Dr. J.T. Haynes, Surgeon at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home

Dr. John T. Haynes was born in Butler County, Ohio in 1864, to Dr. and Mrs. Moses H. Haynes. Dr. J.T. Haynes first attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. In 1889 he graduated from the Miami Medical College of Cincinnati. After practicing medicine briefly at the Cincinnati Hospital, he became the assistant surgeon for the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Sandusky, Ohio in October of 1889. In August of 1891, Dr. Haynes was named the Chief Surgeon at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home. Also in 1891 Dr. Haynes married Miss Olive Ashton, who was also the child of a physician. Dr. and Mrs. J.T. Haynes were the parents of six children. Mrs. Harriet Taylor Upton wrote in The History of the Western Reserve that Dr. J.T. Haynes saw the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home “grow literally from the ground up.” He took pride in the construction and development of the hospitals. Dr. Haynes planned for the construction of both the interior and exterior of the hospitals at the Home. Besides working at the Home, he also was married and reared his children on the grounds of the Home.

During the years Dr. Haynes spent working at the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home, it is estimated that he treated more than 15,000 men. Some suffered from wounds received in battle, and some suffered from ailments that came in peacetime. The residents of the Home held him in the highest esteem. Dr. Haynes had a special interest in the aging Civil War veterans. He felt that they were “in a class by themselves.” During his tenure at the Home, Dr. Haynes was recognized as the historian of the institution. He authored a chapter on the Home in Hewson Peeke’s 1916 book, A Standard History of Erie County, Ohio. He also wrote several articles in the Firelands Pioneer. On November 3, 1932, Dr. Haynes passed away, after suffering a stroke. Funeral services were held at Oakland Cemetery on Saturday, November 5, 1932. Hundreds of U.S. veterans attended his funeral. Honorary pallbearers were the members of the Ohio Soldiers’ and Sailor’s Home, and representatives of the State Welfare Department. Dr. Haynes was survived by his widow, four sons, and a daughter. To read a lengthy obituary of Dr. John T. Haynes, see the 1932 Obituary Notebook.