Patrick Hayes was born in County Waterford, Ireland in 1844, and came to the United States as a child with his family. At the age of 17, he enlisted in the Union Army as a member of the 3rd New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment. He fought in several battles of the Civil War, and following the war he worked both as a police officer and a firefighter in Brooklyn. On July 1, 1889, Hayes was appointed Warden of the Kings County Penitentiary on Crow Hill (in the neighborhood currently known as Crown Heights), and when that prison was shuttered, he was made Superintendent of the New York City Penitentiary on Blackwells Island (which was subsequently known as Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973, and Roosevelt Island thereafter). He retired from this position in January 1916.
Hayes was very active in Brooklyn Democratic Politics, particularly in the Eastern District. He was also active in civic and veterans' organizations, including the Iriquois Club and the Grand Army of the Republic, George Richard Post, No. 364. Hayes died of pneumonia at his home on November 6, 1917.
From the guide to the Patrick Hayes papers, 1863-1917, (Brooklyn Historical Society)
