Boyd Family Reunion - Virtual Style!

1936 Family Reunion Celebrating Grandma Sophie's Birthday!

Each summer, the Boyd clan would gather to celebrate Sophia J. Boyd's birthday.  My mom got to celebrate her birthday with her great grandma.  A special time!

We were supposed to join together this weekend back in the Boyd family hometown, Columbus, Nebraska.  I was really looking forward to meeting some of my Boyd cousins for the first time.  Several, I've visited with on-line for a year or more.  And, of course, getting to see other Boyd cousins that we've shared memories with over the years.  

Thanks to modern technology, we will get the chance to meet through a virtual reunion.   

Can't wait to see everyone this weekend!

Civil War Letters

John Boyd senior went to the Civil War as an old man.  Why?  His son, Robert Cabeen Boyd, had joined his brothers Horatio, George and John in signing up to serve in the Union Army.  

Upon arriving home to tell his parents what he had done, he was told that he would not be going to war.  He would be staying home to take care of the farm and his family.  

His father, John Boyd senior, aged 61, went and checked in in his son's place.  

We have a number of letters that father John wrote home to his family over the time he served in the military.  There are time "gaps" in these letters.  It makes me wonder if others in the Boyd clan might have additional letters to add to this story??  If you read this and do have some of these precious letters, please let me know and we'll add them to the blog so that this part of our family history can be shared and not lost to time. 

Current known letters:

February 24, 1863 - Lexington area
March 1, 1863 - Lexington, Camp Ella Bishop
May 25, 1864 - Kingston ? County Georgia
November 6, 1864 - Atlanta
March 18, 1865 - Susan Yardley Boyd dies while her husband is away
April 1865 - Furlough Affidavit
May 2, 1865 - Washington, DC
May 3, 1865 - On Board Gov't Boat - Fortress Monroe
May 3, 1865 - Pass
May 18, 1865 - Greensboro, North Carolina
May 29, 1865 - Greensboro

 

March 1, 1863 - Lexington, Camp Ella Bishop

 

May 25, 1864  Kingston, Georgia

 

November 6, 1864 - Atlanta, Georgia

Furlough Affidavit - April 1865

May 2, 1865 - U.S. Sanitary Commission

 May 3, 1865 - On Board Gov't Boat - Fortress Monroe

Pass

May 18, 1865 - Greensboro, North Carolina

May 29, 1865 - Greensboro

 

Boyd Cousins

We had the pleasure of meeting some new (to us) Boyd cousins this past weekend.  It was great to get to meet descendants of Edith (Boyd) and Otto Johannes.  Lots to learn and share with each other.  

Bob brought some interesting Boyd history documents to share.   Here's a great letter written by R.C. Boyd giving a little about his life after the birth of their first child, John Thomas Boyd.  He refers to "RYE" who I believe is his wife, Maria Briggs Boyd.  The letter also refers to a George Briggs who is Maria's older brother.  They are living at Van Meter, IA at the time of his writing.  The letter is sent to RC Boyd's sister Susan Yardley Atwater in Cambridge, Illinois.

Van Meter, IA 6   1879

 My Dear Sister
Your kind letter was received a few days ago but this is the first chance I have had to answer it since I got it.  we are well a present that is the Boy & My Self  Rye is not feeling very well has not done any thing for a month  I mean any work!  Last week our Girl left us She stayed eight weeks then thought she must leave.  Rye was not able to do her work so we came up to George Briggs & Rye is staying here I am out of a job in Van Meter.  As my time was out

here last Wednesday I commenced on another job at Desoto the next morning at Thirteen dollars a week.  He is running two shops one in Desoto and one in Winterset.  He gave me my choice in the two places & I take Winterset.  It is about seventeen miles from here & is as lively a place as there is in the west.  We will not move until after Election.  I think Rye will be in traveling order by that time.  I will have to go over to Winterset tomorrow.  I sold my house here at just what it cost So I saved the rent but had to sell my ? Will get him for A ? My cow pigs & calves for eighty dollars.  They cost me fifty dollars.  They got me this far & I had to stop & get supplies as Mrs. Briggs was away with a sick woman went last night at eleven & it is almost that time now.  Twenty four hours she is having a fearful time there has been three other nurses there & a Doctor all the time.   I got up a husky supper & then washed up the dishes like a little man.  I had a letter from H the other day he said they had bought a school house to put on my land it cost 340 They bought it for 110 George will live in it this winter You said in your last you did not think you would come out this fall  I wish you would it will be quite a disappointment to us not to have you come Do you want me to pay you anything on that note

this fall if you do I will pay it but if you are not neading it I would like to keep it  I got my house paid for a little over 200.00 I saved that much out of my wages I think that is doing very well But would not do so well if it was not for Rye
You wanted to know what we called the boy & if he ? his Father Mother & Aunt ?  He looks very much like ? & we call him John Thomas after his two Grandfathers.
But I must close Hoping to hear from you soon I am as ever your affectionate Bro RC Boyd Rye sends her love to all excuse these hurried lines Bob
Write soon

History for Another Year!

The Boyd reunion was this past weekend in Columbus.  We had a fabulous time getting to meet and know new cousins and renew acquaintance with those we met at the last gathering.  We even had cousin Jane join us via facetime from New Zealand!!  Modern technology is amazing!

 We visited the local cemeteries and left decorations to remember our family members.

Boyd Reunion Coming Soon!

In less than 2 weeks, the Boyds will be back in town. . .  Columbus, Nebraska, that is, for our reunion.  Looking forward to renewing acquaintance with those we met last time and meeting new cousins. 

Another Week of Amazing Discoveries!!

This past weekend a cousin came to visit.  She brought a large suitcase filled with family treasures to pour over!  And that we did!  We spent over 20 hours reviewing, scanning, problem solving and trying to put the pieces of our Boyd family history together!  Oh how we wished that "grandma" was alive to ask!

I was absolutely in awe of the items she shared on disc (because they were too large or fragile to transport) and all of the amazing new images we studied.  There were some we knew right away, a few we were able to deduce and still many more that we will be researching and trying to identify.

Let me share a few of these things here in hopes that someone might stumble upon them and help us to sort things out.

An image we knew. . . 

John "the second" is pretty easy to pick out in most photos, but it was sure nice that someone took the time to add the information to this photo of him!

An image we think we know after studying it for quite awhile and comparing with other family records we have. . .

We believe this to be younger RC and Sophia (Thornburg) Boyd with her sister and sons.  The inscription on the back says that this is "Aunt Tiney" and her boys.  If we are right, she is Estina 'Tina' (Thornburg) Wilkinson and these are her two oldest sons, Lloyd and Guy.  Would love some verification of this!!

And then there's this great 4 generation photo. . .

We have absolutely no idea who they are!  They are dressed in such lovely attire.  Grandma looks like she would have stories to tell.  

Thanks to cousin Jane for making the trip and bringing these treasures to share with the clan.  Over the next few weeks, I'll work on processing, labeling and posting some of these great photos here in hopes that YOU might be able to help us solve the many photo mysteries in our Boyd treasure chest!

Bucks County Adventure 2017

This past month, I had the chance to walk in the footsteps of my Boyd ancestors.  What a thrill that was!

I didn't solve all of the family mysteries that I'd hoped to, but I did learn some new things and explored what their lives might have been like during the American Revolution.

They were involved in a variety of ways in that history.  Living just down the road from Washington Crossing, they had a first hand look at the action.  Providing feed for the horses of the troops, directly serving in military units, hosting Marquis de Lafayette in their home were just a few of the ways our family got involved.  I'm sure there are many stories yet to discover concerning this chapter of our family history.

We found the estate papers of Captain John Boyd who died in 1805 in Bucks County, PA.  His estate was not vast, as he died at 38 years of age.  In today's $s it equated to about $72,000.  I'd love to own even one of the 9 Windsor chairs that he owned or the silver pocket watch that he no doubt used as he sailed the high seas.

We visited the Friends Meeting House where Thomas and Susanna (Brown) Yardley attended and were laid to rest not far from Yardley, PA.

Still holding services there today!

 

We visited the Brandywine Battlefield in Chadd's Ford, PA and the winter quarters park at Valley Forge.  These visits gave a new appreciation for the kind of leader Washington had to have been to keep the troops focused on the goal of independence.  Supplies were short, accommodations far from the comforts of home that we enjoy today! 

Did a little exploring of my Loyalist ancestors who ended up in Nova Scotia as a result of the outcome of the Revolution!  Daniel Bessonett must have been quite a guy!  He commanded a group of men that was known as "Bessonett's Coy".  He received a land grant from the crown for his efforts.

We visited Bristol, PA, home of the Boyds, Yardleys, Bessonettes, Cabeens and Bostwicks. 

 It was thrilling to walk down main street and locate the placard on the building that housed the business started by Horatio N. Bostwick and involving Boyd and Cabeen ancestors, too.

It's a tattoo parlor today!  Kinda glad it wasn't open for business while we were visiting downtown. 

We visited St. James' Episcopal Church and cemetery while in Bristol.  Like most cemeteries back east, they are falling into disrepair due to vandalism, families moving away and just the shear cost of upkeep.  We were very grateful that the Priest noticed a couple of gals with cameras in hand and came out to lend a hand!  There were over 1,000 buried in the cemetery and they had a great map in the office to help us make sense of the unusual layout!  We would never have found the grave sites without their help.  Many had illegible or completely removed writing.  

 Robert and Ann (Bessonett Boyd) Cabeen's Stone (We think!)

 Kirkbride family stones.  We tried to reset the one, but it was just too heavy to budge.

 Church established in the 1720s. 

Charles Bessonette's stone.  He was the Loyalist Daniel's father.

We also had a little fun with a living relative on the Schlichting side of the family.  Cousin Jennifer joined us for a day of touring in Philadelphia.  It was great to get to spend the time together.  Looking forward to the next time!

 

Special "box" seats at the Sunday morning services.

Betsy Ross House

  Ben Franklin's Tomb

 Well this long blog post has made up for my lack of posts in the past year!!  It was an awesome whirlwind trip.  These were only a few of the highlights. . . there were 5 cemetery visits, 10 library/archive/museum tours, 8 states in 10 days!  We needed a vacation to recover from the vacation!

Family discovery is a fascinating experience.  Getting to walk in the paths of great men and our ancestors was thrilling.  Looking forward to reviewing all of the information we captured and seeing where these clues lead us next!!