Stockley D. Hays
Stockley Donelson Hays (1788–1831) was a nephew of U.S. President Andrew Jackson. Hays' father was Robert Hays, and his mother was Jane Donelson, a sister of Rachel Donelson Jackson.[1]
Hays was admitted to the bar of Davidson County in 1812.[2] He served as quartermaster general of Jackson's army as of 1813.[3] On September 10, 1816, he was appointed to the rank of judge advocate of the U.S. Army, with "brevet rank, pay, &c. of a major of cavalry."[4] These were the "pay and emoluments of a topographical engineer."[5] He continued in this role in U.S. Army's Division of the South until at least 1820, when Jackson was Major General of the same division.[6] Hays was the "last judge advocate of the Southern Division, were honorably discharged on June 1, 1821, and the Army did not have a full-time statutory judge advocate again until 1849."[7]
In 1822 Hays was one of the cofounders of Jackson, Tennessee, originally known as Alexandria.[8] He was on the board of a local private school, and the board of commissioners, and worked as a lawyer,[9] and was remembered "as the finest looking man in Jackson in the early days of the town."[10] He suffered financially, possibly struggling to pay debts after the Panic of 1819, reportedly as a consequence of being "land poor."[9]
During the 1828 U.S. presidential election, opponents of Jackson stated that his nephew, Stockley D. Hays, had accompanied Aaron Burr down the river during the expedition now known as the Burr conspiracy.[11] In November 1830, President Jackson wrote to Hays' brother-in-law Robert I. Chester about a possible political patronage job: "I wish you to say to Col. S. D. Hays that he must send on here at once testamonials of his sobriety and capacity as a surveyor. To serve as an opportunity offers to give him a surveyor's district, in order to mortify me his appointment will be opposed and Crockett will represent him as intemperate. Let the necessary recommendations be strong."[9] In 1831 Jackson sought to appoint Hays to political office in Mississippi, to which U.S. Senator George Poindexter objected, on the basis that Hays was a Tennesseean and the position should go to a Mississippian. This was the land office at Mount Salus, later known as Clinton, Mississippi.[12] Eventually, "A temporary truce was reached on this issue, when Hays was appointed to the lesser office of register of the Clinton Land Office, while Jackson nominated Poindexter's candidate to the surveyorship," but this incident was the beginning of a deeper rift between Jackson and Poindexter.[13]: 55 Hays died shortly after his appointment and Jackson sought to replace him with Samuel Gwin, "son of an old comrade," and brother of future U.S. Senator William McKendree Gwin.[14] Poindexter objected and blocked the nomination and the feud exploded.[13]: 56
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Robinson, Dan M. (1967). "Robert Hays, Unsung Pioneer of the Cumberland, Country". Tennessee Historical Quarterly. 26 (3): 263–278. ISSN 0040-3261.
- ^ Clayton, W. Woodford (1880). History of Davidson County, Tennessee. J. W. Lewis & Company. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-7222-4833-1.
- ^ "Rare American historical autographs and a few very rare books ... the collection of Frederick S. Peck ... sold by direction of Industrial Trust Co., conservator, ... v.3". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ "A sketch of the history and duties of the Judge-advocate general's department, United States army, Washington, D.C., 1876". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ "The Army lawyer : a history of the Judge Advocate General's Corps, 1775–1975". HathiTrust. p. 35. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ "U.S. Army register 1820-1825". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ "Military law review v.1-4 (1958-59)". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ "Madison County History". The Jackson Sun. 1946-01-06. p. 8. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ^ a b c Everett, Grace (1944-02-17). "The Hays Family, Chapter V". The Jackson Sun. p. 18. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ^ "Tennessee cousins; a history of Tennessee people". HathiTrust. Retrieved 2025-02-15.
- ^ "Jackson and Burr". Buffalo Emporium and General Advertiser. 1828-08-14. p. 2. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ^ "A Controversy Which Jackson Had with the Senate". Evening star. 1887-02-14. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-02-14.
- ^ a b Miles, Edwin A. (1958). "Andrew Jackson and Senator George Poindexter". The Journal of Southern History. 24 (1): 51–66. doi:10.2307/2955285. ISSN 0022-4642.
- ^ "A Controversy Which Jackson Had with the Senate". Evening star. 1887-02-14. p. 5. Retrieved 2025-02-14.