Boyd of Derry

Boyd of Derry1

I. William Boyd,¹ a native of county Antrim, Province of Ulster, Ireland, emigrated to Pennsylvania prior to 1730. settling in Derry township. He had a large family of children, of whom we have the following.

i. Robert, b. 1705, who took up several tracts of land in Derry township; m. and had Elizabeth, Catharine, and Mary. 

ii. Alexander, b. 1707; m. and had Alexander, Robert, William, and Margaret.

iii. Jennett, b. 1710; d. October 17, 1757; m. John McCosh ; d. November, 1754. At his death he left considerable of an estate, which his widow disposed of as follows: To her brothers, William, John, Alexander, and Robert Boyd; her niece, Margaret, daughter of John Boyd ; to Alexander, Robert, William, and Margaret, children of Alexander Boyd; to Benjamin, Joseph, and William, children of William Boyd ; niece Catharine Boyd, who, we presume, was a daughter of William Boyd; to her sister-in-law, Jean Boyd; to her nieces, Elizabeth, Catharine, and Mary, daughters, we suppose, of Robert Boyd; to Rev. John Roan; and ''the sum of twenty shillings to Derry congregation.''

2. iv. William, b. 1712; m. and left issue.

v. John, b. 1715; m. and had Margaret.

II. William Boyd,² (William,¹) b. 1712, in county Antrim, Ireland, d. prior to 1760, in Derry township, Lancaster county, Pa.; m. and had among others the following issue:

3. i. William, b. 1733; m. Jennett Brisben.

4. ii. Benjamin, b. 1738; m. Jennett Elliott.

5. iii. Joseph, b. 1740; m. Elizabeth Wallace. 
 

iv. Catharine, b. 1743.

III. William Boyd,³ (William,² William,¹) b. about 1733 in Derry township, then Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. He was brought up as a farmer, became quite prominent in Provincial days, and was an officer during the French and Indian war, and the struggle for independence. He belonged to the Paxtang Boys, whose zeal in defense of their firesides compelled them to destroy the murdering savages of Conestoga. During the latter part of his life, he served in the commission of a justice of the peace. He was one of the charter members of Lodge 21, at Paxtang, and its second Master. In his will, he left a legacy to the lodge's charity fund. Mr. Boyd died May 17, 1808, and is buried in Derry church graveyard. He m. Jennett Brisben. They had issue:

i. James, b. 1759.

6. ii. John, b. 1761; m. Mary Williams.

iii. Jennett, b. 1763; m. Moore.

iv. Mary,b. 1765: m. Strawbridge.

v. Margaret, b. 1767; m. William Williams.

vi. William, b. 1769; d. December, 1807 ; m. and left issue.

IV. Benjamin Boyd,³ (William,² William,¹) b. 1738; d. May 8, 1803 ; m. December 31, 1761, by Reverend John Roan, Jennett Elliott, b. 1737 ; d. November 21, 1820; and, with her husband, lie buried in old Derry church graveyard. They had among other issue :

i. William, b. 1768; d. September 19,1803; leaving a wife, Mary, and a daughter, Rachel, b. June, 1803.

V. Joseph Boyd,³ (William,² William,¹) b. 1740; d. September 20, 1781, in Londonderry 'township, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania; m. in 1766, by Reverend John Elder, Elizabeth Wallace, daughter of Robert Wallace, b. 1746; d. April 13, 1802, in Londonderry township, Dauphin county, Pennsylvania; both buried in old Derry church graveyard. They had issue:

7. i. Mary, b. 1768; m. William Baird.

ii. Margaret, b. 1770; m. William McDonald, of Dickinson township, Cumberland county, Pennsylvania.

iii. Elizabeth, b. 1772; d. October 15,1805.

iv. Ann, b. 1774.

8. v. William, b. 1776 ; m. Martha Cowden.

vi. Jean, b. 1778.

vii. Isabel, b. 1780 ; d. December 1,1789.

VI. John Boyd,⁴ (William,³ William,² William,¹) b. about 1761, in Derry township, Lancaster county, Pa.; d. April 6, 1799, at Harrisburg, Pa. He was one of the first settlers in the new town, locating there in 1785 - the year it was laid out - and became quite prominent and influential. He m., the year previous, Mary Williams, dau. of George Williams, b. 1761, in Paxtang township; d. September 25, 1844, at Harrisburg, and there buried. They had issue:

i. Mary, b. July 21,1785; d. s. p.

ii. William, b. November 12, 1786; d. s. p. _

iii. George, b. July 17, 1788.

iv. Elizabeth, (twin.) b. July 17,1788.

9. v. James Rutherford, b. October 13,1790; m., first, Margaret Emerson ; second, Eliza Keller; third, Eliza Sloan Baird.

vii. John Brisben, b. June 27,1793; d. s. p. 

10. vii. George Williams, b. November 12, 1796; m. Elizabeth S. Mish.

After the death of John Boyd, his widow m. Stacy Potts, concerning whom, as he was a man of mark, we have this information : Thomas Potts, the ancestor of Stacy Potts, was a Quaker, who emigrated from England with his wife and children, in company with Mahlon Stacy and his family, in the ship ''Shield'' and landed at Burlington, N. J., in the winter of 1678, she being the first ship that went so far up the Delaware. Stacy was a leading man in the Society of .Friends and in the government of West Jersey. At Trenton, 1731, Stacy Potts was born. He received a good education, and learned the trade of a tanner, a business which he successfully carried on at least up to the time of the Revolution. Mr. Potts seems to have been a very enterprising and public-spirited citizen. In 1776, besides owning a tannery, he built the steel-works on Front street, Trenton, and after the close of the Revolution was largely interested in the erection of a paper-mill in the same locality. This was prior to the publication of Collins' Bible. In December, 1788, it was advertised by its proprietors, Stacy Potts and John Reynolds, as ''now nearly completed.'' About this period Stacy Potts removed to Harrisburg, Pa. It is difficult to divine what were his motives in leaving his native town, where he was very popular, and with his ample competency, to settle in the then new town on the Susquehanna. His second marriage may, perchance, have had somewhat to do with his removal from Trenton. Going to Harrisburg, he made large purchases of land, and whether it was due to this fact, or his agreeable manner, Stacy Potts became quite prominent; was chosen to the Legislature in 1791 and in 1792. During the mill-dam troubles of 1794-95, Mr. Potts was quite active, and was one of the committee of citizens who were willing to take upon themselves all responsibility accruing by the destruction of the obnoxious dam. Ple served as burgess of the borough, and was a member of the Town Council. From 1799 to 1803 he again represented Dauphin county in the State Legislature. About the year 1805, he returned to Trenton ; subsequently became mayor of that city, an office he held for several years. He died in that city April 28, 1816, in his eighty-fifth year. Mr. Potts was thrice married. We have no knowledge as to his first wife. He married, secondly, Miss Gardiner, of Philadelphia. a Presbyterian lady of superior intelligence. She died at Harrisburg in 1799. His third wife was Mrs. Marv Boyd. Upon the death of Mr. Potts, his widow removed to Harrisburg, where she resided with her son, George W. Boyd, until her death in 1844.

VII Mary Boyd,⁴ (Joseph,³ William,² William,¹) b. 1768. in Deny township, Lancaster county, Pa.; d. 1866, in West Hanover township, Dauphin county, Pa.; m. William Baird. They had issue, (surname Baird:)

i. James, b. 1794. 11.

ii. Joseph-Boyd, b. October, 1790; m. Mary Todd.

iii. William, b. 1798; m. McNair.

iv. Elizabeth, b. 1800.

v. John, b. 1802.

vi. Wallace, b. 1804; d. September 2,1858; m. Martha Todd  (see Todd record.) 

VIII. William Boyd,⁴ (Joseph,³ William,² William,¹) b. 1776; removed to, and died in, Cumberland county, Pa.; m. June 4, 1807, Martha Cowden, daughter of James and Mary Cowden. They had issue:

i. Elizabeth, m. ____ Dallas.

ii. James, m. _____McMurray.

iii. Joseph.

iv. Matthew

v. William,

vi. Edward,

vii. Martha.

viii. Mary.

IX. James Rutherford Boyd,⁵ (John,⁴ William,³ William.² William.¹), October 13, 1790, at Harrisburg, Pa.; d. December 29, 1865. lie learned the trade of cabinet-making, at Trenton, New Jersey, and for many years successfully carried on that business. He served as third sergeant in Captain Richard M. Crain's company, the Harrisburg Artillerists, in the war of 1814, and for a long time was a member of the borough council. Mr. Boyd was thrice married; m., first. Margaret Emerson ; d. May 24, 1824. They had issue :

i. Mary, d. ; m. Dr. William S. Cresap, d. ; had Mary, Boyd, Nade, and William.

ii. John-R., b. December 26, 1815; d. March 26,1862; m. Caroline E. Truman, and had Annie, Truman, Margaret, Albert, Peter, and Caroline, d. s. p.

iii. Sarah-Ann, b. May 29, 1818; d. October 8,1854; m. John B. Bratton, and had Laura and Edward.

Mr. Boyd m., secondly, Eliza Keller ; b. June 12, 1803; d. February 27, 1828; daughter of John Peter Keller and Catharine Shaeffer, (see Keller record.) They had issue:

iv. Peter-Keller, b. 1826; m. Caroline E. Barnitz; resides at Harrisburg, Pa.

Mr. Boyd m., thirdly, February 3, 1831, by Rev. William R . DeWitt, Eliza Sloan Baird ; b. 1800; daughter of Richard Sloan and Sarah McCormick; resides at Harrisburg, Pa. They had issue:

v. Robert-Sloan, d. 1884.

vi. Isabella McCormick, b. October 4, 1833; d. February 10, 1850.

vii. George-William, m. Nettie Hershey.

viii. Eliza-Potts, m. James Murphy; reside in Philadelphia.

ix. Maria; resides at Harrisburg, Pa.

x. James-Alexander, m. Dessie Spahr; b. September 28,1847 ; d. February 13,1870.

X. George Williams Boyd,⁵ (John,⁴ William,³ William,² William,¹) b. November 12, 1796, in Harrisburg, Pa.; d. August 31, 1863. He was a chair-maker, and carried on the business many years at Harrisburg. Was also a member of the council of that borough, and a man of influence in the community. He m., October 31, 1822, by Rev. William R. DeWitt, D.D., Elizabeth S. Mish, b. November 23, 1802; d. March 26, 1849, in Harrisburg, Pa., and, with her husband, there buried. They had issue:

12. i. John Brisben, m. Elizabeth J. Carson.

ii. Jacob Mish, m.

iii. Elizabeth, m. William S. Rowson, civil engineer; reside at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, and had Mary and William.

iv. Mary-Ellen, m. John B. Bratton, of Carlisle, Pa., and had Mary, Bessie, John-Brisben, and Georgia.

v. Catharine Mish.

vi. Caroline Virginia, m. John H. Tennent, of Alabama; reside in New York city.

vii. George Williams, b. December 21, 1836; d. January 6, 1867; served in the quartermaster's department during the Rebellion.

XI. Joseph Boyd Baird,⁵ (Mary,⁴ Joseph,³ William,² William,¹) b. October 1796; removed to Franklin county, Pa,, where he died; m., October 7, 1834, Mary Todd, b. November 1, 1805, in Hanover township, Dauphin county, Pa. In 1880, was residing in Franklin, Warren county, Ohio. They had issue (surname Baird):

i. Martha Ann, b. February 3, 1836; m., October 12, 1854, John Smith ; reside in Taylorsville, Christian county, Illinois.

ii. Harriet Jemima, b. May 12, 1838.

iii. Caroline Todd, b. May 14, 1841; m., January 11, 1866, Manlins T. Leachman; reside in Christian county, Illinois.

iv. Francina, b. March 12, 1844.

XII. John Brisben Boyd,⁶ (George-Williams,⁵ John,⁴ William,³ William,² William,¹) b. September 4,1824, in Harrisburg, Pa., where he resides; m., in 1849, Elizabeth J. Carson ; b. in Harrisburg, Pa. ; daughter of William M. Carson and Sarah Kunkel. They had issue:

i. Emma-Louise, m. William H. Henderson, and had Anna,

ii. Elizabeth-Carson.

• 1. Pennsylvania Genealogies: Scotch-Irish and German by William Henry Egle, pages 97-102