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He was born in Canandaigua in 1804 and he came to Buffalo in 1829 where he opened a small pharmacy on Main Street. He had a medical diploma, but soon turned to dentistry and was the first resident dentist in Western New York. He experimented in the manufacture of porcelain teeth and produced the first whole set of teeth made in Buffalo. He also invented many dental appliances. Hayes was also active in the formation of the YMA and in 1838 became its third president. In 1849 he went to California in search of gold, but returned two years later via the Isthmus of Panama. In 1867 he and several others formed the Buffalo Dental Manufacturing Company, but he sold his interest in 1877. Hayes only served as president of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences for a few months as he died on May 5, 1882. Under his will, half of his estate was bequeathed to the Society for the purposes of supporting education. In 1907 Henry R. Howland was appointed superintendent of the Society and was assigned to administer and establish rules for the Hayes bequest. Friday evening lectures for the general public became known as the Hayes Lectures and previous lectures to Buffalo school children were expanded. The Hayes Lectures were usually held on Friday evenings until economic constraints led to them to finally take place on Sunday afternoon which continued until more recently when they again took place in the evenings
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