Fremont, (Ohio), August 29, 1873. One sheet, approximately 4 3/4 x 7 3/4 in. (121 x 197 mm) (sight). Autograph letter, signed by future President Rutherford B. Hayes, directing the the First National Bank of Fremont to pay $50 to Mr. Colby. Creasing from old folds; contemporary two-cent stamp at bottom right. In mat with a portrait of Hayes, and in frame, 18 1/2 x 13 in. (470 x 330 mm).

Short autograph letter by Rutherford B. Hayes, issuing a payment order in the midst of the financial Panic of 1873.

After serving a term as Governor of Ohio, Hayes returned to private life and settled with his family in Fremont, Ohio in 1872. He incurred sizable debts like many other American businessmen during the Panic of 1873, but was originally remiss to return to politics in order to pay them off. When the Republican state convention nominated him again for Governor in 1875 however, he accepted. His subsequent victory and early success in that role helped him earn the party's nomination for the Presidency in 1876.