[2][4] Her mother died when she was young and she would travel with her father, who was an important Republican, when he visited patients or had political work.

[6] Hay attended the Western Female Seminary in Oxford, Ohio, between 1873 and 1874, where she studied to become a pharmacist and later worked for her father's pharmacy.

She served as the local secretary-treasurer before becoming the treasurer for the state chapter, a position that she held for seven years.

Henrietta G. Moore organized the state convention that founded the West Virginia Equal Suffrage Association.

[9] At conventions, like one in Topeka in 1918, Hay advocated creating citizenship and civics classes for women.

[17] Hay was nominated to the WCC in order to bring a strong leadership role to the civic organization.

[12] Hay ensured that women's suffrage remained an important plank in the Republican Party of the time.

[24] A historic marker honoring Hay was unveiled in the town square in Charlestown on November 15, 2021.

[25] Winter Wheat, a musical by Cathy Bush about the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in Tennessee, premiered at the Barter Theatre in 2016.

[26] The 2022 musical Suffs, depicting several historical suffragists in the final years before the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment, features Hay as a supporting character.