Search the Encyclopedia Mavericana:   ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

Hayden, Jessie Sr.

General storekeeper in Little Bend, Texas.[1] (April 12, 1812 – February 14, 1864)[2]

Jessie Hayden, Sr. was an honest and trusted business man, and knew the Maverick family in the days before the Civil War.[2]

In 1862,[2] just before leaving Little Bend to fight in the Confederate Army, Bret and Bart Maverick left $1,650 in gold on deposit in Hayden's general store. The Mavericks watched Hayden record the gold deposit in a store ledger and gave Bret a signed receipt but neglected to write the money was in gold on the receipt.[1]

During his years in the Confederate Army and fighting Indians as a Galvanized Yankee[1] along the Santa Fe Trail,[2] Bret kept the receipt folded safely inside a bullet shell hung around his neck When he and Brother Bart returned to Little Bend[1] in 1867,[2] he submitted the receipt to Hayden's unscupulous son, Jessie Junior, for withdrawal. Since the receipt did not mention gold, Jessie Junior attempted to pay off the deposit in Confederate money.[1]

See: Trail West to Fury