Person:John Hayden (48)

In 1847, John appointed his friend and relative, Jesse S. Taylor, as his agent to sell his property in Kentucky and moved his family to Van Buren County, Iowa. Other members of his family followed. John, his father Jacob, and his brother Blancit Hayden were all living in Van Buren County during the 1850 census. Jacob lived in Des Moines Township while John and Blancit were living in Jackson Township.

In 1858, Dr. John Hayden purchased 320 acres in Likens County, Kansas Territory. Likens was later renamed Miami County. Apparently John himself remained in Iowa, but several of his older children lived on the Kansas property prior to the Civil War. John and his family had strong southern sympathies and after the outbreak of the war, the family in Kansas began to have trouble with Jayhawkers. An opportunity to move south came when John met Harvey Foster, who had left his property in Texas and moved north because of his support for the Union. They worked out an agreement to exchange land and property between them. Foster was to receive the Hayden property in Iowa, while John was to receive Foster's land and cattle in Texas. All but his eldest daughter moved to Texas with John. The Hayden family arrived in Tarrant County, Texas, in the fall of 1861 only to find that Foster's property had been confiscated by the Confederate courts. John was forced to go before the court to prove his loyalty to the Confederate cause to regain control of the property.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Find A Grave.

   Dr. John Hayden