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John Wesley Boyd and Eveline Chalfant

Columbus, Ohio

JOHN W. BOYD. For many years a resident of Franklin County [Ohio], John Wesley Boyd was classed among the best representatives of the farming interests of Ohio and by his many friends who still survive him this record will be gratefully received. he resided in Pleasant township [near Columbus, Ohio], having come to the Buckeye state from Pennsylvania, his birth having occurred in Allegheny, in July, 1822. His grandfather, William Boyd, died in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, where through many years he had followed the tailor's trade. He was of Irish (Ulster Scot) lineage, the family having been founded in the new world at an early epoch in the history of this republic. His son, William Boyd, Sr., the father of our subject, was born and reared in Allegheny, and when he had reached man's estate he married Eleanor Watson. By trade he was a blacksmith, but ill health prevented him from following that pursuit, and as he was a man of superior education he engaged in teaching school, being employed as an instructor in high schools. He died in his native city about 1834, his widow long surviving him. She reached a very advanced age, departing this life in Pittsburg.

John Wesley Boyd was only twelve years of age at the time of his father's death. He remained with his widowed mother, assisting her in all possible ways. He acquired a good education, and then learned the carpenter's trade in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, in order to be prepared for the practical and responsible duties of a business career. When he had mastered his chosen occupation he became identified with the building interests of Brownsville and afterward engaged in contracting and building in the state of Missouri for fifteen years. Prior to his removal to the west he was married, in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, to Eveline Chalfant, who died in northern Missouri. Prior to the Civil war, in connection with a Mr. Smith, he purchased and sold much land in the south, and afterward came to Ohio to visit his sister, Mrs. Rachel Brubaker, of Pleasant Township [Franklin County, Ohio]. Here he formed the acquaintance of Miss Sarah Ann Hays, whom he made his wife. She was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, fourteen miles from Philadelphia, and was of Irish lineage, her paternal grandfather, Edward Hays, having been a native of the Emerald Isle. Crossing the briny deep to the new world, he located in Philadelphia, and there married Martha Tuston. To some extent he followed farming, but gave the greater part of his attention to shoemaking. He and his wife both died in Philadelphia, his demise occurring when he had reached the age of more than ninety years. Edward Hays, the father of Mrs. Boyd, was born in Philadelphia in 1800, and there learned and followed blacksmithing. He wedded Hester Lightcap, of Bucks county, Pennsylvania, a daughter of Solomon and Anna Mary Lightcap, who resided about fourteen miles from Easton, Pennsylvania. In 1834 or 1835 Mr. Hays with his wife and children came to Ohio, making the journey by wagon. They crossed the mountains and proceeded on their way to Columbus, at length reaching the home of Mr. Lukens, in Pleasant Township [Franklin Co. OH], that gentleman having been an old friend of the family. Mr. Hays purchased one hundred acres of land in the Pennsylvania settlement--a timber tract--in the midst of which he cleared a small portion in order to erect a round-log cabin. Each year he cut away more timber until his farm was all cleared and improved. There he made his home until his death, in September, 1873. His wife, Hester, died within a few hours of her husband's death, and they were buried in the same grave. Their children were: James [Hays], who resided in Pleasant township, but died in Circleville, whither he had gone on business; Abraham [Hays], who died in Burlington, Iowa; George [Hays], who died in this township; Mrs. Boyd; and Emily [Hays], who became the wife of Isaac Hays, and passed in 1874"

At the close of the war Mr. Boyd rejoined his family in Pleasant township, Franklin county [Ohio], and soon afterward purchased a farm near Alton, in Madison county, Illinois, where he spent seven years, and then returned to the old homestead in Pleasant township where his wife's people had formerly resided. He purchased the interest of the other heirs in the place, and there continued agricultural pursuits until his death, which occurred March 4, 1896. He was a staunch Republican in politics, and from early youth was a devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. His loyalty as a soldier was simply an index to his character in every relation of life, and his trustworthiness, kindliness and many excellent qualities won him the respect and high regard of all.

Unto Mr. Boyd by his first marriage were born three children, namely: William Hamlet Boyd, of St. Louis, Missouri; Lewis Frank Boyd, of Plattsmouth, Nebraska; Ophelia [Boyd], who became the wife of John Curran, and died at Jamestown, Missouri. By the second marriage there were two children--Samuel Edward Boyd, of Columbus, and Hester Eleanor Boyd, who is now [1901] the wife of Thomas Green."

A Centennial Biographical History of The City of Columbus and Franklin County, Ohio Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1901 (pp. 453-455).

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