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| Memorial Marker for Col. Jack Hays at Mountain View Cemetery |
Jack Hays was a Tennessee
native whose father and grandfather had fought with Andrew Jackson. The second of seven children, he was orphaned
at fifteen and struck out on his own that same year of 1832.
After Hays served some time
as a surveyor in Mississippi, he headed for Texas around 1837 and volunteered
as a Texas Ranger to fight for independence from Mexico. Hays played a critical role with the Rangers
while still in his 20’s.
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| Col. Jack Hays |
After twelve years with the
Texas Rangers he left in June, 1849, to lead an expedition along the Gila River
in an attempt to find a practical southern route to California. He arrived in San Francisco in 1850 at the
age of 33 with the intention of heading for the gold fields. However, when the San Franciscans learned
they had a Texas Ranger in their midst, they quickly persuaded him to become
their sheriff. All this was during the
Vigilante period of 1850-1851, a chaotic time for a lawman.
In his role as an officer of
the court, Hays met Vicente Peralta with whom he and four associates negotiated the acquisition of the Oakland portion of
the Rancho San Antonio.
Although Hays was elected to
a second term as sheriff of San Francisco he left the job in 1853 to fill the
federal post of Surveyor General for California during the presidency of
Franklin Pierce. During his trip to
Washington for Pierce’s inauguration Hays was treated as a major celebrity. One news account stated, “Amid the countless
multitude attracted to Washington...during the last few weeks...no man was the
object of deeper interest than Col. Jack Hays, the world-renowned Texas
Ranger. It may be safely asserted that
no man in America since the great John Smith explored the primeval forests of
Virginia....has run a career of such boldness, daring and adventure. His frontier defense of the Texan Republic
constitutes one of the most remarkable pages in the history of the American
character.”
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| Col Jack Hays' Fernwood Estate |
His estate in lower Montclair was
called “Fernwood” and was described as “one of the most beautiful of the
State....located at the base of verdure-clad hills of the Coast Range, in a
quiet nook....lordly oaks....a handsome building and exquisite area. Indescribable views in every direction.” Hays
arranged for the grading and construction of a road from Oakland to his
property, known at the time as Hays Canyon Road --- now Moraga Avenue.
Another of Hays’ interests was
the College of California; in 1855 he was one of the petitioners to the state
for the granting of a charter to the College, the institution which would later
become the University of California.
He devoted much of the rest
of his life to acquiring and developing property in Berkeley, Oakland, Alameda,
and what was to become Piedmont. When
Jack Hays died at his home on April 21,
1883, newspapers were filled with accounts of his passing. The funeral procession wound its way out
Broadway with crowds lining the streets all the way to Mountain View. Fernwood was destroyed by fire in 1899, but a
stone foundation along Thornhill Drive and Mountain Boulevard remains today as
a reminder of a once-great estate.
(Extracted, in part, from notes
taken by Docent Chris Patillo in 1996 from Oakland Heritage Alliance News, Spring
1993).
What a nice blog you have put together. I love walking through cemeteries and then learning the history of the people buried there.
ReplyDeleteI learned of Col. Hayes as my grandfather and his family are buried in the first row in front of the memorial wall that has a plaque commerating Col. Hayes. Planning on visiting Oakland this summer and one of our stops is Mountain View. Dorothy Reed Pace
What a nice blog you have put together. I love walking through cemeteries and learning the history of the people buried there.
ReplyDeleteI learned of Col. Hays as my grandfather and his family are buried in the first row in front of a wall containing a plaque commemorating Col. Hays. Will be visiting Oakland this summer and one of our stops will be Mountain View. Dorothy Reed Pace