Chapter Two

Our Boyd Family 

The second son of William Lord Boyd, the 1st Earl of Kilmarnock, was Captain James Boyd (from the book "The Boyd Family", by Arthur S. Boyd Jr.). He was born in Kilmarnock in 1670. In 1696 he moved to Ireland, settling near the Giant's Causeway in the County of Antrim. The exact location where he settled is not known. His occupation was that of a soldier of fortune. It is possible that the reason for this move was because his chances of inheriting the Earldom was very remote. This is due to his older brother, William, being in line for that position. It is also possible he moved to Ireland to serve as one of the officers in the regiments there.

It is not known who James married, but it is known that he had several children. They were all believed to be born at the Old Boyd Homestead located in Knockavaddy, Parrish of Desertcreat Rock, Electorial District of Rock, County Tyrone. This is near Dungannon (the Old Boyd Homestead was built circa mid 1690's and is still there today). It should be noted here that in our first publication, we just said Knockavaddy Rock which may also be correct. That's how it was passed down to us through the generations. While doing research over the pass several years I found that the correct place goes by the long title.

Captain James Boyd's three oldest sons, James, William, and John, came to America together in the 1720's. They became the Boyd families of York County, Maine. A younger son of Captain James, believed to be named Samuel, stayed at the Old Boyd Homestead in Knockavaddy, Ireland.

Samuel was born circa 1718. It is not known who he married. However, we know he had at least five children. They were: 1) James Boyd. Born circa 1758; 2) Samuel Boyd. Born circa 1759; 3) Rebecca Boyd born 1759. 4) Jane Boyd. Born circa 1759. Married a Mr. James or Robert Hamilton; 5) William Boyd. Born circa 1766. Married Margaret Lyons. Came to America in 1804 with a large family.

James Boyd married Nancy Agnus Wier on the 4th of August in 1783. Nancy was born circa 1760 in the township of Belnegilla, County Tyrone, in the Parrish of Lisson. This is three miles from Cookstown in the Province of Ulster, Northern Ireland. NOTE: The town where Nancy was born could be Ballynagilly. Could not find Belnegilla but elders say it was 3 miles northwest of Cookstown which Ballynagilly is.

In 1795, James and Nancy, along with their children Thomas, Samuel, William, and Mary, set sail for America on the ship called "The Volunteer". During their voyage, Nancy gave birth to Margaret. The ship docked in Charleston, South Carolina on St. Patrick's Day morning. This marks the first of our Boyd line to set foot in America. Also on the ships roster were Thomas and Mary Withrow Wier with their two children. Thomas was Nancy Wier Boyd's brother.

The children of James and Nancy, by order of birth, is as follows: 1) Thomas Boyd. Birth unknown; 2) Samuel Boyd. Birth unknown; 3) William R. Boyd. Born 1785(5); 4) Mary Ann Boyd. Birth unknown; and 5) Margarat Boyd. Born 1795.

All of these families eventually moved into the central area of South Carolina, settling in the Laurens and Abbeville Districts. In 1804, James Boyd's brother, William, along with his wife Margaret Lyons Boyd and children, came to America on the ship called "The Lady Washington". Also on the roster was Nancy Wier Boyd's brother, James Wier. His wife, Mary Hamilton Wier, was with him. These families joined with their relations in the Laurens and Abbeville Districts. Robert Wier, the oldest son of Thomas and Mary Withrow Wier, was also on board. His parents left him behind in 1795 to stay and take care for his aging grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. William Withrow. Since they had passed away, he came to America to join his parents.

William R. Boyd grew up to manhood in Laurens, South Carolina. He became a private in the army and served in the War of 1812. He return to Laurens when the war was over where he met a local girl named Elizabeth Burton. They eventually married. Around 1815 or 1816, William and Elizabeth, along with William's mother and father, left South Carolina. They moved to Hall County, Georgia. It is assumed that James and Nancy wanted to stay close to their youngest son. Their two older sons had passed away. Samuel never married. The oldest son, Thomas, married and had three daughters. Their daughters both married and had large families. Mary Ann Boyd married Thomas Norris and had 13 children.

It was in Hall County, Georgia where all of William and Elizabeth's four children were born. They were: 1) James Boyd. Born circa 1816; 2) Samuel Newton Boyd. Born 1818; 3) Wier Boyd. Born 1820; 4) and Racheal Boyd. Born 1823.

Elizabeth Burton Boyd died in 1826, leaving the children at a very young age. James was about 10, Samuel 8, Wier 6, and Racheal 3. Elizabeth was buried in a large cemetery in Laurenceville, Gwinnet County, Georgia. The children then went to live with their grandparents James and Nancy Boyd who also lived in Gwinnet County at that time. The 1830 census of Gwinnet County, Georgia indicates that the children were living with them.

About the year 1835 or 1836, William moved his family over into Lumpkin County, Georgia, close to the Lumpkin and Forsyth County lines. William's parents, James and Nancy, moved just across the county line from them in Forsyth. The children grew up here then later left home when they married.

I have been unable to find material of any kind on the oldest son, James Boyd. It is believed that he was married and had a family, but, there is no proof to show this.

In the "History of Forsyth County", written by Don L. Shadburn, my great grandfather Samuel Boyd and his brother Wier Boyd were noted as Privates in Captain Hubbard Barker's company of volunteers to take to Florida in the Seminole Indian War. They were known as the "Georgia Mounted Militia". They were attached to Major Charles H. Nelson's Battalion. The company was mustered into service at Fort Henderson, Georgia, on March 27, 1839. Samuel was 21 years old at this time. Wier was 19.

William was a farmer and seems to have owned his land. He acquired it, either through an early Georgia land lottery, or through a land grant from the government for his participation in the War of 1812.

The "History of Lumpkin County for the First Hundred Years, 1832-1932", by Andrew W. Cain, has much information about our Boyds who lived there during this time. This book was reprinted in 1978 by the "Reprint Company Publishers" of Spartanburg, South Carolina. In this history book there is a picture of a large two story frame building, located on the west side of Dahlonega. This building was called The Old Academy. For many years it was the only type of school in Lumpkin County. Pupils came from miles around to attend. That is, if their parents could afford it; it was not a free school. The pupils studied in any kind of book they could get hold of. Blue-Back speller, grammar, arithmetic, and geography comprised about all of their studies. There were two sessions daily, except on Saturdays. This day was set aside for the boys to cut wood and the small children to help their parents.

The history book states that Col. Wier Boyd was a student of the Old Academy. Later, he was admitted to the Bar to become a fairly famous and well known attorney in Lumpkin County. Twice he was elected to the Georgia State Senate.

In 1842 Samuel Newton Boyd married Priscilla Wood. They came to Missouri in 1844. We find this to be true by an old letter written by Samuel to his niece, Martha Boyd Gaillaird, the daughter of Col. Wier Boyd. Samuel states in his letter that when they left Georgia, his grandmother Nancy Boyd had already passed away. Nancy died in 1843. He also states that his grandfather, James Boyd was still living. James died in 1845. So, Samuel and Priscilla must have left Georgia sometime in 1844. They settled in Hartville, Missouri which is located in Wright County. Samuel became a judge of the courts there according to the "History of Wright County, Missouri".

In an article titled "50 Years Ago Today", taken from the "Springfield Daily News", dated December 21, 1952, it is stated that; "Mrs. Sam Boyd, a pioneer citizen of Ozark, died this week.

She and her husband, former county judge of Christian County, had lived in Ozark longer than any person now there. Judge Boyd is a veteran of the Seminole War. Judge Boyd was one of the first County Judges of Wright County, 50 years ago when the court house at Hartville was built of blackjack logs. Our newspaper says that in those days the Grand Jury of Wright County held inquisitorial sittings in a glade near the town, surrounded by a Hazel thicket."

Also in an old letter Samuel wrote to his niece, he mentions that he had the old family Bible, but that it was destroyed when their home in Hartville had burned to the ground, destroying everything they owned. According to the original Platt of Hartville, their house was the second on the north side of the square, just across the street from the courthouse. When the courthouse burned down the first time, it took their home also.

Samuel and Priscilla Boyd had seven children. Four of them born in Hartville, Missouri, two born in Huntsville, Arkansas, one born in Ozark, Missouri. They were: 1) Sarah Ann Boyd. Born 1848 in Hartville, Missouri; 2) William Riley Boyd(11). Born 1850 in Hartville, Missouri; 3) Margaret Ann Boyd. Born 1854 in Hartville, Missouri. Married sheriff Zack Johnson; 4) Wier Boyd. Died in infancy in Ozark, Missouri; 5) Elizabeth Burton Boyd. Born 1859 in Huntsville, Arkansas. Married John J. Horton; 6) Green Boyd. Born 1860 in Huntsville, Arkansas. Died in infancy; 7) Lydia Frances Boyd. Born 1865 in Ozark, Missouri. First marriage was to Joseph Roberts. Second marriage was to Richard Birran.

Samuel's wife, Priscilla Wood, was the daughter of Andrew Wood and Charity Langley. According to an 1840 census, they were living in Cherokee County, Georgia. At this time, all of their children were living with them. They were: 1) Green Wood, listed between the age of 10-15; 2) Priscilla Wood, 10-15; 3) CassaroWood, 5-10; 4) Parthenia Wood, 5-10; 5) Elizabeth Wood, 0-5; 6) and Rebecca Wood, 0-5. In the 1850 census of Wright County, Missouri, my grandfather Andrew Wood was listed as age 55 and born in South Carolina. His wife, Charity, was listed as 55 and born in Georgia. Only three children were listed at home at this time. Those children were; 1) Cassaro, 18, born in Georgia; 2) Elizabeth, 14, born in Georgia; 3) and Rebecca, 10, born in Georgia. Samuel and Priscilla Wood Boyd were also listed in this same census along with their first two children. They were: 1)Sarah A., 2, born in Missouri; 2) and William R., 2 months, born in Missouri.

Andrew and Charity lived on a farm just outside of Hartville, Missouri. Since Andrew was a veteran of the Seminole Indian War, he applied to Washington for a land grant. Andrew enlisted in 1836, just three years before Samuel and Wier had enlisted. In fact, it was almost the same outfit they were in, except it was called Captain Hubbard Barker's Mounted Volunteers.

This was also in Major Charles H. Nelson's Battalion. Andrew Wood and his two brothers, William and Thomas M. Wood, were mustered into service at George Kellog's Store in Forsyth County, Georgia, on November 20, 1836, for an enrollment period of 12 months.

Andrew Wood died on the farm near Hartville in 1852. He was 52 years old and was buried somewhere near or at Hartville. He died before he ever received his land grant from Washington. Later, Charity Wood received it, but, her son-in-law, Samuel Boyd, had to return it and apply for a new one in her name. I have a copy of both grants. Andrew's warrant number was 22,281. Charity received her warrant, number 25,884, on February 27, 1854. Both were for 160 acres.

About 1857, Samuel and Priscilla Wood Boyd with their four children, and Charity, her two children left at home, seemed to have pulled up stakes and moved to Huntsville in Madison County, Arkansas. This is where Samuel and Priscilla had two more children, Elizabeth Burton Boyd and Green Boyd. Green Boyd died at birth in 1860. Charity and her daughters had gone to live with her older daughter, Parthenia. She had married Francis Qualls in Georgia and moved to Tennessee, then later moved to Madison County, Arkansas.

In 1860, just before the Civil War started, Samuel and Priscilla, with their family of 5 children, moved to Ozark, Missouri and settled in town. In a letter Samuel wrote to his brother, Col. Wier Boyd in Dahlonega, Georgia, dated 1867, Samuel mentioned he had built two houses in town and was intending to live there the rest of his life. He had also acquired 160 acres of timber land about a mile and one half south of town. This was probably his 160 acre land grant from the government, issued for being a veteran of the Seminole Indian War.

The children were enrolled in the fine school at Qzark in those days. By 1862, Priscilla Boyd owned the first tavern in Ozark. In those days, a tavern was a place for travelers to stay over night and rest and feed their teams. By this time, Samuel was acting Justice of the Peace and later became a judge of the County Court. In 1867, Priscilla helped organize the first Methodist Church in Ozark with Mrs. Pierpon Edwards, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Vaughn and Mr. and Mrs. John P. Collier. Samuel was also an unsuccessful candidate for congress in 1864.

In the year 1867, Charity came to Ozark from Berryville, Arkansas in an ox cart. With her were three little orphan grandchildren. Their names were Jefferson Wood, Noah Wood, and Minerva Jane Wood. The childrens parents were Green Wood and Minerva Gray. Minerva was a fullblooded Cherokee Indian. They were thought to have been killed by Indian confederate soldiers in a raid in southeast Kansas. Charity left a fourth grandson, Thomas Wood, bound out to the James Morris family. This was due to the fact he was too wild for her to handle. Charity had sent Rebecca, her youngest daughter, to Ozark to live with Samuel and Priscilla before she left Arkansas with the orphans. By the time she arrived in Ozark, Rebecca had been buried in the Ozark Cemetery. She had been to the Jones Spring Park and had eaten or drank something that had fatally poisoned her.

By the year 1880, my grandfather William R. Boyd, had married, moved on to the 160 acres of timber land, built his first home, and was busy clearing the timber from the land.

In the census of Christian County, Missouri in 1880, William was listed as 29 years old. His wife, Mattie, was 24. Their second child, Evalina, was 2 months. Their first child was a boy named Everett, born in 1878 and died in infancy. On this same census was William's grandmother, Charity, and his two young cousins. Jefferson Wood was listed as 17 years old and born in Arkansas and Noah Wood was 16, born in Kansas. Charity was listed as 80 years old. The two boys were listed as laborers. They were evidently helping William clear his land of timber.

William Boyd's first marriage was to Martha Frances Marley. She was the daughter of Ely Marley and Frances Paralea Weisner. Ely Marley was the son of Benjamin Marley, who came with his family to Missouri from North Carolina in 1840. They settled near Ozark in Christian County.

William Boyd and Martha had five children. They were: 1)Everett Boyd, born July 16, 1878; 2) Evalina Boyd, born March 11, 1880; 3) Beulla Boyd, born April 26, 1882. Married Will Wells; 4)Goldie Boyd, born February 3, 1885. Married Overton Bray; 5) Frances Paralea Boyd, born February 9, 1887. Married first O. K. Delmon, second Mr. Logan. Martha Francis Boyd died at the birth of her last child, Frances Paralea. (NOTE: See "The Story of My Life" by Evalina Boyd Laughlin).

After the death of his first wife, grandfather William Boyd became a deputy sheriff for his brother-in-law, Zack Johnson. Zack married Margaret Ann Boyd, William's sister. Later William became the Public Administrator and probate judge of Christian County, Missouri.

In the year 1890, William married his second wife, Miss Mary Ann Holland from near Linden, Missouri. Her father was Jasper N. Holland. Her mother was Martha Roller.

I have the complete rundown on all the related families of grandmother Boyd's relatives, which includes the Hollands, the Rollers, the Zirkles and the Robinetts(17). I have a book on all our Zirkle family that came from a little town in Germany called Ittlingen. In 1725 they left and settled near Philadelphia, Pa. Also, I have two books on the Robinett and Osborne families. The Robinett family came from near London, England. The Osborne ancestors came from Warwick, Warwickshire, England.

Let's return to my grandfather and grandmother William R. and Mary Ann Holland Boyd. They had 10 children all born in Ozark, Missouri. They were as follows:

1. Iva Alice Boyd. Born October 1, 1891. Married Howard Thomson.

2. Samuel Newton Boyd. Born January 21, 1893. Married Lena Lucy Porter.

3. Sallie Boyd. Born May 4, 1894. Married Loyal Bunch. 4. Charles Edward Boyd. Born November 28, 1895. Married Birdie Williams.

5. Lola Agnes Boyd. Born November 27, 1897. Died in infancy.

6. Celia (Selah) Boyd. Born January 11, 1900. Married Hubber Chapman.

7. Lydia Frances Boyd. Born January 19, 1902. Married 1st, Lyman. 2nd, McClocklin.

8. William Joseph Boyd. Born July 19, 1904. Married Alberta Greer.

9. James Wier Boyd. Born November 4, 1906. Married Fay ? .

10. Jessie Maria Boyd, Born November 3, 1908. Married Francis Pew.

The following is a list of my grandfather's four sisters and their families (his two brothers, Wier died young, and Green died in infancy).

1. Sarah Ann Boyd. Born 1848 in Hartville, Missouri. Married James S. Johnson (who was the father of Zack Johnson). They had no children. Sarah was called "Aunt Sallie Johnson" and she ran a boarding house in Ozark for many years. When they first married they moved to Chadwick, Missouri where Mr. Johnson was Post Master for a number of years. He later became Mayor of Ozark, Missouri.

2. Margaret Ann Boyd. Born December 26, 1855 in Hartville, Missouri. Married Sheriff Zack Johnson. They had 3 sons and 1 daughter. When they were first married, Zack Johnson was a mining engineer at the old Alma Lead and Zink mines located south of Ozark. They lived at the Village of Alma which was on the lower (southern) end of my grandfather's, John R. Porter, farm. Their first child was born there. This was found in an 1880 census of Christian County, Missouri. It reads as follows: In the villiage of Alma; Zack Johnson, age 29 years. Miner. Born in Indiana, 1851; Maggie Johnson, age 25 years. Housewife. Born in Missouri; Harry C. Johnson, age 2 years. Born in Missouri. The other children were, Bernice Johnson, James Johnson, and a daughter who died at the age of 2 named Jessie Johnson.

3. Elizabeth Burton Boyd (Betty). Born 1859 in Huntsville, Arkansas. Married John J. Horton. He owned and operated the first Dray wagon in Ozark. They had five children. They were: 1. Edith Horton; 2. Grace Horton; 3. Ann Horton; 4. Wanda Horton. Born 1895 in Ozark, Missouri. Married Charles Stroud; 5. May Horton.

4. Lydia Frances Boyd (called Aunt Frank). Born 1865 in Ozark, Missouri. Her first husband was Joseph Roberts. They had a son named Boyd Roberts (called Bosie Boyd). He was born in 1890. Lydia's second husband was Richard Birran. They had a son named Richard Birran (also spelled Berron).

Authors Note

Earlier in this chapter I mentioned that great grandfather, Samuel N. Boyd, received a land grant from the Government for his participation in the Seminole Indian War. The fact is, Samuel's records in the Archievs in Washington D. C., indicates that he did receive a Bounty Land Warrant, number 43434. It was for 120 acres, issued by an Act in 1855. 120 acres is the actual size of the original old Boyd farm located one and one-half miles south of Ozark, Missouri. Grandfather, William R. Boyd, later sold 12 acres to a Mr. Jacob Hartley and 10 acres to a Mr. Howell.

THE BOYD FAMILY FROM SCOTLAND TO IRELAND IN 1695; TO AMERICA IN
1795. THEY CAME TO AMERICA ON THE SHIP "VOLUNTEER". LANDED AT
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA ON ST. PATRICKS DAY MORNING, MARCH 17, 1795.

JAMES BOYD born circa 1739-40, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Knockavaddy Rock. Died in Lumpkin County, Georgia in 1845. Married: NANCY WIER born circa 1745, County Tyrone, Township of Belnagilla, Parrish of Lyson. Died in 1843 in Lumpkin County, Georgia.

THEIR CHILDREN:

THOMAS BOYD born in Ireland, died in South Carolina. Married and had children, all girls.

SAMUEL BOYD born in Ireland, died in South Carolina. Never married.

WILLIAM BOYD born 1785 in Ireland. Died in 1855 in Lumpkin county, Georgia.

MARY ANN BOYD born in Ireland. Died in South Carolina. married THOMAS NORRIS. They had 13 children.

MARGARET BOYD born 1795 aboard ship on voyage to America. Married and had children.

WILLIAM BOYD born 1785 in Ireland. Was 10 years old when he came to America with his parents. He died in 1855 in Lumpkin County, Georgia. He Married:

ELIZABETH BURTON born in South Carolina. Died in Lawrenceville,

Georgia in 1826 and is buried there.

THEIR CHILDREN:

JAMES BOYD (no data).

SAMUEL BOYD born 1818 in Hall County, Georgia. Private in Seminole Indian War.

WIER BOYD born 1820 in Hall County, Georgia. Also served in the Seminole Indian War and Civil War.

RACHEAL BOYD born 1823 in Hall County, Georgia. Married THOMAS FLOYD.

SAMUEL BOYD born 1818 in Hall County, Georgia. Moved to Lumpkin County, Georgia in 1835 with parents. Died in 1909 in Ozark, Missouri. Married May 8, 1842 in Forsyth County, Georgia:

PRISCILLA WOOD born 1824 in Hall County, Georgia. Daughter of ANDREW WOOD and CHARITY LANGLEY. Died in 1902 in Ozark, Missouri.

THEIR CHILDREN:

SARAH ANN BOYD born 1848 in Hartville, Missouri. Married JAMES JOHNSON.

WILLIAM RILEY BOYD born 1850 in Hartville, Missouri. Died 1911 in Ozark, Missouri.

MARGARET ANN BOYD born December 26, 1854 in Hartville, Missouri. Married Zack A. Johnson.

WARE BOYD born 1855 in Hartville, Missouri. Died young.

ELIZABETH BURTON BOYD born 1858 in Huntsville, Arkansas. Married JOHN J. HORTON.

GREEN BOYD born 1859 in huntsville, Arkansas. Died infancy.

LYDIA FRANCES BOYD born October 19, 1865 in Ozark, Missouri. Married (1) JOSEPH ROBERTS (2) RICHARD BERRON.

WILLIAM RILEY BOYD born 1850 in Hartville, Missouri. Died 1911 in Ozark, Missouri. Married (1):

MARTHA FRANCES MARLEY born October 25, 1855 in Christian County Missouri. Died in 1887.

THEIR CHILDREN:

EVERTT BOYD born July 16, 1878. Died in infancy.

EVALINA BOYD born March 11, 1880 in Ozark, Missouri. Married EDWARD LAUGHLIN.

BEULAU BOYD born April 26, 1882 in Ozark, Missouri. Married WILL WELLS.

GOLDIE BOYD born February 3, 1885 in Ozark, Missouri. Married OVERTON BRAY.

FRANCES PARALEA BOYD born February 9, 1887 in Ozark, Missouri. Married (1) O. K. DELMAN, (2) LOGAN.

WILLIAM RILEY BOYD married (2):

MARY ANN HOLLAND born August 2, 1871 in Linden, Missouri. Died in 1948 in Ontario, California.

THEIR CHILDREN:

IVA ALICE BOYD born October 1, 1891 in Ozark, Missouri. Married THOMSON.

SAMUEL NEWTON BOYD born January 21, 1893 in Ozark, Missouri. Married LENA LUCY PORTER.

SALLY BOYD born May 4, 1894 in Ozark, Missouri. Married LOYAL BUNCH.

CHARLES EDWARD BOYD born November 28, 1895 in Ozark, Missouri. Married BIRDIE WILLIAMS 

LOLA AGNES BOYD born November 27, 1897. Died in infancy.

CELIA BOYD born January 11, 1900 in Ozark, Missouri. Married HUBBER CHAMPMAN.

LYDIA FRANCES BOYD born January 19, 1902 in Ozark, Missouri. Married LYMAN.

WILLIAM JOSEPH BOYD born July 19, 1904 in Ozark, Missouri. Married ALBERTA GREER.

JAMES WIER BOYD born November 4, 1906 in Ozark, Missouri. Married FAY ? .

JESSIE MARIA BOYD born November 3, 1908 in Ozark, Missouri. Married FRANCIS PEW.

SARAH ANN (SALLY) BOYD born 1848. Married JAMES S. JOHNSON.

NO CHILDREN.

_________________________________________________________________

MARGARET (MAGGIE) BOYD born December 26, 1855. Married ZACH A. JOHNSON.

THEIR CHILDREN:

HARRY JOHNSON

BERNICE JOHNSON

JESSIE JOHNSON

JAMES JOHNSON

_________________________________________________________________

ELIZABETH BURTON (BETTY) BOYD born 1858. Married JOHN J. HORTON.

THEIR CHILDREN:

EDITH HORTON

GRACE HORTON

ANNE HORTON

WANDA HORTON born 1895. Married CHARLES STROUD.

MAY HORTON

_________________________________________________________________

LYDIA FRANCES (FRANC) BOYD born 1865. Married (1) J. ROBERTS. (2) RICHARD BERRON.

THEIR CHILDREN:

BOYD ROBERTS born 1890.

RICHARD BERRON

_________________________________________________________________

SAMUEL N. BOYD IS BURIED IN OZARK CEMETERY, OZARK, MISSOURI.

WILLIAM R. BOYD IS BURIED IN ODD FELLOWS CEMETERY, OZARK, MO.

SARAH ANN BOYD JOHNSON IS BURIED IN OZARK CEMETERY, OZARK, MO.

MARGARET A BOYD JOHNSON IS BURIED IN ODD FELLOWS CEMETERY, OZARK.

ELIZABETH B. BOYD HORTON IS BURIED IN CLEAR CREEK CEMETERY, SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

LYDIA FRANCES BOYD BERRON IS BURIED IN OZARK CEMETERY, OZARK, MO.

BOYD FAMILY

SAMUEL NEWTON BOYD born January 21, 1893 Ozark, Missouri. Died October 7, 1954 in Ozark, Missouri. Married 1912 in Ozark, Missouri: LENA L. PORTER born October 15, 1892 Ozark, Mo. Died March 6, 1975 in Ozark, Missouri.

THEIR CHILDREN:

1. WILLIAM RILEY BOYD born August 10, 1913. Married July 26, 1940 in Kansas City, Mo.: ESTELLE L. GARDNER born March 26, 1921 in Cimarron, Kansas.

CHILDREN:

please note that the more detailed version of all the above families will entered at a later time. These families can be found on my web pages.

William Boyd married Margaret in Ireland.

Children:

John Boyd married Meland or Holland. (USA)

Elizabeth Boyd married (1) Nichols (2) McMillan. (USA)

Samuel Boyd married (1) Nancy Vernor (2) Skelly. (USA)

Margaret Boyd married Robert St. Clair. (USA)

William Boyd Jr. married Elizabeth Vernor. (USA)

Jane Boyd married Robert Wier. (USA)

_________________________________________________________________

James Boyd married ? Hoopper.

Children:

James Boyd married ? Whiteside.

Other issue unknown.

James Boyd married Whiteside.

Children:

William Boyd born 1838 died 1934. Unwed.

James Boyd married Burnside.

Martha Boyd married Richardson. (Pom-Roy)

Margaret Boyd married Dixson. (Cookstown)

? Boyd married ? Cuddy. (USA)

? Boyd married John Hewitt. (USA)

? Boyd married ? Burnside. (USA)

James Boyd married Burnside. (Knockavaddy)

Children:

John Boyd (USA)

Robert Boyd (USA)

William James Boyd (USA)

Samuel Boyd (USA)

Joseph Boyd married Elizabeth Swaile.

Elizabeth Boyd married x Balwin. (USA)

Catherine Boyd married y Balwin. (USA)

Joseph Boyd married Elizabeth Swaile (Knockavaddy)(19)

Children:

Elizabeth Boyd married William Boyd

Joseph Samuel Boyd born 1900. Died 1985 Knockavaddy Rock.

Never married. Joseph Samuel Boyd

Mary Boyd unwed. Died July 1981.

Margaret Boyd married Herbert Kelly.

Ida Boyd never married.

Margaret Boyd married Herbert Kelly. (Knockavaddy Rock)

Children:

Emma Kelly married Nutter. (Lancashire, England)

Bertie Kelly married Hetty Black. (Near Dungannan)

      2 children: Richard Kelly

                       Cherith Kelly 

David Kelly married Eva Nelson.

MY LIFE STORY
BY
EVALINA BOYD LAUGHLIN

FORWARD

The author of this story, Mrs Evalina Boyd Laughlin, was born March 11, 1880 in Ozark, Missouri. She was the daughter of William R. Boyd and Martha Francis (Marley) Boyd. Her paternal grandparents were Samuel N. Boyd and Priscilla (Woods) Boyd. Her maternal grandparents were Eli Marley and Frances Paralea (Weisner) Marley.

Evalina Boyd married Edmond Delmont Laughlin on April 27, 1901. They had one son named Kyle Emmett Laughlin. He was born May 24, 1905.

Mother passed away when Frances was only eight days old. Grandmother Marley took Frances---Grandmother and Grandfather Boyd came to take care of us three older girls and then finally took us to their home in Ozark. Father continued to live on the farm and we would go out to see him and spend the night or week-end once in a while. Once we went and he was not at home. We decided to stay all night anyway, thinking he would be back soon. But as it began to get dark and he had not come we went to the neighbors and got another girl to play with us. It was in the time of kerosene lamps. We played until we were too sleepy to play longer then went to bed with the lamp burning. Father came home and found the chimney so smoked he could hardly see the flame and wondered how it happened that the lamp didn't explode. I suppose providence took care of us more than once.

Another time we were out there when he was away and at that time he was Deputy Sheriff. It was a beautiful moonlight night and we were out climbing trees and grape vines when a man rode up and called to us. It frightened us so we didn't answer and as he came nearer we climbed higher thinking he couldn't see us. We were certainly relieved when we found out who he was---another Deputy and he only wanted to know where Father was or if he had captured a man whom they were looking for. The Deputy was Charley Weber, a man whom we liked very much and we were glad to see him.

While Father was still Deputy Sheriff an awful thing happened. Down in the Ozark Mountains a group of men formed an organization that was called the Ball Nobbers and they terrorized the neighborhood in an effort to make better citizens--according to their ideas. They horsewhipped some men and ended up with murdering two whole families. They were captured and three of them hanged which broke up the gang. The thing that impressed me most, being a child of only 8 or 9 and having gone to town alone, was the day they were captured and brought to jail. The people swarmed the streets and there was so much excitement that I was afraid to go home. I stayed until almost dark and Grandfather came after me. They had not known what had happened but they were scared too I think.

All this happened in about a year. Then Grandfather and Grandmother went home and Father got an elderly lady by the name of Draper to keep house for us. We liked her very much but evidently she didn't love us because she didn't stay very long. Then we tried it alone for a while. Father was a very good cook or at least we thought he was and we had the times of our lives.

But we were a worry to Father. We made rag dolls and dressed them up in our clothes. We had our play house out under the trees and sometimes quite a distance from the house. We would leave the dolls out there until we wanted our clothes. It often happened that when we went back for our clothes it had rained on them or that they had become torn---Father really had a problem.

About that time I made my first dress. I didn't have a pattern but some way I made a square yoke and gathered two widths of calico to the yoke and put a belt in it. I don't know how it looked to anyone else but I thought it was about the nicest dress I ever had. We had a sewing machine and I worked at that until I got it to run. That's the way I began to learn to sew.

There was nothing I wouldn't try to do and one day I was washing and had a boiler of hot water which I tried to empty into a bucket. Of course it turned over and spilled into my shoe. I had on wool stockings and thought I would never get that one off. My foot was badly burned and I was unable to wear my shoe for a month or two. I still have the scar.

One time while going to school at Elk Valley, there was a convention at Highlandville about six miles from our place and the school was to have a part in the program. Beulah, Goldie and I and some others went on horse back. It was the custom to wear long riding skirts and use sidesaddles. My horse was rather spirited and after we were pretty well on the way my saddle turned, almost throwing me under the horse. It gave me quite a scare but I got it straightened up and we had no other mishaps although I had to sit very tight to avoid another accident. Our part on the program was to sing. We sang: "We Reap as We Sow", "Sing Me the Songs of My Childhood", "Summer's Gone Away". I believe we were voted the best choir. On the way home we all sang those songs over again and every other one we could think of. It was a jolly good crowd and the end of a perfect day. After all, our teacher and chaperone was Jessie Cox.

Ozark, Missouri, county seat of Christian county is a small town built around a square. The square contained the court house and the city pump where a lot of people got their water.

The lawn of the square was usually the only green spot in the summertime and people would gather there for band concerts and ice-cream socials in the evening.

The main recreation for the young folks was a stroll to a small stream called Finley creek---across it on a swinging bridge and on to the depot about a half mile to meet the train. Then back via an old wooden covered-bridge a little further up the creek.

It was on one of these trips with a group of girls in the year 1900 that I met Ed at the east end of the wagon bridge opposite the old water mill. The boys walked home with us and in a few days I had a date with him. Then we soon began going together quite regularly on parties, picnics and buggy rides. There were no cars those days but anyone who had a horse and buggy was very popular.

On April 28, 1901 we were married at Sparta, Missouri in the parsonage of the Reverend W. B. Scrogen. Charles Wolf was best man and Oma Thompson bridesmaid---we had no other attendants.

We started housekeeping that night in a two-room apartment on the Highlanville Road about a quarter mile south of Ozark. A big crowd came out to charivari us that night but they made so much noise with their horns and tin cans that we could hear them by the time they left town so we dodged them for a long time by hiding in the trees. After searching every nook and corner they found us and all had a good time.

Ed was employed by Keer's General Department Store and was paid $25.00 per month. We got along fine for a while but the Keers sold out. Then we went to Springfield, Missouri where Ed got a job as delivery man for a meat company and I was employed by the Boston Store on Camble street in the millinery department. We lived in an apartment owned by a Mrs Allen who was a soothsayer. In moving we got the mirror to our dresser broken and she said "let me have the pieces of glass. Don't ask any questions and I will take all the bad luck away." I don't know whether that did any good. She had a little house in the back which she called her "retreat" where she held meetings. She would go into a trance and talk to spirits and tell fortunes. Many people came there to get readings---we were never allowed in that part of the house.

This was in 1903. The mother of Joseph Smith (the Morman Prophet) who was then over 100 years old lived with Mrs Allen. The picture of Joseph when he was a little boy with golden curls hung on the wall in our apartment. She told me it was her son Joseph, but I didn't connect him with the prophet until we came to Idaho in 1910 and saw the same picture on the walls of some Mormans where I visited and asked about it. I was surprised and sorry that I didn't know sooner who he was so that I could have talked with his mother about him.

Ed's father, mother and family lived at Okemah, Oklahoma, a new town in Oklahoma Territory, that had recently been opened for setlement. The railroad was not completed to Okemah at that time and we travelled on a work train which had a wreck on the way. No one was hurt and not much damage was done but we had to finish the trip in the cab of the engine.

The Laughlins had a grocery store and restaurant located near the depot in Okemah. They let us have a corner for a confectionary stand which did a real good business. I also got work in a millinery store owned by a woman named Mrs Perkins. Besides the millinery she had a 5 and 10 cent goods and I never saw such junk. The Indians would come in and grunt around for a while then buy a lot of things. I usually had lunch with Mrs. Perkins at noon and always knew what it would be for she had a pot of soup on the back of the stove and added a little more to it each day. Well, we thrived on that for a while.

Then we went back to Ozark and moved into a house one block from where we started in 1901. There Kyle was born on May 24, 1905. That year the Ozark Electric Light Company was organized. Ed and Sam Schlocum installed the first plant--a generator run by a gasoline engine located at the foot of Highlanville Road near "Aunt Easter's" house. "Aunt Easter" was an old Negro woman and she was afraid of the power plant. She threatened to sue the city but the company satisfied her somehow and things went along. Ed and Sam wired the houses all over the town until soon the plant was too small to carry the load. Then the company bought a site a mile west of town on Finley creek where they built a dam and installed a water wheel to run the plant during the daytime when the load was lightest. At night the water wheel had to be supplemented by the gasoline engine.

The next spring we had a lot of rain which caussed a flood on Finley creek. The water came up into the power house all at once and stopped everything. They had to take a boat to get the night man out. That made a lot of excitement but the water receeded in a day or two and things were back to normal. Later in the summer Ed had charge of the plant and was doing the wiring too. That was when Kyle was only three years old. We lived at the power house a month or two. I took the day watch while water power was sufficient and when Ed got in at night the gasoline engine was started. Many of our friends and acquaintances were very much afraid Kyle would be drowned. I was too, but I watched him every minute until I saw he was very careful when near the water.

On May 9, 1909, we went to Okemah again. They raise a lot of cotton there and the fields were beautiful when they were in bloom and the boles bursting out with long fibers. Ed worked for a man named Bible, running the engine at a cotton gin where they separate the seed from the fibers and packed the fibers into bales of fifty or one hundred pounds. There would be long strings of wagons waiting to unlod and it was interesting to watch.

While we were at Okemah, Ed met Boss and Porter Reese--two brothers who were moving to Idaho expecting to homestead in the Teton Basin. They had chartered two railway cars to ship their household goods and livestock. Ed was hired to travel with the stock car and help care for the animals which had to be unloaded at every stop. They left Okemah around the first of March 1910 and reached St. Anthony, which was the nearest railroad to their desdination, in about a week. At St. Anthony the Reeses rented a house for their families and a lot for their stock while they located their land and got shelters made to live in. They and Ed got homesteads near Badger (now caled Felt), about 45 miles from St. Anthony. At that time the nearest post office and store was at Tetonia about 8 miles south. Boss got a place and moved his family out about the first part of May.

Kyle was 5 years old May 24th and June 7th we left Okemah for Idaho. We stopped one night in Okmulgee where Ed's sister Lillie lived. From there to Kansas City where we had to change trains. The depot was a big place and crowded with people. The noise was teriffic , especially to someone as green as I was and alone with a little child hanging to my skirts and with packages and baggage to look after. Some kind lady seeing my predicamant offered to look after Kyle while I got the baggage checked. When the train was called she took him and got on the train ahead of me. I started to get on and the porter looked at my ticket and said "you can't go on this coach, you have to take a different one." I said, "well that lady took my child on there!", but he refused to let me on that coach. The train was ready to pull out and I didn't have time to do anything but get on where he told me. I thought that was better to be left standing there on the side track. But I felt sure Kyle had been kidnapped and I told the conductor what had hapened. He said, "that will be all right, I will go through and get him for you." That was some relief but I was still doubtful until he came through the door bringing Kyle with him.

I never knew who the woman was or where she was going but you can bet I never let him out of my sight again on that trip! We spent three days and nights on the Union Pacific chair car.

The conductor was very nice to us and fixed two seats facing each other so that we could stretch out and get some sleep on pillows so we were really quite comfortable. Across Kansas we saw miles and miles of Prairie Dog "towns"---the little fellows stood by their burrows and chattered as if they were defending their rights to the whole prairie. We passed through Denver, Colorado in the night and didn't have another change until we reached Cheyenne. That was an easy change---we just got off one train and onto another with no baggage to check. We scarcely had time to get a sandwich. From there on we were interested in the mountains---the scenery was beautiful. The hills were covered with wild flowers and shrubs in blossom. As we neared St. Anthony I wondered what direction our place could be from there and hoped it would be to the east since that looked the most promising.

We arrived at St. Anthony on June 10, 1910 expecting Ed to meet us. He was not there and some kind old man saw us looking for someone. He came up and put his arm around me and asked where we wanted to go. After that horrid experience in Kansas City I was kind of "leery" but I trusted him and asked if he knew the Reeses because I knew the Porter Reeses were still there. He said "yes, I will take you right to their house." So he took our baggage and we followed. It was only a few blocks and I was very thankful to him.

Ed came in a few hours later from the homestead and we spent two days there gathering up groceries and housekeeping things-got the wagon all loaded ready to start early the 13th.

When that was all done we went to a show. We had not seen anyone we knew for so long and certainly didn't expect to see a familiar face in that place. Soon a man came in and sat across the isle in front of us. We stared so hard that he had to look back and we recognized him. He was one of our Ozark friends, Emery Neal, a travelling shoe salesman for the Star Shoe Co. of St. Louis making the rounds of his northwest territory. After the show we had a very pleasant evening together.

We got started for the homestead early the next morning. It was about 45 miles away and the travelling was slow as there were no roads. We more or less followed cow trails and camped at an old buffalo wallow called Mud Sprins where we could get water. We arrived at Boss Reeses in the late afternoon of June 14th and stayed about two weeks until they could lay up a one room log cabin on our place. They used quaking aspen logs because they were nearby. The logs were awfully crooked and left great cracks in the wall. The cabin was covered with poles, straw and sod spread over them. We didn't have any glass so the doors and window consisted of boards nailed together and hinged. We moved in about the first of July. The ground squirrels were very numerous and friendly-they would come right into the house with us. A neighbor gave us an old hen and chickens but we didn't have any place to keep them except under the bed until Kyle and I could build a little shelter of poles and pine boughs. Ed was working at a sawmill about four miles away and that was too far to walk back and forth every day so he got home only on weekends. I was pretty jittery out there in the wilds alone with a five-year-old. We were told that bears and other wild animals were in the mountains and that at times they came down to the settlements. That was the year of the terrible forest fires all over the northwest. There was a big one east of us toward the Tetons and we could see the glow for many nights and the smoke by day. It looked as though it might come our way. Most of the men were called out to help fight fires and Ed was one of them. They took horses to carry their supplies to the area and then turned them loose to find their way home. The horses could go where they pleased because there were no fences at that time. One night I heard a noise about 2 A. M. It sounded like something trying to get into the house and I lay shivering for a long time afraid to move. Finally I got up and peeped through a crack and found that it was a stray horse. I certainly was relieved to know that it was not a bear. Although I could hear coyotes howling from some distant hill, I went back to bed and slept the rest of the night.

Another thing that bothered me was that dark clouds would come up every day with thunder and lightening like it would pour rain. If it did the roof would leak and everything would get soaking wet and muddy. But I had all my worries for nothing-it never did rain a drop all summer!

One day I looked out and saw a man coming through the sagebrush with a pack on his back. Back in our country people who traveled like that were usually tramps so I was wondering what to do. When he came to the door I found, to my surprise, that he was Miles Hollingshead from near our home town in Missouri and we were very happy to see him. A few weeks later John Johnson appeared and then in a few days Karl Hollingshead, Miles' brother arrived. We hadn't known any of them were coming and it was a complete surprise. With the aid of a little canvas we were all able to live in the cabin for a while because the boys slept out under the stars. They soon all got busy and built us a good little two-room log house on Elk creek at the foot of a hill where it was sheltered from the wind. During the summer months there was very little water in Elk creek but when the snow melted in the spring it seemed like a big river. The boys all got homesteads near us and all got their cabins built before winter set in.

About the first of November we went to St. Anthony to get supplies to last through to March or April. It took three days to get there and back. It snowed a little every day from then on until after Christmas and the drifts piled up alongside the house until we couldn't see out the windows. One day our neighbor took us to Tetonia where our post office was about 8 miles distant. It snowed all day-enough so we couldn't see the road. Everything was just a white expanse and we became so bewildered we couldn't tell directions. The men got out and waded around in the snow up to their waistes in places where it had drifted trying to find the road. Finally they had to let the horses go where they wanted to.

Thank goodness they were smart enough to find their way home. Soon after that my brother-in-law, Overton Bray came. Ed and some of the Van Leuvens met him with a sled at St. Anthony. They got a few more groceries and some boards to make skis so they could get around in the snow. The boards shaped and turned up at the ends and straps put on so they could be fastened to their feet. Our house was a workshop for the rest of the winter or until each of us had a pair of skis. The floor was covered with shavings and on the stove there was a wash boiler full of boiling water to soften the boards and make them pliable so they could be shaped at the end. When they were all complete the fun began. Not one of them had ever been on a pair of skis before and as Johnson said, "the trees just would not move out of the way and they couldn't get around them" so they had a lot of mix-ups---almost broke their necks learning to ride the things. I gave up at the first try. Kyle was wet from head to foot every day and was the best skier of the lot.

By the last of March the snow began to go pretty fast. My sister Goldie arrived at St. Anthony on March 30th. We had to figure out some way to get her out to our place. Overton got one of the Van Leuven boys to take his team and sled as far as they could over snow. They changed to a wagon for the rest of the way. They made it back home on the first of April in a snowstorm.

The time had arrived when we had to begin making improvement on the land. Ed had been working for the Hendrickson brothers running a big steam engine fired with coal which they used to pull plows. He changed his work for the use of the outfit to plow a 20 acre field on our place where he intended to plant oats. When the oats came up I never saw a nicer looking crop---it was tall and the heads large and bushy. But the frost came before it matured and after we paid someone to cut it we had to sell it for hay which brought less than it cost for the cutting. That was our first experience at farming.

When it came time to harvest all the neighbors pitched in and helped each other. It took a crew of 16 or more with the threshing outfit: 6 or 8 bundle haulers with teams and wagons with racks on them, 2 band cutters, 2 sack sewers, a water hauler, a separator-man, the engineer and the roustabouts. It was rather a slow job and usually took two or three days at each "set". The men usually got their meals at the place where the threshing was being done. Goldie and I helped with the cooking that year when the Hollingshead and Johnson had their threshing done. That's where we learned about sour dough biscuits---those bachelors knew how to make real good ones. After threshing was over we would have dinner parties and ask all the neighbors in. We made quilts for them and helped get their bedding fixed up for winter. Other people had parties too--the whole family would go. Each family would be prepared for the children to sleep and we would dance--sometimes until the wee hours of the morning. The Hendrickson brothers played on their fiddles such tunes as "Turkey in the Straw", "Irish Washer Woman", and "Red Wing". On April first 1912 we went to a party where someone brought a cake with different things in it as an April fool joke. As we were going home Overton said, "I got an awful piece of cake, tasted like cotton." We asked if he ate it and he said, "yes, of course, do you think I was going to let them make a fool of me?"

Next spring Ed was still running the same engine and put the field in wheat which turned out better. We still didn't have any way of getting around except on foot. The Van Leuvens always came to our rescue. I don't know what we would have done without them. They took a group of us on an outing to Coyote Meadows for huckleberry picking during the summer. We camped overnight by a beautiful little stream clear as crystal and cold as ice. We made a fire near a pine tree not realizing how inflammable they are. When someone threw on a chunk of wood the flames shot up and ignited the overhanging boughs causing the needles to burn clear to the top of the tree in almost a flash. It scared most out of our wits but fortunately there were no other trees close to and no other damage was done. We got lots of huckleberries as well as fish and grouse. We cooked them over the fire like Indians. They were delicious and the trip was the most fun we had had in a long time.

Someone told us that the people in that country didn't like gooseberries because they thought they were poison. Now there is nothing I like better than gooseberry pie and we were so far from anyplace to get fresh things that we decided it would be fun to wander around looking for gooseberry bushes. The Van Leuvens said they knew where there were some and took us to the place. We were all loaded with pails to put them in and were looking for a place to start when a woman came out of the brush just furious saying we were on her premisis and gave us orders to get off. We didn't argue with her but left without any berries.

Goldie and I were somewhat adventurous and the little stream past our place was very fascinating. There were no fences and we couldn't tell when we were on the neighbors property for it was near the corner where our place joined three others places. There were wild strawberries, currants and service berries along the banks of the stream. One day after the gooseberry experience we were out with Kyle, the dog Shep and the cat who always went along. We found a nice little patch of strawberries and as soon as we heard a wagon coming we were going to be real quiet behind the bushes until the people went by. Just as they got about even with us a bee stung Kyle---he screamed, the dog barked and the cat ran out. The man yelled, "get out of the berry patch!" We goy out because it seemed as though we were getting into trouble everytime we went to pick berries. It so happened, however, that this time we were on our own place.

That fall (1912) Ed was again running the engine for Hendrickson Brothers who carried their own crew including a cook wagon which was about 6 by 10 foot equipped with coal stove, table, benches and bunks. I took Kyle and went along as cook for the crew. When we had to move--which was every day or two everything had to be packed. Sometimes we had to move when I had dinner about half cooked and then things would slide around so much I never knew how the food would be or if everything would be right side up.

That fall we worked until the snow got so deep we couldn't thresh anymore. By that time the train was running part of the time to Ashton and Felt had a telephone line with the exchange located in the L. A. Lamont house on the north side of Biche creek. Goldie and Overton were very homesick by this time and we all decided to go home to Missouri for the winter. Eds brother Charlie was to take care of our things while we wer gone. The train was due to leave Felt at 4 am. The Hollingshead boy spent the evening playing cards with us and took us to the station. We arrived in Ashton about 7 am on December 17, 1912 and spent the day shopping for new outfits for everyone. We missed the train out that day and had to stay all night. Next morning we caught the Salt Lake Special and changed trains at Salt Lake. From there we went on the D. & R. G. through the Royal Gorge. We arrived at Pickering, Missouri on the 22nd where we spent

Christmas with Ed's sister Winnie (Mrs. Marvin Hall). Goldie and Overton went on to Ozark. A few dayss after Christmas Ed went to Branson, Missouri (a little town on the White River) where he was to be foreman of a crew cleaning up the timber for the back waters of the Lake Tainy Como dam then being built. Kyle and I stayed at the Halls about a month and he attended school with his cousin Roger during that time.

From Pickering we went to Ozark and visited with my Aunt Betty Horton, Sally Johnson, Frances Berron and others. There had been lots of changes in the short time I had been gone. My father and grandfather had both passed away during that time. We settled the estate of my father at that time. It was divided among 14 heirs. The estate consisted of land which we divided into 8 acre portions to each of us. The home, stock and farming equipment was added to our stepmothers share. Everyone was satisfied and the lawyers said it was the easiest settlement they ever had.

Kyle and I went to Branson for a week with Ed. It was a fascinating place. The setting of one of Harold Bell Wright's novels is this area and a Methodist College is located in Branson. There had been a fire a short time before which had completely destroyed a large pencil factory which had been one of their principal industries. The ruins were still smoldering when we arrived. We stayed at the hotel and while there met "Doc" Walker who was an old friend. He was at the time a telegraph operator at Hollister which was only a mile or two upstream from Branson. He invited us to his home to meet his wife and son who were very nice and treated us royally. Ed had a few more weeks of work but Kyle and I went back to Ozark to visit with relatives until he was through. The Hollingsheads of Nixa came for us to spend Easter with them. It snowed so much that night that it blocked the road and we had to stay 3 or 4 days. We enjoyed it all but they had so much to eat it was hard on the digestion.

Goldie and Overton got anxious to get back to Idaho and left a week or two ahead of us. They took Overton's nephew, Lynn Bray with them. When Ed got back from Branson we began to get things in shape to start back too. His folks still lived in Okemah and we went by there to spend a few days with them. Ed's brother Emmett came out with us. We came back via Oklahoma City, Omaha, Pueblo and Salt Lake City. We arrived at Felt about the 10th of April 1913 where Charlie met us. There was still snow on the fields. By the time we got the house straightened up and things settled again the snow melted off enough so that plowing could be started. We planted wheat this year and had better luck. After the crop was in, we needed money and Ed got a job with the Reclamation Bureau moving machinery from Victor to Moran, Wyoming where they were building a dam across the Snake River for storing irrigation water. After the machinery was installed he stayed and ran a barge on the lake carrying pilings to the dam. Late in June Kyle and I went to Moran on the stage. The stage was what we called a "white-top" drawn by horses. There was still lots of snow and ice on the road but it was breaking up and the horses seemed to know just where to step. There had been a big snow slide on the Idaho side that winter which caught a man and his horse. The man was able to get out but the horse was killed. When we went by the snow had melted just enough so that the horses ears were sticking out of the ice. It poured rain on us most of the way over the Teton Pass. When we got to Wilson on the Snake river the water was so high that it had washed out the ferry. The river appeared to be at least a mile wide. The stage driver wanted us to cross on a little row boat but it looked too dangerous to me and to other passengers too. We began to scout around for some other transportation for the rest of trip. We found a man with a team and buggy to take us around the west side so we didn't have to cross the river. It was a beautiful ride and we arrived at Moran about dark. Ed was expecting us and had a room at the Sheffield Dude Ranch. It was a big log house located just below the dam and was a stopping place for tourists and stage drivers. We stayed at the Ben Sheffield place until the construction crew could set up a tent house for us located on the high south bank across from Sheffield's where the reclamation people lived. One of the families was the Banks family---he was the Resident Engineer. Then there were the Markhams and Shields.

Mr. Markham stayed on as Water Master after the dam was completed. It was beautiful, picturesque place with a grand view of the lake and the Tetons, Elk and deer ranged in the timber back of us and we glimpsed one occasionally. We stayed there until harvest time when we went back to the homestead.

Soon after we got home from Moran and old fellow by the name of Kulp came by and wanted work. We didn't have money to hire anybody but we did need some help. All he wanted was a place to sleep and eat regularly but we didn't even have a place for another bed. We had just finished building a new grainery and he prevailed on us to allow him to fix himself a place to sleep there, which he did. He was very devout and a hard worker. We liked him and he liked us so he stayed with us until we left the farm. At that time he went to live with the Reeses. He soon disappeared and we did not know what happened to him. We were sorry to loose track of him and always felt that he might have met with foul play.

Ed was again running the thresher engine. By now Felt had a church and a school with two teachers---Miss Jennie Conrad and Miss Clara Arnold. Kyle was 8 and enrolled in school for the first time. He got along fine and at the end of the term he had finished the second grade. We had a bad winter with lots of snow but he missed only a few days of school. We had a sled and a dog named "Shep" who pulled him to school every day when the snow was packed enough for him to get through it. Shep seemed to enjoy this; he would wag his tail and almost grin until they got started in the morning. Kyle took lunch for both of them and Shep waited by the sled until it was time to go home after school. Shep was faithful at the job for two years.

We were the first of the Missourians to settle around Felt but others soon followed. By 1914-15 we were quite a colony consisting of Ed's father and mother and his brothers Charlie, Emmett and George, his sister Ouita; Overton and Goldie Bray, Andy and Nellie Boles, Lynn Bray, Sidnia Bray. Later there were Henry and Barbara Forrester with their three children Joe, Maude and Hortense and Overton's father and mother. Then it began to seem like old times. One summer we had a wonderful trip with the Forresters, Goldie and Overton and Lynn Bray. We went in a little "white-top" buggy up Leigh creek from Tetonia to a little lake which lies at the foot of the high mountains. It was a beautiful camping place and a glorious night with a full moon. Some of us slept "under the stars" and the others in the buggy. After we got settled down for the night there was a weird noise from the woods and we were all excited thinking it was a bear or some vicious animal that might attack us. It kept getting closer and closer---the dog reared and barked and we didn't know what to do because there wasn't a gun in the group. After considerable excitement someone noticed that Lynn Bray was not around and we decided that he was the one that had caused all the commotion.

The next morning was beautiful so we put up lunches and started the climb to Table Rock. Before we got very far it became very warm and we left sweaters and coats along the way. When we reached the Table Rock we got into a snow storm and wished we had our wraps. We ate our lunch up there but we didn't stay long because of the storm. By the time we reached camp again the sun was shining and it was warm again. We stayed at this camp another night and next morning there was snow on the ground but it didn't last long. Someone had left a small row boat christened "Carpahian" on the little lake. While we were rowing we noticed a big fish following us. Someone hit it on the head with an oar and got it into the boat. When we got back to Felt we weighed it and found it to be an eight-pounder. That night the campers invited the R. A. McReynolds and Andy Boles to share the fish---it was quite a feed and the end of a perfect outing.

By the winter of 1916 Ed had decided that he was not much of a farmer. We rented the place to Ed's brother Charlie and moved to Ashton where Ed and Overton bought a pool hall and cigar store from Lawrence and Benny Woods. The first week in Ashton we stayed at the "Bronc" Sparkmans while we looked for a place to rent. "Bronc" was the local constable and later became sheriff.

We couldn't find a place to rent and finally bought a little four-room house across the street from the Methodist church which we attended while we lived in Ashton. The Reverend Earl Maxie was pastor and the family was very nice to us. Our other neighbors were: Benny Woods, Dr. and Tom Hargis, Raymond Berrys, Eisenburgs, Smuins and the Harry Woodburns and many others---all nice people. Kyle soon made friends with the boys in the neighborhood---especially Earl Woods and started to school in the 5th grade. The schools were crowded and his class was held temporarily in the Methodist church until a new high school building was completed. Everything was going fine until he caught the measels for Thanksgiving and we were quarantined for two weeks. Ed was not allowed to come home while Kyle had the measles. When he was to be released the whole house had to be fumigated by burning sulfur candles in the house all one day while we stayed at a neighbors. The water pipes froze while we were away. Oh! What fun!

The next summer we got our first car. It was an Oakland "Touring" model with collapsible top and button-on side curtains. Ed, being a fresh air feind, always wanted to drive with the top down so I always came home with my face blistered from the sun and wind. In those days we didn't know much about cars and the roads were mostly just wagon roads. Many times we had to get out and walk over bad places and push to get up some of the hills. We always carried a bag of water to fill the radiator, a can of gasoline on the running board, a jack, air pump and tire-patching kit.

That summer was the first year that cars were allowed to travel in Yellowstone National Park. We took Lynn Bray with us on a camping trip through the park. We entered the park at West Yellowstone and were able to keep on the schedule required of cars until the morning we left the Lake campground bound for the Canyon. As we left we passed a group of hikers but it was not long before we had a flat tire. It didn't take long to mend it and we were on our way again so we passed the hikers again with a wave. This happened again and the third time we had a blow-out that took some time and we never did catch up with the hikers. We didn't get off the road the required distance and the horse drawn stages came by before we got under way. The horses reared and pitched and the passengers had to get out and walk while the stage got by us. We got a real "talking to" and had to wait several hours before we could go on. The roads were not much improved and the dust was terrible. By nighttime you could scarcely tell whether we were white or colored people. Everyone else was in the same predicament and we didn't mind too much because most of the travelers were jolly and friendly.

The years we lived in Ashton were the years of World War 1. Many of the boys were in the service. The women did a lot of knitting and sewing for the Red Cross. During that time we had an epidemic of the "flu"---so many people were sick at once that it was hard to get a doctor or any kind of help and there were a great many deaths.

During 1918 things began to look up. There was some building and road work started and things became more what we were used to. Ed's sister, Winnie and her son Wilbur came out to visit us and we took them on a camping trip through the park. Ed and I went to Los Angeles in November of 1919 and Kyle stayed with Goldie and Overton in Ashton until he finished the 8th grade in January. He came then on the train and started to Polytechnic Highschool the second semester. Ed worked on the construction of the new Goodyear tire plant at Vernon. That spring we went back to Ashton for a while and then we went to Island Park to work for the Targee Tie Company owned by R. D. Merrill. I served meals to the men who were coming and going to the camps in the woods.

In the fall of 1922 we went to Los Angeles again. Kyle came with Clarence Rush and Bob Dorches. Kyle and Ed both worked for the general Petroleum Corporation. Later Kyle worked for a tea and coffee company. We all enjoyed California but Idaho was calling and we came back in the spring. We worked for the Yellowstone Tie and Timber Company at West Yellowstone and Kyle lived with Goldie and Overton and finished high school in May 1924. Ed worked first as commissary man and then Timber Foreman.

We spent the winter of 1923 there and enjoyed it. The next summer Kyle worked for the company until July when he quit to drive a bus in the park. He came back and worked with us until the company had financial trouble in November. He couldn't get his money but he left and went to Nampa where he worked on a bridge gang for the O. S. L. Railroad. We didn't get our money from the company either but we stayed until spring because ther wasn't anything else to do. In spring of 1925 we moved to Blackfoot where Ed started a battery repair station. In the fall we went to Portland and to Yakima early in the spring of 1927. That summer we came to Moscow where Kyle started in the University in the fall.

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