Gregory W. Hayes | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Died | December 2, 1906 |
| Alma mater | Oberlin College |
| Occupation | Religious leader |
| Spouse | Mary Rice Hayes Allen |
Gregory W. Hayes (died December 2, 1906) was an American scholar, educator and administrator, who was a prominent leader in the Baptist community of African Americans in the state of Virginia and the city of Richmond). He graduated from Oberlin College. [1] In 1891 he became the second president of the Virginia Seminary, which he led until his death in 1906. His wife, Mary Rice Hayes Allen, was the daughter of a Confederate general and an African-American mother, as related by her daughter (of her second marriage) Carrie Allen McCray. Hayes intervened to provide Ota Benga, a Mbuti pygmy former slave who was exhibited at anthropological exhibitions, the opportunity to live with his family and study at the seminary. [2] In 1899, Hayes was involved in a leadership struggle with Z.D. Lewis over issues of operations and autonomy of an educational institution. [1] His wife succeeded him as the seminary's president after his death. She remarried and moved to Montclair, New Jersey with her second husband.[ citation needed ]
The G. W. Hayes School of Arts and Sciences, a division of Virginia Seminary and College, was named in 1988 to honor Hayes as its second president. [3] The institution also celebrates an annual Hayes Day celebration, and a statue commemorates his life and leadership. [3]
