Biography

09/10/1783 - 07/01/1868

Brigadier General Samuel Hays (D22) Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties 1839-1842

Early Life: 

Brigadier General Samuel Hays, born September 10, 1783, County Donegal, Kingdom of Ireland; immigrated, United States with his mother; settled, Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania, 1792; treasurer, Venango County, 1808; elected sheriff, Venango and Warren Counties, 1808; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1813-1814; elected, Democratic Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1816-1818; elected, Coroner, Erie County, 1818; Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1818; elected, sheriff, Venango County, 1820; unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1822; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1824-1825; unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, 1826; elected, sheriff, Venango County, 1829; elected, sheriff, Venango County,1833; member, board of trustees, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1837-1861; elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 1839-1842; brigadier general, First Brigade, Seventeenth Division, Pennsylvania State Militia, 1841-1843; elected, Democrat, United States House of Representatives Congress, 1843-1845; engaged, iron furnace business, French Creek, Franklin, Pennsylvania; appointed, United States Marshal, Western District of Pennsylvania, 1847; associate judge, district court,1856; died, July 1, 1868 (aged 84) Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania; interred, Old Town Cemetery; reinterred, Franklin Cemetery,Franklin, Venango County, Pennsylvania.

Professional titles; business ownership; board memberships; local government; club memberships:

Member, board of trustees, Allegheny College, Meadville, Pennsylvania, 1837-1861; engaged, iron furnace business, French Creek, Franklin, Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania Politics:

Elected, Sheriff, Venango and Warren Counties, 1808. 

Elected, Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Mercer and Venango Counties, 1813-1814. 

Elected, Democratic Republican, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Crawford, Erie, Mercer, Venango and Warren Counties, 1816-1818. 

Elected, Coroner, Erie County, Pennsylvania 1818.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, Crawford, Mercer, Erie, Venango and Warren Counties, 1818.

Elected, Pennsylvania Trustee of the Erie Academy, Erie County, 1819.

Elected, Sheriff, Venango County, 1820.

Unsuccessful campaign, Pennsylvania State Senate, 24th district, 1822.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State House of Representatives, 1824-1825.

Unsuccessful campaign, United States House of Representatives, Pennsylvania 18th district Special, 1826.

Elected, Sheriff, Venango County, 1829.

Elected, Sheriff, Venango County, 1833.

Elected, Democrat, Pennsylvania State Senate, 22nd district, Jefferson, McKean, Potter, Tioga, Venango and Warren Counties, 1839-1842. 

Continued Government Service/National Politics:

Brigadier General, commanding the First Brigade, Seventeenth Division, Pennsylvania State Militia, 1841-1843.

Elected, Democrat, United States House of Representatives, Twenty-eighth Congress, 1843-1845; not a candidate for renomination, 1844.

Appointed, United States Marshal, Western District of Pennsylvania, 1847. 

Associate judge, district court, 1856.

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives Biography:

Not currently available. 

Legacy: 

Son, Major General Alexander Hays,West Point Class of 1844; At the Battle of Gettysburg, commander, 3rd Division of the II Corps, stationed on Cemetery Ridge and repulsed the attacks of July 2 and Pickett's Charge on July 3. After the fighting ended, he rode up and down the lines with fists full of battle flags captured that day from the Confederates. On the morning of May 5, 1864, during the Battle of the Wilderness near the intersection of Brock Road and Orange Plank Road, he was killed by a Confederate bullet. He was posthumously brevetted Major General, United States Volunteers. Close friend of Ulysses S. Grant. 

Cited:

Cox, Harold. "Senate Members H". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.

A New Nation Votes (tufts.edu)

Samuel Hays (1783-1868) - Find a Grave Memorial