Representative Everis Anson Hayes

Everis Anson Hayes (March 10, 1855 – June 3, 1942) was an American lawyer, newspaper publisher, and Republican politician who served seven consecutive terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1905 to 1919. Over the course of his seven terms in office, he contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in American history, representing the interests of his constituents in the House of Representatives.

Hayes was born in Waterloo, Jefferson County, Wisconsin, to Anson and Mary Hayes. He attended the local public schools and was graduated from Waterloo High School in 1873. Pursuing higher education, he enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he completed studies in both the literary and law departments, graduating in 1879. That same year he was admitted to the bar and commenced the practice of law in Madison, Wisconsin, marking the beginning of a professional career that would span law, business, and politics.

In the early 1880s Hayes moved frequently as he expanded his professional and business interests. In 1883 he relocated to Ashland, Wisconsin, and in 1886 to Hurley, Wisconsin, continuing the practice of law. Also in 1886 he moved to Ironwood, Michigan, where he engaged in the mining of ore, reflecting the economic opportunities of the Upper Midwest’s mining regions at the time. The following year, in 1887, he moved to San Jose, California, where he diversified his activities further, engaging in fruit raising and mining. These ventures established his economic base and rooted him in California, the state he would later represent in Congress.

Hayes became a prominent figure in the newspaper business in San Jose at the turn of the twentieth century. In 1900, together with his brother, Jay Orley Hayes, he purchased the San Jose Mercury, and in 1901 they acquired the San Jose Herald, becoming publisher and proprietor of both newspapers. Under their ownership, the papers became influential voices in the region. The Hayes family’s growing prominence was also reflected in the construction of the Hayes Mansion in San Jose in 1903, a large estate that served as a family residence and symbolized their status in the community.

Entering national politics as a Republican, Hayes was elected to the Fifty-ninth Congress after defeating incumbent Democratic Representative William J. Wynn. He subsequently won reelection to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1905, to March 3, 1919. During his seven terms in the United States Congress, he participated actively in the democratic process and legislative deliberations during an era marked by rapid industrialization, Progressive Era reforms, and World War I. Known as an outspoken anti-Japanese nativist, he aligned with contemporaneous currents of exclusionary sentiment in California politics. On April 5, 1917, he was one of fifty members of the House of Representatives who voted against declaring war on Germany, placing him among a minority opposed to U.S. entry into World War I. In 1918 he was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to the Sixty-sixth Congress, bringing his congressional career to a close in March 1919.

Following his departure from Congress, Hayes resumed his newspaper activities in San Jose, returning to the publishing enterprises that had helped launch his public career. He also maintained mining interests in Ironwood, Michigan, and Sierra City, California, continuing the business pursuits that had long complemented his legal and political work. Remaining in San Jose for the rest of his life, he lived to see the city and region grow substantially in the early twentieth century.

Everis Anson Hayes died in San Jose, California, on June 3, 1942. He was interred in Oak Hill Memorial Park Cemetery in San Jose, closing a life that spanned from the post–Civil War era through the Great Depression and that combined law, business, journalism, and seven terms of service in the United States House of Representatives.