A Platte County cemetery book states that the inscription reads, "Mary E., wife of B. F. Hayden, 1818-1891." This is incorrect! The stone is weathered and damaged and should read, "Mary E., wife of D. F. Hayden, 1818-1894"

The person buried here is Mary E. (Walker) Hayden, wife of Daniel Fulton Hayden (1814-1857). Two of their known children, Jacob Hayden and Rebecca (Hayden) Dowell are buried on either side of Mary. Jacob Hayden is buried to the north and Rebecca is buried in the grave just to the south of her mother.

A family history researcher and compiler of several decades and descendant of Simeon H. Dowell and Rebecca J. Hayden Dowell, William "Bill" Dowell has the following idea about Mary E. Walker Hayden's ancestry which appears very likely.
It starts with John Henry Walker, Sr., born ca. 1755 in Virginia and died Aug. 16, 1819 in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. John married Susannah Hardin who was born ca. 1759 in Prince William County, Virginia to John Hardin and Catherine Marr. Susannah was a younger sister of Captain William "Indian Bill" Hardin (1747-1821), an historical figure of the American frontier, the founder of Fort Hardin, now Hardinsburg, Kentucky. With military records listing him as 6'-4" and 240 lbs., William Hardin was a member of the Virginia Rifles serving under the command of George Rogers Clark in the Battle of Saratoga, a turning point in the Revolutionary War. Hardin's ancestors (spelled Hardwyn in one account) were from France, his grandfather being christened in New York in 1681.
John Walker Sr. and Susannah (Hardin) Walker had a son, John Henry Walker, Jr., born 1776 in Virginia. John Jr. is married first to Catherine Peckenpaugh who died in 1816. They have children;
1. Henry Hardin Walker, born 1797, Breckinridge County, Ky., died 1869 at Hardindburg, Breckinridge County, Ky., married Elizabeth Beavin.
2. Lucinda J. Walker, 1815-1871.

John Walker Jr. was next married to Sarah Tullis.
They have children;
3. Henderson Walker, born 1817, Breckinridge County, Ky., died 1862, Phelps County, Mo. Married to Isabel Wycoff.
4. Mary Elizabeth Walker, born Dec. 8, 1818. Mary married Daniel F. Hayden.
5. William Anderson Walker, born ca. 1820, following his father's death, died 1910, married in Grayson County, Ky., to Sarah Ann Skeeters.
Note that a Lewis and John Walker, listed as the same age group, were living near one another in Little York Twp., Hardin County, Kentucky. However, Mary E. (Walker) Hayden does not have a son named Lewis. But she does have a son named John. John W. Hayden.

Mary E. Walker was married to Daniel Fulton Hayden in Meade County, Kentucky about February 15, 1836 by Rev. James Nall, minister of Hill Grove Baptist Church, Meade County, Kentucky. John H. Taylor is listed as Mary Walker's guardian. This would likely be the same John H. Taylor 1798-1846 buried in Buck Grove Cemetery in Meade County. Daniel F. Hayden died December 4, 1857 and is buried in Meadville Cemetery in Meade County, Kentucky. Following Daniel's death, Mary lived with some of her children, including Sallie. Mary later moved to Livingston County, Missouri and Platte County, Missouri.

Mary E. Walker and Daniel F. Hayden had 11 children as follows:

1. Jacob Hayden (1836-1906) married Rachel Hardaway. Jacob is buried at Mt. Zion Cemetery, Platte County, Missouri.
2. Mary E. Hayden (1838-1881) married Richard Shacklett Dowell. Burial at Buck Grove Cemetery, Meade County, Kentucky.
3. Sarah (Sallie) T. Hayden (1841-1869) married Columbus Miles. Sallie is buried in Meadville Cemetery, Meade County, Kentucky.
4. John W. Hayden (1842-1844) Burial at Meadville Cemetery in Meade County, Kentucky. The inscription is on the side of Daniel F. Hayden's headstone.
Is John's middle name Walker, possibly showing that Mary's father's first name was John?
5. Sophia Swan Hayden (1845-1920), married Elijah Hicks Barnes (1845-1933). Burial at Ridgley Cemetery, Platte County, Missouri.
6. Rebecca Jane Hayden (1847-1889) Burial at Mt. Zion Cemetery, Platte County, Missouri. Rebecca married Simeon H. Dowell.
7. Martha Emily Hayden, born Meade County, Kentucky. Married April 3, 1873 to D. T. Thomas.
8. Susan Hayden, She wrote a letter to her sister Sophia Barnes stating that their sister Rebecca J. Dowell had died on Oct. 6, 1889. The letter had a heading of Edgerton, (Platte County) Missouri and was signed Sue. Sue also mentioned their mother was there.
It is not known (for sure) at this time what happened to Sue Hayden. However, Logan S. Arbuckle married a Miss Susie C. Hayden in Platte City, Platte County, Missouri on October 3, 1890. It is a possibility this is Sue Hayden, daughter of Daniel F. Hayden and Mary E. Walker Hayden. Logan and Sue move to Cedar County, Missouri. They have two sons, Virgil E. and Merritt E. born in 1892 and 1895. A Susie Arbuckle (1853-1901) is buried in El Dorado Springs Cemetery in Cedar County, Missouri. I have not been able to find a newspaper that served that area in order to find an obituary to identify Susie Arbuckle or Logan S. Arbuckle. Logan S. Arbuckle 1846-1906, buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Daviess Co., Missouri is listed as Susie Arbuckle's husband.
9. Daniel B. Hayden, born May 2, 1855 in Kentucky. Married Mary Alice Newman. Daniel died at the age of 91 years on April 11, 1947 in Kansas City, Missouri. Burial in Allen Cemetery, at Gower, Missouri.
10. Absalom B. Hayden. Born in Meade County, Kentucky in 1857. Died in Stratton, Kit Carson County, Colorado in 1947. Burial in Holton Cemetery, Holton, Jackson County, Kansas.
11. Barbara E. Hayden (1857-1862) Burial at Meadville Cemetery in Meade County, Kentucky. Inscription is on the side of her father's headstone.