the time he was elected Supreme Knight in 1897, Massachusetts had one-third of all the councils in the Order and one half of the members. Hayes defeated John J. Phelan by a vote of 17-13 with one abstention to become Supreme Knight However, having died so shortly after taking office, he presided only over three meetings of the National Board of Directors, and never wielded the gavel at a meeting of the National Council. , he is the youngest Supreme Knight ever. At the centennial of the order, the official historian of the Massachusetts Knights of Columbus, Rev. Vincent A. Lapomarda, S.J., wrote that "the contribution of Mr. James E. Hayes to the start of the Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts can not be exaggerated." At his death, the Board of Directors passed a resolution lamenting his passing and extolling "his boundless zeal, matchless mind, and devoted heart" and sent the balance of his remaining salary for the term to his mother. Death Hayes was brought to Boston City Hospital on February 3, 1898, after an accident caused a rupture. His condition was severe and an operation was needed. On February 8, 1898, Hayes died from complications caused from peritonitis. His funeral was held Friday, February 10, 1898, at St. Francis de Sales in Charlestown, and was attended by 1,500 Knights. A large number of clergy, nearly every member of the Senate, delegations from the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Massachusetts Governor's Council, and numerous other political figures attended. Thousands of people stood outside the church, unable to find space inside. A memorial service was held on March 6, 1898, at St. Margaret's Church in Dorchester, Massachusetts. Numerous other services were held around the city of Boston and around the country in his honor. Hayes, a bachelor, was buried in St. Paul's Cemetery in Arlington, Massachusetts. His death, one history noted, "deprived the Order of a leader whose career had been so admirable that it gave the promise of remarkable fruition." The Knights established a scholarship in his honor at Boston College. The Boston Globe, in a front page obituary, eulogized him by saying his death "removes from the ranks of political life one of the foremost young orators and leaders of the Democratic Party in Massachusetts, and one of the most promising members of the Massachusetts legislature." See also 119th Massachusetts General Court (1898) Notes References Works cited 1898