John Coffee Hays
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| John Coffee "Jack" Hays | |
|---|---|
 John Coffee Hays |
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| Nickname |
|
| Born | January 27, 1817 Wilson County, Tennessee |
| Died | April 21, 1883 (aged 66) Piedmont, California |
| Place of burial | Mountain View Cemetery, Oakland |
| Allegiance | |
| Service/branch | Texas Ranger Division |
| Years of service | joined Rangers in 1836 |
| Rank | |
| Commands held | 1st Mounted Texas Rifles Washoe Regiment |
| Battles/wars | |
| Other work | Sheriff, politician |
Col. John Coffee "Jack" Hays (January 28, 1817 – April 21, 1883) was a captain in the Texas Rangers and a military officer of the Republic of Texas. Hays served in several armed conflicts from 1836–1848, including against the Comanche people in Texas and during the Mexican-American War.
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[edit] Biography
Hays was born at Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee. Rachel Jackson and Andrew Jackson were his Aunt and Uncle, Jack spent much time with them growing up at the Hermitage prior to the Jackson presidency. His father Harmon Hays named his son after longtime family friend and Jackson protégé Colonel John Coffee.[1] His brother was Confederate General Harry T. Hays of New Orleans. His sister, Sarah Hays Lea, was the mother of John Hays Hammond.[2]
In 1836, at the age of 19, Hays migrated to Texas. Sam Houston appointed him as a member of a company of Texas Rangers because he knew the Hays family from Tennessee.
In the following years, Hays led the Rangers on a campaign against the Comanche and other tribes in Texas, and succeeded in weakening their power. In 1840 Tonkawa Chief Placido and 13 scouts joined with the Rangers to track down a large Comanche war party,[3] culminating at the Battle of Plum Creek.[4] Later, Hays commanded the force against the invasion from Mexico of 1842.
During the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), Hays commanded again. The Rangers excelled during this conflict, gaining nationwide fame. Despite his youth at the time, Hays is credited with giving cohesion, discipline and group mentality to the Rangers, and acted as a rallying figure to his men.
[edit] Marriage and family
In 1847 Hays married Susan Calvert in Seguin, Texas, at the Magnolia Hotel.[5]
The Comanche have great admiration for Hays. Upon news of the birth of Hays' first son in California, Chief Buffalo Hump sent the Hays family a gift, a golden spoon engraved "Buffalo Hump Jr." The cup was donated to the Autry National Center in Los Angeles by Grace W. Hays.[citation needed]
When John Hays Jr. married Anna McMullin in San Francisco, two Texas Ranger legacies were combined. Her father, Captain John McMullin, was one of Jack Hays' closest friends; he had followed him to California. In 1850 McMullin was elected the first Sheriff of Sacramento.
[edit] Post-war years
In 1849 Hays was appointed by the United States government as the US Indian agent for the Gila River country in New Mexico and Arizona.
The next year the Hayses joined the migration to California. Hays was elected sheriff of San Francisco County in 1850, and later became active in politics. In 1853, he was appointed US surveyor general for California.[6][7]
Hays was one of the founders of the city of Oakland. In the following years, he amassed a considerable fortune through real estate and ranching enterprises. In 1860, while in Virginia City, Nevada, on business, he heard the news of the First Battle of Pyramid Lake. He commanded a force of volunteer soldiers at the Second Battle of Pyramid Lake.
In 1876, Hays was elected as a delegate to the Democratic Party national convention, which nominated Samuel J. Tilden for the presidency of the United States.
Hays died in California on April 21, 1883. He was buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland.
[edit] Legacy and honors
Hays County, Texas is named in his honor.
[edit] References
- ^ "A Great Captain and a New Weapon" by Charles M. Robinson, III
- ^ "Unique". Time Magazine. May 10, 1926. ISSN 0040-781X.
- ^ "Chief Placido", San Marcos Record, November 2007
- ^ "John Hays, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, Texas Rangers Website
- ^ Weiss, Harold J., Jr.. "Hays, John Coffee (1817–1883).". The Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/HH/fhabq.html. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- ^ Jack Hays
- ^ Texas Ranger Hays
- Gwynne, S. C. Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History, New York: Scribner, 2010;
- Robinson, Charles, The Men Who Wear the Star: The Story of the Texas Rangers, Modern Library, (2001). ISBN 0-375-75748-1.
- Swift, Roy, Three Roads to Chihuahua: The Great Wagon Roads that Opened the Southwest, Eakin Press (1988). ISBN 0-89015-640-9.
- Webb, Walter Prescott, The Texas Rangers: A Century of Frontier Justice, University of Texas Press, (1965, second ed.).
- Wilkins, Frederick, The Legend Begins: The Texas Rangers, 1823–1845, State House Press, (1996). ISBN 1-880510-41-3.
- Wilkins, Frederick, Defending the Borders: The Texas Rangers, 1848–1861, State House Press, (2001). ISBN 1-880510-41-3.
- Wilkins, Frederick, The Law Comes to Texas: The Texas Rangers 1870–1901, State House Press, (1999). ISBN 1-880510-61-8.
[edit] External links
- John Coffee Hays from the Handbook of Texas Online
