on swimmingly until about the 5th of September, when Ada, his daughter, received a letter saying that she would never see him again. This was a thunderbolt.2061
• [excerpts]
Jonathan Hay had been, it seems from the evidence, engaged since 1871 in Freeport as dealer in musical instruments and sewing-machines. In the fall of 1873 he absconded, in consequence of forgeries which it is alleged he had committed.2063
• ...that she had supported not only herself and children, but her husband also, her husband having shown no remarkable ability in any direction except in the way of contracting debts. Mrs. Hay had also been for several years the owner of the homestead occupied by her family, and the title stood in her name. In the beginning of the year 1869 Jonathan Hay was indebted in large amounts, and all of Mrs. Hay's private property, acquired by her individual skill and labor, was sold to satisfy the claims of her husband's creditors, as prior to the year 1869 the earnings of the wife belonged absolutely to the husband.2062, p 3
• Not present with family in 1880 Census.2068
• I spoke with my mother tonight about Jonathan Hay. She says she has an original letter written by Elizabeth O'Brien written to Walter Hay (she thinks) explaining what Jonathan was doing in the Civil War, and why there was the big gap of years between Lillian, Ada and Walter. My mother is blind now, so asking her to look for something is like asking Helen Keller for help. In any event, she says that in the letter Elizabeth explains how her husband went off to war and served as a "physician" – or perhaps tended the wounded and was gone for quite a number of years; mom recalls something about the "siege of Corinth" and that he fought in Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mobile, and even Louisiana. (She recalled helping my brother do some school history project – like 48 years ago – and they plotted out the route with tacks and string. Her memory is amazing.) She has the recollection that the army unit was the Illinois 11th. She remembers the alliteration.2080
• Where the devil did Jonathan get to? Where is he buried? He is not buried at Mound Hill at Seville, Ohio. I checked the Veterans national cemeteries and found nothing. At the time he “absconded,” I believe that a bankrupt might not have his debts forgiven. Certainly at that time if you were bankrupt in one state and you left, and you had debts owed from another state, you were subject to arrest in the second state.
By the way, I also found that a teacher made around $22 a month in Illinois in the early 1860s. You could do better as a washerwoman!2062, p 1
• “...and has never been heard of or from by applicant since September 15, 1873. She believes him dead.”2058, p 2
• That the said Jonathan was a pensioner at Chicago Agency under Certificate #83447.”2058, p 2
• State Fair Speeders (yearling trotters): Jonathan Hay, St. Paul; emerson, blk. c.2081
(Note; unproven, but possible, this is the same Jonathan Hay)
• Jonathan Hay did other things: he was a Deputy County Surveyor with the county in 1859, per a deed I found. He was a clerk for the Winnisheik Insurance Co., per the Freeport City Directory, for several years, 1867-69, a company owned by U.S. Grant and others that ultimately failed. This may be where the intelligence of "Jonathan worked as Grant's secretary" came from.2026
• “Him” seems to be code for Elizabeth’s husband, Jonathan Hay, who absconded September 15, 1873, from Freeport, Illinois, and was thought to be dead, according to Elizabeth’s Civil War Widow’s Pension application, dated August 19, 1890. Since Jonathan Hay was likely a fugitive, mother and son could not address him by name. Jonathan Hay was, in 1873, a dealer in Singer Sewing Machines, Steinway pianos, organs, and other musical merchandise, with a business located on Exchange Street, opposite French’s Hotel, in Freeport, Illinois. He had a selling radius of thirty miles from Freeport, per his business card of 1873. He sold his wares “on time,” and sold the notes, many of them forged instruments, at discount, to unwary investors. When he absconded, newspapers variously reported the forgeries at between $24,000 and $70,000.539, p 2 footnote
• “I am glad he solaced himself by marrying,...”
Jonathan and Elizabeth never divorced, so it appears Jonathan was a bigamist.539, p 2
• he meant to be honest—but he was a Plunger never looking ahead farther than one day. He was an honest man but a bad financier. I often begged him to do nothing—and I would support him. Too late to recriminate now: I don’t think he can live long. His Grandfather & Grandmother on his fathers side died two days apart – with dropsy. He must be a sufferer, and I feel so sorry for him.539, p 3
• Called “Johnathon Loomis” in the family Bible.2023, p 1
• The son later took the name of Hay when the maiden name of Hay was restored to the mother. Hence, the name Johnathan Hay.2077
• Soon after [his mother returned to her parents’ farm in Seville], Jonathan left Seville with his aunt Eunice A. Hay, second child of Jonathan and Ruth Hay, born April 4, 1812, and Uncle Ault and went to Oneco, Illinois, where Jonathan remained until 1873, when he absconded, leaving Elizabeth to raise three-year-old Walter by herself.539, p 3, footnote 9
• Private secretary to General Ulysses S. Grant.36, p 10, line 445,23, p G26
• When (Civil) war broke out, Lib’s husband Jonathan, who taught school, went as General Grant’s private secretary.36, p 2, line 48 [Note: this statement has never been proven. Perhaps the family confused this Jonathan Hay with John Milton Hay, who was President Lincoln’s private secretary during the Civil War, and afterwards served the country admirably as a statesman, and was Secretary of State under Presidents McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.]
• I was going through some family correspondence from the Civil War and a letter to my 2nd great grandmother regarding the death of her son was written and signed by Jonathan Hayes [sic]. It is on stationery from the Provost Marshall’s office, Vicksburg, Miss, and dated Sept. 6th 1864. Would you like a copy of it?
Barbara Campbell, California2078
• A WHOLESALE FORGER
How Jonathan Hay Flourished at Freeport, His Sudden Departure, and the Developments that Have Followed.
From the Freeport (Ill.) Bulletin, Oct. 2
For about five years Jonathan Hay was a leading, and, we might say, one of the largest, dealers in musical instruments and sewing machines in the West, with his headquarters at Freeport.
He purchased directly from the manufacturers, and established agencies all over this part of the State, and in many localities in the States of Wisconsin and Iowa, and soon, with his army of sub-agents, did an immense business, sales amounting in one month, about one year ago, to $10,000, as he reported. He had now become a first-class dealer, and one of the largest and, apparently, most responsible in the West. Manufacturers of different instruments wrote him and entreatingly requested that he take their ware, and he should have the most favorable terms. They were desirous that the sale of instruments should be pushed with energy and ability; and for the two years just past he enjoyed an immense trade, his sales being unprecedented. Jonathan Hay was fast becoming, a millionaire, everybody ready to sell goods, his obligations honored at sight, and greenbacks in his hands were apparently a bagatelle.
On Monday, the 15th of last month, he informed Mr. Aaron Wolfe and others that he was going to Iowa to settle with some of his agents there and make some collections; so at noon he leisurely walked down to the Western Union Railroad and took the 1 o’clock train for Savanna, and from there to Iowa. Nothing was heard from him until Wednesday the 24th ult., when a daughter of his, who had been in Chicago taking music lessons, came home and informed Mrs. Hay that she had received a letter from her father, saying that he was never coming back, and requesting her to go to Freeport and convey the sad intelligence to her mother. After Mrs. H. received the news she at once proceeded to sell the goods in the store, which she did in a few hours, selling them at any price, and principally at less than half wholesale rates. She then informed their creditors and the banks and capitalists in the city. The Hay bubble exploded, and, upon investigation, it was discovered that a large share of those notes were forgeries, or, at least, so claimed by the parties represented. In said list the forged notes are marked, and, so far as parties have been seen, their statements have agreed with the explanatory statements in the book, over Mr. Hay’s own signature. Why that book was delivered by Mrs. Hay, is a mystery. The amount of his forgeries in dollars and cents is not so large for the amount of notes forged. The number of notes may reach 150, amounting to about $25,000. Many of these notes are gorged against citizens residing within a few miles of Freeport; and some of them were sold or pledged by Mr. Hay, fourteen months ago, to our bankers and shrewd capitalists.
Jonathan is a fugitive from justice. For three years he studiously endeavored to earn a reputation for honesty, fair dealing, and promptness in meeting all his obligations. He succeeded by a series of forgeries that, for boldness and number, are without a precedent, either in ancient or modern times. His forgeries extend through a period of over three years. The number of notes forged during that time will approximate 500, and generally against good and prominent men of this and adjacent counties. Notes were forged and pledged for money, and, as they matured, were redeemed by new forgeries.
Whither Mr Hay has gone is, of course, only a conjecture. The companion of his bosom amy know; but she is reticent upon the subject. She is busily engaged in securing from the wreck all the property she can. That Jonathan had accomplices, no one will doubt. Who they are, time alone will reveal.
We regard it imprudent, at this time, to give the names of the forged notes, but will do so at the proper time. We might state here the amount of papers held by different persons here in this city; Mr. Wolfe, about $14,000; Messrs. Knowlton & Sons, about $3,000; First National Bank, $1,000; Dr. S. J. Best, about $800; and H. B. Amerling, about $3,000. the above are only a portion of the notes pledged by him. Manufacturers of pianos, organs, and sewing-machines also held large amounts as collateral. His liabilities will approximate $50,000.2079
• Hay was a smooth, gentlemanly-appearing man, of very insinuating address, and reputed to be quite wealthy. Part of his business was in selling pianos and machines, and to take notes in partial payment. Affairs went on swimmingly until about the 5th of September, when Ada, his daughter, received a letter saying that she would never see him again. This was a thunderbolt.2061
• [excerpts]
Jonathan Hay had been, it seems from the evidence, engaged since 1871 in Freeport as dealer in musical instruments and sewing-machines. In the fall of 1873 he absconded, in consequence of forgeries which it is alleged he had committed.2063
• ...that she had supported not only herself and children, but her husband also, her husband having shown no remarkable ability in any direction except in the way of contracting debts. Mrs. Hay had also been for several years the owner of the homestead occupied by her family, and the title stood in her name. In the beginning of the year 1869 Jonathan Hay was indebted in large amounts, and all of Mrs. Hay's private property, acquired by her individual skill and labor, was sold to satisfy the claims of her husband's creditors, as prior to the year 1869 the earnings of the wife belonged absolutely to the husband.2062, p 3
• Not present with family in 1880 Census.2068
• I spoke with my mother tonight about Jonathan Hay. She says she has an original letter written by Elizabeth O'Brien written to Walter Hay (she thinks) explaining what Jonathan was doing in the Civil War, and why there was the big gap of years between Lillian, Ada and Walter. My mother is blind now, so asking her to look for something is like asking Helen Keller for help. In any event, she says that in the letter Elizabeth explains how her husband went off to war and served as a "physician" – or perhaps tended the wounded and was gone for quite a number of years; mom recalls something about the "siege of Corinth" and that he fought in Mississippi, and the Gulf of Mobile, and even Louisiana. (She recalled helping my brother do some school history project – like 48 years ago – and they plotted out the route with tacks and string. Her memory is amazing.) She has the recollection that the army unit was the Illinois 11th. She remembers the alliteration.2080
• Where the devil did Jonathan get to? Where is he buried? He is not buried at Mound Hill at Seville, Ohio. I checked the Veterans national cemeteries and found nothing. At the time he “absconded,” I believe that a bankrupt might not have his debts forgiven. Certainly at that time if you were bankrupt in one state and you left, and you had debts owed from another state, you were subject to arrest in the second state.
By the way, I also found that a teacher made around $22 a month in Illinois in the early 1860s. You could do better as a washerwoman!2062, p 1
• “...and has never been heard of or from by applicant since September 15, 1873. She believes him dead.”2058, p 2
• That the said Jonathan was a pensioner at Chicago Agency under Certificate #83447.”2058, p 2
• State Fair Speeders (yearling trotters): Jonathan Hay, St. Paul; emerson, blk. c.2081
(Note; unproven, but possible, this is the same Jonathan Hay)
• Jonathan Hay did other things: he was a Deputy County Surveyor with the county in 1859, per a deed I found. He was a clerk for the Winnisheik Insurance Co., per the Freeport City Directory, for several years, 1867-69, a company owned by U.S. Grant and others that ultimately failed. This may be where the intelligence of "Jonathan worked as Grant's secretary" came from.2026
• “Him” seems to be code for Elizabeth’s husband, Jonathan Hay, who absconded September 15, 1873, from Freeport, Illinois, and was thought to be dead, according to Elizabeth’s Civil War Widow’s Pension application, dated August 19, 1890. Since Jonathan Hay was likely a fugitive, mother and son could not address him by name. Jonathan Hay was, in 1873, a dealer in Singer Sewing Machines, Steinway pianos, organs, and other musical merchandise, with a business located on Exchange Street, opposite French’s Hotel, in Freeport, Illinois. He had a selling radius of thirty miles from Freeport, per his business card of 1873. He sold his wares “on time,” and sold the notes, many of them forged instruments, at discount, to unwary investors. When he absconded, newspapers variously reported the forgeries at between $24,000 and $70,000.539, p 2 footnote
• “I am glad he solaced himself by marrying,...”
Jonathan and Elizabeth never divorced, so it appears Jonathan was a bigamist.539, p 2
• he meant to be honest—but he was a Plunger never looking ahead farther than one day. He was an honest man but a bad financier. I often begged him to do nothing—and I would support him. Too late to recriminate now: I don’t think he can live long. His Grandfather & Grandmother on his fathers side died two days apart – with dropsy. He must be a sufferer, and I feel so sorry for him.539, p 3
Census
• 1830 Census: Milton Township, Wayne, Ohio. Under 5. 10001/00001.2082
• 1840 Census: Milton Township, Wayne, Ohio. Age 5-10. 01001001/00001001. Living with mother in grandfather’s household.2083
• 1850 Census: Oneco, Stephenson, Illinois. Age 20, b OH. Tailor. Living with David Ault family, also a tailor.2073
• 1860 Census: Oneco, Stephenson, Illinois. Age 30, b OH. School teacher. $1,000.2066
• 1870 Census: Freeport, Stephenson, Illinois. Age 37, b OH. Teamster. Uncle Griswold Noble Hay living in his household.2067
• 1880 Census: Homer, Banks, Georgia. Age 48, b OH. Doctor. Father b VT; mother b MA. Name given as Thomas Hayden.2084
• 1840 Census: Milton Township, Wayne, Ohio. Age 5-10. 01001001/00001001. Living with mother in grandfather’s household.2083
• 1850 Census: Oneco, Stephenson, Illinois. Age 20, b OH. Tailor. Living with David Ault family, also a tailor.2073
• 1860 Census: Oneco, Stephenson, Illinois. Age 30, b OH. School teacher. $1,000.2066
• 1870 Census: Freeport, Stephenson, Illinois. Age 37, b OH. Teamster. Uncle Griswold Noble Hay living in his household.2067
• 1880 Census: Homer, Banks, Georgia. Age 48, b OH. Doctor. Father b VT; mother b MA. Name given as Thomas Hayden.2084
Research
• No mention of Jonathan Hay.
Source: Ulysses S. Grant, Hesseltine, William B., Dodd, Mead, NY 1935, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 23, 1994.
• No mention of Jonathan Hay.
Source: Grant, McFeely, William S. Norton, NY, 1981, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 23, 1994.
• No mention of Jonathan Hay.2085
• U. S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, the son of Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson.2085, frontispiece He first lived in Galena, Illinois in May, 1860, and “took a clerkship in my father’s store.”2085, p 111
• Cannot find in 1880 census; 23 Feb 2005.
Source: Ulysses S. Grant, Hesseltine, William B., Dodd, Mead, NY 1935, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 23, 1994.
• No mention of Jonathan Hay.
Source: Grant, McFeely, William S. Norton, NY, 1981, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., April 23, 1994.
• No mention of Jonathan Hay.2085
• U. S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822, the son of Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson.2085, frontispiece He first lived in Galena, Illinois in May, 1860, and “took a clerkship in my father’s store.”2085, p 111
• Cannot find in 1880 census; 23 Feb 2005.
Marriage1874, Henderson County, North Carolina2072
ChildrenPaul D (1875-1963)