Daniel is the son of Jacob "Kentucky Jake" Hayden (1783-1874) and Sophia Shacklett (1789-1826), both born in Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Sophia is a sister to Benjamin Woodbridge Shacklett, buried at Meadville Cemetery.

Note that members of this Hayden line are direct descendants of Mayflower passenger John Alden. (See Hayden family, Stithvalley.com)
In 2005, a descendant of Daniel F. Hayden's son, Jacob Hayden (1836-1906), joins a list of others in this family that have been accepted into the Society of Mayflower Descendants.
History records that John Alden (1599-1689), ship's carpenter and cooper, was the first Mayflower passenger to set foot on Plymouth Rock when they arrived in November of 1620.

Children of Jacob and Sophia Hayden:

1. John W. Hayden m. Mary Elizabeth Goodridge.
2. Jesse (E. or S.) Hayden. One source states that Jesse was born Jan. 1818 and died Aug. 1, 1846. But, 1846 does not appear to be correct, because according to his Will (Listed as Jesse S. Hayden) he was deceased by Oct. 10, 1841. A story states that one of Daniel F. Hayden's brothers was a doctor. That story is given weight when you look at Jesse Hayden's Will. In that Meade County, Kentucky document, Jesse says, "John Hayden is to have the use of all my doctors books." Jesse's brother Daniel was the executor of this Will.
3. Daniel Fulton Hayden m. Mary Walker
4. Jacob Hayden m. Carrie Woods
5. Mary Hayden m. Richard Dowell
6. Blanchert Hayden m. Mary Ann Woodring, (2) m. Martha Ann Matthews
7. Hannah Hayden m. William Stith
8. Sarah Taylor Hayden m. Absalom Shacklett, (2) m. Worden Kendall.

Daniel F. Hayden married Mary Walker in Hardin County, Kentucky in 1836. They were the parents of 11 children:

1. Jacob Hayden, born Dec. 11, 1836, died Jan. 17, 1906. Burial at Mt. Zion Cemetery, Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri.
2. Mary E. Hayden, married R. S. Dowell.
3. Sarah T. Hayden (1841-1869), married Columbus Miles.
4. John W. Hayden (1842-1844), buried with his father at Meadville Cemetery.
5. Sophia Swan Hayden (1845-1920), married Elijah Hicks Barnes (1845-1933). Burial at Ridgely Cemetery, Platte County, Missouri.
6. Rebecca J. Hayden, married Simeon H. Dowell. Rebecca died Oct. 1889, Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri. Her sister Sue said in a letter that they buried "Beck" in their church graveyard. Rebecca is buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery, Platte County, Missouri where a church building once stood. Rebecca is buried next to her mother Mary Walker Hayden and buried on the other side of her mother is Rebecca's brother Jacob Hayden. Their graves are near the center of the cemetery.
7. Martha Emily Hayden
8. Susan Hayden
9. Daniel B. Hayden
10. Absalom B. Hayden
11. Barbara E. Hayden (1857-1862), buried with her father at Meadville Cemetery.

Daniel F. Hayden, white male, age 43, married, farmer, died December 4, 1857. His place of birth is Meade County. The cause of his death was flux. This is the same date of death as shown on his headstone, and lists his father's name as Jacob Hayden. (Meade County Kentucky Vital Statistics as shown on F. H. L. film GS0216834.)

Flux, listed as the cause of Daniel Hayden's death, is shown in old medical terms as a synonym for Dysentery, a term given to a number of disorders marked by inflammation of the intestines. The cause may be chemical irritants, bacteria, protozoa or parasitic worms. In many cases, contaminated drinking water is the cause, and was the cause of many deaths in the American Civil War.

Sometime after Daniel Hayden died, his wife Mary moved to Livingston County, Missouri, possibly to live near her children. Mary Hayden is last traced to Edgerton, Platte County, Missouri in Oct. 1889, where she was living with daughter Sue. (Update, July, 2007: A visit to Mt. Zion Cemetery, Platte County, Missouri shows that Mary Walker Hayden is buried there with son Jacob and daughter Rebecca Dowell who are buried on either side of her.)