Stories from the Tree - John Henry Boyd - The early years

You may recall that my aunt Lou Amma referred to Sheriff John Henry Boyd in her memoirs and Della Boyd Culbertson briefly referred to John H. Boyd in her diary.  John Henry was a 1st great granduncle to both these ladies, therefore a 2nd great granduncle to me.  

John Henry had a varied and interesting life; soldier, sniper, POW, mechanic, home-builder, farmer, grocer, sheriff, statesman, warden and rancher.

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Curtis and John Henry Boyd

Born in Laurens, South Carolina in 1846, son of David Young  Boyd, one of three brothers operating the then-prosperous Boyd's Mill, John Henry was comfortably enrolled in military school until the outbreak of the Civil War. He ran away from school at fourteen years of age and enlisted in the Confederate army as a private in the Third South Carolina regiment.

He was later transferred to Company "C" of the Fourteenth South Carolina regiment - which formed part of “Stonewall" Jackson's old Corp - and was  attached to a battalion of sharpshooters until captured, along with his Captain, at the battle of Petersburg, Virginia and transported as a prisoner of war to Hart's Island, New York.

Upon his release after the surrender of the Confederate forces, and only 19 years old, he made his way back home to South Carolina and hired on as a mechanic's apprentice. About a year later, in August of 1866, he married his cousin, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Curtis.

After the war, however, the South was in turmoil, and the Boyd Clan was searching for a better environment. "Gone to Texas" was the slogan of the day. and several of the Boyd family headed out, including John Henry's parents - David and Tabitha Boyd. John and Lizzie joined the exodus and started out to Texas in a mule-drawn wagon, accompanied by two "faithful family servants."

Travel by wagon proved too difficult for the then-pregnant Elizabeth, so when they reached Atlanta, John sold the mules and wagon, gave the servants $25 each, and he and Lizzie took a train to New Orleans. They booked passage on a boat to Galveston, and now Lizzie was both pregnant and seasick.

By coach, they went to Houston, where they purchased a wagon, mules and supplies for the trip to Washington county, where they met up with friends and relatives from South Carolina. The family stayed in Washington County for 4 years, John parlaying his mill and lumber experience into a thriving business as a building contractor.

Plague-ridden Washington County was a disaster for the Boyds at large, so John Henry and others of the Boyd family moved to Grand View, Johnson County, where his parents had ended up, and there he farmed and worked in the family grocery business. By 1876, most of the Boyd Clan had relocated in Johnson County, so John Henry had no difficulty being elected justice of the peace of that precinct.

Johnson county and the county seat, Cleburne, was booming. The  Santa Fe railroad  moved their repair shops into this town. Improved roads and modern farming methods increased the cotton production, cattle and horse production was on the rise, banks, businesses and saloons were springing up everywhere. All of this prosperity meant money and money meant a lawless element soon began to intrude into the county. It was time for a new sheriff in town.

Because of his war experience, his excellent record as Justice of the Peace, his standing in the community, the excellent reputation of his father, David Young Boyd, and more relatives than you could shake a stick at, John Henry was urged  to seek the office, and he was elected - by a huge margin - as the Sheriff of Johnson county on November, 1882.

Evidently the constituents (and family) thought he did a good job, because he was re-elected sheriff for 4 more terms. In 1890, at the expiration of his fourth term as sheriff, John was elected mayor of the city of Cleburne, but he must not have liked the job, as he declined re-election.

In the next section, we will hear some tales (perhaps "tall") about John Henry's experiences as sheriff of Johnson County, Texas,