Person:John Hays (19)

Notes on Parents of John Coffee Hays

• THEORY A: Parents = Harmon A. Hays and Elizabeth Cage
  • Source: Madelon Smith (bef 1989)¹¹.
  • Status: supposedly PROVEN and is now found in many published genealogies and on Wikipedia.
  • cos1776 Note: I have to include supposedly here, because I have not verified this myself. Follow up is needed. --Cos1776 21:45, 24 May 2014 (UTC)

• THEORY B: Parents = James Campbell Hays and Unknown. This theory was prevalent for many years and can still be found in many published genealogies.
  • Sources Include: Waddell (1902)⁹ ; White (1902)¹ (references Waddell)
  • Status: DISMISSED

General Notes

• Supposedly, John was named for his father's US Army commander at the battle of New Orleans during the War of 1812, General John Coffee.

Comment: There is no reason to suppose that John Coffee Hays was named after General John Coffee as it is explicitly written in a letter from Jack's father, Harmon A. Hays, to Jack's grand-uncle, Col. Robert Hays written 15 April 1819. motohays on 5 April 2016

The paragraph from the letter is provided here...

The last I heard from a [...] family, General Jackson he was in the city Washington. I am denyed the expression of sentiment relative to that man, but trust in God for his long continuance in this life for the safety of the nation and the lives of his friends. We have John Coffee, Wm. Cage and Maryan the youngest, all healthy children. The Gen'l (General John Coffee) would not blush to see his namesake as a child, -- I am like other vain parents, my sincere regards to Aunt Hays and family, General Jackson together with all my female relations in your neighborhood.

The section of Harmon Hays' WeRelate page that contains the entire letter is here...

Person:Harmon Hays (1)#Letter to Colonel Robert Hays from H.A. Hays

External Links

• Texas Ranger Hall of Fame - State Designated Memorial: John Coffee "Jack" Hays
• Wikipedia: John Coffee Hays

Alameda home of John Coffee Hays

Col. John Coffee "Jack" Hays, abt 1865.

Col. John Coffee "Jack" Hays, abt 1880.

Hays Memorial Marker

1. ↑ White, Emma Siggins. Genealogy of the descendants of John Walker of Wigton, Scotland: with records of a few allied families, also war records and some fragmentary notes pertaining to the history of Virginia, 1600-1902. (Kansas City, Missouri: Tiernan-Dart Printing Co., 1902)
   p 510.

   ... James Campbell Hays, of Tennessee and Texas, who was the father of Jack Hays, the Texas Ranger." - From Annals of Augusta Co. [verbatim]

2.   Handbook of Texas Online
   "HAYS, JOHN COFFEE".

   He became the prototypical Texas Ranger and, together with John "Rip" Ford, was preeminent in establishing the Ranger tradition. Hays mixed a military career with surveying. At an early age he left home, surveyed lands in Mississippi, attended Davidson Academy at Nashville, and decided to cast his lot with the rebels in the Texas Revolution. In 1836 he traveled to New Orleans and entered Texas at Nacogdoches in time to join the troops under Thomas J. Rusk. He subsequently joined the rangers under command of "Deaf" Smith, in which he rose to the rank of sergeant. From 1840 through 1846 Hays, at first a captain, then a major, and his ranger companies, sometimes with Mexican volunteers and such Indian allies as Lipan chief Flacco, engaged the Comanches and Mexican troops in small skirmishes and major battles, especially at Plum Creek. He commanded the 1st Regt., Texas Mounted Riflemen (all of them Rangers) in the Mexican War, serving under Zachary Taylor, and then under Winfield Scott. The actions of the Rangers toward Mexican civilians off the battlefield, however, created an undying antipathy in Mexico toward the Texas Rangers generally. In 1848 he tried unsuccessfully to find a route between San Antonio and El Paso, and the following year he received an appointment from the federal government as Indian agent for the Gila River country. In 1849, he followed the Gold Rush to California. He was elected sheriff of San Francisco County in 1850, appointed United States surveyor general for California in 1853, became one of the founders of the city of Oakland, and ran successful enterprises in real estate and ranching. Though he was neutral during the Civil War, he was prominent in Democratic politics in California, and was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1876.

3. ↑ Col John Coffee "Jack" Hays, in Find A Grave.

   [Includes photos of mausoleum and memorial plaque.]

4. ↑ John C Hays, in Alameda, California, United States. 1860 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration Publication M693)
   p. 61, dwelling/family 513/514.

   Year: 1860; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: M653_55; Page: 61; Image: 61; Family History Library Film: 803055.
   -----
   :Hays, John C. 42 yrs Cattle Raiser (real estate = $60,000; personal estate = $6,000) b. Tennessee
   ::      Susan 30 yrs b. Alabama
   ::      John C. 7 yrs b. California
   ::      Rich 5 yrs b. California
   ::      Susan 9/12 yr b. California
   :Daugherty, Cath 28 yrs b. Ireland
   :Foster, Juan 13 yrs b. California
   :Brien, John 25 yrs b. Ireland

5. ↑ Jno C Hayes, in Alameda, California, United States. 1870 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration Publication M593)
   p. 257, dwelling/family 1890/1860.

   Year: 1870; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: M593_68; Page: 257A; Image: 517; Family History Library Film: 545567.
   -----
   :Hayes, Jno. C. 50 yrs "at H.[ome]" (real estate = $200,000; personal estate = $10,000) b. Tennessee
   ::      Susan 36 yrs "at H.[ome]" b. Alabama
   ::      Jno. C. Jr. 18 yrs at School b. California
   ::      Harry 9 yrs at School b. California
   ::      Bettie 3 yrs"at H.[ome]" b. California
   :Hammond, W. H. 12 yrs at School b. California
   ::      H. T. 14 yrs at School b. California
   :Flinn, Thomas 35 yrs Coachman b. Ireland
   ::      Mary 18 yrs Nurse b. Ireland
   :Galigan, A. [m] 25 yrs Gardner b. Ireland
   :Flinn, Jane 40 yrs Cook b. Ireland
   :Ah Tong [CHINESE] 25 yrs Waiter b. China
   :Tay High [CHINESE] 14 yrs Waiter b. China

6. ↑ J.C. Hays, in Alameda, California, United States. 1880 U.S. Census Population Schedule. (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration Publication T9)
   p. 426D, dwelling/family 572/572.

   Year: 1880; Census Place: Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: 62; Family History Film: 1254062; Page: 426D; Enumeration District: 021; Image: 0423.
   -----
   :Hays, J. C. 63 yrs "Real State" b. Tennessee (parents, b. Virginia/Tennessee)
   ::      Susan 51 yrs Wife Keeping House b. Alabama (parents, b. Virginia)
   ::      John C. Jr. 27 yrs "Real State" b. California (parents, b. Tennessee/Alabama)
   ::      Betty 12 yrs At Home b. California (parents, b. Tennessee/Alabama)
   :Jackson, Mary A. 21 yrs Servant Chamber [maid?] b. Ireland (parents, b. Ireland)
   :Ah Kang 22 yrs Servant Cook b. Canton (parents, b. Canton)
   :Ah Han 25 yrs Servant "Wa[i]ter" b. Canton (parents, b. Canton)
   :Grandboise, F. [m] 30 yrs [blank] Coachman b. Canada (parents, b. Canada)

7.   .http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec?htx=message&r=rw&p=localities.northam.usa.states.virginia.counties.augusta&m=916.

   Boards > Localities > North America > United States > States > Virginia > Counties > Augusta
   
   Subject: Possible Error in the book, ANNALS OF AUGUSTA CO., VA (1726-1871) concerning the HAYS FAMILY
   Author: Bill Dahnke
   Date: 13 Nov 2000 12:00 PM GMT
   Email: wilfdahn@@mars.utm.edu
   
   On page 158 in the book, Annals of Augusta Co.,VA, published in 1902 by Joseph A. Waddell, it states that the famous Texas Ranger Jack Hays was the son of James Campbell Hays, and the grandson of Major John Hays of Rockbridge, VA. But nearly every source I have seen states that the Texas Ranger Jack Hays was the son of Harmon P.Hays. Can anyone out there sort this out and explain this discrepancy?
   
   Conflicting information on Jack Hays' parentage:
   
   Born John Coffee Hays, 28 January 1817, on the family’s plantation near Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee, he was named in honor of a close family friend, General John Coffee, a hero of the War of 1812. Grandfather Robert Hays immediately dubbed him "Jack," an affectionate nickname which stuck until the end of his life. His parents were Harmon and Elizabeth (Cage) Hays, and he had one older brother named William. Five younger siblings named James, Mary Anne, Harry Thompson, Sarah, and Robert arrived in the next nine years.

8.   Sheppard, Lorna Geer. An Editor's View of Early Texas: Texas in the Days of the Republic as Depicted in the Northern Standard (1842-1846). (Austin, Texas: Eakin Press, 1998)
   pp. 70-73.

   Reprints a number of news stories involving Col. Hays that appeared originally in the Northern Standard (Clarksville) during the Republic.

9.   Waddell, Joseph A. (Joseph Addison). Annals of Augusta County, Virginia: with reminiscences illustrative of the vicissitudes of its pioneer settlers biographical sketches of citizens locally prominent, and of those who have founded families in the southern and western states : a diary of the war, 1861-'5, and a chapter on reconstruction by Joseph Addison Waddell. (Staunton, Virginia: C.R. Caldwell, 1902)
   p 158.

   ... James Campbell Hays, of Tennessee and Texas, who was the father of Jack Hays, the Texas Ranger. ...

10.   John Coffee Hays, in Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.
11.   .

    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~janicekmc/hay_sims.htm
    -----
    Research done by Madelon Smith (now deceased) [of the West/Wilson County Historical Society] back in Feb. 1989, and sent to me by Diane Weathers in Oct. 2001, presents these facts: there was a letter written to Col. Robert Hays in 1819, signed by H. A. Hays - listing the three children he had at that time. The writer of the letter was without doubt the father of Col. Jack Hays. Then, in the papers of the very lengthy lawsuit, Hays v. Drake, in the Sumner Co., TN loose papers the proof was found. On page 2271 is a letter written by Harmon A. Hays and the signature of that letter is without a doubt the same as the one on the 1819 letter. Thus, it is certain that Harmon A. Hays did write the letter naming his son John Coffee, namesake of General John Coffee and he is the same Harmon A. Hays who was the son of John and Rebecca Hays of Wilson County, Tennessee. I have more on this line if you are interested, just write to me at janice@castleman.org and I will send you want I have on John & Rebecca Hays' line.
    -----
    [cos1776 Note: I have not verified this information. Follow up is needed to locate, scan and add original records, if possible.]