| Notes |
- Only Richard, Henry, and Samuel are certain to have been children by William's first marriage. William, Mary, Elizabeth, and Rebecca could have been children by either marriage, as their birth dates have not yet been identified. Perhaps William and Mary belonged to the first marriage, and Elizabeth and Rebecca to the second. More evidence that William had a son William is needed. The birthrates of most of William (Sr)'s younger children were estimated from the ages of the children in his 1840 household and from the years of their marriages, if known. Michael should have been 15 in 1840, but he is unaccounted for in the BOYD census records of that year, if he was actually born in 1825 as his tombstone states.
William BOYD is said to have been a Methodist Circuit Riding Preacher who moved from Brunswick Co. NC to Montgomery Co., AL ca 1821, where he organized a congregation at Pinetucky (later Pine Level] in the SE part of the county, near Pike Co.
Ron Head wrote: "William BOYD wrote his will (dated 19 Aug 1844), took it to the Probate Judge, and had it recorded in Will Book #2, p. 292 DURING HIS LIFETIME. He appears in the 1850 census with his wife Rebecca and children, so I know he didn't die for at least six years after recording his will. Furthermore, after a diligent search through the probate records for the period 1850-60, I am now confident that there is not a single additional reference to the estate of this William BOYD in Montgomery Co. [There is another BOYD family in SW Montgomery Co., at about the same time, which includes a William BOYD, Sr. and a William BOYD, Jr. (as does our family), which muddies the water a bit, but by checking the names of administrators, heirs, and the locations of lands listed in the estates, I've been able to satisfy myself that no record of "our" William BOYD's estate exists in Montgomery Co., apart from his "pre-recorded" will.
"Now what does that mean? William owned quite a bit of property in SE Montgomery Co.--I would certainly expect there to be estate papers here for him (as there are for his sons William, Jr, Richard, and Samuel) if he died in Montgomery Co. I'm in the process of checking all the BOYD deeds, to determine how much (if any) land William Sr. still owned at the presumed time of his death. If he had sold ALL his land, that might explain why no estate papers exist, but I still can't understand why his will wouldn't have been probated, if only to legally transfer ownership of his personal property to Rebecca. (see William's will, attached--only 3.18 KB!)
"Is it possible that both Rebecca AND William made the move to TX (Coryell county), and that William died out there rather than here?"
1850 census, Alabama, Montgomery cty, 2nd district
Nov 13, 1850, series M432, roll 12, p 186
line 18-20, dwelling/household 520/520
William Boyd, 78, M, farmer, $900, NC, blind
Rebecca ", 54, F, NC
Michael ", 25, M, farmer, Ala
Margaret ", 20, F, Ala
John ", 19, M, farmer, do
Sarah ", 14, F, do
Malinda ", 11, F, do
James Wilson, 5, M, do
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The name Boyd is thought to derive from the Gaelic for Bute, but there is also the claim that their procurator was Robert, nephew of Walter, the first High Steward of Scotland and of Norman or Saxon origin.
They were vassals of the De Morevilles, a powerful Anglo - Norman family with vast estates around Largs and Irvine. The earliest record of them is in the burgh of Irvine in 1205, when Robertus de Boyd witnessed a contract between the Lord of Eglinton and the burgh of Irvine, Robert de Boyte is listed in the Ragman Roll of 1296, rendering homage to Edward I of England. the name soon became fairly common, especially in Ayrshire.
Duncan Boyd was executed as a partisan of Robert Bruce by the English in 1306, Sir Robert Boyd was a staunch supporter of Bruce and was one of the commanders at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. His gallantry on the field of battle was rewarded by lands which were confiscated from the Balliols, including Kilmarnock, Bondington and other substantial holdings in Ayrshire.
Robert Boyle, created Lord Boyle in 1454, became regent for the infant King James III after an accident with a siege gun killed James II in 1460. He arranged the marriage of the king to a Norwegian princess. This liaison resulted in the return of the Orkneys and Shetlands to the Scottish Crown, his younger brother was appointed military tutor to the young king. The influence of the Boyd brothers on their young charge was considerable. Lord Boyd was appointed Great Chamberlain, and his son, Thomas, was married to Princess Mary, the king's sister, with the title of 'earl of Arran'.
The Boyle's were viewed with suspicion and when James III grew older those that opposed them began to conspire against them, and eventually persuaded the young king that the ambition of this family was a threat to the throne itself.
In 1469, Lord Boyd, his son, the Earl of Arran, and his brother, Alexander Boyd, were summoned to appear before the king and Parliament to answer charges brought against them. Lord Boyd, realizing that appearance in Edinburgh would result in his death, made his escape to England. Sir Alexander, who was already a sick man, was brought before Parliament, and despite making a spirited defence he was executed for treason.
The Earl of Arran had been abroad on state business, and on learning of these events his exile, and was well received at royal courts throughout Europe. The king, who had now abandoned entirely his former mentors, summoned his sister back to Scotland, inducing her to come on the presence that he might yet forgive her husband. The deluded princess returned, and was promptly detained by her brother who procured an annulment of her marriage, she was then compelled to marry the elderly Lord Hamilton, whose family then supplanted the Boyds in nearness to the throne. The Hamiltons gained not only a royal wife from the Boyds but also the earldom of Arran.
The family was restored to royal favour when Robert, a descendent of the younger son of the first Lord Boyd, received confirmation from Mary, Queen of Scots, of all the estates, honours and dignities of the family, with the title of 'Lord Boyd'. After the queen's escape from Loch Leven Castle, Lord Boyd was one of the first to join her at Hamilton, and fought at the Battle of Langside. He thereafter made many visits to her during her captivity in England. He died in 1590. The family adhered to the cause of the king during the civil war, and they received their reward after the Restoration when William, Lord Boyd, was created Earl of Kilmarnock in 1661.
The third Earl opposed the Stuart claim during the rising of 1715 and commanded a regiment of Ayrshire volunteers. His son, the fourth Earl, did not share his father's sympathies and fought for Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the 'Young Pretender', who appointed him a member of the Privy Council with the rank of general. He commanded a troop of cavalry at the Battle of Culloden where he was captured. He was conveyed to the Tower of London and was beheaded on Tower Hill on 18 August 1746. All the Boyd titles were declared forfeit, but his eldest son succeeded through his mother to the earldom of Erroll in 1758, and assumed the name of Hay.
The eighteenth Earl of Erroll was created Baron Kilmarnock in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1831. The twenty-second Earl of Erroll died in Kenya in 1941 leaving a daughter who, although entitled to succeed to the Scottish earldom of Erroll and the chiefship of Clan Hay, was excluded from the barony of Kilmarnock which, as a United Kingdom title, could only pass to males. Consequently, the brother of the twenty-second Earl changed his own name back to Boyd and became known as Lord Kilmarnock and Chief of Clan Boyd.
ARMS
Quarterly,
1st, Azure, a fess chequy Argent and Gules (Boyd); 2nd, Argent, three inescutcheons Gules (Hay); 3rd, Argent, three gillyflowers Gules, within a double tressure flory counter flory Vert (Livingston); 4th, Sable, a bend between six billets Or ( Callender )
CREST: A dexter hand erect in pale having the two outer fingers bowed inwards
MOTTO: Confido (I trust)
SUPPORTERS: Two squirrels Proper
BADGE: A fan of laurel leaves Proper set behind a hand as in the Crest
STANDARD: Azure, a fess chequy Argent and Gules in the hoist and of two tracts Azure and Argent, upon which is depicted the Badge on a Wreath Argent and Gules along with the Motto 'Confido' extended in the fly in letters Gules.
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circa 1772 - circa 1852 (~ 80 years)
