Hayes, John David, 1888-1957

Hayes was a Presbyterian missionary in China from 1917 to 1952, serving primarily in the Peking area. He was involved in student, educational, and administrative work. Hayes was interned by the Japanese during World War II and imprisioned by the Communists in China from 1951 to 1952.

From the description of John David Hayes papers, 1921-1969 (inclusive), 1921-1957 (bulk). (Yale University). WorldCat record id: 702152435

John David Hayes, American Presbyterian missionary in China and Indonesia, was born in 1888 in Shandong Province, China, the son of American missionaries. He was educated at Princeton then won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford, England after which he studied at New College, Edinburgh and Princeton Theological College, graduating from the latter in 1917. He went to China in the same year accompanied by his wife, Barbara (née Kelman) whom he had met at Oxford and had married in 1916.

Hayes was based in Beijing where he was in charge of student Christian work, and, being keen to promote unity, was largely instrumental in the formation of a nation-wide Chinese Student Christian Union. From the mid 1920s he was also involved with language teaching at the College of Chinese Studies in Beijing. He was an active member of many Church, community and mission councils and was particularly involved with organising the mission's response to famine in the surrounding provinces and acting as a spokesman for the mission in its dealings with the authorities after Japanese occupation.

Barbara Hayes did mission work with women and with the children of missionaries as well as raising five children herself. The Hayes were on furlough from 1923-24 and from 1936-37 when Hayes studied in London and at New York and Yale. In 1941 Barbara Hayes and her two youngest children were sent to the Philippines then repatriated to America in 1943. Hayes himself stayed on in China: he was interned in 1943, with his parents, at Weixian compound and was returned to America in September 1945. He worked for a while as assistant pastor in a church in Washington, received his DD degree in 1948 from Wooster College and returned to China in the same year at the invitation of the Church of Christ in China.

The Hayes were assigned to the province of Guizhou in the south-west. In 1949, with the approach of the communists, Barbara Hayes was evacuated to Hong Kong where she worked for 18 months in the Church of Christ in China liaison office. John Hayes remained in Guizhou teaching in a government university and school until he was arrested in 1951 and charged with being a spy. On his release in September 1952 he returned to America and spent the next two years travelling and speaking about his experiences. In 1955 he was appointed to Indonesia where again he worked with students and built up the Christian Normal College at Salatiga. On March 4 1957 he died as a result of injuries received in a car accident. After his death Barbara Hayes travelled throughout America speaking on behalf of the mission until her retirement in 1959 in New York.

From the guide to the Papers of John David Hayes, 1949-1973, (Centre for the Study of World Christianity)

• 1888 Feb 23: Born in Tengchowfu, Shantung Province, China - son of Presbyterian missionaries Watson MacMillan Hayes and Margaret Young Hayes
• 1910: A.B., Princeton University
• 1911: Appointed Rhodes Scholar from Ohio as candidate from Wooster College (x'09)
• 1914: B.A., Oxford University, England
• 1914 - 1915 : Service with Y.M.C.A. in France
• 1916: Married Barbara M. Kelman
• 1917: B.D., Princeton Theological Seminary
• 1917 - 1952 : Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. missionary in China. Hayes was in charge of Presbyterian student Christian work in Peking, China, 1917-1943. He was also Executive Chairman of the American Presbyterian Mission, member of the China Council, member of the Board of Directors of Yenching University, and on various other boards for many years.
• 1918 - 1931 : Involved in various flood and famine relief projects
• 1925 - 1942 : Served on faculty and administration of College of Chinese Studies, Peking
• 1943 Mar - 1945 Sep : Interned by Japanese authorities in Weihsien Civilian Assembly Centre, Shantung Province.
• 1948: Returned to China, serving in Kueiyang, Kweichow Province.
• 1949 - 1951 Mar : Taught at government university following Communist takeover
• 1951 Oct - 1952 Sep : Jailed by Communists
• 1955: Went to Indonesia to work with students
• 1957: Died from injuries suffered in an automobile accident in Indonesia

From the guide to the John David Hayes Papers, 1921-1969, (Yale University Divinity School Library)