When Monroe Hays was born on 3 August 1853, in Robinson Township, Posey, Indiana, United States, his father, Campbell Hays, was 34 and his mother, Jane Duty, was 32. He married Lucy E Glasco on 16 August 1871, in White, Illinois, United States. He lived in Randolph, Arkansas, United States in 1900 and Jones Township, Greene, Arkansas, United States in 1930. He died in 1933, in Corning, Clay, Arkansas, United States, at the age of 80, and was buried in Peach Orchard, Clay, Arkansas, United States.