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

Hon. James K. Boyd ~ Lizzie A. Shaffer

Hon. James K. Boyd, ex-Mayor of Johnstown, is a notable example of a man who has achieved honorable successes by the force of a strong character. Although we may believe that God makes new Adams every day, we cannot but acknowledge the powerful influence of heredity and be glad if in our own case we can look back upon a line of strong, sturdy ancestors. Mr. Boyd has reason to be especially proud of his ancestral stock. In the first place, he has Scotch blood in his veins, in the second, his ancestors, as the records show, were among the hardy, pioneer settlers of America where no lily-livered man dared live. 

William Boyd, perhaps the great-great-grandfather of James K. Boyd, was one of the early settlers of Somerset county, Pennsylvania. Among his family were two daughters and one son. While he was on a business trip to New York, the Indians of the Miami-Ohio region, made a forage into Pennsylvania, capturing the two daughters and the son, and tomahawking his wife and an infant son. William Boyd did not rest in his pursuit of the Indians until he had recaptured the two daughters. The son David was never recaptured but was afterward heard of in Canada. William Boyd afterward married a second time, and from this union Hon. James K. Boyd is descended. The grandfather, James Boyd, and the father of our subject, were born and lived all their lives in Somerset county, Pennsylvania. The father, who was born September 23, 1814, was for a time in his early life, manager of a section of the Pittsburgh pike, from Stoyestown to Ligonier. Afterwards he went into the hotel business at what is known as Sliding Rock on top of Laurel Hill. Later he moved near Jennertown, Somerset county, where he kept hotel until he died September 27, 1854. The latter hotel, owing to the affability and good management of the host, was known as a very popular resort.

William Boyd was a democrat of pronounced views. His family consisted of three boys and one girl: our subject; Joshua Boyd, deceased; William P. Boyd who resides in Johnstown, and Missouri J. Boyd, wife of Daniel Peterson, of Jennerville, Jenner township, Somerset county. Hon. James K. Boyd was born January 26, 1845, in Jenner township, Somerset county, at the Boyd homestead, situated on the old Pittsburg pike, on the top of the Laurel Hill mountains. He was educated in the common schools. After his father's death, at the age of eight years, he went on a farm, where he lived for nine years, when he went to learn the trade of a carpenter. These facts, simple and seemingly small in their importance, are a testimony to his worth, even as a young boy. After serving his apprenticeship faithfully, he worked at his trade in Somerset county until 1864. Then coming to Johnstown, he was employed by the Cambria Coal and Iron company and by the Pennsylvania Railroad company, and later by W. J. Rose, for whom he worked for twenty-three years. So efficient and enterprising was he in his work that he became Mr. Rose's architectural manager, and in this capacity erected many of the finest buildings in the town.

Mr. Boyd is a republican and a loyal citizen, and, as such, has always taken an active part in the affairs of government. His fellow citizens have manifested their confidence in his character and capabilities by electing him to various public offices. He was auditor of the borough of Johnstown, prior to its incorporation as a city. In 1891 he was elected city treasurer, and 1893, mayor, serving one full term. In addition to these positions of public trust, he has held or holds important offices in fraternal organizations and business corporations. He is ex-Deputy State Counselor of the O. U. A. M., Past Supreme Commander of the A. O. K. of M. C., and ex-Deputy Supreme Archon of the Independent Order of Heptasophs. He has been president of the Johnstown Building and Loan association for about twenty years. He is vice-president of the Cambria Building and Loan association, is a member of the Board of Trade, and during his term as mayor, was by reason of his position, a director of the Conemaugh Valley Memorial hospital. On December 28, 1871, Mr. Boyd married Miss Lizzie A. Shaffer, and to this union have been born five children: Nannie May Boyd and Joshua Boyd, both deceased; William F. Boyd, Charles A. Boyd and James K. Boyd Jr.  As will be seen by this sketch, our subject has had an invaluable inheritance, the blood of a good race, and the traits of courageous ancestry. He has had an education which was derived from self-directed, independent effort and which is the best education. He is a useful man, living among people, knowing them and doing them good.

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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