This biography of Rhoda G. Saunders was sourced from the Harvard Plate Stacks website on January 14, 2024. It was written by Samantha Notick, Curatorial Assistant at the Harvard Plate Stacks, in 2023. Please note that this information may have been updated since it was added to our database; for the most current information, check their website at https://platestacks.cfa.harvard.edu.
Born: 23 May 1848, United States
Died: 9 July 1932
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Rhoda Saunders
Rhoda G. Saunders Hayes (May 23rd, 1848 – July 9th, 1932) worked as one of the first Women Astronomical Computers at the Harvard College Observatory from 1875 to 1888.
While at Harvard, Saunders worked on calculations of observations made with the Meridian Circle instrument.1 She performed the mathematical reductions to prepare Professor Rogers’ observations for publication, working with Selina C. Bond and Anna Winlock, and several gentlemen. 2
Rhoda G Saunders was born May 23rd, 1848 in Westerly, Rhode Island. In 1850, her father’s profession was listed as “mariner”,3 and he was referred to as “Capt.” in a collection of Vital Extracts from Rhode Island.4 In 1860, when Rhoda Saunders was 12, she was living with her mother and two sisters in Westerly.5 She began work at the observatory in 1875, and lived in Cambridge at the house of the Norris family.6 She left the Observatory in 1888. Some time between 1888 and 1891, she married Walter H. Hayes. He passed away in 1891.7 An 1894 city directory has her boarding at the Norris household again. By 1910, she and Norris’ lived in New Hampshire, on a farm. After the death of Mr. Norris, Mrs. Norris and Rhoda Hayes returned to Arlington, Mass by 1920,8 and by the 1930 Federal Census, Rhoda Hayes was living with her two sisters, all of them widows, in Providence RI.9 Rhoda G. Saunders Hayes passed away July 9th, 1932 at the age of about 84. She is buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery with her family.10
Works cited
1-“Women of To-Day.” Detroit Free Press. Aug 10, 1879. (accessed June 6, 2022
2-Solon I. Bailey, The History and Work of Harvard Observatory, 1839-1927. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1931), 111.
3-1850 United States Census, Characteristics of Population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. digital images. Ancestrylibrary.com. Accessed 2022.Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com, May 2023.
4-Arnold, James Newell. Rhode Island Vital Extracts, 1636–1850. 21 volumes. Providence, R.I.: Narragansett Historical Publishing Company, 1891–1912. Digitized images from New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston, Massachusetts. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com, May 2023.
5-1860 United States Census, Characteristics of Population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. digital images. Ancestrylibrary.com. Accessed 2022.
6-1880 United States Census, Characteristics of Population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. digital images. Ancestrylibrary.com. Accessed 2022.
7-U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current. Find a Grave. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com, May, 2023.
8-1920 United States Census, Characteristics of Population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. digital images. Ancestrylibrary.com. Accessed 2022.
9-1930 United States Census, Characteristics of Population. U.S. Bureau of the Census. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. digital images. Ancestrylibrary.com. Accessed 2022.
10-U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current. Find a Grave. Accessed via Ancestrylibrary.com, May, 2023.
11-1880 United States Census, Characteristics of Population. U.S. Bureau of the Census.