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Dunlop of that Ilk
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EARLY BOYDS OF ST. MARYS, CAMDEN COUNTY, GA
Samuel Boyd, d. 1830 (Lumber City, Telfair County, GA), m.
Susannah (Susan) Caroline Ashley, dau of Nathaniel and Jane Williams Ashley,
of Anson County, NC),
[Samuel and Susannah Ashley Boyd lived in coastal southeast Georgia in the
early 1800s. Samuel was Susannah's second husband. She was earlier married
(ca. 21 April, 1797, in Camden County, GA) to Daniel McGirt (sometimes
spelled McGirth), who died ca. 1803-04. It is not currently known if
Susannah was Samuel's first wife or a subsequent one.
While the date of Samuel's first appearance in Camden County has not been
established, the Camden County Court of Ordinarys minutes book shows that on
7 June, 1808, Samuel and Susannah Boyd were administrators of the estate of
Daniel McGirt. And secondary sources indicate that their first child, James,
was born in that county in April of 1807.
Samuel moved his family inland to Louisville, Jefferson County, GA, at the
outbreak of the War of 1812, in order to avoid living in a war zone.
(Source: Masonic obituary of Samuel's oldest son, James Boyd -see below.)
There is some evidence that for Samuel Boyd, this may actually have been a
return to Jefferson County, as someone by that name is listed as a
participant there in the 1805 Georgia Land Lottery. Other records indicate
that a Samuel Boyd had been granted 200 acres in Burke County in 179
(Jefferson County was originally a part of Burke) and 95 acres in nearby
Columbia County in 1794.
There is further evidence that Samuel migrated to Irwin County, GA, which
was formed in 1818, prior to living in Telfair County. The 1820 U.S. Census
of Irwin County lists a Samuel Boid (sic) as a Head of Family. In his
household are shown a free white male under 10 years of age, another between
10 and 16 years of age, a free white female under 10, and another between 10
and 16. These conform to the genders and ages of Samuel's four known
children. However, this census does not list an adult female in the
household, suggesting that Susannah Ashley Boyd may have died before 1820.
(Or it might be simply the result of faulty census data). Further evidence
of a Samuel Boyd in Irwin County at this time is found in Chalkers book,
Pioneer Days Along the Ocmulgee, which says that an election for county
officers was held on 25 May, 1820. Among those chosen was "Senator, Samuel
Boyd" (p. 154). (This fact is also noted in Huxfords Pioneers of Wiregrass,
Georgia, vol. II, p. 10). According to Chalker, part of the Ocmulgee River
section of Irwin County was ceded at an early date to Telfair County. This
could have been the manner by which Samuel Boyd's place of residence "moved"
from the one county to the other, although it is by no means certain.]
James Boyd, b 14 Apr 1807 (near St. Mary's, Camden County, GA), d 1 Jan 1884
Montgomery County, GA), buried Lumber City Cemetery, Lumber City, Telfair
County, GA, m Laurens County, GA), Mary Ann (last name unknown) b. 1810
Laurens County, GA. Little is currently known about the children of James
and Mary Ann Boyd. James' obituary reports that he had five boys and two
girls, all of whom married and had children. The Census of 1850 for Telfair
County lists James, age 41, his wife, age 40, and the following children:
Munro 20, Warren 16, Thomas 14, Susan 6, and one boy, 4. The listing of
James' age as 41 at mid-century conflicts slightly with what we can infer
from his obituary. According to the latter document, he was born in April of
1807, which would have made him either 42 or 43 at the time the 1850 census
was taken.
Other information suggests that Warren was b 17 Feb 1834, mustered out of
the Confederate army at Appomattox, and had a wife named Marcella (last name
unknown). A letter from James to his brother Robert T. Boyd dated 1 June,
1869, refers to Susan as well as a daughter named Ella, apparently born
after the 1850 census. This letter and other private correspondence make it
clear that there was also a son named R.E., sometimes referred to as Edwin
or Eddie. Eddie might have been the four-year-old from the 1850 census or
may have been another child born after that year. Another son, Robert
Samuel, died of snakebite in Telfair County, GA 3 Oct 1843, at the age of 8.
(Source: Southern Recorder, 17 October, 1843, as compiled in Georgia
Newspaper Clippings, 1810-1892. Note: This source refers to Robert Samuel as
having been the "third son" of James Boyd.) James Boyd lived most of his
life in Telfair County, Georgia where he served at age 21 as sheriff, and
later as tax collector and as a representative to the lower house of the
state legislature. (Source: Obituary and resolutions of Lumber City Lodge,
No. 199, F.A.M., dated 17 May, 1884, published in the Eastman Times and
Wesleyan Christian Advocate. Reprinted in Telfair County Extracts,
1810-1892.)]
Jane Ashley Boyd, b 8 May 1809 (near Darien, McIntosh County, GA), d 7 Nov
1894 (Palatka, Putnam County, FL), buried Peniel Cemetery, Palatka, Putnam
County, FL, m 2 Oct 1826 (Telfair County, GA), Rev. Charles Irby Shelton,
son of ------ and Shelton, b. 16 Nov 1787 County, VA), Telfair County, GA)
buried Blockhouse Cemetery, near Jacksonville, Telfair County, GA, and had
issue: [According to "Sketches of Sheltons Chapel Lumber City, Ga.", by
Tommy Brewer, Charles Shelton was a Methodist minister who volunteered for
service in the War of 1812 at Richmond, VA. He served in both Virginia and
Georgia. Captured by the British, he was imprisoned in England until
exchanged after the war. Prior to his marriage to Jane Ashley Boyd, Shelton
was married to Eliza Jane Boyd, who died 9 Aug 1822. It is possible that
Jane Ashley Boyd and Eliza Jane Boyd were half-sisters. The minutes book of
the Camden County Court of Ordinary shows that on 11 January, 1813, Eliza
Jane Boyd, "daughter of Susannah Boyd," was placed under the guardianship of
Susannah's older brother, William Ashley. No mention was made of Eliza's
father, and the implication is that he was deceased. On 18 June of that same
year, the McGirt estate,under the administration of Samuel and Susannah
Boyd, was divided among Samuel, Susannah, and Eliza Jane Boyd. These facts
lead us to think that Eliza Jane Boyd was probably the child of Susannah and
Daniel McGirt, who subsequently took her stepfathers surname. Charles and
Jane Ashley Boyd Shelton had ten children, of whom the Census of 1850 for
Telfair County, GA, lists the following eight: Susan E. age 23, Columbia 18,
Martha Ann 17, Nathaniel 14, Mary 12, James R. 9, Cowper 6, and Barcom 3.
All were born in Telfair County except Susan, who was born in Henry County.
Later sources indicate that Martha Ann married Peter H. Coffee in 1864, that
Nathaniel died 4 Dec 1861 of pleurisy, and that James R. died 13 Sept 1861
in Fairfax, VA. (Additional sources: Pioneers of Wiregrass, Georgia, v. 4,
p. 373; History of Telfair County, by Mann.)]
Ann E. Boyd, 1813 (probably in Louisville, Jefferson County, GA), m 6 July
1830 (Telfair County, GA), James J. Scarborough. (As is the case with James
and Mary Ann Boyd, and with Charles Shelton and Susan Ashley Boyd Shelton,
little is known at this time of the children of James and Ann Boyd
Scarborough.)
A letter from James Scarborough to his wifes sister-in-law, Mary Emily
Dunham Boyd (see below) indicates that James was an attorney who practiced
litigation. As of the letter's date, 21 June, 1869, the Scarboroughs had
three daughters, Sophie, Carrie, and Annie. Sophie was married to a Dr.
Wade, and lived in Macon County, GA, 31 miles above the town of Americus.
(A biographical sketch in History of Macon County, Georgia, by Louise
Frederick Hays, further identifies the doctor as John Daniel Wade, of
Abbeville, SC. This article, written by Wade's son by a subsequent marriage,
John Donald Wade, refers to his fathers first wife as Augusta Scarborough,
rather than Sophie.)
Carrie was married and had two sons, Horace Egbert, born 13 April 1855, and
Charles, born 15 Mar 1864. Annie was also married (18 Sept 1866 in St. Paul,
Minnesota) and had a daughter. According to the letter, the daughter was
"Carrie Thomas (last name illegible), named for his sister Carrie and her
husband." It is likely that James meant to say "her sister Carrie." If this
is true, then it is not clear whether "her husband" refers to Carrie's
husband's name—either first or last or to that of Annie's husband. Carrie
Thomas was born 1 Sept 1867.
Robert Talbot Boyd, b 25 April 1816 (probably in Jefferson County, GA), d 21
Jan 1879 (Palatka, Putnam County, FL), bu Westview Cemetery, Palatka, Putnam
County, FL, m 16 Oct 1851 (Palatka, Putnam County, FL), Mary Emily Dunham,
dau of David and Mary Caroline (nee Gibbs) Dunham, b 5 Dec 1830 (Scituate,
Providence County, RI), d 25 Aug 1917 (Palatka, Putnam County, FL), bu
Westview Cemetery, Palatka, Putnam County, FL, and had issue:-
[After the death of his father Samuel, Robert T. Boyd, a minor, was placed
by the Telfair County Court under the guardianship of his older brother,
James. This guardianship began on 30 December, 1830. On 14 August, 1836,
James Boyd petitioned the court to have the guardianship dissolved. In 1847,
Robert T. Boyd moved to Palatka, Putnam County, FL, to pursue the timber
logging business with a partner, Peter Munroe (sometimes spelled Munro and
Monroe). They formed a company to engage in cutting pine and cedar along the
St. Johns River. Their activities are detailed in "Boyd and Munroe:
Antebellum Lumbermen on the St. Johns River," by Robert C. Tindall,
published in Northeast Florida History: The Journal of the Jacksonville
Historical Society, v. 3 (1996) and The River Flows North: A History of
Putnam County, Florida, by Brian E. Michaels and the Putnam County Action 76
Heritage Task Force Historical Manuscript Subcommittee (1976). Much of the
Boyd-related material in these documents comes from the Robert T. and Mary
E. Boyd Papers, which are in the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History at
the University of Florida. In addition to pursuing his timber interests,
Robert T. Boyd served as sheriff of Putnam County from its creation in 1849/
1854.
Among the early members of this Boyd family, Mary E. Dunham Boyd was one of
the most colorful. She became a "local legend" in Palatka during the Civil
War when, in October of 1862, she single-handedly saved the town from being
attacked by a Union gunboat, the U.S.S. Cimarron. In the process, she also
prevented the arrest of former Florida governor William Dunn Moseley by
Federal troops. This story was told firsthand in her 1903 memoir,
"Reminiscences of Palatka," which is among her papers at the University of
Florida. It has been recounted over the years in various newspaper articles
and historical documents. The day before she died, her hometown newspaper
described her as "without doubt the oldest living
pioneer citizen of Palatka."
(Source: "Palatka's Oldest Citizen Nears Death," Palatka News and
Advertiser, 24 August, 1917, p. 1.)
Robert T. and Mary E. Boyd's life together was not a happy one. Her memoir
tells of his violent temper and of his abusiveness toward her and their
children. On 10 February, 1876, she filed for divorce. When Robert died
three years later, Mary allowed him to be buried in the family plot at
Palatka's Westview Cemetery, but in an unmarked grave.]
G. Michael ("Mike") Boyd, 2625 Burgoyne Road, DeLand, FL 32720.
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