The Hayes and McNeill families were first joined with the marriage of Sarah Julia McNeil and John Lee Hays in the mid-1800s. The spelling was changed to "Hayes" under their eldest son Thomas. Their other children were Johnson Jay, Richard Dixon, Joseph Franklin, Charles Clayton, and Minnie Ruth.

The McNeils immigrated from Scotland between 1735-1770, from either the Cape Fear region or coastal Virginia. More on this topic is explored in Johnson Jay Hayes' book, The Genealogy of the McNiel Clan. In Scotland their name was spelled "Macneil" and were though to be of a noble clan. The Hays family have been in the United States since colonial Virginia, and moved to North Carolina in the early 1800s. The majority of the Hayes and McNeill families now reside in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

Johnson Jay Hayes was born in Purlear, North Carolina, on January 23, 1886, to Sarah Julia McNeil and John Lee Hays. He was a graduate of Wake Forest College (1907) and Wake Forest Law School (1909). He was appointed as a federal judge in the U.S. district court for the Middle District of North Carolina in 1927. He was the first judge to hold that no one could be prosecuted for alcohol consumption after the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition). Johnson resigned because of a heart attack in 1957, and died on September 22, 1970 in Wilkes County.

James Madison Hayes, Jr., was born April 5, 1919, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was born to Rev. James Madison, Senior, and Aline Pace Hayes. As graduate from both Wake Forest College undergraduate and law school (1940), James Madison Hayes, Jr. worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, then enlisted in the Marine Corps in January 1941. During World War II, he worked as an infantry officer on Guadalcanal and later as chief legal officer at Camp Lejeune. When discharged, he was ranked a major and worked as a lawyer for over 50 years in Winston-Salem, N.C. In 1946, he was elected to the North Carolina State Legislature and is most notable for helping establish the North Carolina Museum of Art. He died June 30, 2001.

Harold Thomas Pace Hayes was born on April 18, 1926 in Elkin, N.C. After receiving his undergraduate degree from Wake Forest College (1948), Harold served in the Naval reserves from 1943-1945 and the Marine reserves from 1950-1952, then continued his work in journalism. He won the contest for top editor of Esquire magazine, officially receiving the position on October 1, 1963. He left  Esquire in 1974 to work as a freelance consultant and writer and pursue his growing interest in ecology and African conservation. He authored two books on ecological issues, worked on several television projects, and served as editor of  California magazine. In 1987 Hayes wrote an article on Dian Fossey for Lifemagazine, which was the basis for the 1988 film  Gorillas in the Mist. He had nearly completed an expanded version of the article when he died of cancer at age 62.  The Dark Romance of Dian Fossey was published shortly after his death in 1989.

Raymond "Kyle" Hayes was born in Purlear, N.C., Oct. 4, 1905, to Charles Clayton and Ida Huffman Hayes. He was married to Margaret Smithey in 1932. He graduated from Wake Forest College (1931) and received his J.D. from Wake Forest University in 1970. Kyle Hayes began practicing law in Wilkesboro soon after, establishing the Hayes and Hayes law firm with his brother Clyde. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1942, and was discharged on Nov. 8, 1944, as staff sergeant. Kyle Hayes was a member of the Rules Making Committee of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, and was later appointed by Governor Luther Hodges to serve on the Committee for Improved State Courts for the State of North Carolina. He was the sole owner of N.B. Smithey Stores Co., Inc., a multi-million dollar chain of department stores in western N.C. He died on January 3, 1994, at 88 years old.

Other Hayes-McNeill Wake Forest alumni include: George Washington McNeill (1899), Thomas Norman Hayes (1907), James Madison Hayes, Sr. (1917), Johnson Jay Hayes, Sr. (1932), Charles Clyde Hayes (1935), Johnson Jay Hayes, Jr. (1937), Hayden Burke Hayes (1940), William Clayton Hayes (1944), Nan Lacy Harris McNeill (1945), Robert Hayes McNeill (1949), and Robert Hayes McNeill, Junior (1968).