Boyd Family of Union and Tuscaloosa Counties (Boyd family of Union County, MS)

Family trees bring out coincidences that are interesting and can lead to some confusion. Last names can be tricky.  People can have the same last names, but come from different families. Thats true of the Boyd name for me.  I have Boyds on both sides of my family.  Mom’s Boyd branch of the family came from Union County, Mississippi. As a kid I remember going to a family reunion up in Union County where I met a bunch of people, but being a kid, I didn’t ask the right questions or write anything down.  Always regretted that. Years later, my parents would go by and visit relatives but again I didn’t ask any questions or pay attention.  To tell you the truth, I never knew much about the Boyd family of Union County.  Thinking a little further, I didn’t really know much about any of the Boyds so I started researching.  Here is part of their story in My Delta.

I never knew my Grandmother on Mom’s side of the family.  She passed away long before I was born.  Her name was Lucy Mae Boyd.  She had married Louis Vestell Gurley and moved to the Mississippi Delta in the 1940s.  They would have two children named Lewis Franklin and Lena Mae. Louis got a job working with the railroad and things seemed to be going good, but tragedy struck. On October 20, 1946, his body was found under a bypass.  Whether he fell or was pushed never was determined, but his death would change things for the young children. After her husband’s death, Lucy met Enoch Stewart and started a new family. With Enoch, Lucy would have two more daughters named Barbara Ann and Doris Louise. The family struggled economically though and moved frequently.  The children spent time with the family of Lucy’s brother George in Quitman County.  George and his wife Edith had moved to Quitman County about the same time as Lucy but life wasn’t easy.  Then Lucy’s death on August 24, 1959 in Millington, Tennessee caused the small family to split up.  Lewis Franklin and Lena Mae would stay in Quitman County.  Barbara Ann and Doris Louise would move back to Union County with Lucy’s sister Jennie.  George Roy Boyd would pass away on July 8, 1963.  Since I wasn’t born until years later, I only knew my Aunt Edith on that side of the family. She was a truly special lady and I always have thought of her as my Grandmother. Visiting her in Lambert was so much fun as I grew up, but she never talked much about the Boyds so they were always a mystery to me.  Thats why genealogy is so important. It’s like doing an investigation.

Lucy Mae Boyd was the daughter of John M. Boyd and Lou Parker. She had four siblings.  They were Jennie, John, Lonely, and Cubell.  The family lived in a community named Ellistown near Blue Springs in southern Union County.  Union County lies in Northeast Mississippi and was established on July 7, 1870.  It was named because of the union of parts of Pontotoc and Tippah counties.  In 1874, part of Lee county was annexed. The earliest inhabitants of this region were the Chickasaw Indians who signed over their lands to the United States government in the Treaty of Pontotoc Creek in 1832.  Settlers quickly occupied the Chickasaw lands.  Pontotoc and Tippah counties were both created in 1836.  After the Civil War, more people moved into the county.  It was in this migration that the Boyds of my family moved into the Ellistown community.

John Boyd was born on June 7, 1869 in Mississippi. He and Lou were married on October 4, 1892 in Lee County.  John passed away on February 8, 1936 and Lou passed away on June 5, 1954.  They are both buried at Ellistown Cemetery in Union County. John was the son of George David and Nancie Virginia Hall.  Nancie Virginia was born January 5, 1847 and passed away on April 22, 1879. George then remarried.  His second wife was Martha A. Smith. Martha passed away on June 17, 1902. George David was born June 18, 1842 in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama.  His mother was the second wife of Aaron Amos Boyd.  She was named Margaret Caroline Green. Aaron Amos Boyd had moved to Alabama in the 1830s from South Carolina.  George David Boyd died on March 2, 1905.  He and his first wife are buried at Ellistown Cemetery. Martha is buried at Oak View Baptist Church Cemetery in Parks which is nearby in Union County.  George identified himself as a farmer on the various census records.

Second Generation

Children of George David and Nancie Virginia Boyd:

• Willie B. Boyd: 1866 – 1870
• John M. Boyd: 1869 – 1936
• Infant Boyd: 1871 – 1871
• Leononois Caledonia Boyd Thompson: 1872 – 1912
• Maggie Adella Boyd Garland: 1875 – 1945

Children of George David and Martha A. Boyd:

• Samuel Boyd: 1881 – 1902
• Walter Brutus Boyd: 1888 – 1976
• Lora E. Boyd Pannell: 1890 – 1932

Third Generation

Children of Aaron Amos Boyd and Judah Henry:

• Martha Caroline Boyd: 1827 – 1902
• Francis “Frank” Marion Boyd: 1828 – 1869
• Amanda Druciller Boyd: 1830 –
• James L. Boyd: 1834 – 1880
• Mary Juanetta Boyd: 1839 – 1918

Children of Aaron Amos Boyd and Margaret Caroline Green:

• Thomas Addison Boyd: 1842 – 1900
• George David Boyd: 1842 – 1905
• John W. Boyd: 1843 – 1915
• Napoleon Sidney Boyd: 1846 – 1899
• Sissy Boyd: 1850 – 1850
• Columbus Washington Boyd: 1853 – 1915
• Aaron Mark Boyd: 1857 – 1863
• William Aaron Boyd: 1857 – 1881

Children of Aaron Amos Boyd and Nancy C. Snider

• Henry Clay Boyd: 1870 – 1912
• Rufus Boyd: 1871 – 1928
• Dora Boyd: 1875 – 1963

When the Civil War started, our Boyds of Tuscaloosa county were on the Confederate side of the argument.

1. Francis Marion Boyd: Joined Company D of the 36th Alabama at Tuscaloosa on February 14, 1863.  He was discharged on June 11, 1863 because of sickness at Mobile.
2. James L. Boyd: Joined Company D of the 36th Alabama at Addison on April 1, 1862. He was attached to Lumpkins Hospital at Rome, Georgia on September 1, 1863. James had first entered the hospital and received clothing on August 18, 1863. By 1864, he was back with his regiment and received clothing on April 14, 1864. James was captured May 19, 1865 at Tuscaloosa by the 2nd Regiment Illinois Cavalry and paroled.
3. Thomas Addison Boyd: Joined Company D of the 36th Alabama on April 1, 1862 at Addison. He received clothing on April 14, 1864. Thomas was captured May 22, 1865 at Tuscaloosa by the 2nd Regiment Illinois Cavalry and paroled.
4. George David Boyd: Joined Company H of the 43rd Alabama on April 13, 1862 at Tuscaloosa. He listed his occupation as farmer. Private Boyd was listed as present and unhurt at Huntsville, Alabama on August 15, 1862. He was discharged at Cumberland Gap by the surgeon. After returning home, George joined Company D of the 36th Alabama Infantry as a corporal on February 14, 1863. He received a pair of pants on July 31, 1863, a coat on January 27, 1864, and a pair of shoes and another pair of pants on March 5, 1864 at Rome, Georgia. He also was listed as receiving supplies on April 14th and in July 1864. Corporal Boyd was paid $22.00 on August 1, 1863 and $22.00 on September 1, 1863. The last card in his service record has him on a list of sick and wounded soldiers to be sent to the hospital at West Point, MS from Okolona, MS. This was on January 7, 1865 and he is identified as having a wounded arm. This wound was probably received at Nashville since the regiment retreated back to Mississippi after that battle along with the Army of Tennessee.
5. John William Boyd: Joined Company D of the 36th Alabama Infantry on April 1, 1862 at Addison. He received clothing on April 14, 1864.  He spent a brief time in the hospital at Tunnel Hill, Georgia from July 1, 1863 to July 13, 1863.

History of the 36th Alabama Infantry in the Civil War

The 36th Alabama was organized at Mount Vernon Arsenal on May 12, 1862.  The regiment remained there about a month where they constructed the defenses at Oven and Chocta Bluffs. From August 1862 to April 1863, the regiment was assigned to Mobile.  It then moved to Tullahoma where it was brigaded with other regiments to form Clayton’s Brigade of Stewart’s Division. The 36th fell back with the Army of Tennessee and saw it’s first action at Chickamaugua with a loss of 125 killed and wounded. The regiment’s loss was light at Lookout Mountain, but heavy in captured at Missionary Ridge.  They wintered at Dalton and were engaged at Crow’s Valley, Rocky Face Ridge, Resaca, New Hope, and Atlanta losing more than 300 men from the time the unit left Dalton.  At Jonesboro, it was again warmly engaged losing about 25 percent of those who entered the battle. Having accompanied General Hood to Middle Tennessee, the 36th suffered about 60 casualties at Nashville, but came out as an organized body.  The regiment with others of Holtzclaw’s brigade was then placed on garrison duty at Spanish Fort and lost about 110 men in killed, wounded, and missing in that siege. The remnants of the 36th were surrendered in April 1865.

Officers of Company D, 36th Infantry:

• Adams, John C. – Captain: resigned August 8, 1864, captured at Tuscaloosa May 18, 1865. He identified himself as Captain of the Invalid Corps.
• Prewitt, D.M – 1st Lieutenant: resigned January 13, 1864
• Walker, J. Mack – 2nd Lieutenant- 1st Lieutenant: killed May 15, 1864
• Owen, W.M. –  2nd Lieutenant – captured July 22, 1864 at Atlanta
• Owen, Frank – 2nd Lieutenant- captured at Nashville December 16, 1864
• Strickland, Wilson – 2nd Lieutenant – dropped November 3, 1862

George D. Boyd, Company H 43rd Alabama at Ellistown

Aaron Amos Boyd and much of his family are buried at Boyd Cemetery in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Aaron Amos Boyd passed away on April 30, 1876