Mrs. F. H. Hayward, Merchant

 ©  Kathy Duncan, 2025

Mrs. F. H. Hayward's advertisement offering "stocking head dolls" for the 1874 Christmas season fascinated me for two reasons. One, it suggests that she was offering Izannah Walker's dolls because "stocking head dolls" is a term that R. H. Fry, a wholesaler, used in reference to Izannah's dolls in 1875. Two, Mrs. F. H. Hayward, like Izannah Walker, was a nineteenth-century woman who was operating her own business. We can hope that one day Mrs. F. H. Hayward's business records might be located in an archive or with one of her descendants. Those records, in turn, might reveal more about Izannah Walker's doll business. 

For reference, here is that advertisement:

This advertisement ran in The Providence Daily Journal from 23 October 1874 to 2 December 1874.

It took a lot of zigzagging through records to piece together who Mrs. F. H. Hayward was. I used newspapers, census records, city directories, the full-text search on Family Search, Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, and Google Maps to tease out her identity. For the sake of simplicity, I am going to present her information in chronological order.

Mrs. F. H. Hayward was Lydia Ann Hayward, nee Butts. She married Frederick Handel Hayward on 10 October 1858. 

He was a music teacher who offered piano and pianoforte lessons, was an organist for the church, and possibly wrote music. In 1854, he was the organist for the Newport Church in London. He left England shortly afterward, likely because he was in legal trouble. There is some indication that he was brought up on charges for beating his landlord and burglarizing his landlord's residence. 

Once in Providence, F H. Hayward resumed his career as an organist for St. John's Church:

While organist for St. John's, Hayward also wrote music:

On the 1860 census, Lydia Hayward, age 21, was living in Providence, with her husband Frederick, who was listed as an organist, and their baby daughter, Lydia, who was three months old.

Throughout the next decade, Frederick H. Hayward placed advertisements for his services as a music teacher. When he died in 1878, his death record states that the primary health conditions that contributed to his death included insanity and dropsy, from which he had suffered for eleven years. If that's the case, he would have started having serious health issues by 1867. Dropsy is an antiquated term meaning edema, a symptom of heart failure. In terms of his mental state, he probably had some form of dementia. It's hard to say which condition presented first.

The first advertisement for Mrs. F. H. Hayward's business appeared in 1869. At that time, her store was located at 269 Westminster St. in Providence.  Her advertisements that year offered hats and woolen goods, German and French holiday toys, and white goods for infants and children.

On the 1870 census, Lydia Hayward was living in the household of her parents, John W. and Mehitable Butts. Lydia was 34 years old, and her occupation was listed as seamstress. There was no hint that she had her own storefront. Along with Lydia were her children, Frederick H., Jr., and Mary Hayward. Missing are little Lydia and Frederick H. Hayward. It's hard to know if Lydia and Frederick were temporarily separated, if he was hospitalized somewhere, or if he had traveled back to London for some reason. 

Mrs. F. H. Hayward was still in business in 1870. Her advertisements through that year offered ladies' lawn suits and wrappers, ladies' neck ties, bathing suits and caps, and children's woolen goods. In 1871, she carried, among other items, overskirts, bretelles, fichus, sashes, and specialties for Christmas. In 1871, she also started running advertisements offering all goods at reduced prices. I suspect this was in preparation for her move to 21 Aborn St. at the corner of Washington St. in 1872. 

The 1872 and 1873 Providence City Directories indicate that the F.H. Haywards were also in residence at 21 Aborn, probably in an apartment above the shop. In September 1872, one of the last advertisements of Frederick H. Hayward's ran in The Providence Daily. It also indicated that they were living at 21 Aborn, where he was giving music lessons:

In 1873, Mrs. F. H. Hayward was offering a wide range of products: collars, lace, muslin ties, under sleeves, cuffs, ladies' and children's ruffs, real Valencennes ties, Normady caps and infant's sun bonnets, oxide ornaments, children's garments - cut, basted, or made to order. For Christmas that year, she offered a "choice assortment" of French dolls.

In 1874, in addition to "stocking head dolls," Mrs. F. H. Hayward carried neck and evening wear, children's garments of all kinds, Hamburg edging and insertings to match. 

In 1874, the shop continued at 21 Aborn, but the Haywards seem to have moved their residence to 372 Friendship.

The family's move to 372 Friendship is curious. It would be more convenient to live above the shop than to live at any distance from it, especially with a husband in declining health. However, it is also likely that if he were in mental health decline, family life might have been intruding too much into the shop. Lydia Hayward may have needed to put some distance between her shop and her husband with dementia. Of course, it is also possible that the house on Friendship was less expensive or roomier. 

In any event, the shop continued at 21 Aborn St. until 1876, when it moved to 103 Benefit St., Mansion House.

Since I was curious about where Mrs. F. H. Hayward's shop was during the Christmas season of 1874, when she carried "stocking head dolls," I decided to seek help from Google Maps. A search for 21 Aborn St. plopped me down on a narrow little street with a parking lot. That's always a disappointment. However, I learned from the mistakes that I made in searching for Izannah Walker's house in Central Falls that street addresses might be renumbered over the years so that the current address could be completely different. That's what it turned out to be with Mrs. F. H. Hayward's shop at 21 Aborn St. 

I searched for Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps because they often have house numbers on them. The 1889 map was helpful. Even though it was published fifteen years later, it shows 21 Aborn St. as being located at the corner of Aborn and Washington St., just as it was described in Mrs. F. H. Hayward's advertisement:

To be more exact:

With this information, I turned my little Google person around and headed up Aborn St. toward Washington St. There on the corner was a building that looked like it could have been standing on that corner since 1872:

A closer view of the corner:

I like to imagine those big widows with their 1874 Christmas display, featuring at least one Izannah Walker, aka "stocking head" doll. The Haywards would have been in residence somewhere above the store prior to their move in 1874. This corner is currently occupied by Gracie's restaurant, which has been there since about 1993, and the new address is 194 Washington St. It's possible to have lunch in the room where it happened! 

This 1874 review of Mrs. F. H. Hayward's Christmas offerings for children is especially tantalizing:

Through the years, Mrs. F. H. Hayward placed personal advertisements, seeking machine operators and seamstresses. That makes me wonder if she purchased Izannah's dolls undressed and had them dressed by her seamstresses. Could she have also taken custom orders for wardrobes for the dolls? I would be willing to bet that she did the same with the French dolls she was selling.

In 1878, Mrs. F. H. Hayward of Providence, Rhode Island, was featured in the U.S. Business Directory. The last advertisement for Mrs. F. H. Hayward ran on 3 June 1878. On 21 June 1878, Lydia A. Hayward of Providence, "doing business as Mrs. F. H. Hayward," sold her business for $1 to John Hahn. She also appointed him as her attorney. He was to sell all of the property and pay her creditors and laborers. 

Frederick Handel Hayward, Sr., died a couple of months later on 22 August 1878 and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery. 

"Mrs. F. H. Hayward's" close-out sale was held in January 1879. By the time the sale happened, the goods had been recently water-damaged.

You can't, however, keep a strong woman down. A few months later, in March 1879, Lydia Hayward went back into business under her own name: L. A. Hayward:

By 1880, Lydia Hayward was living on her own. Both children were out of the home. Her occupation was listed as "children's bazaar." 

In April 1881, Lydia A. Hayward had a large portion of her stock stolen by one of her employees. It's interesting to note that Lydia had a personal mark that she used on her goods.

One short month later, Lydia A. Hayward was no longer maintaining a storefront. Instead, she began offering her sewing services from her residence.

After 1881, Lydia A. Hayward was rarely mentioned in newspapers. 

It is impossible to know definitely whether Lydia A. Hayward stocked Izannah Walker's dolls and for how many years she might have carried them. 

Eventually, Lydia Hayward's son, Frederick H. Hayward, moved to London, where he lived for twenty years before his death. Her daughter, Mary (Hayward) Jones, moved to New York state. Lydia Hayward died on 19 March 1916 in Brooklyn, New York. Her body was returned to Providence, Rhode Island, where she was buried in Swan Point Cemetery on 22 March 1916.