Sea Captain John Boyd's Family: 2016

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Rest in Peace, Cousin Connie!

Connie Boyd Chester was a cousin, a great friend and my Boyd genealogy research partner. We met on-line in 2000. She was a tech savvy grandma!

Connie had posted her Boyd family tree on the web and we connected. It was exciting to find another cousin wanting to learn more about our Boyd family, finally!

Over the next 15 years, we shared information, photos and stories. We put our heads together to try to solve the mystery of Old John Boyd, the sea captain who seemed to fall off the face of the earth in 1805.

Connie had been working on this problem for more than 40 years! That's persistence!! I'd really only gotten started a few years before we met, while my Grandpa was still living. He always told stories about his Boyd grandparents and I wanted to capture those while I could.

When we first corresponded, I lived several states away. So we kept the postal service and email lines hopping. After several years, I took a job in Connie's area. We enjoyed getting together for coffee and would visit for hours about the lives of our ancestors. We also got together for the Phillipsburg Rodeo each summer. I will miss those visits.

With the help of Connie's granddaughter, Jodie, we were able to locate and visit Old John Boyd's grave site (above) in the Presbyterian Cemetery in Bensalem, PA. What a thrill that was!

We were also able to uncover the Cabeen Manuscript that details how John Boyd and Ann Bessonett met in Halifax and married in Philadelphia soon after. I remember sitting in the cafe in Glade and sharing that document with Connie. We were both like kids in a candy store!

Genealogy is quite a journey! You learn fascinating stories about the life of our ancestors. But, its the family members you meet along the way that make life special.

I feel blessed to have gotten to know Connie and her family, my Boyd cousins through this journey.

You will be missed, cousin Connie! Until we meet again!

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Minnie Mary Sophia Boyd

MINNIE MARY SOPHIA BOYD was born on 24 Jan 1904 in Columbus, Platte, Nebraska, USA. She was the first child of Ralph Waldo Emerson Boyd and Minnie Hoge Boyd. Her mom, Minnie Hoge Boyd, died 19 Feb, 1904. Minnie Mary Sophia wasn’t a month old. Her mom’s obit notes that “Besides her husband the young wife leaves the infant daughter who has steadily failed in strength since its birth and no hope is given relatives of its recovery.” Minnie Mary Sophia did survive and was raised by her grandparents, RC and Sophia Boyd.

She married ALBERT LOUIS SEDGWICK. They settled in Oklahoma. She died in July 1984 in Pryor, Oklahoma.

At the recent reunion, Minnie Mary Sophia’s descendants wanted to share a special remembrance of her with the Boyd cousins. They brought a box full of beautiful doilies to share with the reunion attendees. There were grape patterns, flowers and many interesting and intricate patterns and colors. The one I chose was a dogwood pattern. It is a beautiful table topper. She was a talented hand worker. What a treasure!

Thanks, Ronald and Barbara! You can see this special doily is right at home at my house!

Monday, June 27, 2016

Ship Harry

Good Old John Boyd, the Ship Master, was also Master of the Ship Harry. I'd found several clippings from Philadelphia area newspapers around 1800 that showed this relationship. At the reunion, there was a shipping certificate listing the cargo from one of the trips across the ocean to Malaga.

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Reunion Treasures

There were so many amazing family history treasures that were on display at the reunion. Thanks to everyone who brought family memories to share.

Here are a few of the cool things that we saw and learned from.

John and Susan L. Yardley Boyd's family bible.

Family Bible and some of the documents tucked inside

RC and Sophia Boyd's Photo Album

Young RC Boyd Family

LtoR - Back Row - Ethel, Dave, Tom, Ralph

Middle Row - Jessie, Sophia, Anne, RC

Sitting on Laps - Edith and Letitia Christine

Taken approximately 1893 in Columbus, NE

Boyd Reunion 2016

It's been a few weeks now since the Boyd family gathering in Columbus, Nebraska. What an amazing experience! We met many new cousins. We shared stories, photos and memorabilia. I learned so much about the Boyd family past and present.

We held a potluck picnic like the family would have done back in the day. We also attended the United Methodist Church that our ancestors would have attended. We visited several area cemeteries to decorate the graves and remember those who came before us.

RC Boyd had 9 children who lived to adulthood. Descendants of 3 of those children gathered together for the weekend event. We had such a great time that we've decided to gather again in 2 years. So if you're an RC Boyd descendant, post a comment here and we'll add you to the mailing list as plans develop for the next event. It would be truly amazing if we could include representatives from all 9 of these children in attendance.

Here are a few photos from the gathering.

Picnic Goers at Pawnee Park in Columbus, NE

Roger Sedgwick brought a great selection of photos. Can we identify them all??? We spent a lot of time pouring over photos, making scans and trying to get them all identified.

Visiting RC and Sophia Boyd's graves. They are buried with their children Robbie and Willie who died very young and Letitia Christine who died in her early 20s. Also buried with the is their daughter in law Minnie Hoge Boyd, Ralph's first wife.

Descendants of Minne Hoge Boyd and Ralph Waldo Emerson Boyd.

Reliving family memories

Great to see the younger generation getting interested in their family history.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

Photos from a Later Album of Ethel Boyd Palme

1. Merwin Boyd

2. Robert Palme, Eugene Mowery, Harold Boyd 1910

3. Ethel Boyd Johannes and Ruby Boyd Mills Summer Picnic Fun

4. Family Gathering - Need Help Identifying!

5. Eugene and Ruth Mowery 25th Anniversary 1952 -
LtoR Dorothy, ? child, Dorothy Louise, ? man and child, Gene, Ruth, ?children, Donald, ? Inabelle M. Ross

Thanks cousin Sharon for helping identify these family members. Need Help Identifying the rest!