Gay Hayden (April 9, 1819 – May 14, 1902) was a prominent Oregon pioneer who owned a significant portion of what is now the city of Vancouver including properties previously owned by Esther Short.''The Pacific reporter'', Volume 94, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, pp. 909–911 Additionally, Hayden owned all of or part of what is now Hayden Island in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

, which is named in his memory.McArthur, Lewis A.
''Oregon Geographic Names'', Oregon Historical Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 3
(September., 1926), Oregon Historical Society, pp. 295–363. Hayden arrived in the

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Oreg ...

in 1850 with his wife

Mary Jane Hayden Mary J. Hayden (born ''Mary Jane Bean''; 1830 in Athens, Maine) spent her early childhood with her grandparents in the town of Cornville, Maine. In 1845, Hayden emigrated with her parents to the wilds of Wisconsin, where in 1847, she met and marrie ...

, whom he met in the wilds of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and married in 1847. In 1851, after settling on what would become known today as Hayden Island, he built a grand home and lived on the island for five years with his wife

.Hayden, Gay
Access Genealogy. 2010-06-13.
Accessed: 2010-06-13.
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On March 10, 1886, Gay Hayden and Mary Jane Hayden separated and divided their property in court, from that point on each handling their own real estate and financial affairs. Hayden died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without a legally valid will, resulting in the distribution of their estate under statutory intestacy laws rather than by their expressed wishes. Alternatively this may also apply ...

in May 1902.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Gay People from Oregon Territory People from Vancouver, Washington 1902 deaths Wisconsin pioneers People from Clark County, Washington People from Multnomah County, Oregon 1819 births People from Wisconsin Territory People from Washington Territory