Capt. Robert Finley Boyd ~ Lucy E. Brown

Capt. Robert Finley Boyd, who was for many years a captain on the river, has been a resident of Donora, Pa., since October 1901, and was born December 26, 1849, near Baird, Carroll Township, Washington County, Pa., and is a son of William and Cassandra (Scott) Boyd and a grandson of William Boyd, Sr.

William Boyd, Sr., was one of the earliest settlers of Monongahela City, Pa., and came here from east of the mountains by the way of Brownsville, Pa., and on the canal. He was the father of eight children, namely: Park Boyd, William Boyd, Robert Boyd, John Boyd, James Boyd, Reese Boyd, Mrs. McCullough, and Barbara Boyd. William Boyd, father of subject, was born at Monongahela City in 1826, and spent his entire life in the vicinity of that city and at Lock Four, where his death occurred in March 1861. His boyhood was spent on his father's farm and he subsequently ran on the packets between Pittsburg and Brownsville, which was the route covered by the Moorehead Packet Company, by whom he was employed. He married Cassandra Scott, who lived to an advanced age, and was a sister of A. D. Scott. Nine children were born to William and Cassandra Boyd, namely: Robert Finley Boyd, our subject; John Boyd, who was killed Oct. 4, 1882, at Iron City, Pa.; Mary Ann Boyd, the deceased wife of Samuel Insley; Noah, a resident of West Columbia; William Boyd, of Fayette County, Pa.; and four who died in childhood.

Capt. Robert F. Boyd was reared in Carroll Township, where he obtained but a limited amount of schooling, and at an early age entered the mines where he worked from 1862 until 1872, then became a deckhand on the boat Grand Lake, which ran on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. He also spent some time on that boat as lamp trimmer and in 1874, when the boat was sold, became mate on Grand Lake Boat No. 2., serving in that capacity until 18 months later when the boat was sold. He then served as mate nine years on the Joe B. Williams, a 220 foot boat with a 52 foot beam which was built in 1875 at Freedom, Pa., and ran between Pittsburg and New Orleans, and is still in service and is one of the largest vessels on the river. He then served three months a mate in the Tom Reese and six months as mate of the John A. Wood, after which he was captain of the S. L. Wood for over eight years, and after she was sold spent one year as captain on the Harry Brown, which blew up the following year. He then returned to the John A. Wood as mate for a few months and in 1898 retired from the river and returned to his home in West Columbia, where, in 1885, he had purchased land on which he had erected three houses. When the town of Monessen was laid out, he purchased property there, opened a restaurant, which one year later he rented to W. W. Elliott and returned to West Columbia, now Donora, and when Donora was laid out, purchased three lots during the first day of the land sale. He erected his present six room residence on the corner of Thompson and First streets, and in 1901, after disposing of his West Columbia property to the Union Improvement Company, purchased three 40 foot lots on McKean and First streets, where he has since erected five dwellings.

On Nov. 4, 1883, Capt. Boyd was joined in the bonds of wedlock with Lucy E. Brown, who was born in Pittsburg, Pa., and is a daughter of William and Eliza (Parkens) Brown, natives of England, and they have one son, Grover W. Boyd. Capt. Boyd is a Republican in Politics.

Source: 20th century history of the city of Washington, and Washington County, Pennsylvania : and representative citizens by Joseph F. McFarland; Micro-reproduction of original published: Chicago : Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., 1910. - FHL Film 1000576 Item 1

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

WORLD WIDE BOYDS

Australia
Brazil
Canada
England
Germany
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Jamaica
Norway
New Zealand
Panama
Russia
South Africa
South America
Scotland
West Indies

NOTE TO RESEARCHERS

When you use this site, please keep in mind the difference between primary and secondary sources and the importance of checking those sources. Accept nothing without further checking. It is our hope that through this collection of data from many sources, you will find a piece of the puzzle that you are working on and that may lead you to other discoveries.

Boyd Trees has been updated. The new file includes 110,000 individuals and over

16, 000 Boyds.

Boyd Trees is a data base devoted to any family tree that includes the surname BOYD. Stop by and take a look at what we have: Link

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