Today we visit Calloway County in western Kentucky, specifically Ivy Cemetery, where four members of the Hay family are laid to rest.  Ivy Cemetery is so named for the Ivie family, not sure why they changed the spelling on the cemetery marker.  This small, rural cemetery is located in the northeastern part of the county, off Hwy 94.  Calloway County is located on the border with Tennessee.  Many families who were born in Tennessee moved to Kentucky and vice versa, especially before and after the Civil War.

Balaam Cain Hay was born in Marshall County, Tennessee, May 5, 1824.  His parents were Richard Hay, 1778-1859, and Martha Redford, 1783-1863.

Balaam and Hettie Billington were married there October 23, 1849.  In the 1860 census of Marshall County Balaam was 38 and Hetty was 28.  Five children were living with their parents – William, 10; Martha, 8; James, 6; Margaret, 4; and Jeremiah, 6/12.  Although I searched diligently, I could not find Balaam and Hettie in the 1870 census – in Tennessee or Kentucky.  Perhaps they were missed during the move to Kentucky, or pages were missing from the files.

But in 1880 the couple were living in Calloway County, Kentucky.  The older children from 1860 had married or were living on their own.  Three more children were born and living with their parents – Ruth, 14; Alexander, 12; and Patricia A., 8.  Patricia was the only child born in Kentucky so we can date the Hay’s move to Kentucky about 1870.

Living two houses away from his parents were William Hay and his family.  William was 31, wife Angeline was 33, with two sons – Alexander, 8, and William B., 6.

Next door to Balaam and Hetty was daughter Martha who was married to Robert B. Holland.  They had two daughters, Lulu, 4, and Birtie, 2.  Living with them was Martha’s brother, Thomas J. Hay.

The only child of the couple I didn’t find in census records was Elias Richard Hay.  He was born in 1862 and died in 1875.  He is buried beside his mother in Ivy Cemetery.  This is conclusive evidence the family was in Calloway County in the early 1870’s.

Ruth Clementine Hay married R. J. Owen January 12, 1888, at the home of her father.

A list of the children of Balaam and Hetty Hay:

1. William Pettus Hay, October 20, 1850-July 17, 1904, married Tabitha Angeline Skaggs, 1846-1927.
2. Martha Lucretia Hay, October 11, 1852-May 27, 1937, married Robert Bruce Holland.
3. James Balaam Hay, January 1, 1855-October 11, 1921, married Susan Frances Browne.
4. Margaret Hay, 1857-1904, married a Mr. Morris.
5. Jeremiah Hay, October 19, 1859-December 21, 1896, died in Texas.
6. John Thomas Hay, 1860-?, died in Texas.
7. Elias Richard Hay, February 10, 1862-January 20, 1875.
8. Ruth Clementine Hay, April 17, 1865-October 15, 1889, married R. J. Owen.
9. Alexander Y. Hay, 1868-June 25, 1939, died in Iowa.
10. Patricia Alice Hay, August 12, 1871-May 10, 1925.

Sacred to the Memory of Hettie Hay, born January 2, 1829, died February 20, 1887.  Sacred to the Memory of Elias R. Hay, born February 10, 1862, died January 20, 1875.  Ivy Cemetery, Calloway County, Kentucky.

Hettie Billington Hay died February 20, 1887.

Balaam Cain Hay, 1824-1897.

After Hetty’s death Balaam married Lucinda Frances, surname unknown.

Lucinda F. Hay, born December 31, 1830, died March 17, 1900.

Lucinda Frances Hay died March 17, 1900.