A. E. Boyd ~ Nellie B. Overbeck

Prominent among the leading men of Knox County is A. E. Boyd, who is superintendent of the Ohio Fuel Gas Company at Mt. Vernon. He was born at Clarington, Pa., the son of W. James Boyd and Mary E. (Heasley) Boyd.

W. James Boyd was a native of Pennsylvania. At an early age he met with an accidental death in the lumber mills of Clarington, and is buried there. His wife died in Ashland in 1923 and is buried at Clarington. To Mr. and Mrs. Boyd were born five sons: A. E. Boyd, the subject of this sketch; W. H. Boyd, lives at Jamestown, N. Y.; Ernest M. Boyd, who died at Meadville, Pa., in 1929; A. R. Boyd, merchant, lives at Leeper, Pa.; and Homer E. Boyd, deceased. He was employed by the Ohio Fuel Gas Company at Wooster and met with an accidental death while engaged in work at Creston, Ohio.

A. E. Boyd was reared and educated in Pennsylvania. His father died when he was ten years old and at that early age he assisted in the support of his mother and four younger brothers. He spent several years as a telegraph operator at Millstone, Elk County, Pa., and in 1899 became associated with the Oil City Fuel Supply Company, now The United Natural Gas Company, in Pennsylvania. In 1904 he came to Mr. Vernon to work for The Ohio Fuel Supply Company. In 1911 he was transferred to Ashland to take charge of their production there. The company's offices were maintained in Ashland until 1923, when they were removed to Wooster, and he was sent there. In 1924 Mr. Boyd went to Columbus as general superintendent to take charge of gas production for his company in the entire State of Ohio, and he was serving in this capacity until the merger with the Columbia Gas & Electric Company in 1928. Mr. Boyd then returned to Mt. Vernon in charge of the Logan Natural Gas Company & Ohio Fuel Gas Company. In 1929 the Ohio Fuel Gas Company purchased the interests of the Logan Natural Gas Company, and Mr. Boyd has since served as superintendent in the Mt. Vernon territory.

The Ohio Fuel Supply Company, now the Ohio Fuel Gas Company, a subsidiary of the Columbia Gas & Electric Corporation, was organized in 1901, with wells in Knox and Licking counties. The first well was drilled on the Keckley farm in Burlington Township, near the village of Homer. Well No. 2 was drilled in Morgan Township, Knox County, in 1901, and is still supplying gas. The founders of the company were: M. C. Treat and G. W. Crawford. Mr. Treat died in 1925 and Mr. Crawford now lives in Pittsburgh, and is chairman of the board of directors of the holding company. A line was built to Zanesville in 1902 and is still used by the company. Another line was laid to Columbus in 1903 and the first compression station was built at Homer in 1904. The company's last well, No. 5411, was drilled in Newcastle Township, Coshocton County, in February, 1931, and is located on the R. L. Cochran farm. The depth of this well is 3,276 feet. Average depth of the company's wells throughout the state is 3,000 feet. Oil production is set entirely apart from the company's gas production. It is estimated that 1,500 oil wells are in operation throughout the state.

On April 30, 1901, Mr. Boyd was united in marriage with Miss Nellie B. Overbeck, the daughter of John J. Overbeck and Catherine (Slagle) Overbeck, of Wooster. They have two daughters: 1. Lorraine Boyd, a graduate of Ashland High School, class of 1921, received the degree of Bachelor of Arts at Wooster College, and the degree of Master of Arts at Ohio State University. She is now a teacher of English in the Toledo public schools. 2. Pauline Boyd, a graduate of Ashland High School, class of 1922, received the degrees of Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts at Ohio State University, was a teacher of Latin in the public schools at Bellefontaine, Ohio, for two years, now married to Chester R. Austin, who has a B. A. and M. A. degrees from Ohio State University in ceramic engineering. Mr. Austin is now in the employ of the State of Ohio and resides at Zanesville, Ohio.

Mr. Boyd and family belong to the Church of Christ, Indianola Avenue, Columbus.

Source: History of north central Ohio embracing Richland, Ashland, Wayne, Medina, Lorain, Huron and Knox counties by William A. Duff; pub. Topeka, Ind.: Historical Pub. Co. - FHL Film 934868/ 934869

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