Revised
October 15, 2010
A
Photo Gallery
of the
Boyer Family
of Easton,
Pennsylvania
This
page presents photographs of the Boyer famly of Easton, Pennsylvania,
going back to the1880s and forward, in this revision, to 2008. Textual
descriptions of the members of the Boyer
Family of Easton may be seen in a separate section.The Boyers were a family of
photo buffs.
Everyone
had a camera, beginning at least with Lewis
Elmer Boyer (1869-1948),
who initially had a large format camera that used plate-glass
negatives.
Lew took pictures not only of his own and related
families,
but he apparently was the primary go-to photographer in South Easton
around 1900. He took photographs of floods along the
Lehigh River in Easton and of development of the Lehigh Valley
Railroad. Lew also took photographs of company
groups at
Ingersoll-Sergeant Company, in South Easton, where he worked. Some of
these photos are
presented in the separate page
on Lew's life.
Lew's seven children followed in his
footsteps with
their own cameras. At first they used black and white film, and later
almost all of them turned to color slides. The next generation followed
suit, but by the year 2000, most were using digital cameras.
The pictures below show their fascination with the camera, not only in
taking pictures of each other but also in posing in antic
behavior. The photos presented here are primarily family
pictures, collected with the assistance of many members of the family.
To the best of my knowledge, no one has objected to inclusion of the
photos in these pages, but I stand ready to make deletions or changes
if family
members so wish.
A textual
description of the lives of Lew Boyer, his father George Boyer (1839-1907), and
each of Lew's seven children and their descendants can be found in the
link below to The Boyers of Easton. A genealogy
chart for each of the
family groups may be found at the link below for these charts.
The
photos on this page are divided into the following sections:
| NOTE: Most of
the photos on this page can be
enlarged by clicking on them, and
many of
the pictures can be enlarged
yet again by a second click. |
OTHER
LINKS:
The
Boyers of Easton (See more photos on these pages):
The
Boyers of Orwigsburg
Neil
Boyer's Home Page
Boyer Family Genealogy Charts
Boyers
at the End of the 19th Century
 |
George
B. Boyer (1839-1907) and Family, in 1880:
From left,
Lew Boyer, George's wife, Sarah Ann Dreher Boyer, Emily, Sallie (in
front), Lizzie and George. By 1890, within ten
years of
the
taking of this photo, Lizzie and Emily and their mother had
died of
"consumption." Lew
and Sallie were the only children to live to adulthood. George
later was married
to
Adeline
Apgar. |
 |
Lew
Boyer (1869-1948) and his
wife Henrietta
Waltman Boyer, standing in the back, second and third from the left, posing with members of
Henrietta's family in 1897. (The picture undoubtedly was taken by Lew.)
Seated in the center is Joseph Waltman (1806-1898), family patriarch
and builder of bridges and churches in the area near Easton. Back, John
F. Waltman, 38; Lew Boyer, 28; Henrietta Boyer, 23; Arthur Waltman, 31;
Mame Waltman, 28; Henry Waltman, 34. Seated: Daisy Waltman,
34, wife of John; Samuel Waltman, 65, Joseph Waltman, 91, Sabina
Waltman, 62, wife of Samuel; Carrie Waltman, 30, wife of Henry. Front,
Lena Waltman, 2, Claude Waltman, 14, Elwood Boyer, 3. John,
Henrietta, Arthur, Mame and Henry were all children of Samuel.
|
 |
 |
| Henrietta
Waltman Boyer, seated
left, with her parents, Sabina and Samuel Waltman (1832-1911), in
1900. Standing: Henrietta's brother John F. Waltman, husband
Lew Boyer (the photographer), sister-in-law Carrie Waltman and brother
Henry Waltman, and sister Mame Waltman. Children of Lew and
Henrietta, in front, are Ralph, Elwood and Walter Boyer. |
Henrietta Boyer, seated in the
first row, second from right, with three children in front of her --
Ralph, Walter and Elwood Boyer. The subject appears to be a church
group from South Easton, probably about the same time, 1900, as the
picture on the left. |
 |
Lewis E. Boyer and his family in
1905. From left, Lew, 36;
Ralph, 8; Jack, 2; Walter, 7; Elwood, 11; and
Henrietta Boyer, 31. |
Lew
Boyer's Seven Children, Growing Up
The photo above shows Lew Boyer's "first
family,"
but later they added three more -- Art, Dave and Ruth. The
household was crowded and chaotic, and more children came on the scene
after Elwood's first wife died and his three children -- Floyd, Walt
and Shirley Boyer -- came to spend time at the Boyer house of Ferry
Street. Besides being photographers, the Boyer crowd was prone to
clowning, especially in front of the camera.
 |
 |
| Henrietta
took the boys for an
outing along the Lehigh River on Jack's 7th birthday, 1910. Next to
Het, on the right, are her sons Walt and Jack. In the buggy is Art.
Boys in hats are not identified. |
And the boys went fishing.
Walt and Jack are on the right. |
 |
 |
| Art, Dave and Ruth in 1914 |
Dave, Ruth and Art in 1928 |
 |
 |
Performing for the Camera, 1923:
Walt,
Elwood, Jack, Raph, Dave, Art and Ruth. |
Roll up the Sleeves, 1923: Art,
Jack, Walt, Elwood |
 |
 |
 |
Sunday morning on the Ferry
Street porch, 1920: Seated are Lew Boyer, Mame Waltman
(sister of Henrietta), Henrietta, and Ruth.
Dave
and Art stand in the back. |
Boyer Pyramid, 1920: Jack, Walt
and Elwood on bottom; Art and Dave in the middle; Elwood's son
Floyd on top. |
Ready for Church,
1925: In rear, Art, Dave, Jack and Ralph.
In front, Elwood's
daughter Shirley, and Ruth. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Clowning
in front of the camera was a favorite game of the Boyer family, and
many attributed this fun-loving spirit to Henrietta. From
left, Art, Dave and Jack hassle their mother; Jack plays pool with a
garden rake; Elwood and Jack fooling with the garden hose -- all in
1925. At right, Ruth, who was not to be out-clowned by her brothers,
pretends to play a harp made with a dust sweeper,
string and
clothes pins, 1930. |
 |
 |
Lew Boyer took this family
picture in 1923. Rear,
Aunt Mame Waltman, Elwood and his wife Marjorie, holding Shirley,
Walter,
Henrietta and Jack.
Front, Art, Elwood's sons Floyd and Walt, Ruth
and
Dave Boyer. Marjorie died in 1927. |
All dressed up, going out the
back door in 1925. In rear, Elwood, Dave, Art, Henrietta, Jack and Lew
Boyer. Front, Mame Waltman, Ruth Boyer, and Elwood's children Walt,
Floyd Jr. and Shirley. |
 |
 |
Holiday on Ferry Street,
although someone
hung up the flag backwards. From left, Lew, Ruth, Dave, Henrietta and
Art, 1922. |
Ready for church, 1925.
Back, Jack, Dave,
Elwood and Art. Front, Ruth and Elwood's
children Shirley, Walt and Floyd Jr. |
 |
| 40th
Anniversary of Henrietta
and Lew Boyer's Wedding, on Ferry Street in 1933. (Actually, there is
dispute
about whether this is not a photo of their 50th anniversary, in 1943,
but after a study of the faces and probable ages of the seven children,
the
consensus is that this is the 40th in 1933.) Front, Henrietta and Lew
with their youngest and oldest children, Ruth and Elwood. Back, Art,
Dave, Walter, Jack and Ralph. |
Marriage and Children
In time,
all of the seven Boyer siblings were married. Jack was the only one who
did not have children. Family members loved clowning, and the
six boys took advantage of their similar (balding) appearance to cause
confusion among friends and neighbors. The family got serious when it
came time for the
90th birthday of their Aunt
Mame Waltman, the sister of their mother,
Henrietta. Mame had lived with the family from the time they
moved from South Easton to Ferry Street in Wilson Borough. She treated
the seven children of Lew and Henrietta and the three children of
Elwood as though they were her own. She kept clippings of
their exploits and maintained scrapbooks and photo albums.
Lew and Henrietta Boyer had died in 1948, but when
Mame's 90th birthday came around in 1959, the entire family
convened at Dave's house, and they took these pictures of the
individual families together with Mame.
 |
 |
Mame Waltman's 90th Birthday,
January 1959, with the Boyer siblings: Back, Dave, Ralph, Walter and
Jack.
Front, Art, Mame, Ruth and Elwood. |
Elwood Boyer's Family: Back,
Steve and Shirley Boyer Kovacs, Barbara Boyer, Walt Boyer. Seated,
Mame, Enid Davies and Elwood Boyer. In front, Janet and Marjorie Kovacs. |
 |
 |
Walter Boyer's Family: Back,
Donald and wife
Dolores, and Walter. First row, Mame and Walter's
wife Miriam Haas Boyer, with Donald's sons,
Michael and David Boyer. |
Ralph Boyer's Family: Mame and
Ralph, front, with Elizabeth (Betsy) (Robin) Boyer and
Ralph's wife Dorothy Flynn Boyer. |
 |
 |
| Dave's Boyer's Family: Front,
Dave, Mame, and Dorothy Buss Boyer. Rear, Wayne and Nancy Boyer Sandt,
David T. Boyer and Mildred Boyer |
Jack Boyer with Mame and wife
Carrie Snyder Boyer |
 |
 |
Art Boyer's Family: Back, Neil
and Art Boyer.
Seated, Ann Lee Boyer, Mame, Anna Jackson Boyer. |
Ruth Boyer Matchette's Family:
Front,
Jim and Ruth Matchette with Mame.
Rear, Beverly, Sandra and Linda Matchette. |
 |
 |
| The boys congratulate Elwood at
the wedding of his daughter Barbara to Paul Duhamel, 1961. From left,
Art, Ralph, Elwood, Dave, Jack and Walter. Ruth was annoyed that her
brothers forgot to include her in the picture. |
At the Stokes church in
Hummelstown,
Pennsylvania, 1971: From left, Art, Jack, Ruth,
Walter and Dave. Elwood and Ralph had died. |
The Boyer Gang at
Ocean City
Ruth Boyer Matchette's vacation home in
Ocean City, New Jersey, provided the ideal forum for the Boyer
siblings, their
spouses, and a few of their children to get together for some madcap
moments about once a year in the late 1950s and early 1960s. They took
along outrageous
constumes and paraded them on the street and especially on the
boardwalk. Sometimes they organized the parade on bicycles and tried to
confuse people, taking
advantage of the fact that the Boyer brothers were very similar in
appearance. The spouses
had as much fun at the Boyer siblings.
 |
 |
On the steps of Ruth's house,
1960: Front row, Art, Enid, Elwood, Dorothy, Ralph and Dot.
Back, Anna, Jack, Carrie, Miriam, Walter. |
On the boardwalk, 1958: David
T., Ralph and Dorothy
Boyer, Sandra Matchette, Jack Boyer, Betsy Boyer,
Bart Thompson, Beverly, Jim and Linda Matchette. |
 |
 |
Boyer sibling bikers, 1958: From
left, Elwood,
Ralph, Dave, Jack, Ruth, Art and Walter. |
The ladies, 1958: From left,
Enid, Anna, Ruth,
Carrie (hidden), Dorothy (wife of Dave),
Dorothy (wife of Ralph) and Miriam Boyer. |
 |
 |
 |
| Jack and Art in 1959 |
Castro on the Boardwalk!
Dot, Miriam and Walter in 1959 |
Dave and Jack in 1958 |
 |
 |
| Showing some leg in 1960:
Seated, Ruth Matchette. Standing, Enid, Dorothy, Carrie, Anna, Dorothy
and Miriam Boyer. |
On the beach in 1958: From left,
Miriam Boyer, Jim,
Beverly, Linda,, Ruth and Sandra Matchette,
Art, Anna, Enid and Elwood Boyer. |
 |
 |
 |
| Elwood, Art and Jack play games,
1959 |
Walt and Dave (Fidel)
Boyer, 1959 |
Walter and Jack, 1960
(don't ask!) |
 |
 |
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| Dave and Art do the Hula, 1959 |
Dot and Ruth enjoy the fun |
Anna and Miriam with Hats, 1959 |
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|
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| Anna and Art, ready for the
beach, 1960 |
Jack and Ruth have a surprise
for Jim Matchette, 1959
|
Art ready for bed, with Anna and
Enid, 1958 |
 |
 |
| Walter (Fidel) with Jack's wife
Carrie, 1959 |
Wigged out: Dave, Art and
Jack still at
it in 1972. |
Family Reunions
Besides
the annual trips to Ocean City in the 1950s and 1960s, the Boyers tried
to have occasional reunions that included all family members. In the
1980, the venue moved to Hugh Moore Park, along the Lehigh River near
Glendon. Below are some of the photos from those reunions.
 |
 |
Boyer
picnic at Bushkill Park, outside Easton in Palmer Township, near Lew
Boyer's farm, in 1934. Standing in the rear, Ruth, Jack, Ralph, Dave,
Art, Floyd Jr. (son of Elwood), Elwood and Walter Boyer. Seated are
Mildred Boyer (daughter of Dave), Henrietta
and Lew Boyer, and
Jean Boyer (daughter of Walter). Behind the bench are Donald Boyer (son
of Walter) and Shirley Boyer (daughter of Elwood). |
Picnic
at Lehigh Park in 1948. Left side from bottom, Ann Lee Boyer, Mame
Waltman, Henrietta and Lew Boyer, Dave and son David and wife Dorothy,
Floyd. Top right, Walter (seated), Enid
and Elwood (standing), Barbara, Nancy and
Mildred Boyer, Shirley and Steve Kovacs, Neil and
mother Anna Boyer. This was one of the last family gatherings for
Lew and Henrietta; both died by the end of 1948. |
 |
 |
| Boyers at Mud Run in 1936: Back,
Jean, Miriam, Jack, Elwood, Dave, Shirley, Mame, Jim, Floyd, Lillian,
Henrietta, Lew. Front, Carrie, Mildred, Dorothy, Enid, Ruth, Anna, Art,
Donald, Ralph and Dorothy. |
Picnic in 1940: From left,
Miriam,
Mame, Carrie, Henrietta and Anna. |
 |
 |
| Boyers at Dave's House, 1954:
Top, Dave, Mildred, Nancy and Dot. Middle, Neil, Jack, Carrie, Dorothy.
Front, David T., Anna, Ann Lee, Betsy, Art. |
Visitors at Dave's summer
campground, 1973: Art, Anna, Dave, Dot, Walter and Miriam Boyer. |
 |
Fun
at Jack's House in Lemoyne,
1968: Back, Jim Matchette, Carrie,
Walter, Miriam, Dave, Art and Anna Boyer. Front, Bob and Jean Stokes,
Jack Boyer, Ruth Matchette, Enid Boyer. |
 |
Boyer
Reunion 1989 -- aboard the
canal boat at Hugh Moore Park,
along the Lehigh River in Easton. |
 |
| Boyer
Reunion 1991 -- also
aboard the canal boat at Hugh Moore Park. |
 |
Boyer
Reunion 1993 -- Hugh Moore
Park. Minerva and Charles Waltman are seated at left. By the time of
this reunion,
Dave Boyer (seated right) was the only survivor of the
seven children of Lew and Henrietta Boyer. |
 |
| Boyer
Reunion 1995 -- still at
Hugh Moore Park. |
 |
| Boyer
Reunion 1997 -- Hugh Moore
Park in Easton |
 |
Boyer
Reunnion 1999 -- Hugh
Moore Park. The number of grandchildren was growing.
The patriarchs, the remaining members of the last
generation, seated in the center, are Anna Boyer,
Enid Boyer, Jim Matchette and Dave Boyer. |
 |
| Boyer
Reunion 2001 -- Hugh Moore
Park in Easton |
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| Boyer
Reunion 2003 -- Hugh Moore
Park |
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 |
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| First Cousins, 1991: Front, Neil
Boyer, Jean Stokes, Robin Boyer, Barbara Duhamel, Mildred
Harris. Rear, Shirley Kovacs, David Boyer. |
First Cousins, 2001: Neil Boyer,
Barbara Duhamel, Nancy Sandt, Jean Stokes, Donald Boyer, Mildred
Harris, Shirley Kovacs, David Boyer. |
First Cousins, 2003: David
Boyer, Barbara Duhamel, Shirley Kovacs, Donald Boyer, Jean Stokes, Neil
Boyer, Nancy Sandt. |
 |
 |
| First Cousins, 2008: David
Boyer, Mildred Harris, Jean Stokes, Barbara Duhamel, Nancy Sandt,
Shirley Kovacs, Neil Boyer. (Plus Ginger and Jake.) |
First Cousins, 2008, with
spouses: Standing, Suzanne and David Boyer, Don and Mildred Harris,
Jean and Bob Stokes, Nancy and Wayne Sandt, Shirley and Steve Kovacs.
Kneeling, Ginger and Barbara Duhamel, flanked by Neil and Johanna Boyer. |
 |
| Boyer
Reunion in October 2010, near Klecknersville, Pennsylvania.
Standing: Jen Boyer, Nolan Montes, Sue Boyer, Dave
Boyer, Don and Mildred Harris, Barbara Duhamel, Bob and Jean Stokes,
Don Boyer, Sandra Campman, Shirley Boyer, Shirley and Steve Kovacs,
Linda Haskins, Nancy Sandt. Kneeling: Debbie, Ethan and Bob Campman, Ed
Haskins, Neil and Johanna Boyer. |
|
Boyer first cousins in 2010:
Mildred Boyer Harris, Barbara Boyer Duhamel, Don Boyer,
Jean Boyer
Stokes, Nancy Boyer Sandt, Sandra Matchette Campman, Dave Boyer,
Shirley Boyer Kovacs, Neil Boyer, Linda Matchette Haskins
|
 |
 |
The female cousins: Mildred, Barbara,
Jean, Sandy,
Shirley, Linda, Nancy |
The male cousins: Dave, Don and Neil Boyer |
Lew Boyer's Grandchildren and
Great-Grandchildren
Lew and
Henrietta Boyer had seven children -- six sons and one daughter, as
noted above. Lew and Henrietta both died in 1948. By mid-2008, their
descendants included not just these seven children but also 16
grandchildren, 32 grandchildren, 32 great-grandchildren and four
great-great-grandchildren. Here are photos of some of these
descendants. More photos are included in the separate webpages for each
of the seven children. Go to The
Boyers of Easton and click on the individual names listed
there.
 |
 |
| Second
cousins. On left, 1991, standing, David Shields Boyer, Don Harris, Jen
Boyer,
Sue Boyer, Marge Kovacs, Jeff Harris. Seated, Craig Duhamel,, Sabrina
Boyer, Ann Stokes McGuire, Gary Boyer, Tim Duhamel. On right, 2003, David
Stanley Boyer, Tim Duhamel, David Shields Boyer, Jen Boyer, Sabrina
Boyer and Gary Boyer. |
 |
 |
| Elwood Boyer's children
following his funeral in 1967. From left, Steve and Shirley Kovacs,
Walt Boyer, Lillian and Floyd Boyer, Barbara and Paul Duhamel. |
Family gathering at Enid Boyer's
house in 1979: Standing, Enid, Walter, Miriam, Dot, Anna, Lillian, and
Art Boyer, Janet Kovacs, Robbie Lloyd, Shirley and Marge Kovacs, Karen
Lloyd. Seated, Dave Boyer, Robin and Jeff Lloyd, Steve Kovacs and Floyd
Boyer. |
 |
 |
Enid and Anna Boyer both lived
at Moravian Hall Square, in Nazareth, in 1993. Standing, Neil and
Johanna Boyer, Stephanie Parks, Debbie,
Tim and Barbara Duhamel. Seated, Enid and Anna Boyer, Shirley Kovacs
and Paul Duhamel. Front, Sabrina and Gary Boyer. |
Elwood Boyer descendants at the
1999 reunion.
Standing, Deb, Leslie, Craig (holding Lindsey), and Barbara Duhamel.
Lillian Boyer, Steve Kovacs, Karen Lloyd and Shirley Kovacs. Front,
Josh, Nick and Tim Duhamel, and Enid Boyer. |
 |
 |
| Walter Boyer's daughter, Jean
Boyer Stokes, with her family in Hummelstown, 1971. From left, Donald,
Richard, Dan, Jean, Bob and Ann Stokes. |
The Stokes family in 1999 in
Easton. From left, Lisa Stokes, Katie, John, Robbie and Ann Stokes
McGuire, Bob, Richard and Jean Stokes, Beth Stokes Jones,
Casey Stokes and Tom Jones. |
 |
 |
| Walter Boyer's children Jean and
Donald and their families, 2002. Rear, Donald Stokes (holding Carter),
Lisa Stokes, Tom and Beth Stokes Jones, Ann Stokes and John McGuire,
Dan and Richard Stokes. Middle, David, Joanne and Heather-Ashley Boyer,
Bob and Jean Stokes, Shirley and Donald Boyer. Front, Casey and Tucker
Stokes, Robbie and Katie McGuire. |
50th wedding anniversary for
Jean Boyer Stokes and Bob Stokes, 2005. Standing, Lisa, Ben and Richard
Stokes, Beth Stokes and Tom Jones, John, Katie and Richard McGuire,
Donald Stokes. On sofa, Casey, Dan, Jean and Bob Stokes, Ann Stokes
McGuire,
Stacy, Carter and Tucker Stokes. |
 |
 |
| Art Boyer's wife, Anna Boyer,
celebrates her 90th birthday at Moravian Hall Square in Nazareth.
Front, Enid, Anna and Dave Boyer and Anna Yeager. Rear, Shirley Kovacs,
Stephanie Parks, Johanna Boyer, Steve Kovacs, Sabrina,
Gary and Neil Boyer. |
Anna's descendants at Moravian
Hall Square after her memorial service in 2006. From
left, Art and Anna's grandchildren, Gary Boyer, Sabrina Boyer Foster,
and Stephanie Parks. Sarah Jackson Bell and Liz Jackson Nowoj are
nieces of Anna, daughters of Anna's brother Jack Jackson. Anna's son
Neil Boyer is at right. |
 |
Art
and Anna's Descendants in
2006:
Matt
and Sabrina Boyer Foster, Johanna Boyer, Stephanie Parks, Emma Gerald,
Gary Boyer, Alba Boyer. |
 |
 |
Dave Boyer's Children, after
Dave's funeral in 2006: Left, Wayne and Nancy Boyer Sandt.
Middle,
Don and Mildred Boyer Harris. Right, David and Suzanne Boyer. |
Dave Boyer's grandchildren and
great-grandchildren in
2006: Back, Sue Boyer (holding Ryan Ropella), Dino, Jen and
Nolan Montes, Colin and Rachel Boyer Ropella and Eric Ropella, Rhonda
Sandt DiGirolamo and Niko DiGirolamo. Middle, David Harris,
David S. Boyer, Jeff and Don Harris. Front, Kevin and Kyle Harris and
Alex Paul. |
 |
|
Four David Boyers, 2003: David
Thomas Boyer,
David Shields Boyer. Samuel David Boyer
and David Stanley Boyer. |
Mildred Boyer Harris and her
family, 2008: Back. Don,
Helen, Dave and Jeff Harris. Middle, Kevin, Don, Mildred and Kyle
Harris. Front, Hannah, Emma and Drew Harris. |
For
more photographs of all of
these families, see the individual
family
web pages at
The Boyers of Easton. |
LINKS:
The
Boyers of Easton
The
Boyers of Orwigsburg
Neil
Boyer's Home Page
Boyer
Family Genealogy Charts
|
