He was a cotton planter in Greene County and also engaged in other agricultural pursuits before becoming a delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore in 1860.

In an 1876 report to the United States House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary investigated charges against Hays "relating to the appointment of Guy R. Beardslee as a cadet at the United States Military Academy" and recommended no further action or charges against him.

[1] He died at his home, "Myrtle Hall," in Greene County, Alabama, June 24, 1879 and was interred in the family cemetery, "Hays Mount" plantation.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

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