Mary J. Hayden (born ''Mary Jane Bean''; 1830 in

Athens, Maine Athens is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 952 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . Demographics 2010 census As of the census of 2010, ...

) spent her early childhood with her grandparents in the town of

Cornville, Maine Cornville is a town in Somerset County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,317 at the 2020 census. History Settled in 1794, Cornville was incorporated on February 24, 1798 as the 116th town in Maine. Geography According to the United ...

. In 1845, Hayden emigrated with her parents to the wilds of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, where in 1847, she met and married

Gay Hayden Gay Hayden (April 9, 1819 – May 14, 1902) of Brisbane, Australia was a prominent Oregon pioneer who owned a significant portion of what is now the city of Vancouver including properties previously owned by Esther Short.''The Pacific reporter'', ...

. In 1850, they emigrated to the Oregon Territory and settled in what is now Vancouver, Washington. In 1851, upon hearing of the Donation Land Claim Act, a year after the act was passed by Congress, they settled on an island situated on the

Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...

between modern-day

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, and Vancouver, Washington that would become known as

Hayden Island Hayden Island is an island in the Columbia River between Vancouver, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The wide main channel of the Columbia (and the Washington–Oregon state line) passes north of the island. To the south, sheltered by the islan ...

. Gay Hayden proceeded to build a grand home and live on the island for five years with his wife and their twin children.Hayden, Gay. Access Genealogy. 2010-06-13. UR

Accessed: 2010-06-13. (Archived by WebCite at Together and individually, they would both become well-known pioneers of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

. Hayden was a member of the

Oregon Pioneer Association The Oregon Pioneer Association (originally known as the Oregon Pioneer Society), first established in October 1867, was a fraternal and lineage society and historical organization for early American settlers of the Oregon Territory. The Associat ...

. She died on June 24, 1918, in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

.Oregon Pioneer Association, Transactions of the 38th-50th Annual Reunion of the Oregon Pioneer Association, Volumes 38-50, Chausse-Prudhomme, Portland, Oregon, Vol. 44

Hayden v. Zerbst

On March 10, 1886, Hayden separated from her husband and divided their property in court, from that point on each handling their own real estate and financial affairs. Gay Hayden later sold a portion of his land to Terrence Furey in September 1901, and Furey (prior to the purchase of the lot) was informed that Hayden was the wife of the grantor but that she had no interest in the lot. Furey then resold the land on March 8, 1906, to Reinhold Zerbst, but Hayden did not join in this conveyance. Furey sold and conveyed the lot to Zerbst, who at said time did not know that Gay Hayden was a married man. Gay Hayden had died almost four years previously intestate in

Clarke County Clarke County may refer to: ;Places *One of five counties in the United States: **Clarke County, Alabama **Clarke County, Georgia **Clarke County, Iowa **Clarke County, Mississippi **Clarke County, Virginia * Clarke County, New South Wales, in Aust ...

in May 1902 and his estate was probated in that county.The Pacific reporter, Volume 94, West Publishing Co., St. Paul, p. 909-911 The

Portland and Seattle Railway Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

had Zerbst's land condemned in 1903 and he was subsequently reimbursed $1200 for the land. Hayden had made no claim to this lot until the sale to Zerbst was begun upon which she appealed to the

Supreme Court of Washington The Washington Supreme Court is the highest court in the judiciary of the U.S. state of Washington. The court is composed of a chief justice and eight associate justices. Members of the court are elected to six-year terms. Justices must retire ...

in 1908 for her half of the proceeds from said land sale and resulted in the case of Hayden v. Zerbst. In the end, the court found in favor of Zerbst as Hayden had not taken any action for 14 years after the sale of the land by her late husband.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayden, Mary Jane Oregon pioneers 1918 deaths 1830 births People from Somerset County, Maine People from Wisconsin Lawsuits