THE HAYS FAMILY

We have just received the following letter from Mrs. Stephen W. Koupal, of 2815 S. 165th Avenue, Portland 66, Oregon.

Portland, Oregon

May 10, 1955

Macon County Times,

Rev. Calvin Gregory,

Lafayette, Tennessee.

Dear Sir:

I have been told that you are interested in genealogy and have a "Column" in the Macon County Times. I wondered if you could help me. I tried "all over" to find the names of the parents of my grandfather, whose name was Stockley Donelson Hays, who was born July 6, 1825, in Smith County, Tenn.

I have run into a Donelson line, a Stockley line and also a Stockley Donelson Hays, son of Robert Hays and his wife, Jane Donelson. So far I have not been able to establish his connection with these families, unless he was the son of one of the other children of Robert Hays. It does seem odd that he should have that name which is a family and not too common either.

He left Tennessee when about 18 years old and went to Missouri and California. He came back to Missouri and married Lucinda Rush who was born in Allen County, Ky., Jan. 28, 1847.

I would appreciate it very much if you could give me any information as to the early settlers of Tennessee or where I might write for such information.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Stephen W. Koupal

REPLY

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We have the Smith County, Tennessee, census records for the years 1820, 1830, 1840, 1850, and 1870. From them we learn the following: The first head of a family by the name of Hays or Hayes was Reuben Hayes, who in 1820 had the following members of his family: Two males under 10, and one above 45, supposed to have been Reuben himself; and two females under 10, and three between 10 and 16. Readers, we suppose, will understand that till the census of 1850 only the heads of families were listed. But beginning with the 1850 census, all the members of the families are listed.

Robert Hayes in 1820, was the head of a family in Smith County, Tenn. His family consisted of: One male under 10, one from 10 to 15, and one from 18 to 25, Robert, himself, we suppose. Females, one under ten, one from 10 to 16 and one between 26 and 45, Mrs. Hayes, we suppose.

The next listed in Smith County in the 1820 census was John Haize. He was the only male in his family. Females were: Three under 10, and one between 26 and 45, no doubt his wife.

We are giving the spelling as it is set forth in the census records. The Haize above is no doubt of the family. Next in the list is Elizabeth Hayes, who was perhaps a widow. She had the following males in her family in 1820: One male under 10, one from 10 to 16, one from 16 to 18, and three between 18 and 26. Females in her family: One under 10, one from 16 to 26, and one above 45, Elizabeth, we presume. She also owned two Negro slaves.

Joseph Hays is the next head of a family listed in Smith County, Tenn., in 1820. He had two males under 10, and one above 45, Joseph, we presume. His females were: Two under 10, and one between 26 and 45, his wife, we would judge. Joseph owned one slave.

William Hayes was the only male in his family in 1820. He was between 18 and 26 years old. He had one female under 10, and one between 16 and 25, Mrs. William Hayes, we suppose. Henry Hayes was between 26 and 45 years old. He had one male under ten and two between 10 and 16. Females: Two between 10 and 16, and one between 26 and 45, Mrs. Henry Hayes, we suppose. The family owned three Negro slaves.

Rebecca Hayes, we suppose, was a widow in Smith County in 1820. She had one male between 10 and 16, and one female between 16 and 26, and was herself above 45 years of age. She owned three slaves. Next mentioned was Hugh Hayes, with three males under 10, one from 10 to 16, and one female under 10, and one from 26 to 45. Hugh appears to have been in the same age group as his wife.

In the census of 1830 the following are listed: Reuben Hays, with two males from 10 to 15, and one from 50 to 60, himself, we are sure. This is the same Reuben Hays listed two years earlier. In 1830 he had two females from 20 to 30 years of age; and one from 50 to 60, no doubt his wife. Here the name is spelled Hays, but in the 1820 census, it was spelled Hayes. The near neighbors of the family were: William L. Welborn, Willis Bridges, Philip Pope, Robert M. Foster, John Gann, Benjamin Burford and Armistead Moore. From the names of the neighbors, it would appear that the family lived 125 years ago just west of Carthage, Tenn., in the vicinity of Pope's Hill. The writer's second wife, the former Miss Ethel Gann, lived in this vicinity in her girlhood.

William Hays is next listed in 1830. He had: Two males from five to 10, and one from 30 to 40, William, we are sure. Females were: Three under five, and one from 20 to 30, his wife, we presume. Neighbors were: Josiah D. Woods, Robert Ligon, Horace Lawson, Jane Smith, Elizabeth Maupin, Asa Johnson and John Williams. We have but little idea as to where William lived in 1830. Elizabeth Hays is next in the 1830 lists. She could have hardly been the Elizabeth listed ten years earlier, as the ages of the various members, with ten years added, do not correspond. The Elizabeth Hays of 1820 was then over 45, and ten years added would make her over 55. But the Elizabeth Hays of 1830 was between 40 and 50. This Elizabeth had the following members of her family in 1830: One male from five to 10, two from 10 to 15, one female from 10 to 15, and one from 40 to 50.

Elizabeth's neighbors were: Joseph Adamson, George H. Grey, Elizabeth Evins, James Simpson, Joshua Ford and James Loy. We have no idea as to where in Smith County Elizabeth lived.

Philip Hays, or Hay, or Hoss, is the next listed, and we have given the record as it appears in the transcribed copy from Washington. In this were: One male from 40 to 50; and two females, one from 10 to 15 and one from 40 to 50. Neighbors of the family were Wyatt Jenkins, Reason Rawlin, Zacharison Hendrickson, James Renolds and Jeremiah Hendricks. We have no idea as to where in Smith County this family lived.

Next is listed Robert Hays, and we feel that this is the same Robert Hays listed in 1820. In 1830 he had: One male from 10 to 15, and one from 30 to 40, Robert, we would judge; one female five to 10, and one from 40 to 50. The 1820 census indicated that Robert's wife was older than he and this is confirmed by the 1830 census. Near neighbors included: Elisha Conger, Daniel Batton, Jonah Coggins, William Nichols, Thomas Lancaster. We would judge these names indicate that the family lived in the general vicinity of the present Carthage, Tenn.

Isaac Hayes is the next member of the family listed in 1830. He had: One male from five to 10, one from 15 to 20, and one from 60 to 70, Isaac, we are sure. Females: One, 20 to 30, and one from 60 to 70, Mrs. Isaac Hayes, we would judge.

Isaac Hayes, Jr., lived next door to Isaac. He had: One male under five, and one from 15 to 20, and one female, 20 to 30, his wife we would judge. Neighbors of these were: Richard McGinnis, Joel Cheatham, Isaac McGinnis, Alexander McGinnis, Job Trap, Benjamin Alnip, Humphrey Williams, Richmond Williams and Benjamin Goodson. Indications point to the vicinity of Carthage as the section in which the families lived.

Rubin Hays is the last member of the family listed in the Smith County census for 1830. He had: One male from 15 to 20, one from 20 to 30, and one from 60 to 70. The record is somewhat blurred in the original, but there seems to have been another member of the family between 70 and 80 perhaps; two females, 30 to 40, one from 70 to 80. We cannot believe this is the same Reuben Hays, twice before listed in these old records. Near neighbors of Rubin Hays were: Thomas Hire, Elijah Wilson, Thomas Wood, John Wood, Henry Williams and James Barnett. We have only a faint idea as to what part of Smith County they occupied in 1830.

We do not have at this time space for the 1840 census records of the family. However, if Mrs. Koupal desires them, we shall be glad to furnish them.

We close this article with the list of Hays in Smith County in the 1850 census which lists all the members of the various families. The first we find in that year were: Archivald Hays, born North Carolina in 1805; Ruthy, presumed to have been his wife, born in 1820 in Tennessee; William Hays, ten, and born in Tenn., and Solomon Hays, born 1848 in Tenn. Neat neighbors of the family included: Brackiton Butler, Silas F. Gregory, a far relative of the writer and a chimney builder by trade, some of the many chimneys still standing in Smith County; William West, John Kemp and Burrell Kemp. These lived on the present Defeated Creek, a few miles southeast of the present Pleasant Shade.

Martha Haze was another member of the family in 1850. She appears to have been a widow. She was born in South Carolina in 1798. Her children, we would judge, were William Haze,18; and Henry Haze, 16; both born in Tennessee. John Gann is listed as a near neighbor and we would judge that this John Gann was the same mentioned in the census of 1830 as a neighbor of Reuben Hays. Other neighbors were Thomas Violett, C. W. Ferguson, Manuel Chism, Samuel P. Williams and Johnson Underwood. We believe this family lived in the southwest corner of Smith County, judging from the neighbors.

Reuben Haze is the last head of a family of this name listed in Smith County in 1850. He was a carpenter, born in Tennessee in 1815. His wife was Delina Haze, born the same year in Virginia. They had four children in 1850, all born in Tennessee. They were: Henry Haze, 10; James, nine; Elizabeth, seven; and Susan, two.

We hope to give additional information on the family in a future article. We also hope to give some information as to the Donelson and Stockley lines in the near future. But this is all we have at present, for which we have space.

We assure Mrs. Koupal and other readers that we are anxious to furnish all the genealogical information in our reach as early as possible.