HARRY ROBERTS and MARGARET
(BAIRD) BOYD
No member of the Memphis bar is better known
or more highly esteemed than
Harry R. Boyd, who for thirty-two years has
successfully followed his
profession in this city, and his ability has
won for him an enviable
reputation as a corporation lawyer. He was
born in Ottawa, Illinois, November
11, 1860, of the marriage of Joseph and
Elvira (McMillan) Boyd, the former
of Irish descent and the latter of Scotch
lineage. The father was born at
Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, and devoted
his life to the occupation of
farming. The mother was a native of Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania. Both are now
deceased. Mrs. Boyd's father owned the historic
peach orchard where was
fought a part of the memorable battle of Gettysburg,
one of the most notable
engagements of the Civil war. The paternal
grandfather, Robert Boyd, was a
soldier of the Revolutionary war.
Harry Roberts Boyd was reared at Ottawa, Illinois,
and after his graduation
from high school he became a student at Wabash
College of Indiana, from which
he won the A. B. degree in 1885, while later
he received the Master of Arts
degree from that institution. He entered the
office of Hon. Joseph E.
McDonald, one of the prominent attorneys of
Indianapolis, Indiana, and a
former United States senator. There he met
Albert J. Beveridge, who was also
studying for the law, in which he was destined
to gain a position of
leadership, while as a member of the upper
house of the national legislature
he proved himself to be a statesmen of the
highest rank. In 1886 Mr. Boyd was
admitted to the bar at Indianapolis, where
he engaged in the practice of his
profession for four years, and in 1890 he
came to Memphis, which has since
been his home. He has proven his ability to
handle important litigated
interests and has built up a large clientele,
being retained as counsel by
many of the leading corporations of the city.
He has always been an
indefatigable worker, and notwithstanding
the breadth and exactness of his
legal learning and his facility in applying
the same, he has never been known
to present a case before court or jury without
preparation as thorough as
time and means rendered possible.
On the 11th of November, 1889, Mr. Boyd was
married to Miss Margaret Baird,
a native of Chicago, Illinois. She is a member
of the Nineteenth Century Club
and is also active in social and religious
circles of Memphis. The 11th of
November, Armistice Day, will ever be a memorable
date in the history of this
nation, and is a particularly significant
one in the lives of Mr. and Mrs.
Boyd, for both were born on this date, chose
this date on which to begin
their married life, and it was also the birthday
of the minister who
performed the ceremony. They have become the
parents of a daughter, Margaret,
a graduate of Vassar College, who is now the
wife of George Gunther, a
prominent cotton buyer and a member of the
firm of M. H. Gunther & Company of
Memphis.
Mr. Boyd is fond of hunting and is an expert
marksman, bringing down many
ducks, geese and quail during the season.
His leisure hours are spent chiefly
in the open and he is a member of the Memphis
Country Club and also of
several other outing clubs, while he is likewise
connected with the
University Club of Chicago. He is a Knights
Templar Mason and in the
consistory he has taken the thirty-second
degree, while he has also crossed
the sands of the desert with the Nobles of
the Mystic Shrine. He is a past
Noble Grand of the Independent Order of Odd
Fellows and his religious faith
is indicated by his membership in the First
Presbyterian church of this city.
His professional ability led to his selection
for the office of president of
the Memphis Bar Association, in which capacity
he was retained for five
years, and he is also identified with the
Tennessee State and American Bar
associations. He gives his best efforts to
his profession, in which he has
steadily progressed, making good use of his
time, talents and opportunities,
and he is conceded to be one of the most talented
members of the Memphis bar.
Tennessee The
Volunteer State Vol 4, Biographies of professional
individuals ( including but not limited to finance, medicine, teaching,
law and politics)
residing in Tenessee from 1769-1923