Boyd House: Who were James and Jane Boyd (Part 2)

  ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1900.jpg)

James was born in 1845, and was the first Canadian-born son in his family.  His parents were Margaret and Alexander Boyd. Alexander was 20 when he arrived in Huntley Township from Antrim, Northern Ireland in 1841. He met Margaret Dorning soon after and they set up a household next to the Carp River. (Here’s a short article from a 1932 edition of the Ottawa Citizen with some information about Alexander’s early life in the area.)

James and Jane were married on December 22, 1875. I haven’t been able to access actual property records yet, but it looks like the Boyd family (either James or his parents) purchased the land that they would eventually build the house on around 1872. It was previously owned by the Burroughs family , who were granted the land at Lot 1 Concession 1, Huntley Township from the Crown in 1823 and farmed there for nearly 50 years.

The Burroughs built a small log barn on the property, visible on the left of this aerial photograph. That old barn was standing as recently as September 2013, but has since collapsed.  The Burroughs sold to the Boyds in 1872 and moved to Manitoba.

** Update: John Francis, a descendent of the Burroughs, sent along this note: **

My 5x great-grandfather, John Burroughs obtained N1/2, Lot 1, Concession 1 Huntley (about 100 acres) in 1822 and settled with his 6 children. After the great fire of 1870 which burned down the original log home, my 3x great-grandfather, James Burroughs and his wife, Sarah Jane (nee Alexander) sold the lot on Sept 24, 1872 to James Boyd for $4,000 ($2,000 down and a $2,000 mortgage). The sale was witnessed by Nicholas Sparks, who was John Burroughs' business partner and family lawyer. James and family moved to Elma Township and then in 1897 to homestead in the Thundercreek/Dropmore, Manitoba area.

   ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/173huntmar-alternate-aerial.png)

According to family history, the Boyd family’s stone house was built in 1887 by a Scottish stonemason who worked on several nearby buildings. The stone was quarried from a spot further down Hazeldean Road on the way to Stittsville. The family built a large barn on the property in 1901. (I’ll post more info about these buildings later this week.)

[
 ![](/legacy/02452.jpeg)

](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/DSCN8652-barn-corner-stone-173-Huntmar-Drive.jpeg)

Jane and James raised a large family at the house. Official records disagree on the exact number of kids and their names, but it’s likely there were five girls and two boys. The oldest were Margaret Ann, Mabel McGellan, Gertrude Beatrice, Ida Theressa, and Elsie Jane. The youngest William James and Alexander Byron.  Another source says there were five children: Margaret Ann, Malinda May, Ida Teresa, Elsie Jane and Oscar Lorne. The descrepency could be due to bad record keeping, or the sad fact that many children didn’t survive until adulthood in the 19th century.

You can see some of the young Boyd women in this 1901 photo (click for full size).

   ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/011076.jpg)

   _
   _

Here’s a scan from the 1911 Census, showing an entry for the Boyd family. The family is all recorded as “Irish, Canadian, Presbyterian”.  James' occupation: “Farmer”.  Two sons are listed as living at the house, along with a 16-year-old named “Robert Sparks” listed as “Domestic”.

[
 ![](/legacy/02454.jpg)

](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1911-Census-Boyd-detail.jpg)



 




  







Here are a few clippings from local newspapers that reference the Boyd family:

   ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1899-01-25-Social-Notes-Journal-Page-7.jpg)

   ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1899-01-04-Social-Notes-Journal-Page-4.jpg)

   ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1899-03-09-Maggie-Married-Journal-Page-7.jpg)

   ](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/1937-08-29-Ida-Boyd-Trowbridge-Anniversary-Citizen-Page-30.png)

The Goulbourn Museum has about 50 artifacts from the Boyd family in their collection, including iron pulleys, a carriage box, a child’s sled, a minnow bucket, an iron wheel, a wood shelving unit that is painted blue, a paper dispenser, a hay lift fork, painted green milk cans, aluminum pots and pans, buckets, a mini cast iron electric fireplace, shoe lasts, Royal souvenir teacups, electrical insulators, cigarette boxes and glass bottles.

I saw this old broken wheel at the edge of the property when I visited the other day. I bet there are a lot of other items around the property and inside the buildings with stories to tell.

[
 ![](/legacy/02459.jpg)

](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/11-20131117_101317.jpg)

Jane Boyd died in 1914. James Boyd died in 1916. They were buried at the Carp Road Presbyterian Cemetery. Their land at 173 Huntmar was farmed by descendants of the Boyds until the 1970s, when Lyman James Boyd sold it.

Several people have owned the property since then, including the Doutriaux family for about three decades from 1980 to 2011. It’s now owned by Bob Karam.  The house is still there, although nobody lives in it. The barns have collapsed.

[
 ![](/legacy/02460.jpg)

](http://ottawastart.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/5e0baa34-6d8e-4c6c-aa66-71619eb0b3b8.jpg)

** Read Part 3: ** Close-up photos showing the exterior of Boyd House and of the other buildings on the property.

**

** _ ** Do you know anything about this house or the Boyd family who lived there? ** Send us a note at feedback@ottawastart.com , or follow along on Twitter and Instagram using hashtag #173huntmar . _

_
   

_






**
 Sources used to research this story include:
**
  




   * 
  Huntley Township Historical Society:
  [
   Newsletter No. 280, September 15, 2013
  ](http://www.huntleyhistory.ca/new/2013-09-15_nl.pdf)
 
   * 
  City of Ottawa Report:
  [
   Designation of the Boyd House, October 30, 2014
  ](http://app05.ottawa.ca/sirepub/cache/2/engwd3zvfkuxaxnq1fxynaw4/8903911172013104816561.PDF)
 
   * 
  Information provided by Kathryn Jamieson of the
  [
   Goulbourn Museum
  ](http://goulbournmuseum.ca/)
  .
 
   * 
  Thanks to
  [
   Christopher Ryan
  ](http://www.historynerd.ca/)
  for archival searches.
 

**
 More in this series:
**
  




   * 
  Part 1:
  [
   Boyd House as it looks today
  ](http://ottawastart.com/boyd-house-the-old-stone-house-at-173-huntmar-drive-part-1/)
 
   * 
  Part 2:
  [
   Who were James and Jane Boyd?
  ](http://ottawastart.com/boyd-house-who-were-james-and-jane-boyd-part-2/)
 
   * 
  Part 3:
  [
   The house, the barns and the surrounding property
  ](http://ottawastart.com/boyd-house-the-house-the-barns-and-the-surrounding-property-part-3/)
 
   * 
  Part 4:
  [
   A look inside Boyd House
  ](http://ottawastart.com/boyd-house-a-look-inside-part-4/)
 
   * 
  Part 5:
  [
   The seven stone cousins, the man with two graves, and other mysteries
  ](http://ottawastart.com/boyd-house-the-seven-stone-cousins-the-man-with-two-graves-and-other-mysteries-part-5/)
 
   * 
  Part 6:
  [
   Know any entrepeneurs who'd like to open a business in an old stone house?
  ](http://ottawastart.com/boyd-house-know-any-entrepreneurs-whod-like-to-open-a-business-in-an-old-stone-house-part-6-173huntmar/)
 
   * 
  Follow
  [
   #173huntmar
  ](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23173huntmar&src=hash)
  on Twitter and watch for future updates on this blog. You can bookmark
  [
   http://ottawastart.com/173huntmar
  ](http://ottawastart.com/173huntmar)
  for the latest news.
 

**
   

**
**
 See also:
**
[
 Ottawa History Guide
](http://ottawastart.com/history.php)
  

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