According to a Son’s of the American Revolution application, John Hayden arrived in Massachusetts on the sailing ship “Mary and John” on 5/30/1630. Around the time of the American Revolution, family members began migrating to New Jersey, New York, Virginia and Pennsylvania then further west. Dwight Hayden great, great, grandfather, Nathaniel Jr (11/28/1755-9/15/1845), fought in the revolution. He was born in New Jersey and died in Pennsylvania. Nathaniel’s son, Nathaniel 3rd (1/16/1788-9/14/1846) married Margaret Miller. They had eight children. Their sixth child was Zerah Gordon Hayden. Both Nathaniel and Margaret were born in New Jersey and died in Ohio.
Zerah Gordon Hayden (8/30/1833-11/28/1917) was born in Stark, Ohio. He married Nancy Jane Way or Woy (11/1833-11/7/1903) on September 30, 1852. He was 19 and she was 18. They bought a farm in Hamilton County, Iowa in 1855. They had eight children including Jacob Luther. By 1900, they bought a farm in Jefferson County, Nebraska. Nancy died at age 70. After Nancy’s death, Zerah lived with his son George and family. Zerah died at age 84. Both are buried in Mc Coy Cemetery in Meadow Grove, Nebraska.
Jacob Luther Hayden (10/16/1857-11/25/1940) was born in Iowa. He married Vesta Isabelle Atherton (7/31/1863-11/8/1897). They had one child Sadie (1893-1901). Vesta died at age 34 when their daughter, Sadie, was age 4. Sadie died at age 7. He then married Martha “Mattie” Viola Tassell (10/9/1875-11/24/1957) in 1898 in Greene, Iowa. He was 41 and she was 23. They lived in Nebraska for many years before settling in Los Angeles County. He was a Pastor with his last church assignment being at Bell Memorial Church in Los Angeles. Jacob and Mattie had four boys, Dwight, Russel, Merrill and Harry. Jacob died in an institution in El Monte California at the age of 83. Mattie lived to age 84 and is buried in Pomona Cemetery
Dwight Tassell Hayden (2/24/1900-5/27/1993) was born in Iowa. He served in the Navy from 4/11/1917-8/19/1919.
In 1921, The Hayden’s drove to California in their automobile crossing the Colorado River at Yuma. Arizona using the plank road. (Used to control blowing sand).
After serving in the Navy for two years and four months during World War I, Dwight married Esther A Cleary (9/30/1896-2/6/1947) on June 21, 1921, at his parents’ home in Pomona California. He was 21 and she was 24. They had known each other in Nebraska. The newlyweds acquired property on 215 Myrtle St in Tustin, living in the garage until the house was completed.
Esther was the oldest of seven children. Esther’s father, Albert Sargent Cleary (12/1858-1926) sold his farm in Nebraska and moved the family to Santa Ana prior to 1920. They bought a house at 215 Orange Avenue in Santa Ana. The Cleary’s became well known in the Santa Ana/Tustin area. Charles Cleary, a cousin, was a taxidermist and lived at 333 W 6th Street in Tustin.
In September 1924. Albert Cleary, with memory problems, disappeared into the Mountains in San Bernardino County. His remains were found two years later. Heartbroken, Albert’s wife, Martha Ann Cleary (8/22/1864-7/1926) died while visiting her daughter Helen Barnhart in Colorado. Helen died a year later at age 35.
Dwight Hayden was a businessman starting in sales for an oil company, becoming its marketing manager, He was then appointed Justice of the Peace and was elected City Clerk of the City of Tustin. He resigned from his City Clerk position on 3/1/1941. Dwight and Esther were active in the American Legion both holding several offices. He also served on various school and community committees and was a member of the Santa Ana Elks. Esther was a group leader for the Girl Scouts.
Dwight bought a ranch in Medford, Oregon in 1946. Esther died at age 50 shortly after they settled in Oregon. He married Bessie Mae Mildred Eaglan (5/5/1901-4/8/1991) in Portland Oregon on 7/17/1947.
Bessie Mae had been married to Charles Hollinger in Abilene, Kansas on 2/6/1922. Sometime after 1940, they divorced, and she moved to Santa Ana, California and was a bookkeeper. Bessie Mae and Charles had no children.
The Hayden’s moved to 141 W Pine St in Santa Ana, He sold real estate. They established a residence in Porterville, California in 1952 but spend time in Santa Ana until they made Porterville their permanent home in approximately 1960.
Dwight died in Porterville, California, at the age of 83 out living Bessie by two years.
Dwight and Esther had three sons during their marriage. They lost son, Donald, at four months of age in 8/1922.
The story of their two sons follows:
James Malcolm Hayden 4/7/1928-7/29/1982) was born in Orange, California. He graduated from Tustin High School and enlisted in the Navy on 11/26/1945 and received his training in San Diego. He married Patricia Vaught on July 25, 1948, in Reno Nevada. They had two children. He worked for Union Oil then operated auto repair shops in Santa Ana, CA. They moved to Jerome, Idaho where he farmed for 10 years. He was a member of the Jerome Elks Club. He died at the age of 54, and was buried in Jerome, Idaho.
Dennis “Denny” Hayden (12/26/1925-7/4/2022) was born in Santa Ana. As his parent’s home on Myrtle St was not completed, his mother did not want to give birth in their garage. were they were living at the time. Denny was born when the Doctor came to his grandfather’s house for the event. He attended Tustin High School.
As a teenager, he maintained beehives selling his honey to the Tustin Food Center and door-to-door. He won first prize for his honey at the Los Angeles County Fair.
He enlisted in the Navy with his friends Richard Park and Paul Etzold (Part of the Lambert Family) on 3/26/1943. He served in the Pacific Theatre and was discharged 1946 as a 1st Class Quartermaster. He served on several ships: a mine sweeper, sea going tugboat and submarine chaser.
After serving his Country, Denny worked in construction and the citrus industry before attended Redlands College with financial help through the G I bill. At Redlands, he met Lois Scharpenberg (2/25/1928-) and they were married on 6/17/1950. He attended UCLA Law School and graduated in 1956. While in law school, they lived in Los Angeles. He worked for an Iron Foundry and on the construction crew that built the UCLA Medical Center Building.
They settled in Santa Ana, eventually buying their first home where Lois still lives. Denny had his own law practice for 55 years. He also served as the Tustin City Attorney from 7/57 to 11/61. One of his accomplishments was working with the City Council and citizen groups to annex a strip on land in the north Tustin area adjoining Tustin and the City of Orange to block annexation of the North Tustin area by the City of Santa Ana.
Denny was a co-founder of the Tustin Thrift and Loan and a co-founder of the youth center that became the Tustin Boys Club. He was also a member of the Santa Ana Elks and Lions Club of Tustin and was a board member of the Tustin Area Historical Society.
Denny and Lois had four children: Mark, Ann, Jean, and Nancy and have nine grandchildren as of May 2022.
Created 5/11/20222. Researched by Vicki Gray and Dennis Hayden (Son of Dwight Tassell Hayden)
