The Day (or Daigh) family lived in southeast Ireland in the province of Munster. Around 1772 James R. Daigh left Ireland for America settling in Virginia. The family migrated to Sangamon County, Illinois in the 1830s. In the early 1840s the family moved to southwest Missouri living in the Jasper, Lawrence and Barry County area. The Day family came to Kansas in 1855 when Thomas J. Day settled in Allen County. Thomas soon moved to neighboring Anderson County, Kansas.
Thomas changed the spelling of his name to "Day" while his siblings continued with "Daigh".
The Day family has served in American conflicts dating to the American revolution. James R. Daigh served in the Revolutionary War. James' son, James Lewis Daigh, served in the War of 1812. James Lewis Daigh's grandsons, James H. Day and John W. Day, served in the Civil War. James H. Day's great-grandson, Robert Keith Day, served in the Korean War.
The Wise family came to Kansas shortly after Thomas J. Day, also settling in Allen County. The other families that married into the Day family came to Kansas following the Civil War. The newly settled land was made available through government programs like the Land Act of 1820 and the Homestead Act of 1862.
Descendants from these families have Irish, English, Norwegian origins.