On Aug. 28, 1831, Lucy Ware Webb Hayes - who would be the first wife of a U.S. president to get a college degree and so popular she became the first to be called "first lady" - was born in Chillicothe.

When she was 13, Lucy's family moved to Delaware, Ohio - home of Rutherford B. Hayes - so her brothers could attend Ohio Wesleyan University. She met Hayes two years later. Lucy also took classes at Ohio Wesleyan, but she received her degree from the Wesleyan Female College in Cincinnati when she was 18.

Hayes and Lucy met again when both were in a wedding party. His diary reveals his feelings: "Her low sweet voice is very winning ... a heart as true as steel. ... Intellect she has too. ... By George! I am in love with her." They married in 1852 and lived in Cincinnati until the beginning of the Civil War, when Hayes became a major in the 23rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. Lucy Hayes regularly visited camp, where she cared for the wounded and comforted the dying.

In Washington, she was known as a gracious hostess. She died in 1889 at Spiegel Grove, her home in Fremont, Ohio.

Rebecca Goodman

E-mail rgoodman@enquirer.com or call (513) 768-8361.