Ancestor Unbirthday - abt 1785 - Seth Hayes

Seth Hayes was my 3rd gt-grandfather. I am uncertain about his date of birth, but when he filed for his Oregon donation land claim, he used 1785 and on the 1850 census for Locust Grove Township in Jefferson County Iowa his age was listed as 64 which would be an about 1785 birthdate. The 1830 census in Burton, Geauga County, Ohio showed Seth as between 40 and 50 so this fits a 1785 birthdate.

Where was Seth born? In his Oregon donation land claim papers Seth listed New York. On the 1850 census it showed his birthplace as New Hampshire. This was the same place that his wife was born, so maybe this caused an incorrect entry. A Hayes family history manuscript listed his birthplace as New York State, probably Stephantown, Albany County.

The same family history stated that his parents were Pliny and Priscilla (Whipple) Hayes. A county history for Geauga County Ohio said that Seth moved there in 1800 with his uncle, also named Seth Hayes, and his sister Hannah. Then Seth and his brother Ebenezer went back east in 1810 and brought their mother to Geauga County. The county history gives this notation about his father: "1st elopement in the Hayes family was her husband, Plynn Hayes, who prior to 1800, run off with a woman into the wilds of Pennsylvania."

While Seth was living in Geauga County, he enlisted in Captain Parkers Company of the Ohio Militia and served in the War of 1812. About 40 years later he received 40 acres of bounty land in Iowa.

He married Lydia Jewett, the daughter of Joseph and Huldah (Fenton) Jewett, 17 Dec 1818 in Geauga County. They lived in Burton township where 7 children were born: Huldah (died at age 3) Hannah, Lydia Louisa, Seth Whipple, Huldah (2nd child named Huldah and my 2nd gt-grandmother) Ebenezer and Sybil Ann. Before 1837 the family moved to Indiana where their youngest child, Priscilla, was born. The family moved to Jefferson County Iowa by 1840 and in 1853 the family left Iowa and traveled over the Oregon Trail to settle in Linn County Oregon in the area that later became the city of Halsey.

The 1860 US Census mortality schedule showed that Seth died in April of 1860 in Linn County Oregon. It listed his birthplace as Massachusetts (which was the probable birthplace of his father) and his age as 74, which again is a birthdate of about 1785.

One of the problems in researching Seth is that his gt-granddaughter. Ruby (Hayes) Standish, gave a WPA interview in 1940 and she gave incorrect information about the wives names, assigning Seth's mother as his wife and assigning Seth's wife to his son. Since these interviews have been published online it can be confusing to researchers. So we always need to verify information given in an oral history.