James Boyd

Biography

James was born about 1700 in Ireland. He is the son of James Boyd and Louisa Graham. He came to America with his brothers William and John about 1720. He landed in Boston and settled in the County of York, in what is now the state of Maine. Main was then part of the Colony of Massachusetts Bay. All of what is now known as Maine was then known as the County of York. Whether James went there immediately or he settled somewhere else first is not known.

York is but a few miles from Portsmouth, and in the “Point of Graves” Cemetery there is buried Andrew Boyd, son of James and Margaret Boyd, died May 8, 1727, aged 10 years. Also a James and Margaret Boyd are witnesses to a deed dated October 18, 1725, in York. The will of James Boyd, of Portsmouth, dated October 9, 1739, proved November 22, 1739, mentions a brother John, and a son of that brother, also John. There is nothing to identify these Jameses with James (2).

James Boyd (2) finally settled in Berwick, a short distance from York, although in just what year cannot be determined as the records of the town from 1736 to 1748 are lost. The town of Berwick, “alias Newgewanac”, incorporated in 1713 (from which the towns of Berwick North Berwick, and South Berwick are formed), was the upper part of the town of Kittery, in Unity Parish, and was made the Parish of Berwick in 1681, but a division "of the town, for certain purposes, had been made ten years before that, and a church was there as early as 1702. It is in York County, and the town of York is bounded on the northwest by South Berwick, and on the southwest by Kittery, In 1723 Berwick was the most inland town next to Canada; and in 1830 the towns of Berwick, North Berwick, and South Berwick were formed from it.

The site of James’ farm stands in what is now South Berwick, about one mile south of North Berwick railroad station, and has been known as “Boyd’s Corners” as far back as any one can remember. Mr. Elmer Boyd still occupies part of the old place, but the original buildings were burned in 1869, so many valuable records must have been lost.

James Boyd married Mary (or Margaret) Whitten (Whiton?), and they had five children: James (5), William (6), Joseph (7), Sarah (8), and another daughter (9) name unknown. There may have been other children who died at an early age.