Samuel Hays (September 10, 1783July 1, 1868) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for

Pennsylvania's 22nd congressional district Pennsylvania's 22nd congressional district was one of Pennsylvania's districts of the United States House of Representatives. Geography Created in 1833, the district served portions of the city of Pittsburgh. In 1843, the district moved to nort ...

from 1843 to 1845.

Biography

Samuel Hays was born in

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

in the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

. In 1792, he emigrated to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with his mother, and settled in

Franklin, Pennsylvania Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Venango County, Pennsylvania, United States, located at the confluence of French Creek and the Allegheny River. The population was 6,097 in the 2020 census. Franklin is part of the Oil City microp ...

. He served as treasurer of

Venango County, Pennsylvania Venango County is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 50,454. Its county seat is Franklin, Pennsylvania, Franklin ...

in 1808. He was elected sheriff of Venango County in 1808, 1820, 1829, and in 1833. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1813, 1816; 1823, and 1825, and served in the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for the 22nd district from 1839 to 1842. He was a member of the board of trustees of

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

, from 1837 to 1861. He served as brigadier general, commanding the First Brigade, Seventeenth Division,

Pennsylvania Militia The Pennsylvania National Guard is one of the oldest and largest National Guards in the United States Department of Defense. It traces its roots to 1747 when Benjamin Franklin established the Associators in Philadelphia. With more than 18,000 pe ...

, from 1841 to 1843. Hays was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in

1844 In the Philippines, 1844 had only 365 days, when Tuesday, December 31 was skipped as Monday, December 30 was immediately followed by Wednesday, January 1, 1845, the next day after. The change also applied to Caroline Islands, Guam, Marian ...

. He was engaged in iron manufactures, operating furnaces on French Creek, near Franklin. In 1847, he was appointed

marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...

for the western district of Pennsylvania. He served as associate judge of the district court in 1856. He died in Franklin in 1868, interment in Old Town Cemetery and reinterment in Franklin Cemetery. Hays's son, Major General

Alexander Hays Alexander Hays (July 8, 1819 – May 5, 1864) was a Union Army general in the American Civil War who was killed at the Battle of the Wilderness in 1864. Early life and career Hays was born in Franklin, Pennsylvania, the son of Samuel Hays, a m ...

, was a noteworthy Union Army officer during the US Civil War and close personal friend of

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was the 18th president of the United States, serving from 1869 to 1877. In 1865, as Commanding General of the United States Army, commanding general, Grant led the Uni ...

Footnotes

Sources

The Political Graveyard
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Samuel 1783 births 1868 deaths 19th-century Pennsylvania state court judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Irish emigrants to the United States Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Law enforcement officials from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania district justices Pennsylvania National Guard personnel Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Franklin, Pennsylvania Politicians from Venango County, Pennsylvania Politicians from County Donegal United States Marshals 19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives