Hayes was born in
Berwick, Maine on July 3, 1836, to Frederick and Sarah (Hurd) Hayes, active
Free Will Baptists. He attended the
New Hampton School and then studied the law for a year with Wade & Eastman in Great Falls, New Hampshire in 1859-60 before entering the
Harvard Law School. He was admitted to the
Suffolk County, Massachusetts bar in 1861 while still in law school and then worked for Baker & Sullivan in Boston and lived in Medford. His brothers
Frederick Hayes and Dr.
John Alfred Hayes, a surgeon, were notable Civil War veterans. Benjamin Franklin Hayes died at his home in Medford on January 31, 1901. ==See also==