Person Record
Metadata
Name |
Boyd, William Carson |
Othernames |
William Carson Boyd "The Beaver" |
Born |
1811?/1812? |
Birthplace |
Oxford, England? |
Places of residence |
Oxford, England Montreal, Quebec York (Toronto) Norval, Esquesing Township, Halton County Village of Sydenham, Upper Canada (Owen Sound, Canada West) Big Bay (North Keppel), Keppel Township, Grey County |
Titles & honors |
Eliza Street in Owen Sound was named after Mrs. Boyd. Boyd Street was named after Mr. Boyd. |
Father |
Samuel Carson Boyd |
Nationality |
Irish/English |
Notes |
In 1830, W. C. Boyd, and his brother Samuel, set out from Oxford, England, made the voyage across the Atlantic, and landed at Quebec. Soon after their arrival, W. C. Boyd was joined by his fiancee from the old country, and their marriage took place at Montreal. Eventually they moved to what is now Toronto. Looking for furs and trading with the indigenous peoples, he ventured on foot as far north as the Georgian Bay country, and what would later become the Village of Sydenham. In 1840, he returned with his wife and young family of two sons and two daughters, travelling in Mr. Boyd's own vessel, "The Fly", with Captain John McDougall in command and all their household effects and supplies aboard. They landed at the east shore area of the outer harbour, where a wharf would later be established. Their log home in the Village of Sydenham was one of the earliest in the new settlement. Mr. Boyd was an industrious settler. The First Nations people he traded and worked with referred to him as "The Beaver". The Boyd family belonged to the Disciples Church of Owen Sound in its early years. Mr. Boyd had previously been a member of this church at Norval, Esquesing Township, Halton County, before he moved to the Village of Sydenham (later called Owen Sound). In 1842, the first Church of Disciples meeting in the village of Sydenham took place at his residence (a log home), and his home was known as a "free headquarters" for all teachers of Christianity at the time (e.g. the Methodists in the village also met there). William and Eliza had a daughter born to them at the Village of Sydenham on December 12, 1842. The indigenous people living nearby deemed it an occasion of rejoicing, and there was a three-day encampment and celebration and a feast held in honour of the event. A pipe was presented to W. C. Boyd by them, and the baby girl was called "The White Rose". The pipe became a cherished family heirloom. Four more children were born to the Boyds after baby Eliza. The W. C. Boyd family later moved to Big Bay, in Keppel Township, sometime before 1867. Mr. Boyd had 300 acres of land there. He also eventually ran the store at Big Bay, which he purchased from his youngest son, Robert Boyd. An 1880 subscriber's directory listed W. C. Boyd as a farmer in Keppel (owns 100 acres). It said that he was born in England in 1811, and had served as a Reeve of Derby Township and a Councillor, and had come to the County in 1842. It also listed R. A. Boyd (his son) as a merchant in the village of North Keppel. The mention of England as his birthplace is interesting, as a letter written by his father to a daughter in Ireland, suggested that the Boyd family was of Irish origin. W. C. Boyd's parents also had moved to Grey County to spend the latter parts of their lives, and they are buried in Greenwood Cemetery at Owen Sound (this is according to Dorothea Dean's article in 1936, can this be verified?). On old maps of Owen Sound, one can sometimes see "Boyd's Wharf" marked on the east side of Owen Sound harbour. This wharf was where most of the people and goods coming to Owen Sound disembarked from in the early days. In the 1840s it was originally known as "Collins Wharf". W. W. Smith mentioned that it was built in 1844. Another source (E. Marsh) says that it was called "Connell's Wharf". After Mr. Boyd owned it, it was next owned by a wharfinger named Charles R. Wilkes, and then by the Blain Estate of Toronto. The railway purchased the property next. In later years, Owen Sound's National Table factory purchased it from the railroad. The wharf had likely went out of use in the late 1870s, as the inner harbour was dredged by then and vessels could dock closer into town. "Boyd's Wharf" is seen on an 1871 map of the outer harbour area. It also is still labelled as such on a c. 1879 map (see the Henry Belden Illustrated Historical Atlas). Mr. Boyd owned a schooner in the 1840s called "The Fly". He employed a former slave, Isaiah Chuckee, as his cook on this vessel. This vessel was important for transporting supplies to the settlement at the Village of Sydenham. Mr. Boyd had built the first sawmill at the village of Sydenham area and eventually had several stores. He erected a blacksmith shop, a shoe shop, and a general store where the Queen's Hotel was later situated. His oldest son, John, later ran this store, and it was there that he installed a printing press and published the newspaper called THE LEVER. Mr. W. C. Boyd also was an early proprietor of the land at Inglis Falls, which he sold to a Toronto man. The Inglis family later purchased it. In 1865-1866, the W. W. Smith Gazetteer mentioned "Mr. W. C. Boyd built the older part of the Exchange Hotel on the corner of Scrope and Union Streets. He also opened a house of entertainment and a store. He was the first storekeeper in Owen Sound". He traded furs and timber with the local indigenous people. He served as a trustee with the Mechanic's Institute at Sydenham, which was a forerunner of what is now the Owen Sound Public Library. The Mechanic's Institute helped promote literacy. Eventually financial difficulties overtook Mr. Boyd. He had traded extensively with the Indians for timber for his mill. Unknownst to him, it was contrary to the law at that time to buy lumber from them. The government seized his timber and he was financially ruined. In the early 1870s, when the Toronto, Grey & Bruce Railway was getting started, the first iron rails for the project were unloaded and lain at the former Boyd's Wharf. Land south of the wharf was donated to the T.G. & B. W. C. and Eliza Boyd's son William Boyd was a lighthousekeeper at the Griffiths Island light for 32 years (located off Keppel Township within view of Big Bay). He was pensioned and awarded a medal for his perfect record of service. His wife and daughter (Mrs. Ernest Robinson), resided at Big Bay after his death. Eliza Boyd married Captain J. R. Walker, and they had nine children. William Carson Boyd's death record is dated Jan. 8, 1894 (his death was reported by his son on Jan. 20th). He had suffered from asthma for seven years. He was 82 years of age when he passed away. His occupation was recorded as "Gentleman". - - - Archival Items at the Grey County Archives: -1974.079.382 Marine freight bill from W. C. Boyd, 1856 -1974.079.383 Marine freight bill from W. C. Boyd, 1855 -1991.005.002 1871 railway map has "Boyd's Wharf" marked -Images of "The White Rose" pipe |
Occupation |
Storekeeper Wharfinger (Boyd's Wharf or Lake Superior Wharf at Owen Sound) Sawmill Reeve / Councillor of Derby Township Mechanics' Institute Trustee at Owen Sound Farmer Store-Keeper |
Publications |
-Clarke, Rod, NARROW GAUGE THROUGH THE BUSH, 2007, mentions Boyd's Lake Superior Wharf on p. 143. -Cotton, Robert _________ (has an image of people and vessel beside Boyd's Wharf), 2018, p. __ -Deans, Dorothea, "Indians Smoked Peace Pipe When "White Rose" Born in Sydenham Village in 1842", THE OWEN SOUND DAILY SUN-TIMES, Sat. November 14, 1936. -1880 H. Belden Illustrated Historical Atlas -Croft, Melba, FOURTH ENTRANCE TO HURONIA: THE HISTORY OF OWEN SOUND, 1980 -BEAUTIFUL STONEY KEPPEL, 1855-1986, pp. 299-300 (re Boyd family and the Big Bay store) -Smith, W.W., GAZETTEER & DIRECTORY OF THE COUNTY OF GREY, 1865-1866 -Undated 1953 Owen Sound Sun-Times article mentioning the history of Boyd's wharf -"Owen Sound Was Carved From Dense Cedar Swamp in Valley: Story of Early Days in the City", THE OWEN SOUND DAILY SUN TIMES, Sat. September 22, 1945. -"Founded Century Ago, Disciples Church Here Link With Early Days", THE OWEN SOUND DAILY SUN-TIMES, Sat. November 21, 1942, p. 12. -"Boyd's Old Wharf" mentioned in a history article in THE OWEN SOUND DAILY SUN-TIMES, Aug. 11, 1923, . 1 (of the second section). -"Owen Sound Library, Organized in 1855, Over 35,000 Books", THE OWEN SOUND SUN-TIMES, Oct. 18, 1952, p. 12, mentions Mechanic's Institute trustee W. C. Boyd -Undated clipping from THE OWEN SOUND SUN-TIMES, "Two Stores, Three Taverns in Owen Sound in 1843" (mentions Mr. Boyd's store). -Stephens, A. M., THE EARLY DAYS OF OWEN SOUND, booklet Ontario Death Record 028381 (Keppel Township, Jan. 8, 1894) |
Relationships |
Samuel Boyd was the eldest brother of W. C. Boyd. Samuel settled in Meaford, Grey County Nephew: George M. Boyd Grandson: Stanley Boyd of Oxenden, Grey County Disciples Church |
Role |
Business person |
Spouse |
Eliza _______, m. 18__ |
Children |
John Boyd (eldest son) ____________ ____________ ____________ Eliza Boyd b. December 12, 1842, m. Capt. J. R. Walker, d. July 12, 1922 William Boyd _________, _________, Robert A. Boyd (the youngest son), b. 1852 |
