CANFIELD BOYD and MARTHA NEFF
CANFIELD BOYD is a retired
farmer of Cannonsville, Delaware County, NY
who has made for himself a
delightful home and comfortable fortune, and,
what is of far greater value,
a reputation as an upright man, strictly
honorable in his dealings.
His great-grandfather (John), who came to
America
from Scotland, and made his
home in Massachusetts, had two* brothers,
one
of whom settled in New York
(Thomas), on the Hudson River, and the other
in
Vermont (Abraham).
William Boyd, a son of the Bay State settler, was born
in Cambridge, Mass.,
March 15, 1750, served as a patriot soldier in the Revolution,
and married in January, 1777,
Margery Taylor, of Newington, Conn., who was
born March 7, 1758.
A number of years after marriage they removed to West
Springfield, MA where
they died, she in 1833, he in 1839.
*
There were five brothers altogether; John Boyd Jr., Abraham Boyd, David
Boyd
Samuel Boyd and William Boyd. See:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/confido/book2.htm
Their son, Elisha Boyd, was
born at Cambridge in 1795, and until 1815
followed the life of a farmer
there. He moved to Franklin, Delaware
County, NY making the journey
on horseback and in an ox cart, and here
leading the life of a sturdy
pioneer. In 1818 Elisha Boyd married Patty
Remington, of Meredith, whose
father served seven years in the American
Revolutionary.
Canfield Boyd, son of Elisha
and Patty (Remington) Boyd, was born in
Franklin, MA 28 February 1819.
His childhood was spent in attending the
district school, and working
on his father's farm, and he also learned
the shoemaker's trade. When
about thirty years of age, he purchased the
land on which he now resides
in Tompkins, which at that time was a
desolate wilderness. His first
purchase consisted of fifty acres; and,
with the assistance of his
neighbors, he erected a board house, which he
and his wife occupied on the
third night after the first tree had been
felled for its frame.
Martha Neff, whom he married October 6, 1839, was
the daughter of Silas and
Polly (Watts) Neff, and was born in Butternuts,
Otsego County. When about
seventeen years of age, she left home to learn
the tailor's trade, and sent
to work in what is now Morris. At the age of
twenty-five she married Mr.
Boyd and like the faithful wife she was,
insisted upon sharing his
hardships in the little cabin, comforting and
encouraging him and refusing
the offers of more comfortable quarters for
the first few weeks with her
neighbors. At the expiration of eight years
Mr. Boyd purchased another
fifty acres, and later, in 1882, a frame
house, which he now occupies,
it being of commodious proportions, and
delightfully situated.
Mr. and Mrs. Boyd are the parents
of four children: Henry L., Thomas W.,
Gilbert E., and Elbert A.
Boyd. Henry, a blacksmith by trade, married
Miss Lydia Smith, of Tompkins;
and they have six children now living:
Hattie, Edwin, Mary, Willis,
Lavina, and Ella; one daughter, Lizzie,
having died of diphtheria
at the age of seventeen. Thomas, a farmer in
Tompkins, married Miss Nellie
Mains; and they have four children: Edith,
Etta, Lena, and Kenneth.
Gilbert E. Boyd, also a Tompkins farmer,
married Miss Jemima Mains,
a sister of Mrs. Thomas Boyd. Elbert A. works
the home farm, and at present
has one hundred and twenty-five acres of
land in a state of high cultivation,
the farm containing two hundred and
thirty acres in all. Here
are kept fifty head of fine cattle; and a large
dairy is operated, the butter
from which finds a ready market at an ad-
vanced price in the large
cities of New York and New Jersey. A large
quantity of honey, the product
of an extensive apiary, is yearly shipped
to market.
Elbert A. Boyd married Louisa
M. Brown, daughter of Simeon and Lucia
(Evarts) Brown; and they have
one son, Emory Reed Boyd, born in 1884.
Mrs. Elbert Boyd's great-grandfather,
Collins Brown, came from the
Eastern States in the latter
part of the eighteenth century, and settled
in Masonville, in this county.
His wife was Margaret Chapin, a member of
one of the oldest New England
families.
Their son, Collins Brown, Jr.,
who was born in Masonville, was educated
in the district school, and
later received an academic training. He was
married three times, his first
wife being Louisa Griswold, who became the
mother of Simeon P. Brown,
the father of Mrs. Boyd. His second wife was
Mary Neff, and his third Sarah
K. Wood, who died at the age of seventy-
five.
Simeon P. Brown, having received
his early education in the district
school of Masonville, attended
the academy at Franklin, and then entered
Madison University, at Hamilton,
Madison County, N. Y., where he was
graduated from both the classical
and theological courses, after which he
was ordained as a Baptist
minister. His first parish was at Sherman,
Pa.; but later he went to
Bennettsville, N. Y., where he remained one
year. His next call was to
Sidney Centre, and from there he came to
Cannonsville. In 1864 he enlisted
from the town of Sanford in the Sixth
New York Heavy Artillery as
a private, and served for eleven months. He
participated in the battle
of Cedar Creek, and October 19, 1864, at
Winchester, was shot through
the thigh, lying on the field for twenty-
four hours before assistance
reached him. He died from the effects of his
wound six weeks later, faithful
to the end, a true patriot, a beloved and
loving husband, father, and
friend; and his loss was keenly felt, not
only by his immediate family,
but by all who were fortunate enough to
possess his acquaintance.
His wife was Lucia E. Evarts, of Coventry, Vt.,
a daughter of the Rev. M.
M. Evarts, a Baptist minister of that town.
Mr. and Mrs. Simeon Brown
were the parents of three children: Louisa M.,
who married Elbert A. Boyd;
Ernest W.; and Marcus S., a physician at
Walton, who died in December,
1892.
Mr. Canfield Boyd and his wife
are both devoted members of the Cannons-
ville Baptist church, which
organization they joined at the age of
seventeen; and they are the
acknowledged leaders in all church affairs,
Mr. Boyd being a Deacon at
the present time. In politics he is and always
has been a Republican, a prominent
man in all matters concerning the
welfare of the town where
he resides. His farm is one of the finest in
the country, and its excellence
is due entirely to his energy, streng-
thened by the courage and
patience of his loving wife. This worthy couple
are now drifting down, hand
in hand, toward the close of life, looking
back upon a past well spent,
and forward to a future of everlasting
peace.
From "The Leading Citizens of Delaware County, NY.,
1895"
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