George W. Hayes

This article is about an Ohio politician. For the North Carolina politician, see George W. Hayes (North Carolina).
For the Arkansas politician, see George Washington Hays.

Hon. George W. Hayes (c. 1847–1933) was a slave, the first African-American court crier in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio, and a state legislator. He served in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1902 to 1905.[1] He had African American and Native American heritage and was enslaved early in his life.[2]

Hayes married Mamie Forte in 1874 and they had five children. He later served three terms in the Ohio General Assembly, as a Republican. He and his family were members of the Union Baptist Church, Cincinnati. Hayes Elementary School in Cincinnati is named for him.

He is buried in the Union Baptist Cemetery in the Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati.

  1. ^ "The African American Experience in Ohio, 1850-1920 / Ohio House of Representatives Photograph Collection". The Ohio Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2021-04-21. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  2. ^ "African-American Legislators". www.georgewashingtonwilliams.org. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 13 January 2022.