Old Chester Hays Tapestry

Group	Patriarch	Origin	date of Arrival	Initial Settlement	Male Line Dispersion
Cheshire Hays	Person:Jonathan Hayes (1)	Cheshire, England	1683	Marple Township	Male line Extinct by 1714
Welch Hayes	Person:Richard Hayes (12)	Pembrokshire, Wales	1687	Haverford Township	Remained in Chester County
Frederick County	person:Jonathan Hays (2)	unknown	c1720	Darby Township	To New Castle, DE, then Frederick County MD
Oxfordshire Hays	Person:Henry Hayes (5)	Fulwell, Oxfordshire, England	1705	Marlsborough Township, Chester County.	Remained in Chester County
Derry Hays Line	various	Donegal Ireland	c1730	Derry Township 1733 Borden's Grant/Beveley Manor 1740	moved along Great Road (Hays Creek line), and west into western PA (Derry Line)
Northampton Hays	Person:John Hays (15)	Ireland	c1730	Chester, then Northampton and Bucks	central and wester PA

Distribution Map of Hays in Old Chester

This article focuses on the identification of persons bearing the "Hays" surname, found within the confines of Old Chester, Pennsylvania, over the period from about 1680 to the Revolution. During this period persons bearing the Hays surname settled in various portions of Old Chester, initially in the east (modern Chester County PA, Cecil County Md, and the northern portions of the state of Delaware (then Delaware County). Somewhat later Hays begin to appear in Old Lancaster County, including the areas that became modern Lancaster, Dauphin, and Cumberland Counties. There were also Hay's in some of the other portions of Pennsylvania at an early date (e.g., 1680), such as Bucks and Northampton Counties. These are not properly considered within Old Chester, but probably need to be examined because their descendants may have moved into Old Chester proper.

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