A Brief History of the Hayman Family — Westerville Historical Society

The Haymans – John and Mary Ellen – were faithful Westerville Historical Society members. Their son Terry carried on his family’s love of Westerville and Westerville history with a bequest through the Columbus Foundation that is funding important projects related to history in our community. The article below was written to share the history of this family

The Hayman family established strong roots in Westerville, Ohio, lasting 3 generations and counting. It all began in Letart Falls, Ohio (Meigs County) when Charlie Hayman announced his desire to marry Blanche Weaver. Blanche’s father wouldn’t approve of the marriage until Charlie had a “decent job”, so he quit his position as a sheriff and bought a corner store.

In 1915, Charlie was diagnosed with consumption and his doctor advised him to “get away from the dews and damps of the Ohio river”. That’s when he and Blanche decided to move north, traveling by train to Westerville, Ohio. Their youngest son John was just 6 weeks old and their oldest son Charlie (Jr.) was 13. The family made their new home on 15 acres of land at 403 County Line Road, taking up residence in the existing 1880 house on the property. Eventually, the family welcomed a daughter, Mary Alice.

At this time, none of the family members had jobs with salaries. Everyone worked the fields. Charlie (Jr.) and his wife Irene sat out on the front yard selling peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes, soybeans, and more. At one time, the family planted 1,500 strawberry runners that Mary Alice’s son David Kerst remembers spending an entire month of June harvesting when he was 12 years old.

John graduated from Westerville High School in 1933 and was soon drafted into the military. He served during WWII in the Army Air Corps, flying over the “Hump” in the China-Burma-India Theater of operations for several years.

After returning home to Westerville, John worked at Kilgore Manufacturing selling J.I. Case machinery. Eventually, he married the “girl next door”, Mary Ellen Sexton, who lived on 59 acres at 310 E College Avenue and had also graduated from Westerville High School.

A year later, John and Mary Ellen’s son Terry was born. Combined, they now owned 74 acres of land in the growing city of Westerville. John H spent time finding and repairing J.I. Case tractors and using them to grow acres of sweet corn and soybeans facing County Line Road. As a kid and teenager, Terry would drive the tractor and the family would take their harvest to the granary at the Farmer’s Exchange on Lincoln St. to sell. David remembers helping push the harvest into the corners of the silos as dust was flying.

A Family of Collectors, with a Focus on Westerville History

Mary Ellen was a collector. According to her nephew David Kerst, “She collected everything that would move.”

From yardsticks featuring local company names to Nicodemus pottery, J.I. Case tractor paraphernalia to Christmas decorations, Mary Ellen especially loved to collect items that were unique to Westerville.

Many of the Hayman family’s traditions revolved around celebrating the holidays. Mary Ellen loved hosting dinner parties and collecting decorative plates for every holiday – from Easter to Christmas. The family would spend two entire days decorating an 8-foot-tall Christmas tree with the ornaments she had acquired. A neighborhood staple for over 50 years, a life-size wooden sleigh filled with wrapped boxes was annually displayed on the front lawn. The origin of the sleigh is unknown but may have come from one of the farm sales, auctions, or thrift stores the family frequented during Sunday outings after church.

Another favorite collectible for Mary Ellen was the doll furniture made by Kilgore Manufacturing. As a gift, John – though not particularly handy around the house – custom-built a dollhouse to display her collection. Mary Ellen took joy in decorating the dollhouse with wallpaper, curtains, and rugs, many of which she made by hand.

Another cherished possession for the family was a piece of the first airplane owned by a Westerville resident that crashed shortly after its first local flight in 1930. The recovered wreckage hung on the family’s dining room wall for many years.

Though Terry “could have cared less” about his parent’s collectibles (according to his cousin David Kerst), he did happen upon a prized find one day while driving down the road. A large sheet of metal in the gutter had caught his eye. Lo and behold, it was a sign from Williams Grill – a beloved Uptown Westerville restaurant where his mother once worked as a waitress, saving every “nickel and dime” of her tips to help pay her tuition at Otterbein College.

The Later Years

John retired from the Westerville Post Office. A longtime member of the Church of the Messiah, John was also an active member of Blendon Lodge #339 and the “Old Buzzard’s Club” that met at Cockrell’s Restaurant (Graeter’s Ice Cream today). Mary Ellen retired after teaching English for many years in Columbus. She was a longtime member of St. Paul’s Catholic Church as far back as the “early days” when they were meeting in each other’s homes. She was also an avid reader, gardener, collector of and worker with arts and crafts.

After graduating from Westerville South High School, Terry worked for approximately 30 years at Roush Hardware repairing small engines like lawn mowers and snowblowers. At one point, he also ran his own lawn mowing company. Often, he would forget to collect the money from his 81 clients. He was known for his generosity and kind heart by all who knew him and would “give you the shirt off his back”. In his spare time, he enjoyed auto racing, skiing, traveling, and anything outdoors.

*Terry with his classmates in the 1978 Westerville High School yearbook (Terry is in the backrow, fourth from the left.)*

Eventually, John and Mary Ellen sold most of their 74 acres of property which was turned into a housing development. John wouldn’t spend the money from the sale of the property, feeling like it “wasn’t his” and “hadn’t earned it” since he inherited the land from his parents and in-laws.

Mary Ellen passed away in 2009 at the age of 86. Though Terry lived numerous places in Central Ohio throughout his life, he returned home to care for his father John until his death in 2015 at the age of 100.

Preserving History

In 2019, Terry reached out to the Westerville History Museum, offering “first dibs” on any of the family’s collectibles before they went up for public auction. In total, the Westerville History Museum acquired 89 unique items from the Hayman family’s collection.

Terry passed away on September 8, 2019 at the age of 59. The former Westerville History Museum manager, Nina Thomas, remembers how thankful Terry was that the items would be preserved for future Westerville residents to see and learn from.

Before his death, Terry established a fund through his estate plan to support programs and projects relating to the preservation and enhancement of Westerville’s history. Serendipitously, a $5,589 grant was awarded to the Westerville History Museum (through the J. Terry Hayman Fund via The Columbus Foundation) to help improve the preservation of some of the irregularly shaped items that Terry donated that have proven a challenge to properly store until now.

The Columbus Foundation also reached out to the Westerville Historical Society to give them the opportunity to fund a history project. In conjunction with Uptown Westerville, Inc., WHS chose to ask for funds to place plaques sharing history in the Uptown area. Bridgette Cahalin, WHS secretary, wrote the grant. Don Foster worked on writing the text for the new plaques and the History Center at the Westerville Public Library has worked to verify information. Look for these wonderful additions to Uptown Westerville in the near future thanks to Terry Hayman and the Columbus Foundation.

According to Hilary Stone, a member of The Columbus Foundation’s Donor Services Team, “Terry loved Westerville, and was passionate about preserving, enhancing, and elevating the city’s unique history. He entrusted The Columbus Foundation to support him in continuing this work after his passing. This is a story of legacy, and partnership, and trust, and continued community impact.”

Acknowledgements: A big thank you to David Kerst for sharing his memories of the Hayman family with the Westerville History Museum. This story would not have been possible without you.

by Tamara Murray, Marketing Manager at the Westerville Public Library