Rutherford B. Hayes
Presidential Center
Platt-Day Families
HAYES-27
Introduction
Biographical Sketch
Scope and Content
Inventory
Addenda
Introduction
Descendant David D. Platt donated the Platt/Day manuscript material to the Rutherford B. Hayes
Presidential Center in 1998, 2001. And 2013. For further information on the Platt family, see the
Rutherford Hayes Platt Collection (Hayes-32).
Biographical Sketch
Rutherford Hayes Platt, son of William Augustus and Fanny Hayes Platt, was born in Columbus,
Ohio in 1853. In 1887, he married Maryette Andrews Smith, the daughter of Captain and Mrs.
Robert Swanton Smith and the granddaughter of Judge Joseph Swan. They were the parents of
six children, including Joseph Swan Platt, born in 1902. Joseph S. Platt was a partner in the
Columbus law firm of Porter, Stanley, Platt & Arthur. He married Margaret Hubbell Day,
daughter of Ohio Supreme Court Judge Robert H. Day and granddaughter of Ohio Supreme
Court Judge Luther Day. She was also the niece of U.S. Supreme Court Justice William R. Day.
They were the parents of five children, including David Day Platt, born in 1942.
Scope and Content
The Platt-Day Collection consists primarily of undated images of members of the Platt and Day
families. Those images that are dated span the years from 1861 to 1943. The bulk of the
approximately 105 images are of Mrs. Joseph (Margaret Hubbell Day) S. Platt’s relatives. They
include daguerreotypes, carte de visites, and cabinet cards as well as twentieth century formal
portraits. Several miscellaneous items, including certificates, posters, and a speech, round out the
collection. The photographs have been indexed in the Hayes Photographic Database.
In addition to the photographs, there are a total of 82 family document and letters of
correspondence between members of the Hunt, Day, and Zerbe families. Included in the
correspondence are letters written by James H. Hunt to his father Salmon Hunt and sister Helent
Hunt durin the Civil War. These were addd to the collection in 2001.
Hunt enlisted from Stark County, Ohio, in the 19th Ohio Volunteer Infantry as a musician. He ran
away from his Massillon, Ohio, home, using his father’s watch to cover some of his enlistment
expenses. Hunt took part in the Battle of Stone’s River and was at Nashville, Chattanooga, and
the Atlanta Campaign. Hunt became part of the Quartermaster’s Department of the Third
Brigade, First Division. His letters provide brief descriptions of war-torn Atlanta and the fearful
state of its residents. Hunt survived the war and returned to Massillon where he eventually took
over his father’s interests in the First National Bank He married Clara Zerbe and together they
had a son, Per Lee, and daughters Mary Louise and Helen (also known as Nell). Mary Louise
married Judge Robert H. Day and were the parents of two daughters, Margaret Hubbell Day Platt
and Elizabeth Hunt Day.
Hunt’s papers also include a memorandum (author unidentified) of a "trip to the Falls of St.
Anthony" in August of 1861. A second group of Hunt’s papers include his will, estate inventory,
final accounting, and correspondence regarding the distribution of his estate, a well as shares,
stock certificates, checks, and bank statements for the First National Bank of Massillon.
For more information on the Platt and Day families, see: Biographical Files and information
compiled on the Platt Family in the Hayes Presidential Center Library.
Inventory
Ac. 5458
Box 1
Carte de visite album, daguerreotypes, and small framed images
Brayton, Edward S.
Hayes, Lucy Webb
Box 2
Hastings, Emily Platt
Smith, Robert Swanton
Platt, Rutherford Hayes
Brown, Mrs. Walter Wood
Swan, Jane Parsons
Swan, Sophia M.
Edwards, C. Roxa
Wilcox, Milton
Wilcox, Starling
Platt, Maryette Andrews Smith
Swan, Joseph Rockwell II
Box 3
Folder 1 - Platt-Smith:
Platt, Rutherford Hayes
Platt, Joseph Swan
Platt, Maryette Andrews Smith
Folder 2 - Day:
Day, William
Day, Marie Hunt
Day, Robert Henry
Day, Luther
Day, Elizabeth
Day, Ellen Isabelle Barnes
Folder 3 - Elizabeth Day:
Day, Elizabeth Hunt
Day, Margaret
Day, Ellen Barnes
Day, Mrs. Hunt
Zerbe, Christina Gorgas
Hunt, Clara Zerbe
Folder 4 - Margaret Day:
Day, Margaret (Platt)
Day, Mary Hunt
Day, Elizabeth
Platt, Emily (Hilburn)
Folder 5 - Hunt-Day:
Hunt, Katherine (Allman)
Allman, Margaret (daughter of Katherine)
Hunt, Helen (Rinald)
Rinald, David (son of Helen)
Hunt, Anne (Ketterer)
Hunt, Per Lee
Day, Robert H.
Day, David B.
Day, Charles F.
Day, Mary Hunt
Platt, Joseph
Day, Margaret Platt
Hunt, Anna Day
Day, Mary Burton Berryman
Folder 6 - Miscellaneous:
Zerbe, Jerome Bayliss
Strong, Ursula
Ingersoll, Col.
Smith College women, 1921-1922
Folder 7
James H. Hunt: Civil War correspondence, pension and G. A. R. material [Ac. 5540]
Folder 8
James H. Hunt: Will, estate papers, and bank statements [Ac. 5540]
Box 4
Platt, Rutherford Hayes
Miscellaneous certificates- Robert H. Day, 1902, 1916
Oversize
Poster (2)
Some Prominent Members of the Ohio Bar
Transferred to Museum: Four frames and an engraving plate: Rutherford Hayes Platt
Addenda
Ac. 5468
2 items
Oversize: Commissions: Luther Day, 1870 Ohio Supreme Court Justice, 1876 Ohio Judicial
Commission
Ac. 5825
82 total items
Box 5
Folder 1
Salmon Hunt Correspondence
E.W. Corbin to Salmon Hunt 1837, North Norwich, NY.
Salmon Hunt to Eliza (Hunt) Smith, 1840, Massillon, O
Salmon Hunt to Eliza (Hunt) Smith 1848, Massillon, OH.
Eliza (Hunt) Smith to Salmon and Helen (PerLee) Hunt 1842, North Norwich, NY.
D.F.? to Salmon Hunt 1853, St. Louis, MO.
Ball and McKee to Salmon Hunt 1856, Grand Rapids, MI.
Timothy Hunt (?) to Salmon Hunt n.d., New York
Eliza (Hunt) Smith to Salmon Hunt and Sisters 1892?, North Norwich, NY.
To” cousin” 1835, Halifax, UK.
To Helen (PerLee) Hunt 1836, Massillon, OH.
To Reverend Nathaniel Smith 1836, Cleveland, OH.
To Helen (PerLee) Hunt 1856, Massillon, OH.
Folder 2
Legal Documents
Salmon Hunt – Land Deed 183, Stark County, OH.
John Henry – Land Deed 1846, Kent County, MI.
Salmon Hunt - Cemetery Plot 1882, Massillon, OH.
Salmon Hunt and Abraham PerLee- Mortgage 1843, Michigan
C.W. Hamilton- General Orders of Army, Boon City, IA.
Folder 3
Philene O. Hunt Correspondence
Sister Helen to Philene O. Hunt 1840, Massillon, OH.
? to Philene O. Hunt 1842, North Norwich, NY.
To Brother Salmon Hunt 1866, Grab Lake, Ontario
Folder 4
James H. Hunt Correspondence
Helen Hunt to James H. Hunt 1842, North Norwich, NY.
? to James H. Hunt 1845, Massillon, OH.
Mrs. McKinley to James H. Hunt 1901, Canton, OH.
To Mrs. James Smith 1847, Massillon, OH.
Folder 5
Helen “Sit” Hunt Correspondence
Hel McLain to Helen Hunt 1833, Massillon, OH.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1855, Massillon, OH.
Emma ? to Helen Hunt 1855, Philadelphia, PA.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1855, Massillon, OH.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1855, Massillon, OH.
Anne B. Frye 1862, New York
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1862, North Norwich, NY.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1862, North Norwich, NY.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1863, North Norwich, NY.
? to Helen Hunt 1863, n.p.
Grandmother to Helen Hunt 1864, North Norwich, NY.
Mrs. Abraham PerLee to Helen Hunt 1874, North Norwich, NY.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1881, North Norwich, NY.
Julie Mrad? 1896?, North Norwich, NY.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt n.d., Massillon, OH.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt n.d., Massillon, OH.
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Helen Hunt n.d., Massillon, OH.
Eliza (Hunt) Smith to Helen Hunt n.d., n.p.
To Helen (PerLee) Hunt 18??, North Norwich, NY.
Folder 6
Hunt-Zerbe family
Helen Hunt Correspondence
Eliza Hugus to Helen Hunt 1858, Nebraska Territory
Clara (Zerbe) Hunt to Helen Hunt 1862, North Norwich, NY.
Clara (Zerbe) Hunt to Helen Hunt n.d., Massillon, OH.
“Dearest Mother” n.d., North Norwich, NY.
Ida Zerbe Correspondence
M.C. Gorgas to Ida Zerbe 1901, Cleveland, OH.
Handwritten Documents/Notes
Atkinson-Zerbe-Gorgas Family Genealogy
Folder 7
PerLee Family C orrespondenc
Eliza PerLee Correspondence
Helen (PerLee) Hunt to Eliza PerLee 1840, Massillon, OH.
“Mother” to Helen, Eliza, and Walter PerLee 1855, North Norwich, NY.
Walter PerLee Correspondence
To “Mother” 1856,Walter PerLee, Massillon, OH.
PerLee Documents
Abraham PerLee – Land Deed 1843, Duchess County , NY.
Eliza (Hunt) Smith Correspondence
Helen Hunt to Eliza (Hunt) Smith 1840, Massillon, OH.
M. PerLee to Eliza (Hunt) Smith 1855, North Norwich, NY.
Folder 8
Day Correspondence
J.A. Garfield to Luther Day 1861, Camp Chase
Governor David Tod to Luther Day 1861, Brier Hill, OH.
Governor David Tod to Luther Day 1863, Columbus, OH.
Governor Dennison to Luther Day 1863, Columbus, OH.
Governor David Tod to Luther Day 1863, Columbus, OH.
N. S. Spirass? To Luther Day 1863, Warren, OH.
Secretary of State William Henry Smith to Luther Day 1865, Columbus, OH.
Jacob Birkerhoff? To Luther Day 1865, Columbus, OH.
Mary Louise (Hunt) Day Correspondence
Anna to sister Mary Louise (Hunt) Day n.d., n.p.
To sister Helen (Nell) Hunt 1893, Rome
Elizabeth ?
To “Pop” 1926, Geneva – Slavery Convention
Robert H. Day Correspondence
Harry Walling to Robert H. Day n.d., Cleveland, OH.
Money from Robert H. Day to Hunt family n.d. Massillon, OH.?
Mary (Hunt) Day Correspondence
To Aunt Ella (Zerbe) Case n.d., Buzzards Bay, MA.
Folder 9
Family Documents/Miscellaneous Notes
“How to Behave Ourselves in the Church of God” 1855, Columbus, OH.
“To Mrs. Andrews and Family” 1832, Rochester, ?
Ellen Isabelle Barnes 1859, n.p.
From Sallie ? n.d. Massillon, OH.
N. B. Merr? n.d., n.p.
From S.L. Hibon n.d., Grand Rapids, MI.
“Death of Mrs. Handy” – Eulogy n.d., n.p.