Henry Blake Hays (1829–1881) was a leader of the coal industry in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

Early life

He was born August 12, 1829, in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the son of

James H. Hays James Harden Hays (September 3, 1800 – March 30, 1876) was a pioneer of bituminous coal mining in Western Pennsylvania. Biography James H. Hays was born in Mifflin Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania on September 3, 1800. His first mine ...

and Mary Cready.

Military career

He served as a captain in the 6th U.S. Cavalry during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

from 1861 to his resignation in 1864.

Industrial career

As the son of James H. Hays, he helped run the family coal mines. He operated the

H.B. Hays and Brothers Coal Railroad The H.B. Hays and Brothers Coal Railroad was a narrow gauge railroad opened in 1878 to carry coal from the Hays family mines along Becks Run and Streets Run in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Both branches included an incline, and both are visib ...

, a narrow gauge coal railroad with branches that ran along

Becks Run Becks Run is a tributary of the Monongahela River. As an urban stream, it is heavily polluted, receiving combined sewer outflow from Carrick (Pittsburgh) and Mount Oliver, Pennsylvania. There is a waterfall on a tributary, just downstream from a ...

and Streets Run. He was a director of the

Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railway The Pittsburgh, Virginia and Charleston Railway was a predecessor of the Pennsylvania Railroad in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. By 1905, when it was merged into the Pennsylvania, it owned a main line along the left (west) side of the Monongahela ...

. He married Mary Howard in Pittsburgh on November 17, 1869, and they had two children. He died at his home in Allegheny County on August 10, 1881.

References

American businesspeople in the coal industry 1829 births 1881 deaths Mining in Pennsylvania People from Allegheny County, Pennsylvania 19th-century American businesspeople {{PGH-stub