Isaac Israel Hayes-Arctic Explorer

"As if 19th century life was not dangerous enough, educated citizens of our region seemed destined to push life to limits we can scarcely understand today. From the Middle Ages forward people throughout the world expressed an interest in understanding the Arctic but its conditions made travel there almost impossible. As ships and navigation improved pressure developed to explore the mysteries of the North Pole in particular."

- Mark Ashton, Chester County: A Modern History

Early Life

Isaac Israel Hayes (1832-1881) was a descendant of Henry Hayes, who purchased huge plots of land in Chester County from William Penn in 1705, and settled there with his family. Isaac's father Benjamin lived in East Fallowfield Township with his family until selling his homestead and moving to West Chester for his son to attend the Westtown School. He next attended the University of Pennsylvania to study engineering and medicine. After graduating in 1853, Isaac was appointed as surgeon of the Second Grinnell Expedition. This was a mission to find what happened to Franklin’s Lost Expedition which had sought to discover the Northwest Passage in 1847.

The Polar Expedition That Went Wrong

During this journey, the crew was low on supplies and need to turn back. Hayes was stuck with the decision of whether to stay with his commander Elisha Kane and continue the expedition, or go south to Upernivik, Greenland without him. He chose to go south and departed with eight other men, leaving Kane. Soon after departing their supplies were exhausted, and the weather conditions worsened. Hayes was frostbitten by the bitter cold. He ended up amputating portions of his frostbitten foot. Thus ended his first expedition to the Arctic.

The Polar Expedition, Take Two

When he returned to the United States in October 1855, Hayes gave lectures about his journey to the Arctic, making him an instant celebrity. He wanted to try to reach the Arctic again... on his own. Hayes raised $30,000 to return there in 1860. He was optimistic to reach the Arctic, but the Civil War was unfolding at home, and he felt obliged to go back. Despite ending his journey short, Hayes became the first civilized man to land on Ellesmere Land, where he made many discoveries.

Aftermath

:At the end of the war Hayes published a history of his polar expedition. He then moved to New York where he ran for the New York Assembly. His work in that body included promoting mental health facilities and supporting construction of a tunnel under the Hudson River. He died in 1881 and his remains were returned to West Chester for burial at the Oaklands Cemetery."

- Mark Ashton, Chester County: A Modern History

Back to Explore

Bibliography

"Benjamin Hayes letter to his cousin." TriCollege Libraries Digital Collections. Accessed April 7, 2025. https://digitalcollections.tricolib.brynmawr.edu/object/hc55572.

"Dr. Isaac Israel Hayes." The American Battlefield Trust. Accessed April 7, 2025. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/dr-isaac-israel-hayes.

Futhey, John Smith and Gilbert Cope. History of Chester County, Pennsylvania: With Genealogical and Biographical Sketches. (Philadelphia: Louis H. Everts, 1881): 593-595.

Greely, Adolphus Washington. Explorers and Travellers. (New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1904): 272-292.