George Jackson (Jack) Hayes
Born October 28, 1867
Died April 10, 1961
Father: Francis Marion Hayes, born May 8, 1837, died April 15, 1911
Mother: Almira Ann Snodgrass, born February 9, 1844, died July 28, 1928
Wife: Ida Bell Scranton, born October 16, 1870, died April 14, 1934
Daughter: Alma Naomi, born September 9, 1888, died February 23, 1986
Daughter: Hester Isabel, born March 14, 1891, died May 4, 1972
Daughter: Cecile Harriet, born November 17, 1892, died July 26, 1999
Daughter: Hazel (Peggy) Verna, born February 12, 1896, died September 14, 1990
Daughter: Opal Irene, born April 2, 1901, died January 19, 1997
Daughter: Cinda Merrell, born March 13, 1903, died March 30, 2003
Daughter: Elva Leona, born March 10, 1907, died December 21, 2001
Daughter: Vera J., born June 1, 1909, died September 21, 2005

George Jackson Hayes was born on October 28, 1867 in West Virginia, and was called Jack Hayes by everyone who knew him. He moved to Minnesota with his parents when he was 12 years old. His parents were farmers and their first home in Minnesota was a farm about 2 and a half miles north of Montrose (about 1 mile south of the house on the Crow River where Jack and Ida later raised their own family). Their house in Minnesota had wood floors in contrast to the dirt floors they had in West Virginia.

Jack went to the same school as his future wife, Ida Bell Scranton. Their daughter Elva was my grandmother (my mother’s mother). Shortly before she died, Granny wrote about her early life with her sisters and parents Jack and Ida, growing up in the house that Jack built.

Jack Hayes with his great grandson Brad Imsdahl in the summer of 1958.

Jack Hayes with his eight daughters at a 1955 family reunion in Buffalo, Minnesota.

The eight daughters of Jack and Ida Hayes (1910).
Back row left to right, Cecil and Hester.
Front row left to right, Cinda, Hazel, Elva, Vera, Alma, and Opal.

1917 Four Generations: Jack Hayes age 50 (far left) with his mother Almira (Snodgrass) Hayes age 73 (back center), Jack’s daughter Hester (Hayes) Pettis age 26 (far right), and Hester’s 2½ year old son Luther (Lute) Pettis (front center).

Jack Hayes with his second wife Elzina (Zina) Pleasant Ice (1899 – 1978).
Zina was a granddaughter of John H. Snodgrass, who was a brother of Almira Ann Snodgrass (Jack’s mother), which makes Jack and Zina 1st cousins once removed.