[30]

Cincinnati law practice and marriage[edit]
Rutherford and Lucy Hayes on their wedding day
Hayes moved to Cincinnati in 1850, and opened a law office with John W. Herron, a lawyer from Chillicothe.[31][a] Herron later joined a more established firm and Hayes formed a new partnership with William K. Rogers and Richard M. Corwine.[33] He found business better in Cincinnati, and enjoyed its social attractions, joining the Cincinnati Literary Society and the Odd Fellows Club.[34] He also attended the Episcopal Church in Cincinnati but did not become a member.[34]
Hayes courted his future wife, Lucy Webb, during his time there.[35] His mother had encouraged him to get to know Lucy years earlier, but Hayes had believed she was too young and focused his attention on other women.[36] Four years later, Hayes began to spend more time with Lucy. They became engaged in 1851 and married on December 30, 1852, at Lucy's mother's house.[35] Over the next five years, Lucy gave birth to three sons: Birchard Austin (1853), Webb Cook (1856), and Rutherford Platt (1858).[33] A Methodist, Lucy was a teetotaler and abolitionist. 