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[edit] OverviewThis article is for the line of Jonathan Hays who married Elizabeth Elliott in Darby Township, Delaware County, PA, and settled in Frederick County MD. "The genealogy of the Hays Family" by Dr. McPherson, of Gettysburg, Penna. as given by William Hays, undated, Emmitsburg Historical Society web site, gives the families origins as follows "During her Majesty, Queen Anne's reign, Jonathan made a voyage to America. When he arrived at Pennsylvania, he sold his Captaincy, and resolved to go to farming. He married a rich Quakeress, by the name of Elisabeth Ellott, who was born the 17th of March, 1678. His father-in-law gave him a farm, but in a short time he squandered it all away. He then asked his father-in-law for another farm. Consistent with his Quaker profession, he concluded to give him another farm and they started to look it up, but Jonathan made a sad mistake. He took the old gentleman past the farm he had wasted. The thought that Jonathan had squandered the farm so enraged Mr. Ellott, that he turned back and would not get Jonathan a farm, but in a short time his anger cooled and they started again. This time Jonathan was careful not to take him by the old farm, and by so doing he received his farm. Jonathan had twelve sons, of whom Jonathan H. is the only one recorded. Jonathan Hays Jun. (sic) was born the 16th of January, 1729. Jonathan Hays Jun. married Mary Henderson."
Ancestry public member tree's give a list of children (see family Family:Jonathan Hays and Elizabeth Elliott (1)). That list is somewhat questionable, but taking it at face value it is noted that where DOB's are available for these children, the earliest is 1725, implying a marriage about 1724. [1] While the Ancestry Public Member Trees identify Jonathan and Elizabeth as marrying in Chester County, they have them moving to new Castle Delaware, where they raise their children to adulthood. The basis for this is totally known, but it is a consistent part of the story line told by descendants of this family. [edit] ChildrenIt is said that Jonathan and Elizabeth had 12 children. Sometimes all 12 are said to have been sons, sometimes one of the children is identified as a daughter. In any case, they are believed to have had a large family. The couple is known to have married in Darby Monthly Meeting in 1721; Jonathan is said to have died in 1735, though the basis for that is unknown. This gives the couple a married life of 15, or perhaps 16, years. While it would have been possible to have had 12 children during that span, this seems likely given the typical two year interval between births. In point of fact, genealogists working on this family identify only seven children, one of whom, Mary, is consistently given a 1710 DOB, conflicting with the known 1721 marriage of her parents.
Ignoring daughter Mary, DOB's and DOD's are not known for two of these chldren (John and Stephen). Two others are believed to have died as young children (eliot, Joseph, and Samuel). Only one is known to have lived to maturity, (Jonathan). This Jonathan moved to what is now Frederick County Maryland, settling there by …. He and wife Mary Henderson had four known sons, (and two daughters), and it is primarily from their lines that the families history is known. [edit] ContrarianIf Jonathan did actually come to America during the reign of Queen Ann we have a very narrow window of when he might have arrived, as she reigned from 1702 to 1714. Some stories identify him as a British military officer, and others as a ships Captain. In either case, he would not seem to be a likely candidate for the husband of a Quaker daughter. Unless he was already a Quaker (not likely as a military officer) he would have had to become a Quaker, or his wife would have been shunned for "marrying out". There's no indication that the latter happened, but very little research seems to have been done for this line of Hays in Quaker records of the period. Another possibility is that the "Ships Captain" story, is just that, a story. Its possible that Jonathan was the son of a Quaker family already present in the area. person:Richard Hayes (12) is believed to have had two sons, Richard (13) and John (68). Richard can be readily identified in Chester County records, but there seems to be little trace of John. Indeed, no Ancestry lineages for John's descendants have been located. The possibility exists that "John (68) is the same person as Jonathan (2), and that his name has been mis-remembered in one source or another. Since this is sheer speculation, and no support evidence can be cited, this can be effectively evaluated at this time. However, given the history of Richard (12) and Richard (13), Jonathan (2) would be approximately the right age to be the son of Richard (12). A third possibility is that there has been a confusion with other lineages that are believed to have moved south into the New Castle County area of modern Delaware. person:William Hayes (56), for example, is thought to have made this move. Whether the Frederick County Hays line is in fact related to William, or another known Hays in the New Castle area, is not currently known. Perhaps YDNA evidence could be used to test this, but currently no descendants of Richard (12) or Jonathan (2) are known to have taken a YDNA test.
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