Tennessee

The Boyds

William Baldrige Boyd and many of his children began to move to Tipton County, Tennessee in the late 1800s. There was already a community of Presbyterians there who had arrived in the early 1800s, also from South Carolina.

Walter Boyd, the eldest son of William Baldrige Boyd, was born 12 September 1866 in Cayce, MS and died 5 August 1897 in Idaville, TN. Walter married Ella Pearce in Cayce, MS on 27 December 1894. Ella, the daughter of W. B. Pearce and Sarah Hooks, was born October 1870 in Marshall County Mississippi and died after 1930. Walter and Ella moved to Idaville, Tipton County Tennessee around 1895 where he was a farmer. He was murdered on August 5, 1897 by a shotgun blast when he came upon a farmhand who had robbed his house. The farmhand was convicted and sentenced to death. His was the last public hanging on the gallows in Tipton County, Tennessee. Walter is buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery, Cayce Miss. He and Ella Pearce Boyd had two daughters Cora and Rene.

• Cora (1895 - abt 1975)
• Rene (1897 - 1915)

Rene had Tuberculosis and Ell and her two daughters moved to Texas hoping that climate would benefit Rene's health. In 1910 Ella was living in Houston, Texas where she was a school teacher in the Public schools. Rene died on 3 February 1915 in San Angelo, Texas. Ella and Cora returned to live in Memphis, TN after Rene's death and in 1920 was living on North Parkway where Cora was a stenographer in a clothing store. In 1930, Ella was living with Cora and her husband Hubert Dickinson in Memphis.

Tumpie Boyd Strong

Mary Elizabeth Boyd (1868-1929), William Baldridge's 2nd child and oldest daughter was known by her family and friend's as "Tumpie". Tumpie was born on 26 October 1868 in Cayce, MS and died 10 July 1929 in Tipton County, TN. She was married to Dr. William A. Young (1842 - 1910), (who was also from Cayce) on 21 March 1900 in Marshall County, MS. William Young was born 12 February 1842 in South Carolina and died 23 September 1910 in Salem, Tipton, TN. William and Tumpie moved to Tipton County sometime after 1900 and were living on Covington and Brunswick Road in 1910. They had no children. Tumpie was Dr. Young's second wife. He was first married to L. H. (name unknown). William Young and L. H had four children, the youngest, named William A., was born in 1889 in Marshall County, MS and was living with Dr. Young and Tumpie in Salem in 1900. I do not know what happened to the first two children of William Young and L. H. (David F, 1878 and Mary S., 1879). The third child, a son, died the day after birth and is buried in the Mt. Carmel Cemetery in Cayce. William Young is buried in the Salem ARP Cemetery.

After Dr. Young's death in 1910 Tumpie married Christopher Theodore Strong (1870 - 1940), a substantial Tipton County farmer, on 19 December 1911. Thede, as he was called by the family, was born on 1 January 1870 and died on 8 October 1940 in Tipton County. Tumpie and Thede had no children, but served as foster parents for several children from the Dunlap Orphanage, an ARP Church Institution in Idaville. They may have adopted Earl Tarr from the Dunlap orphanage. After Tumpie's death in 1921, Thede married Sarah Peden Young Faulkner (1891 - 1981), a widow and mother of Shannon Faulkner. Tumpie, Dr. Young and Thede are all buried in the Salem ARP Cemetery.

John Lawrence Boyd

John Lawrence Boyd (1871-1956) was born 31 January 1871 in Cayce, MS and died 23 November 1956. He married Sara Elizabeth "Lizzie" Crenshaw (1870 - 1961) at her father's house in Cayce on New Year's Eve 1895. Lizzie Crenshaw was born 16 June 1870 in South Carolina and died 18 February 1961. He was originally a farmer, but, as his daughter later wrote, as a mature man with a family he felt a call to the gospel ministry. He enrolled in Erskine College (Due West, SC) and graduated in 1901. He then attended Erskine Seminary, although it was unusual at the time to admit married men. He was ordained an Associate Reformed Presbyterian minister in 1903. Rev Boyd served 9 churches in 5 states (Bethany, Hopewell and Head Springs in Mississippi; Brighton, Rives and Polk Hills Chapel in Tennessee; Russellville in Arkansas; Concord in North Carolina; and Red Level in Alabama). The John L. Boyd Memorial Fund at Erskine Theological Seminary, Due West, SC helps financially needy students. John and Lizzie had 5 daughters. John L and Lizzie are both buried in the Salem ARP cemetery in Salem, TN. The children of John L and Lizzie were:

Charles Morgan Boyd (1875-1958) was born 25 April 1875 in Cayce, MS and died 25 February 1958 in Charlotte, NC. Charles also graduated from Erskine College (1900) and Erskine Seminary (1902). In his last year of college, he won first place in the Oratorical Contest held between the colleges of South Carolina. He married Ella Jane Lee (1877 - 1959), a member of an aristocratic family from Due West, SC, on 3 November 1904. Ella was born 28 July 1877 in Due West, NC and died 21 November 1959 in Charlotte, NC. Charles and Ella Lee had three children, all of whom died in infancy and are buried in Lee plot of the Due West cemetery. Charles had ministries in Newberry and Anderson, SC and Tuscaloosa, AL. Charles and Ella Jane are buried at Forest Lawn Mausoleum in Charlotte, NC.

Pearl Boyd Strong

Ida Pearl Boyd (1878-1942) was born 11 April 1878 in Cayce, MS and died in 1942 in Tipton County, TN. Ida Pearl moved to Tipton County, TN and was married in her home at Atoka to Charles Grier Strong (1865 - 1936) on 11 January 1911, by her brother, Charles Morgan Boyd. Grier Strong was born in 1865 and died in 1936 in Tipton County. Grier was a farmer and later a mail carrier in Brighton. He was trained as a pharmacist but never practiced the profession. Grier and Pearl had 4 children, Agnes, Frances and a still born son and a still born daughter. Ida Pearl and Grier Strong are buried in the ARP Cemetery at Salem, TN. The two children of Ida Pearl and Grier Strong were:

William Robert Boyd

William Robert Boyd (1882-1975) was born 1 July 1882 in Cayce, MS and died 7 August 1975 in Covington, TN. Will moved to Tipton County at the age of 20 in 1902. He settled in Covington where he was a clerk in the Harry Marks Clothing Store in 1903 and later at the Covington Supply Company. Will married Sallie Pace (1886 - 1970) on 25 October 1910 in Covington. Sallie was born in 1886 and died 3 January 1970 in Covington, TN. Sallie was known as "Sarah" by most of the Boyds. In 1917, after some health problems and a doctor's recommendation that he find some outside work, William Robert became the first mail carrier in Covington. In 1952 he retired from the postal service, but was soon asked by a local business man (B. L. Overall) to assist the firm's bookkeeper. The regular bookkeeper resigned and Will continued as the firm's bookkeeper for an additional 20 years. When Will first arrived in Covington, he was part of a group that organized the first ARP church in Covington, June 27, 1903. Will was ordained as an Elder and served in that capacity for the remainder of his life. Both William Robert and Sallie are buried in the Munford Cemetery in Covington, TN. Will and Sarah had 4 children including a set of twins (a boy and a girl). The boy twin died shortly after birth. The 3 surviving children of Will and Sarah were:

• Sarah Doris (1912 - 2006)
• Robert Burton (1916 - 2005)
• Mary Will (twin) (1920 - )
• unknown boy (twin) (1920 - abt 1920)

Bessie Simonton Boyd

Hugh E. Boyd

Hugh Ernest Boyd (1886-1953) was born 23 April 1886 in Cayce Mississippi and moved to Tipton County in the early 1900's with his Father, where he farmed and later had a store in Atoka and still later worked in Haddad's mercantile store in Munford. In 1911, he married Bessie McLaughlin Simonton (1888 - 1970), daughter of Charles Judson Simonton of Atoka. Bessie was born 7 September 1888 in Atoka, TN. Shortly after marrying Bessie's father became ill and Hugh and Bessie moved into her father's home so that Bessie could help care for him, where they remained until after Hugh's death. Hugh and Bessie had 4 children, only two of which survived:

Hugh died 12 July 1953 in his home in Atoka of an embolism. After Hugh's death, Bessie continued to live with her mother, Fannie Simonton, in Atoka. Fannie died in 1956 and shortly after that Bessie moved to Milan, TN to live with her daughter, Francis. After Bessie moved to Milan, her brother, Barney, moved into the house in Atoka. Both Hugh and Bessie are buried in the ARP Cemetery in Salem.

Hugh Boyd (left) in his store in Atoka with Thom Forbess in the early 1920's

The Salem Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church was one of the earliest churches in the area. On 28 January, 1835, a meeting was held in the house of Abner Matthews to determine some way of having the gospel preached among the residents in the area. Mr. Matthews donated four acres of land for the church lot and a log house was erected during the summer of 1835 as a place of worship. The congregation of Salem was organized on 19 June, 1836 under the direction of the Tennessee Presbytery by the Reverend Henry Gryson, DD. A new church, a frame building, was erected in 1845. A third church building was dedicated on 11 September 1910. In 1939, this building was destroyed by fire and the present church building was erected in 1941. Next to the Church is the Salem Cemetery which predates the church.

Next to the church is the Salem ARP Cemetery where many of the Boyd's and their relatives are buried.

Irby Ray Hester, Hugh Boyd, Barney Simonton, Bonner Gragg, William Boyd, Thomas and Charles Gragg
Frances Hester, Evelyn Gragg, Bessie Boyd, Fannie Simonton, Maggie Gragg, Florence Simonton, Beryl Boyd
Ann Hester, Bill Hester, Jim Hester, Tom Boyd, Bill Boyd, Bette Boyd

Boyd Timeline | Scotland | Ireland | South Carolina | Mississippi | Tennessee | Arkansas