Meet James Hay, of Hay-Budden

[Black Frog]

Here is THE man, Mr. James Hay of the famed Hay-Budden Manufacturing Company. 

In AIA Mr. Postman includes a picture of Frederick Budden, but I had never seen any picture of Mr. James Hay. He was a Scotsman, and best I can tell was born in 1863-1864. He came to the U.S. in 1880, not a bad place for a motivated 16 or 17 yr old to land....

Being from Scotland, he was heavily involved in the Scotish groups in Brooklyn, mainly the Clan MacDonald group. James Hay was listed as a “Senior Henchman” for Clan MacDonald in 1901, Treasurer in 1902, and he was the Chief of Clan MacDonald from 1903 to 1906, yet still remained heavily involved for many years after being Chief. He was married to Ellen MacMillan Hay in Scotland when he was 12 or 13 years old. They had a son (James Jr.) and a daughter (Agnes). 

Even though Mr. Hay was doing quite well and had a lovely home, it seems he was still the tinkerer at heart. I found a 1902 mention of large surprise party for Mr. Hay thrown by his wife at their home. He was so busy working on his automobile out in the barn, he never noticed what was going on until his wife brought him inside to the dark parlor and “an electric spark lit all the chandeliers at once.” It was quite a party I guess….

Being well-known in the Brooklyn social scene, the wedding of the daughter of such a prominent and wealthy business person as Mr. Hay was a big deal. Agnes Hay was married in 1906. 

All was not rosy for Mr. James Hay. He loved his automobiles from all accounts, but in 1907 Mr. Hay was driving home from a Clan MacDonald Ball in the early morning hours and smashed into a telephone pole. His wife suffered serious internal injuries, and three other people, including his partner Frederick Budden, were said to have suffered shock. The occupants were thrown from the vehicle and the car was a complete wreck.

In September of 1911 James’ son died. At the time James Jr. was the Vice President of the HB Corporation at age 25. I don’t know the reason or cause of his son’s death. But only a few months later in January of 1912, his wife Ellen Hay died as well. She and James had been married 36 years. I can only imagine the devastation to James Hay’s life. Here he was on the top of the world, wealthy and co-owning a thriving business, and then tragedy hits.

Being alone in such a large house, he invited his long-time friends Mr. and Mrs. William and Margaret Ferguson to move into the handsome residence with him. The Hays and Fergusons had been very close friends for a number of years. But Margaret Ferguson was a “childhood sweetheart” of Mr. James Hay, they came from the same town in Scotland. She was said to be “attractive and of striking appearance”. Well you can imagine what happened next… quite the soap opera. James Hay went missing with Margaret Ferguson, then a few months later James Hay was sued by William Ferguson in the amount of $50,000 for “the loss of wife’s affections”. Margaret Ferguson said that her husband was cruel to her and she tried to leave him several times. 

My, my….

[ausfire]

Great story Frog. Seems my all-American anvil has a touch of Celtic history.

[JME1149]

Thank you for sharing this, it's always nice to know the history of some of my tools.

[Frosty]

Quite the story, thanks for posting it Froggy.

Frosty The Lucky.

[allessence]

Wow, Very interesting.. Nice find..

 

  I wonder when they moved from the shop floor into management only or whether they continued to work as shop men? 

[Mark Ling]

he looks nothing like the anvil, I guess that's good.

                                                                                             Littleblackmsith

[Aperson]

I saw an anvil with my friends last name and was intrigued.  James could be Related to someone I  know we are trying to research with his Grandparents help.  you know where he was born or who his parents are? please let me know

[Irondragon Forge ClayWorks]

Welcome from the Ozark mountains. You might send Black Frog a PM seeing as he hasn't been on the forum in some time.

[JHCC]

I missed this the first time around, but it must be noted that Mr. Hay was not the hereditary Chief of the entire Clan MacDonald (or Clan Donald, as it is also known), but rather the elected head of the local clan society in Brooklyn. For one thing, the chieftainship of the clan has never left the MacDonald family, whereas the Hays were an entirely separate clan. For another, clan chieftainship is held for life, so there's no way he would have stopped being chief in 1906.

The High Chief of Clan Donald during Mr. Hay's lifetime was Ronald Archibald Bosville-Macdonald, 6th Baron Macdonald (1853–1947).

[FlatLiner]

The chief of the clan didn't always follow primogenitory (father to son) it was succeeded according to the Celtic system of tanistry which dictated that the heir-apparent to the chief was elected during the chief's lifetime and it could be a son, nephew, brother, Uncle, etc.

 

tanistry, a custom among various Celtic tribes—notably in Scotland and Ireland—by which the king or chief of the clan was elected by family heads in full assembly. He held office for life and was required by custom to be of full age, in possession of all his faculties, and without any remarkable blemish of mind or body. At the same time and subject to the same conditions, a tanist, or next heir to the chieftaincy, was elected, who, if the king died or became disqualified, at once became king. Sometimes the king’s son became tanist, but not because the system of primogeniture was in any way recognized. Indeed, the only principle adopted was that the dignity of chieftainship should descend to the eldest and most worthy of the same blood, who well could be a brother, nephew, or cousin. This system of succession left the headship open to the ambitious and was a frequent source of strife both within families and between clans. Tanistry in Scotland was formally abolished in the early 17th century during the reign of James VI of Scotland (James I of England) and the English system of primogeniture was substituted.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/tanistry