Our Hays Lineage
(as told by Ed & Jane Colburn of Tarpon Springs, Florida)
Elijah Hays and his sons were the American pioneers that settled the West. Before the War of 1812, there were only a small number of settlers in the Indian lands called the Western Territories. After the War, it was as if the flood gates were opened and large numbers of settlers started west. Elijah and his children left South Carolina and moved into the frontier territories of Alabama and Georgia that had recently belonged to the Creek Indians. As the new territories of Florida and Texas opened, family members migrated into those areas. Later, when California became the place to go, other family members moved there. Our story is the American pioneer story.
Robert Hays was an indian fighter. First, Barbour County, Alabama and later, Sumter County, Florida had been the center of indian uprisings at the time that Robert and his family moved in. In Alabama, he joined the local militia in order to protect the settlers. During one of the Creek disturbances, he served for six (6) weeks, earning Florida bounty land for his services. Later, in Florida, he and his sons, Frank and Jeff, joined Captain Johnston's company to serve in the Third Seminole War. Johnston's company didn't see action and basically just patrolled the roads and trails. In later years, Jeff did attempt to get a pension based on a service injury he received. According to his application, he fell off his dun mule and separated his shoulder.
Roberts' younger son, Elijah, served in the War of Northern Aggression (or War Between the States). Elijah was at the Battle of Murphreesboro in 1862. The Southern forces were holding the town when it became apparent that a superior Northern force was going to drive them from the town. The Southern army had a large number of wounded soldiers that the commanders decided they would not be able to safely move. The decision was made to ask for volunteers to stay with the wounded and act as nurses while the troops withdrew, knowing they would be captured. Elijah volunteered for this service. He spent the next two (2) years in a prison camp. Near the end of the War, he was released. Even though he signed the oath not to take up arms against the United States government, he rejoined the Southern forces outside Atlanta. Elijah was once again captured at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountian. This time he remained in custody until after the war. All of those years in the prison camps must have taken a toll on his health. He died in 1879 and was buried at Indian Hill Cemetery (in Bushnell, FL).
Any family that has prisoners, Indian fighters, and soldiers must also have outlaws. Roberts' youngest son, Aley Hays, must have been a very angry young man. He became involved in a feud with his neighbors, the Peters family. This feud escalated to the point that Aley eventually decided to take matters into his own hands. One day he waited beside the trail, whittling, waiting for the Peters brothers to ride by. Eventually they rode up. Aley stepped from behind a tree and, with the first blast of his double barreled shotgun, killed one of the brothers. He then turned to shoot te other brother on his wildly prancing horse. His second shot was errant, killing the horse. While Aley reloaded, the Peters man escaped on his brothers horse.
There are many other stories that could be told; the merchant, the railroad agent, the town builder, the banker, the ferry operator, the farmer, the seer. Our family is as vast, as interesting, as much a part of American history as any other family.
(as told by Ed & Jane Colburn of Tarpon Springs, Florida)
Elijah Hays and his sons were the American pioneers that settled the West. Before the War of 1812, there were only a small number of settlers in the Indian lands called the Western Territories. After the War, it was as if the flood gates were opened and large numbers of settlers started west. Elijah and his children left South Carolina and moved into the frontier territories of Alabama and Georgia that had recently belonged to the Creek Indians. As the new territories of Florida and Texas opened, family members migrated into those areas. Later, when California became the place to go, other family members moved there. Our story is the American pioneer story.
Robert Hays was an indian fighter. First, Barbour County, Alabama and later, Sumter County, Florida had been the center of indian uprisings at the time that Robert and his family moved in. In Alabama, he joined the local militia in order to protect the settlers. During one of the Creek disturbances, he served for six (6) weeks, earning Florida bounty land for his services. Later, in Florida, he and his sons, Frank and Jeff, joined Captain Johnston's company to serve in the Third Seminole War. Johnston's company didn't see action and basically just patrolled the roads and trails. In later years, Jeff did attempt to get a pension based on a service injury he received. According to his application, he fell off his dun mule and separated his shoulder.
Roberts' younger son, Elijah, served in the War of Northern Aggression (or War Between the States). Elijah was at the Battle of Murphreesboro in 1862. The Southern forces were holding the town when it became apparent that a superior Northern force was going to drive them from the town. The Southern army had a large number of wounded soldiers that the commanders decided they would not be able to safely move. The decision was made to ask for volunteers to stay with the wounded and act as nurses while the troops withdrew, knowing they would be captured. Elijah volunteered for this service. He spent the next two (2) years in a prison camp. Near the end of the War, he was released. Even though he signed the oath not to take up arms against the United States government, he rejoined the Southern forces outside Atlanta. Elijah was once again captured at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountian. This time he remained in custody until after the war. All of those years in the prison camps must have taken a toll on his health. He died in 1879 and was buried at Indian Hill Cemetery (in Bushnell, FL).
Any family that has prisoners, Indian fighters, and soldiers must also have outlaws. Roberts' youngest son, Aley Hays, must have been a very angry young man. He became involved in a feud with his neighbors, the Peters family. This feud escalated to the point that Aley eventually decided to take matters into his own hands. One day he waited beside the trail, whittling, waiting for the Peters brothers to ride by. Eventually they rode up. Aley stepped from behind a tree and, with the first blast of his double barreled shotgun, killed one of the brothers. He then turned to shoot te other brother on his wildly prancing horse. His second shot was errant, killing the horse. While Aley reloaded, the Peters man escaped on his brothers horse.
There are many other stories that could be told; the merchant, the railroad agent, the town builder, the banker, the ferry operator, the farmer, the seer. Our family is as vast, as interesting, as much a part of American history as any other family.