Louese Caroline Frederick was born in Marshallville, Macon County, Georgia on April 18, 1881.
Hays was a member of many organizations, including the American Red Cross, the Colonial Dames of America, the General Federation of Women's Clubs,[5] the Macon County Democratic Women's Club, and the United Daughters of the Confederacy, for which she was state registrar from 1916 to 1919.
[7] Georgia secretary of state John B. Wilson named her as director of the Georgia Division of Archives and History in 1937, following Ruth Blair, and she held the role until her death, when Mary Givens Bryan took over as director.
[8][9][10][11][12] During the 1930s, Hays lived in the National Register of Historic Places-listed Jones-Peterson House, now known as the Alma Fruit Farm.
[15] In 1950, she edited and wrote and introduction for Eliza A. Bowen's The Story of Wilkes County, Georgia.