|
Dunlop of that Ilk
|
New
England Families, William R. Cutter, 1912
- B O Y D -
The Boyd family is one of the most distinguished in the history of Scotland.
Robert, son of Simon and grandson of Alan, the second lord high steward, was
of very light complexion and nicknamed Boyt or Boyd, meaning fair or light,
in Gaelic. From this came the surname of the family. This Robert Boyd died
in 1240 and from him it is said all the Boyds of Ireland as well as Scotland
are descended, though some genealogists think the original spelling of the
name was Boit. Sir Robert de Boyd, son of the first Robert, died in 1270,
and his son, Sir Robert, was one of the barons of Scotland who were forced
to swear fealty to King Edward of England in 1296. This third Robert was
associated with the immortal Sir William Wallace for a time. His son Robert
was one of the most gallant supporters of Robert Bruce, and was made Lord
Kilmarnock by that king. The family formerly possessed the earldoms of Arran
and Kilmarnock (forfeited). Ayrshire was the original home of the Boyds.
When James III, a mere boy, succeeded to the throne of Scotland, Lord Boyd
seized him and assumed supreme control of the kingdom. In 1467 his eldest
son was created earl of Arran and married the king's sister. But the rule of
the Boyds was of short duration. They were tried for treason in 1469 and
convicted. The head of the family fled to England where he soon afterward
died. His brother, Alexander Boyd, was executed at Edinburgh. The earl of
Arran was forced to flee and was soon stripped of his royal wife by divorce
and she afterward married the head of the Hamilton family. Many of the
American Boyds are descended from the branch of the Scottish family in the
province of Ulster, Ireland. Sir Thomas Boyd, knight, was one of the
settlers soon after 1610 in the precinct of Strabane, county Tyrone, and had
a wife and family there in 1611. He came from Hedlay or Benehawe,
Renfrewshire, Scotland. Before 1620 he transferred a grant of eighteen
hundred acres at Strabane to James Hamilton. Boyd was a son of Lord
Kilmarnock (see page 500 and 507 Scotch-Irish in America, Hanna).
In 1653 there was a Thomas Boyd of prominence in county Antrim. At the
present time there are thousands of this surname still living in counties
Antrim, Down and Londonderry.
Eight heads of Boyd families signed the memorial to Governor Shute, March
26, 1718, asking encouragement to obtain land in "that very excellent and
renowned plantation" called New England. Captain William Boyd came to this
country fourteen times bringing Scotch pioneers from the north of Ireland,
and finally located at Londonderry. There is reason to believe that many of
the Scotch Boyds who came between the years 1718 and 1750 from Ulster were
his near relatives. A number of them located at Bristol, Maine.
(I) John Boyd, doubtless one of the Scotch-Irish pioneers, was born in 1704-05,
died June 30, 1789. He married Margaret Long 11 April 1731, in Boston who died
September 30, 1793, aged eighty-six. He and his brother David Boyd settled
in 1762 in the town of Shelburne, then Hampshire Co, MA. The census of 1790
gives four heads of family of this name.
See
more on this line
(II) John (2), son of John (1) Boyd, was born in 1733, died at Shelburne,
October 15, 1815. His will is filed in the county records of Franklin county
at Greenfield. His wife Mary (Warren) Boyd died at Shelburne, August 19,
1825, aged eighty-eight years.
(III) Thomas, son of John (2) Boyd, was born at Shelburne in 1771, died at
York, New York, January 24, 1856. He was a farmer. He married (first)
Susannah, daughter of Edward and Beulah (Parsons) Smith, the latter a
daughter of Jacob and Beulah (Hunt) Parsons. She died August 26, 1815, aged
forty years. He married (second) Polly, who died August 22, 1822. He married
(third) Miriam Allis, who died October 22, 1856, aged eighty years.
(IV) Thomas Parsons Boyd, son of Thomas Boyd, was born at Shelburne, August 18,
1809. He was a farmer and prominent in the Methodist Episcopal church, of
which he was a local preacher. He married, at East Bloomfield, New York, May
22, 1833, Anna, daughter of Elisha Steele (6), Sergeant Elisha (5),
Lieutenant John (4), Lieutenant John (3), John (2), John Steele (1), the
immigrant of Farmington. Children of Thomas Parsons Boyd: Almira, born
August 8, 1834; Pliny Steele, May 18, 1836, mentioned below; Louisa J., July
19, 1838; Edward E., April 16, 1842; Myron Holly, July 20, 1844; Harriet A.,
October 4, 1846; Ella M., August 5, 1848.
(V) Rev. Pliny Steele Boyd. son of
Thomas Parsons Boyd, was born at Greigsville, Livingston, New York, May 18,
1836. He was a Congregational clergyman and wrote much for religious
periodicals and published two books. In politics he was a Republican. He
graduated from Oberlin College in the class of 1860 and taught school from
1860 to 1862. He studied theology at Andover Theological Seminary from 1862
to 1865. He was in the service of the United States Christian Commission in
1865-66. He was ordained and installed as pastor of the Congregational
church at Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, in 1867. He became pastor of the
Congregational church at Ridgefield, Connecticut, in 1869. He was called to
Amesbury, Massachusetts, in 1871, and remained in that parish until 1886
when he was settled at Granby, Massachusetts. He was pastor there until his
death, December 6, 1887. He married, September 16, 1860, Mary Jane Allen,
born at Southbridge, Massachusetts, September 16, 1836, daughter of Rev.
Ralph Willard Allen (7), Chester (6), Samuel (5), Joseph (4), Samuel (3),
John (2), Samuel Allen (1), immigrant ancestor, of East Windsor,
Connecticut. Mary Jones (Tower) Allen, wife of Rev. Ralph Willard Allen, was
a daughter of Moses Tower (8), Malachi (7), Malachi (6), Peter (5), Jeremiah
(4), Jeremiah (3), John (2), Robert Tower (1), of Hingham, Massachusetts,
the immigrant ancestor. Children of Rev. Pliny Steele Boyd: Herbert Wendell,
born at Hingham, April 5, 1862; Willard Parsons, Andover, June 29, 1863;
Edward Steele, mentioned below; Maurice Chester, Ridgefield, Connecticut,
June 16, 1869; Charles Allen, Amesbury, Massachusetts, July 23, 1874; Pliny
Arthur, Amesbury, March 10, 1876.
(VI) Edward Steele, son of Rev. Pliny Steele Boyd, was born at Shelburne
Falls, Massachusetts, September 8, 1867. He graduated from the Amesbury high
school in the class of 1885, from the Arms Academy of Shelburne Falls in
1886, and from Amherst College in the class of 1890, and was given the
degree of A.M. in 1893. He taught school from 1890 to 1898. Since 1898 he
has been superintendent of schools of Woodbury, Connecticut, and is
secretary and treasurer of the Woodbury Electric Company. In politics he is
a Republican. He has been selectman of Woodbury and for a number of years
has been justice of the peace, and a member of Connecticut legislature of
session of 1911. He is a member of King Solomon Lodge, Free and Accepted
Masons, and at present master. He is interested in history and genealogy and
is a member of the Connecticut Historical Society. In religion he is a
Congregationalist and clerk of the First Congregational Church of Woodbury.
He is a director of the Woodbury Savings Bank. He belongs to the Litchfield
County University Club and the Connecticut Society of Sons of the American
Revolution. He married, at Woodbury, August 20, 1895, Helen Amanda Shove,
born at Washington, Connecticut, April 7, 1865, daughter of Burton and
Sylvia (Platt) Shove. Burton Shove was a farmer, born at Warren,
Connecticut, December 10, 1834, son of Cyrus Shove (6), Seth (5), Dr. Seth
(4), Seth (3), Rev. Seth of Danbury (2), Rev. George Shove (1), the
immigrant ancestor, who settled at Taunton, Massachusetts. Sylvia (Platt)
Shove was born at Washington, Connecticut. November 20, 1830. daughter of
Henry (6), Fowler Merwin (5), Epenetus (4), Gideon (3), Joseph (2), Richard
Platt (1), a pioneer at Milford, Connecticut.
Children of Edward Steele
Boyd: Harmon Shove, born at Woodbury, September 24, 1896; Anna, September
30, 1898; Burton Steele, August 22, 1903. New England Families
Genealogical and Memorial, William Richard Cutter, New York, 1913.
HOME
|
|
Try this Search Engine
Boyd Tavern Foundation
Boyd Trees Data Base
Australia
Brazil
Canada
England
France
Germany
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Jamaica
Norway
New Zealand
Panama
Russia
South Africa
South America
Scotland
West Indies
NOTE TO RESEARCHERS
When you use this site, please
keep in mind the difference between primary and secondary sources and the
importance of checking those sources. Accept nothing without further
checking. It is our hope that through this collection of data from many
sources, you will find a piece of the puzzle that you are working on and
that may lead you to other discoveries.
Boyd Trees has been
updated. The new file includes 110,000 individuals and over
17, 000 Boyds.
Boyd Trees is a data base devoted to any family tree that includes the
surname BOYD. Stop by and take a look at what we have:
Link
Genealogy Books
Habitat for Humanity
|
