CHIEF:  Dr Robin Boyd, MA (Oxon); MB BS; LRCP, MRCS; DCH; AFOM, 8th Baron Kilmarnock

Richard G. Boyd

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

RichBoyd (at sign) Charter.net

Canfield Boyd / Martha Neff 

 Delaware County, NY

CANFIELD BOYD is a retired farmer of Cannonsville, Delaware County, NY who has made for himself a delightful home and comfortable fortune, and, what is of far greater value, a reputation as an upright man, strictly honorable in his dealings.  His great-grandfather (John), who came to America from Scotland, and made his home in Massachusetts, had two* brothers, one of whom settled in New York (Thomas), on the Hudson River, and the other in Vermont (Abraham).  William Boyd, a son of the Bay State settler, was born in Cambridge, Mass.,  March 15, 1750, served as a patriot soldier in the Revolution, and married in January, 1777, Margery Taylor, of Newington,  Conn., who was born March 7,  1758. A number of years after marriage they removed to West Springfield, MA  where they died, she in 1833, he in 1839.

* There were five brothers altogether; John Boyd Jr., Abraham Boyd, David Boyd, Samuel Boyd and William Boyd.  See:
    http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/confido/book2.htm

Their son, Elisha Boyd, was born at Cambridge in 1795, and until 1815 followed the life of a farmer there. He moved to Franklin, Delaware County, NY making the journey on horseback and in an ox cart, and here leading the life of a sturdy pioneer. In 1818 Elisha Boyd married Patty Remington, of Meredith, whose father served seven years in the American Revolutionary.

Canfield Boyd, son of Elisha and Patty (Remington) Boyd, was born in Franklin, MA 28 February 1819. His childhood was spent in attending the district school, and working on his father's farm, and he also learned the shoemaker's trade. When about thirty years of age, he purchased the land on which he now resides in Tompkins, which at that time was a desolate wilderness. His first purchase consisted of fifty acres; and, with the assistance of his neighbors, he erected a board house, which he and his wife occupied on the third night after the first tree had been felled for its frame.  Martha Neff, whom he married October 6, 1839, was the daughter of Silas and Polly (Watts) Neff, and was born in Butternuts, Otsego County. When about seventeen years of age, she left home to learn the tailor's trade, and sent to work in what is now Morris. At the age of twenty-five she married Mr. Boyd and like the faithful wife she was, insisted upon sharing his hardships in the little cabin, comforting and encouraging him and refusing the offers of more comfortable quarters for the first few weeks with her neighbors.  At the expiration of eight years Mr. Boyd purchased another fifty acres, and later, in 1882, a frame house, which he now occupies, it being of commodious proportions, and delightfully situated.

Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are the parents of four children: Henry L., Thomas W., Gilbert E., and Elbert A. Boyd.  Henry, a blacksmith by trade, married Miss Lydia Smith, of Tompkins; and they have six children now living: Hattie, Edwin, Mary, Willis, Lavina, and Ella; one daughter, Lizzie, having died of diphtheria at the age of seventeen. Thomas, a farmer in Tompkins, married Miss Nellie Mains; and they have four children: Edith, Etta, Lena, and Kenneth.  Gilbert E. Boyd, also a Tompkins farmer, married Miss Jemima Mains, a sister of Mrs. Thomas Boyd. Elbert A. works the home farm, and at present has one hundred and twenty-five acres of land in a state of high cultivation, the farm containing two hundred and thirty acres in all. Here are kept fifty head of fine cattle; and a large dairy is operated, the butter from which finds a ready market at an advanced price in the large cities of New York and New Jersey. A large quantity of honey, the product of an extensive apiary, is yearly shipped to market.

Elbert A. Boyd married Louisa M. Brown, daughter of Simeon and Lucia (Evarts) Brown; and they have one son, Emory Reed Boyd, born in 1884. Mrs. Elbert Boyd's great-grandfather, Collins Brown, came from the Eastern States in the latter part of the eighteenth century, and settled in Masonville, in this county. His wife was Margaret Chapin, a member of one of the oldest New England families.

Their son, Collins Brown, Jr., who was born in Masonville, was educated in the district school, and later received an academic training. He was married three times, his first wife being Louisa Griswold, who became the mother of Simeon P. Brown, the father of Mrs. Boyd. His second wife was Mary Neff, and his third Sarah K. Wood, who died at the age of seventy-five.

Simeon P. Brown, having received his early education in the district school of Masonville, attended the academy at Franklin, and then entered Madison University, at Hamilton, Madison County, N. Y., where he was graduated from both the classical and theological courses, after which he was ordained as a Baptist minister.  His first parish was at Sherman, Pa.; but later he went to Bennettsville, N. Y., where he remained one year. His next call was to Sidney Centre, and from there he came to Cannonsville. In 1864 he enlisted from the town of Sanford in the Sixth New York Heavy Artillery as a private, and served for eleven months. He participated in the battle of Cedar Creek, and October 19, 1864, at Winchester, was shot through the thigh, lying on the field for twenty-four hours before assistance reached him. He died from the effects of his wound six weeks later, faithful to the end, a true patriot, a beloved and loving husband, father, and friend; and his loss was keenly felt, not only by his immediate family, but by all who were fortunate enough to possess his acquaintance. His wife was Lucia E. Evarts, of Coventry, Vt., a daughter of the Rev. M. M. Evarts, a Baptist minister of that town.

Mr. and Mrs.  Simeon Brown were the parents of three children: Louisa M., who married Elbert A. Boyd; Ernest W.; and Marcus S., a physician at Walton, who died in December, 1892.

Mr. Canfield Boyd and his wife are both devoted members of the Cannonsville Baptist church, which organization they joined at the age of seventeen; and they are the acknowledged leaders in all church affairs, Mr. Boyd being a Deacon at the present time. In politics he is and always has been a Republican, a prominent man in all matters concerning the welfare of the town where he resides. His farm is one of the finest in the country, and its excellence is due entirely to his energy, strengthened by the courage and patience of his loving wife. This worthy couple are now drifting down, hand in hand, toward the close of life, looking back upon a past well spent, and forward to a future of everlasting peace.  "The Leading Citizens of Delaware County, NY., 1895"
 

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.

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