James Boyd

JAMES BOYD

Spurious Pedigrees

In his account of the Boyd Earls of Kilmarnock for the Scots Peerage, the Marquis of Ruvigny acknowledged the claim made by 'several families' that James Boyd, here treated, was the grandson of William Boyd, 1st Earl of Kilmarnock and his wife Lady Jean Boyd However, he could not find any evidence which supported this relationship. The Scots Peerage V: 174 The families concerned appear to have confused James Boyd's father Robert Boyd, Glover in Kilmarnock with the Earl's fourth son Robert Boyd This is certainly true of the man named James Boyd, who, according to the late William P. Boyd, went to America in 1756: "with a patent from George II for 60.000 acres in New Brunswick." Evidence which supports a connection with Kilmarnock in Ayrshire for this emigrant is not produced, and has not so far been found. History of the Boyd Families: 120

The Question of Identity

James Boyd, here treated, is the son of Robert Boyd, Glover in Kilmarnock and his wife Margaret Thomson He was born before 4 May 1732, the date upon which his baptism was registered at Kilmarnock in Ayrshire, Scotland. [National Records of Scotland, Kilmarnock Baptisms, reference OPR.597/1]

Evidence from the Vital Records of Newbury in Massachusetts

                   1

11 August 1757: BOYD, James, and Susanna Coffin, Aug. 11, 1757, Vital Records II: 53 See also Ibidem: 112

                   2

21 December 1764: BOYD. John Parker, s. James and Susanna, Dec. 2r, 1764. Vital Records I: 42

                   3

14 August 1766: BOYD. Francis, d. James and Susanna, .Aug. 14, 1766. Vital Records I: 42

Note: d = daughter; day; died.

                   4

6 July 1768: BOYD. Ebenezer Little, s. James and Susanna, July 6, 1768. Vital Records I: 42

                   5

11 February 1770: BOYD, Charles Coffin, s. James, bp. Feb. 11, 1770. c. r. 3. Vital Records I: 42

Note: c. r. 3 = church record, First Presbyterian Church, Old South.

                   6

20 March 1776: BOYD. William, s. James and Susanna, at St. Andrews, Nova Scotia, Mar. 20, 1776. Vital Records I: 42

                   7

30 September 1798: BOYD, James, Sept. 30, 1798, a. 64 y. g. r. 2. Vital Records II: 550

Note: g. r. 2. = gravestone record, Oldtown Cemetery.

Printed Evidence

1. Vital records of Newburyport, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849, Volume I. Births (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911), 428 pp.
2. Vital records of Newbury, Massachusetts, to the end of the year 1849. Volume II. Marriages and Deaths (Essex Institute, Salem, Mass., 1911), 759 pp.

Genealogy

1. The Scots Peerage : founded on Wood's ed. of Sir Robert Douglas's Peerage of Scotland; containing an historical and genealogical account of the nobility of that kingdom. Edited by Sir James Balfour Paul, Lord Lyon King of Arms. Volume V. (David Douglas, Edinburgh, 1908), 639 pp.
2. History of the Boyd Family and Descendants with Historical Sketches, etc. By William P. Boyd. (John P. Smith, Rochester, N. Y., 1912), 507 pp. including index