CHIEF:  Alastair Ivor Gilbert Boyd 7th Baron Kilmarnock

Richard G. and Jerri Lynn Boyd

568 W. Friedrich Street

Rogers City, Mich. 49779

Contact Us: RichBoyd "at" Speednetllc.com

Adam Boyd ~ Jeannette Macfarlane

Northampton County, PA

Adam Boyd, son of John Boyd and Elizabeth Young, was a native of Northampton county, Pa., born in 1746. He m., 1784, Jeannette Macfarlane, His ancestors were of that sturdy and fearless race who, after winning religious liberty at home, braved the perils of the ocean and a life in the wilds of America, that they might establish civil and religious freedom in the New World. The ancestor of this family was Adam Boyd, an officer of the rank of captain in the army sent by Charles I to Ireland, on the roll of Scottish division June 5, 1649. As was usual in Scotland, one of the sons, Adam (2) went into the Church; his son Adam (3) was also a Presbyterian clergyman. Early in 1714, his son John (4) and a younger brother, Rev. Adam Boyd left their native land, Scotland, arriving at Philadelphia in the summer of that year. John m., the year following, Jane Craig, daughter of Thomas Craig, and subsequently became (1728) one of the first emigrants to the "Irish Settlement," now in Northampton county. His son John, born in Philadelphia in 1716, m., in 1744, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Young, "an Ulster baronet." Their eldest son was Adam Boyd the subject of this sketch. He learned the trade of a carpenter, and was following that avocation when the war of the Revolution called to arms. When the State of Pennsylvania had formed its little navy for the protection of the ports on the Delaware, in 1776, Adam Boyd received his first commission. In 1777 he was honorably discharged. He at once entered the army proper, holding the same rank therein. He was at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, with two of his brothers, one of whom, John, was killed in the latter engagement. Subsequently, Lieut. Boyd acted as "master of wagons," with the rank of captain, and as such remained with the army until the surrender of Yorktown. Passing Harris ferry, in the spring of 1782, to the home of his mother, near Newville, Mr. Boyd was struck with the immense advantages offered by the location of the proposed town. He subsequently purchased of the proprietor a lot on the corner of Second and Mulberry streets. In 1784 he became a permanent resident. The dwelling-house erected by him in 1792 on lots 210 and 212 of the original plan of the borough, on Second below Mulberry, is yet in the ownership of his descendants. Under the first charter of Harrisburg in 1791, he was chosen a burgess, Dr. John Luther being the other. In 1792 he was elected treasurer of the county, and held the office until 1806, when he declined a re-election. In 1809, Mr. Boyd was elected a director of the poor, and during his term of office, the county poor-house and mill were erected under his direction. Mr. Boyd d. on the 14th of May, 1814; was interred in the Presbyterian graveyard, of which he was an elder. Subsequently his remains were removed to the Harrisburg cemetery. In private trusts Mr. Boyd was very frequently employed. His correspondence and accounts are precise and methodical, particularly the care with which he managed the estate of the younger William Maclay. In person he was five feet eight inches in height, a stout, healthy, florid man, dark brown hair and eyes. At fifty-two years of age he had no gray hairs. He is rated on the "Mill Purchase" at 23 2s., being the fourth highest assessment upon that curious record.  Adam Boyd m., 1784, Jeannette Macfarlane, b. June 23, 1764; d. December 4, 1790, buried at Harrisburg; daughter of Patrick Macfarlane and Rosanna Howard, b. 1735. Patrick Macfarlane, b. 1727, son of James Macfarlane and Jeannette Buchanan, daughter of Robert Buchanan; James, b. in Scotland, December 24, 1695, came to America in 1717, m., 1724, in Pequea, now Lancaster county. The only descendant of Adam Boyd and Jeannette was Rosanna Boyd, who m. Hugh Hamilton.

Source: Pennsylvania Genealogies, William Henry Egle, 1886

NOTE: Use this data as a finding tool, just as you would any other secondary source. When you find the name of an ancestor listed, confirm the facts in original sources.

Back to Main Page

Updated 

Information

Copyright 2001- 2003  © Clan Boyd Society International. All Rights Reserved. Web Site Designed by "WebCreationDirect" 

Do not duplicate in any form without permission of Clan Boyd Society International.