James E. Hayden

According to his birth certificate (Manhattan #175565), James Hayden was born in New York to "Edward 'P.' Hayden" (of Dublin) and "Mary Howe" (of Claranagh) on the 16th January 1876.  At this time, the family resided at 317 W. 41st Street, Manhattan. He was their first child.

James is less mysterious than that of his siblings since several of the letters in the collection are addressed to him.  It appears that a cousin in County Fermanagh, Annie J. Howe, took on the role of authoring the letters to the family and typically wrote to James. 

Oral histories from family members suggest that following his mother's death, James took in his three sisters. One might assume that James married prior to his mothers death (date yet to be established).

James, Clara Hayden & New York's Finest

In a letter dated March 8, 1996, Anne (Buckley) Reichert described her memories of "Jim" Hayden. Anne wrote, "He was married to a very sweet woman, Clara, who died of Parkinson's Disease. We often visited them until they both passed away." Furthermore, she reports that James was a N.Y.C. mounted police officer who opened a private detective agency following his retirement. Apparently, "Mildred" and Albert Reichert (Anne's husband; on summer break from high school at the time) worked for the agency on occasion. Several resources lend credence to James' career as a police officer.

Job References

Strangely, the collection of letters includes two “letters of recommendation" addressed to Theodore Roosevelt who was, at the time, President of the Board of Police Commissioners in New York (May 6, 1895 – April 19, 1897; Roosevelt left this position to join the Rough Riders where, as a commander, he “became a national hero in the Spanish-American war” and went on to become the 26th President in 1901.) Perhaps these are copies of orignals? Or perhaps they were never delivered? The letters are authored by what appears to be James’ previous employers G. Beckman Hoppin and Mr. Reilly (if I have transcribed the letter properly). One of the envelopes shows the address for G. Beckman Hoppin as 47 West Fifty Third Street. In fact, the 1894 – 95 NYC Directory includes a listing for “Gerard B. Hoppin, a clerk” at this address.

NY Police Department Pension Records

In March 2001 I contacted the NYPD at One Police Plaza.  They located a pension card belonging to Patrolman James E. Hayden which corresponds closely to the information already uncovered about James Hayden. The pension card shows that Patrolman Hayden was born 17 January 1876 and became a police officer at age 26. He served with the department from June 14, 1902 until October 29, 1925.  Furthermore, the pension card shows that his wife’s name was Clara and they had one daughter, Bertha.  He retired 29 October 1925 after serving for more than 23 years; he was 49 years old.  According to the records, at retirement he had “no dependent parents;” this is consistent with the fact that both Mary and Edward Hayden died prior to 1910. His address is listed as 4537 Richardson Avenue in the Bronx; following his death on the 12 September 1952, death benefits were mailed to a "Lillian M." at this same address.

The 1920 Federal Census: 4537 Richardson Avenue, Bronx, New York

Pension Card for James E. Hayden, Patrolman NYPD 1902 – 1925.

1920 Federal Census - Bronx County, NY. District 2; ED 365; Sheet 6B.