Hayne, Franklin B. [Bernard]

Submitted by Mike Miller

Hayne, Franklin B. In all the annals of the South there is no name stands out more conspicuously than that of Hayne. Franklin B. Hayne, the prominent and successful business man of New Orleans, is a descendant of John Hayne, who settled in South Carolina in 1700 and from that day to this the descendants of John Hayne have been among the leaders in every great public crisis of the country. The Hayne family furnished patriots and martyrs in the Revolution, and it was also distinguished in the late Civil war, 1861-65. In the field of law and statesmanship the name of Robert Y. Hayne stands pre-eminent as an orator, his famous debate with Daniel Webster while a member of congress being destined to live in American history as long as the republic of the United States has a history. Arthur P. Hayne, brother of Robert V. Hayne, was an aide of Gen. Jackson at the battle of New Orleans and a warm personal friend of Jackson, and in literature the family had its distinguished representatives. Franklin B. Hayne is a direct descendant of John Hayne and his geneaology is traced thus: 1, John Hayne, who died about 1718, married Mary Dean, and the children of this union were John, Edward, Joseph, Hannah, Matthew, Susannah, Isaac, and Abraham. 2, Isaac Hayne, the fifth son and seventh child of this marriage was born on July 27, 1714, and died Dec. 23, 1751. He married first Elizabeth Oswald, by whom he had 2 children, Elizabeth and Isaac, the latter born in 1738 and died the following year. His second wife was Sarah Stokes, and after her death he married Sarah Williamson, who bore him 2 children, Mary and Isaac. His fourth wife was Mary Bee, who bore him one son, John. 3, Isaac Hayne, the only son of Isaac and Sarah (Williamson) Hayne, and great-grandfather of Franklin B. Hayne, was born Sept. 23, 1745.

He married Elizabeth Hutson on July 18, 1765, and their children were Isaac, Mary, Sarah, John H., Elizabeth, Mary, and William Edward. He was unjustly executed by the British on Aug. 4, 1781, contrary to thee usages of war, and his cousin, Abraham Hayne, the only other male Hayne of the generation, and the grandfather of Robert Hayne, died on a British prison ship, both having been martyrs to their belief that the American colonies ought to be free and independent. Owing to the heroic services of Isaac Hayne as a colonel of the Colleton county regiment of South Carolina militia, his capture by the British while thus holding the colonel's commission, and the manly dignity with which he met his tragic death sentence inflicted upon him by the British military authorities, he became a national historical figure of the Revolutionary period and is known in South Carolina history as "the Martyr Hayne." 4, William Edward Hayne, the youngest child of Isaac and Elizabeth (Hutson) Hayne, and the grandfather of Franklin B. Hayne, was born Aug. 29, 1776, and was, therefore, but six years old when his father was executed. He became prominent in the affairs of South Carolina, and on Dec. 20, 1839, was elected comptroller-general of the state. He and a Mr. Davidson owned and operated one of the first iron foundries in South Carolina. His death occurred in 1843. He married Eloise Brevard, Jan. 28, 1806, and to them were born the following children: Isaac William, Rebecca H., Alexander B., Franklin A. B., Eloise Mary, and Sarah Martha. Isaac William Hayne, the eldest of the above named children and the father of Franklin B. Hayne, was born on March 16, 1809, and died in March, 1880. He was elected attorney general of South Carolina in 1848 and served until 1868, when he was displaced by the carpet-bag regime, displaced by the carpet-bag regime, which at that time took possession of the state. Prior to the war he was an active figure in the political affairs of the state and was one of the signers of the ordinance of secession, Dec. 20, 1860, the first ordinance of its kind passed by any state.

Before his marriage he fought a duel with Col. John Ashe Alston, a noted duelist ,which was considered quite remarkable, even in those days when affairs of honor were common occurrences. As the challenged party, Mr. J. Hayne selected pistols at a distance of five paces, and in the duel he received a slight flesh wound, while Col. Alston was seriously wounded. On May 1, 1834, Isaac William Hayne and Alicia Pauline Trapier were united in marriage and their children were, Isaac, Harriet B., Richard T., Theodore B., Edmund T., T. Shubrick, Mary E., Paul T., William E., and Franklin B. Five of these sons served in the Confederate army, and the eldest being but 22 years of age at the time of his enlistment, and the father was also active and prominent in behalf of the Confederate cause. In addition to being one of the signers of the secession ordinance as previously noted, he was sent by Gov. Pickens in Jan., 1861, as a special envoy from the state of South Carolina to President Buchanan ''to effect if possible an amicable and peaceful transfer of the fort (Sumter) and the settlement of all questions relating to the property." His son, Edmund T. Shubrick Hayne, a brother of Franklin B., is included in the tablet to the memory of the Confederate dead at St. Phillip's Church, Charleston, S. C., and on the tablet in the statehouse at Columbia, placed there to commemorate the gallant services of the color-guard, and at the battle of Gaines' Mill, June 27, 1862, when the color- bearer, James H. Taylor, was killed, he seized the flag and bore it proudly forward in the face of the foe until he fell mortally wounded.

Franklin B. Hayne, the immediate subject of this review, was born Feb. 13, 1858. He was originally christened Branford S. Hayne, but on April 13, 1861, his name was changed to its present form. He was educated in his native state of South Carolina, and in 1873 entered the employ of Watson & Hill at Charleston, at that time one of the most prominent firms engaged in the cotton trade in the world. About the same time another young South Carolinian, H. de L. Vincent, entered the employ of the same firm. These 2 young men were destined subsequently to develop one of the most extensive cotton trading concerns in the United States. The history of their struggles from 1883, when they decided to start for themselves on $2,000, of which $1,500 was borrowed and $500 given them by their employer, reads like a page from romance. They first began business at Montgomery, Ala., but after a short period of success there an opportunity offered for a partnership with Daniel Partridge, of Selma, Ala. Mr. Partridge was a man of ample means and in this connection gave the young cotton merchants a desirable opening, of which they promptly availed themselves. They established themselves in Vicksburg, Miss., with branches at Yazoo City, Greenville, Greenwood, Jackson, Meridian, and Port Gibson. There businesses prospered from its very inception and in a short time began to assume important proportions. In 1890 Mr. Partridge retired from the firm under circumstances that stamped him as a man of unusual character and high-minded fairness, leaving the two young men to conduct the business in their own way. Mr. Hayne had opened a branch office in New Orleans in 1885, and the business there grew so rapidly that Mr. Vincent later also came to New Orleans to assist in taking care of it. Under the firm name of Vincent & Hayne the firm acquired an international reputation, and its opinion on all matters relating to the cotton trade being of the highest rank. The transactions of the firm were confined strictly to legitimate trading, and its methods were always above suspicion. On Nov. 1, 1905, Mr. Vincent retired, and Mr. Hayne succeeded to the large trade which had been established. Since that time he has conducted the business on the same high plane he and his partner had instituted and it is no disparagement to other dealers in cotton to say that he has probably done as much as any man in the South to enhance the value of the cotton crop each year and to make the Southern farmer realize the value of a commodity, three-fourths of which is grown in Southern states, though used by the people of every civilized nation on the globe. As a young man, Mr. Hayne was devoted to athletics of all kinds. He was a member of the Carolina Rifle club of Charleston, S. C., the first organized rifle club started in the South after the war. He took an active part in the campaign which resulted in the election of Gen. Wade Hampton to the governorship of South Carolina, which is the only connection he has ever had with politics, with the exception of the Young Men's Democratic association and the Citizens' League of New Orleans, in both of which movements he was an active and useful participant. Mention has been made of Robert Y. Hayne, the distinguished orator and statesman. Another Robert Y. Hayne became superior judge at San Francisco, Cal., and was later appointed commissioner of the Supreme court of that state, resigning his position in 1891. He has written practically on all legal subjects. The poets, Paul Hamilton Hayne and William Hamilton Hayne were also descendants of the original John Hayne of South Carolina. Franklin B. Hayne continuing the leadership which has ever marked those who bear the name, has acquired in the field of commerce a prominence no less conspicuous than that which other members of the family achieved in other lines of endeavor. In addition to his large interest in the cotton trade, he is now president of the Poitevent & Favre Lumber Co., member of the cotton exchange, and is active in every movement for the advancement of the Crescent City's commercial interests.

Mr. Hayne is a prominent figure in the club life of the city, having been for many years president of the Pickwick club, and is a member of the Boston and other clubs. He has long been one of the active promoters of the Mardi Gras festivities, which have made New Orleans famous all over the world and in 1904 was chosen king of the carnival- a distinct tribute to his unflagging zeal in this feature of the city's social life. On April 30, 1896, Mr. Hayne led to the altar Miss Emily Poitevent, a woman of rare charm and accomplishments, and this union has been blessed by the following children: John Poitevent, born Jan. 28, 1898; Mary H., born Dec. 9, 1900; Emily P., born Nov. 9, 1903; Franklin Brevard, born March 20, 1905. Mr. Hayne's home, at 2508 St. Charles avenue, is known for its delightful hospitality.

Source: Louisiana: Comprising Sketches of Parishes, Towns, Events, Institutions, and Persons, Arranged in Cyclopedic Form, volume 3, pp. 759-762. Edited by Alcee Fortier, Lit. D. Published in 1914, by Century Historical Association.

Note: Original source includes a photograph of Mr. Hayne.