Mary A. Hayes or “Mattie” as she was called was born in March of 1870. She was the only child of Charles Lewis Hayes and Mary Ellen Green.
Charles Hayes was born in Troupsburg, NY in 1840. He married Mary Ellen Green in 1867. They lived on the former farm of James Shelby Green located where Chase’s Greenhouses are today on East Henrietta Road. Charles had a brisk business in pickles; a first for the area.
Ella Green was educated at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary in Lima which evolved over time to become Syracuse University. The building in Lima is now the Elim Bible College. Ella passed a keen sense of knowledge and history to her daughter Mattie who may have also attended. Mattie was a school teacher in Rush and Henrietta. Later in life she served as a telephone operator.
Mattie started saving pictures of her family and others at a time when most people had no pictures. She carefully wrote on paper the names of the people and some information about them. Mattie was keenly aware of history and was active in making sure the history of Rush, NY was preserved.
In March of 1938, the Rush Historical Society was formed. It was a “spin off” of the “Ingleside Club”, a ladies social gathering group that had been meeting since the 1900’s. Mattie was a founding member, along with Bessie Hallock, who later became the first Town of Rush Historian in 1944.
Mattie was one of the primary organizers of driving tours around rush. Mattie continued to participate in many different family events all through her life. She passed in 1949 at the age of 79.
