William James Boyd
SURNAMES: BOYD, DOUGLAS, CONWAY, BRANNON, HENSON, SMITH, DAVIS, JULIAN, HIGH, WELDON, WHITE, HAMILTON, STANLEYWilliam James Boyd, b March 27,1847 in Noxumbee County, Mississippi, d January 23, 1932 at the of his daughter, Mrs. John Douglas of Chilton, and buried in Union Cemetery near Durango, Falls County, Texas - was a son of William B. and Grace (Conway) Boyd, natives of South Carolina who moved to Pickens County, Alabama, and thence to Mississippi by 1840, and subsequently to Texas in 1872.
William James Boyd served in the Confederate States Army. He enlisted in Mississippi, and served in Company F, Third South Carolina Infantry.
On November 9, 1870 in Mississippi, William James was married first to Elizabeth Brannon, b May 4, 1849 in Mississippi, d August 7, 1883 in Falls County, Texas and buried in Union Cemetery near Durango - a daughter of Hardy Brannon, b 1825 in South Carolina, and his wife, Harriett Parthena (Henson) Brannon, b 1827 in South Carolina.
In 1872, William James and Elizabeth (Brannon) Boyd came to Falls County, Texas - settling near Durango, and accompanied by his sister, Mary Jane Boyd, who married in Falls County on December 23, 1873 to W. C. Smith. William's parents also came to Texas, but in 1880, they were living in Anderson County, with their son, Jasper M. Boyd, and the parents later moved to Falls County.
William James Boyd was a Mason, and the family were of the Baptist faith. He and Elizabeth had four of seven children to survive infancy. Their three youngest children were born in 1879, 1881, and one was born and died August 7, 1883, when Elizabeth also died.
The surviving children were:
Virginia Lee Boyd, b September 22, 1871 in Noxumbee County, Mississippi - married in Falls County, Texas to R. P. Davis, of Lott.
Jasper W. Boyd, b July 14, 1873 in Falls County, Texas - married December 5, 1897 to Harriett A. Julian, and lived in Rosebud.
George W. Boyd, b April 1875 -lived in Rosebud, Texas in 1932.
Alice Elizabeth Boyd, b June 20, 1876 in Falls County, Texas, d before 1931-married W. P. Smith, b June 9,1872, d November 26, 1931- a son of William M. and Josephine (High) Smith of Alabama, who are buried in Union Cemetery near Durango.
About six weeks after the death of Elizabeth (Brannon) Boyd, William James Boyd was married second on September 30, 1883 in Falls County to her seventeen-year-old sister, Martha J. Brannon (called "Mattie"), b August 2, 1866 in Mississippi, d December 25, 1913 and buried in Union Cemetery near Durango.
By this marriage, William James and Mattie had ten of eleven children who survived infancy:
Charles Marcus Boyd, b August 1, 1884 in Falls County, Texas, d December 6, 1931 - married December 17, 1905 to Bessie Myrtle Weldon, b May 21, 1888 in Falls County.
Eugene Clifton Boyd, b February 9, 1887, June 11, 1944 in Falls County - married November 10,1905 to Hattie Smith, and lived in Chilton, Texas.
Nettie Myrtle Boyd, b July 30, 1888 - married Lester White, of Briary.
Hardy Andrew Boyd, b December 24, 1889, d November 5, 1957 in Falls County, Texas - married in Falls County on January 10,1910 to Jessie Hamilton.
Thomas Jackson Boyd (called "Jack"), b July 14, 1891 - was living in Chilton, Texas in 1932, but listed as "J. T. Boyd."
Ada M. Boyd, b April 21, 1893 - married John Douglas, of Chilton.
Adeline Grace Boyd, b January 1895 - was not married in 1932, and was living at Whiteface.
Tilmon Henson Boyd, b May 2, 1896 in Falls County, Texas - married December 21, 1920 to Julia E. Stanley, and was living in Arlington, Texas in 1932.
Jesse Reeves Boyd, b March 3, 1898, d before 1932.
Joseph L. Boyd, b March 24,1900 in Falls County, Texas - is thought to have been living in Rosebud, Texas in 1932.
Some biographies from "Families of Falls County", compiled and edited by the Falls County Historical Commission.
Permission granted to Theresa Carhart by the Falls County Historical Commission, for use on this page.
