Sidney Hayden was born on March 1, 1813, in Colebrook, Connecticut, to Luke Hayden and Ruth Humphrey. His father was a farmer who owned at least $4,500 in real estate by 1850. Hayden and his siblings were all baptized together on July 27, 1817. He married Florilla E. Miller in Torrington, Connecticut, on March 23, 1836, and they had at least five children together: Julius, born around 1838; Albert, born around 1844; Charles, born around 1846; Ruth, born around 1848; and Sidney, born around 1857. By 1850, they were living in Athens, Pennsylvania, where Hayden worked as a brick maker and owned $10,000 in real estate. In October 1856, Hayden was “seriously and permanently injured” when his train flew off the tracks while going around a curve. He sued the Williamsport and Elmira Railroad Company for $20,000, insisting the “train was run at a dangerous rate of speed around the curve,” and Hayden ultimately received $5,000. By 1860, Hayden was working as a farmer, and he reported $4,000 in real estate and $1,000 in personal property.

In February 1864, Hayden served as vice president of a Democratic county convention. He travelled to Alexandria, Virginia, later that year and contemplated moving his family there in order to “keep our boys safe from the army.” By January 1865, however, he reconsidered his plan, believing he could “keep the boys safe without [moving].” He encouraged Florilla to “keep up our home in Athens if you are content,” and he probably returned to Pennsylvania sometime in 1865.

Hayden was an active member of the Free Masons, attending Grand Lodge encampments and publishing Masonic literature. He travelled across the country selling Masonic books, and in 1866, he published George Washington and his Masonic Compeers. Despite his extensive travelling, however, he kept his primary residence in Pennsylvania, and he died in Bradford County on April 4, 1890.