General Notes

Boucher, John Newton,  A century and a half of Pittsburg and her people
New York: Lewis Pub. Co., 1908, 2211 pgs.

HAYS FAMILY. Among the pioneer Scotch-Irish families who settled in the vicinity of Greater Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, none are more worthy of mention in history than the family whose name heads this sketch. According to Dr. Eglee, the author of genealogical works of the state of Pennsylvania, this name has been spelled in a variety of ways-the American branch of the family spelling it Hays, while at an earlier period it was spelled Hayes, Hay and De La Haye. William Hays, a native of Scotland, left that country dur­ing a period of religious .persecution and settled in county Tyrone, Ireland. He was present at the siege of Derry and suffered with others of his faith until relief came, being absent from his family twenty months.
(I) Abraham Hays, the first of the family to settle in Allegheny county, Pennsylvania, removed to that county from Maryland in 1767, locating one mile above what is now Homestead, opposite Braddock's Field, and remained there nine months. On account of the Indian troubles they returned to Maryland, and three years later again came to Allegheny county, where they took up land still in the possession of their descendants. In his religious faith he was a Presbyterian, and he was of an upright and manly character. He and his wife died on the old homestead where they first located about one mile from the present borough of Homestead. He married Fannie Pittee, a French lady, sister of the wife of James Whittaker, and the two families had as neighbors: Robert Byerley, who also came from Maryland; Andrew McClure, Samuel Hamilton, Samuel Ferguson, James McKinley, Edward and Joseph West, John Neal, Judge McClure, John Risher, Davy Calhoun, John Irvine, Robert Patterson, William Furl, William Brown and David McKee, all being men of about the same age. Abraham and Fannie (Pittee) Hays had children: i. Francis, born in 1770, married Beckley Drennen, and in 1820 moved to Butler county, Pennsylvania, and were the parents of six sons and six daughters.