USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I > Part 63
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the Freedmen's Bureau. As chairman of the committee on Revolutionary claims and pen- sions, he reported all work of that body as completed, and upon his recommendation the committee was abolished. He served on the committee on postoffices and post roads, and succeeded in restoring postal service in southwest Missouri. President Lincoln ap- pointed him minister to Venezuela, but the appointment lapsed owing to the death of the President. In 1865 he was appointed judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District and resigned in 1866. He was instrumental in bringing about the sale of the Atlantic & Pacific Railway, then known as the South Pacific Railway, became one of its purchas- ers, and assisted in continuing it into south- west Missouri. In 1868 he was elected to Congress as the regular Republican nominee. In this way he actively opposed the pur- chase of San Domingo, siding with Sumner and Schurz, and against President Grant. He persistently voted against all measures for the removal of political disabilities occa- sioned by participation in the rebellion, be- lieving such action to be unwise, and only to be passed upon by the loyal people of the several States. In IS70, when the question came before the people of Missouri, he led the movement among the Republicans of southwest Missouri for the restoration of the right of suffrage to all who had partici- pated in or sympathized with the rebellion. For this action he was ostracised by his party. From 1864 to 1868 he represented Missouri on the Republican national execu- tive committee. In 1874 he resumed his law practice in Springfield, and at the same time founded the Springfield Wagon Factory. In 1890 he was appointed minister resident and consul general to Siam by President Harrison. He was accompanied abroad by his wife and his son Robert, who, as vice consul, conducted the affairs of the consulate after July 12, 1892, when Colonel Boyd was obliged to return home on account of im- paired health. The death of Colonel Boyd occurred in Springfield, June 22d, 1894. He was married June 11, 1855, to Miss M. M. McElhaney, who, with a daughter, Cordie, resides in Springfield. A son, Robert, died in 1896. Colonel Boyd was one of the most useful and honored residents of his city. He was twice elected mayor, and had filled the various positions of city clerk, city attorney
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and prosecuting attorney of Greene County. He was a brilliant lawyer. and particularly successful in criminal cases. His personal traits were such as mark the genial neigh- bor and public-spirited citizen.
Boyd, Willard W., pastor of the Sec- ond Baptist Church, of St. Louis, was born November 22, 1843, in the town of Chemung. Chemung County, New York. When he was two years of age his parents removed to Saco, York County, Maine, and he grew up in that State. He was educated under pri- vate tutorship, and was fitted for college when he was thirteen years of age. Owing to his delicate health, he did not, however. enter college at that time, and at his father's death in 1861. he succeeded the elder Boyd as superintendent of the Spring Vale Man- ufacturing Company. In 1858 he had be- come a member of the First Congregational Church, and the religious element being strongly developed in his nature, after he be- came superintendent of the Spring Vale Man- ufacturing Company, he reopened a little Baptist Church in the village, long closed for the want of a minister, and began on Sunday morning to conduct a Sunday school there- in, reading sermons from Spurgeon or Beecher to the congregation from time to time. This led up to his addressing the peo- ple who assembled in this little church in his own way, and for nearly three years there- after he preached to them regularly, both morning and evening on Sundays. As a re- sult of the religious interest which he awakened, a new church was erected, and many persons asked to be baptized into the Baptist Church. Although he was still a Congregationalist and felt something of an unwillingness to forsake the church in which he had been brought up. he yielded to what seemed to be the promptings of duty, and in company with thirteen converts united with the Baptist Church. In 1866 he resigned the position which he had held for five years as superintendent of the Spring Vale Manufac- turing Company, determined to fit himself for the Christian ministry. The following year he matriculated at Harvard College, and in 1871 was graduated from that institution. Immediately afterward he went to Germany. and spent one semester in Berlin University, one in Heidelberg, one in Gottingen, and two in Zurich, pursuing special courses in the-
ology, Greek and philosophy. Upon his re- turn to the United States, he was appointed a proctor of Harvard College, where he taught for a year as private tutor, at the same time continuing his special studies in Hebrew and theology. In 1873 he was ordained pas- tor of the First Baptist Church, of Charles- town District, Boston, Massachusetts, and filled that pastorate until June of 1877, when he was called to St. Louis. When he came to take charge of the Second Baptist Church of that city he found the congregation wor- shiping in a chapel, but within two years thereafter a magnificent church edifice had been erected for its occupancy under his supervision, and as a result of his energetic and well directed efforts. Just as it was ap- proaching completion, this building was de- stroyed by fire, but was at once rebuilt, and the reconstructed edifice, free of debt, was dedicated November 26, 1879. Dr. Boyd continued to serve this church as its pastor until 1887, and during the term of his min- istry its membership was increased from about four hundred to more than one thous- and. In 1887 he resigned the pastorate of the Second Baptist Church, and for seven years thereafter was pastor of a church in New Jersey. In 1894 he was recalled to the St. Louis church, and since then has greatly broadened the sphere of its usefulness and added to its prestige and prominence as a Christian church organization. As a pulpit orator, he occupies a place in the first rank of Western clergymen, and his energy and executive ability have made him a potent factor not only in advancing the interests of his own church, but in advancing all move- ments in St. Louis which make for the better- ment of mankind. Catholic in spirit, broad- minded, and thoroughly progressive in all things, he fraternizes with the ministry of all other churches, and endeavors by every means in his power to advance the cause of Christianity and to improve social and moral conditions. He has delivered many stirring addresses on questions of public moment before non-sectarian audiences and has been active in his labors to inaugurate reforms in city government, and to promote the general welfare of the city of St. Louis. Shurtleff College, of Upper Alton. Illinois, conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of divinity in 1870. He has served the educational interests of his church in the
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West as a trustee of Shurtleff College. and also as a trustee of La Grange College, of La Grange, Missouri. June 2, 1880, Dr. Boyd married Miss Cora A. Dunham, daugh- ter of John S. Dunham of St. Louis, from which union have sprung two sons, Willard W. Boyd. Jr .. and Frank D. Boyd.
Boyd, William Goddin, an ex-presi- dent of the Merchants' Exchange, of St. Louis, was born June 22, 1853, in Richmond, Kentucky, son of William W. and Sophie (Goddin) Boyd. He was reared at Lexing- ton, Kentucky, attending as a boy the public and private schools of that city, and after- ward for a short time Transylvania Uni- versity. Quitting school when he was fifteen years of age he worked for a time in his father's dry goods store, and then became bookkeeper and cashier for the grocery firm of Clark & Bro., of Lexington. At the be- ginning of the year 1874, he again became connected with the wholesale dry goods trade as entry clerk for the firm of Appleton, Lan- caster & Duff, of Lexington, later serving the same house as a salesman. In 1876 he en- tered the internal revenue service of the government under Honorable A. M. Swope, then collector at Lexington for the Seventh District of Kentucky. Mr. Boyd first served as a clerk in the collector's office, but was soon made a deputy collector, and placed in charge of the stamp department of the office. After serving four years in that capacity a vacancy occurred in the chief deputyship, and he was promoted to that position, holding it until October 1, 1882, when he resigned, and came to St. Louis to accept the position of cashier with the grain commission house of D. R. Francis & Bro. After coming to St. Louis he was cashier of the firm of D. R. Francis & Bro. until it was succeeded by the D. R. Francis & Bro. Commission Company, incorporated in 1883. Mr. Boyd then be- came treasurer of this corporation, and has since retained that position, becoming well known to the public through this connection with the conduct and management of one of the great grain commission houses of the Southwest. In January of the year 1892 he was elected a director of the Merchants' Ex- change of St. Louis, and the year following was elected first vice president of that body. Two weeks after the election which placed him in that position, Alonzo T. Harlow, the
president of the Exchange, died, and at a special election held soon afterward. Mr. Boyd was chosen to the presidency to serve out the remainder of Mr. Harlow's term. December 15, 1875, Mr. Boyd married, at Lexington, Kentucky, Miss Hallie Francis- daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John B. Francis of that city, and sister of ex-Governor David R. Francis, of Missouri. She died December 1, 1893, leaving three children, Eliza R., Syd- ney F. and Sophie Rebecca. November 17, 1897, he married, at Lexington, Kentucky, Mrs. Slaughter Bassett, daughter of Mrs. James Houston Kinney, of Georgetown, Kentucky.
Boydston, Wightman McTyeire, lawyer and legislator, was born April 19. 1873, on a farm near Dearborn, Platte Coun- ty, Missouri. His father is Benjamin F. Boydston, who was born and reared on the Missouri farm which he still occupies. His mother, Martha A. Boydston, was born and reared in Jackson County, Missouri. Both parents came of large and well known Ten- nessee families. Until he was sixteen years of age, Wightman M. Boydston remained on his father's farm. where his time was divided between farm labor and attendance at the public schools of the neighborhood. He then entered Central College of Fayette, Missouri, where he took the full literary course and was graduated with class honors. While an undergraduate, he several times represented his college in oratorical and other contests, and on one occasion won the orator's medal at an inter-collegiate contest, held at Pertle Springs, Missouri. Soon after his graduation from college he began the study of law, and in December, 1899, he was admitted to the bar. Meantime he had taken an active part in politics and his marked ability caused him to be put forward as the candidate of the Democratic party for mem- ber of the House of Representatives from Platte County, in 1898. He made a vigor- ous campaign and was elected by a substan- tial majority. Entering the General Assem- bly as one of the youngest members of the lower House, he at once took an active part in the deliberations of that body and was prominently identified with various important measures, one of which was a bill for the im- provement of the public roads of the State which he was largely instrumental in having
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enacted into law. With a well earned repu- tation as a capable and. faithful legislator, he returned to his constituents at the close of the session of 1899 to receive their hearty commendation of his official career. Reared a Democrat, he is a firm believer in, and an able champion of the principles of that party. His religious affiliations are with the Meth- odist Episcopal Church South, and he is a member of the orders of Freemasons, Odd Fellows and Knights of Pythias, taking an active part in promoting the interests of all these organizations.
Boyle, Joseph, D. D., was a native of Maryland, born in the city of Baltimore, May 12, 1812. He was of Roman Catholic parent- age, and was trained in that faith. He re- ceived a classical education, and it was ex- pected he would enter the priesthood in that church. By business association in the State of Pennsylvania with a devout and intelligent Methodist, he became acquainted with the creed and principles of Protestantism, which he embraced, and in his eighteenth year was converted in a Methodist revival meeting, and united with that church in Summerfield, Summerset County, Virginia. He had an early and growing conviction of a call to the ministry of the gospel, and in the fall of the year 1834, he joined the ministry of the Meth- odist Episcopal Church in the bounds of the Pittsburg Conference. He passed to its various orders successively, upon the comple- tion of a four years' course of theological studies, having been ordained deacon by Bishop Robert Paine, and elder by Bishop Joshua Soule. He was actively engaged in the regular pastorate of that church till his death-occurring in the city of Lexington, Missouri, May 3, 1872-embracing a period of thirty-eight years. The first eight years be occupied prominent fields of labor in the Pittsburg Conference, leaving its chief pas- toral charge, Liberty Station, in the year 1842, in the city of Pittsburg, on a transfer to the Missouri Conference, and was ap- pointed to the chief station in St. Louis. His transfer was upon the urgent solicitation of Bishop Joshua Soule, who, on his first visit to Missouri, in 1828, foresaw the destined future greatness of St. Louis, and sought out from the entire church connection picked men for service in that city. Other bishops adopted that policy and Dr. Boyle was among
the many distinguished ministers thus select- ed and stationed in St. Louis from time to time. During nearly the entire period of his ministry, in the regulation of his church the pastoral term at any one church was limited to two successive years, which occasioned his appointment in various fields of labor outside of St. Louis, filling chief stations in Boon- ville, Independence, Lexington and the cap- ital of the State; and in all alike as in St. Louis, enjoying the highest public esteem and abounding in successful labors. He be- came at once, also, prominent and a recog- nized leader in his conference, and was espe- cially active in the promotion of its educa- tional and publication enterprises, having been member of the original board of cura- tors of its leading institutions of learning and the founder of its denominational organ, the "St. Louis Christian Advocate." He was chosen by his conference repeatedly as its representative in the General Conference. In its legislation he was always influential and acquired national fame. It is said he would have been elevated to the episcopacy except for an infirmity, caused by a severe illness, which left his memory seriously impaired.
Dr. Boyle was married August 9, 1836, to Miss Emeline Gist, of an old and prominent family in Brook County, Virginia, now West Virginia. His family still reside in St. Louis, its survivors being his widow, a beloved and honored matriarch in the church, and two children, one a daughter, Mrs. Virginia Price : the other a son, Honorable Wilbur Fisk Boyle, who has filled the office by elec- tion of judge of the St. Louis Circuit Court, and is now at the head of a leading law firm in St. Louis.
Boyle, Louis C., lawyer, was born at Port Colborn, Canada, February 26, 1866. His father was a native of Ireland and his mother of Canada. The son received his early education in the common schools of Canada and his collegiate training at the Uni- versity of Michigan, Ann Arbor, where he took a literary course of three years. He then availed himself of a law course cover- ing two years, graduating from the law de- partment of the same institution in 1889. He located almost immediately at Fort Scott, Kansas, for the practice of law. Remark- able success rewarded his efforts from the very start and he soon attained a reputa-
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tion in legal, as well as political circles, that was not bounded by the lines of Kansas. In the practice at Fort Scott he was associated with Judge Walter L. Simonds, and resided there seven years. In 1890, after he had re- sided in the county only six months, he was elected prosecuting attorney of Bourbon County, Kansas. Not only was this elective honor noteworthy on account of the rapid popularity which he acquired with the people of his county, but equally so from the fact that he was the first Democrat ever elected to office in that county. He served with con- spicuous success and ability for four years. His reputation began to cover the State and he soon became a potent factor in Kansas politics. In 1896 he was elected to the office of Attorney General of Kansas, as a Demo- crat, and served two years. In that posi- tion he participated in many notable legal fights, as the champion of the Kansas stat- utes, probably the most important of which was the long contest in the celebrated stock yards case. The Kansas Legislature had passed a law reducing the charges for feed- ing and caring for live stock at the Kansas City stock yards, most of which are located across the State line in Kansas and operated under Kansas articles of incorporation. The legislative act was hotly assailed by the at- torneys of the company, and General Boyle found many of the most brilliant lawyers of the West arrayed against him. He was about to enforce the law as passed by the Legislature when he was enjoined from so doing by the Federal court, on the ground that the law was unconstitutional. A great legal controversy then ensued. The stock yards company was defeated in every trial in a lower court and the case was as often car- ried to a higher tribunal. It is now set for a rehearing in the Supreme Court of the United States. The. fearless manner in which he made the fight for the stock-rais- ers and shippers against the charges exacted by a large corporation commanded the ad- miration and praise of not only the people in General Boyle's State, but in every other part of the country where the various steps of the sharp contest were followed. As a matter of fact the fight did result in lower charges, and the people of Kansas who are interested in live stock have been saved an immense sum of money. As a public speak er General Boyle has few superiors and his
services are in demand constantly. He de- votes to politics as much time as he can judi- ciously spare from the large practice which he has already built up since his removal to Kansas City, Missouri, in 1899, immedi- ately at the close of his term of office as Attorney General. He has been one of the most intense advocates of the municipal ownership of the various public utilities which large cities must have. General Boyle is a Mason of the thirty-second de- gree and a Knight Templar. He was mar- ried in 1890 to Miss Gertrude Burson, daugh- ter of A. Burson, of Garnett. Kansas, and to them three children have been born. Gen- eral Boyle is rapidly assuming in Missouri the position held by him during his long residence in Kansas, that of one of the fore- most young lawyers of the State.
Boyle, Wilbur F., lawyer and jurist, was born August 20, 1840. His father was Rev. Dr. Joseph Boyle, the eminent Metho- dist minister, whose career has been briefly reviewed in a preceding sketch, and his mother was Miss Emeline Gist, before her marriage. His parents removed to Missouri when he was two years old, his father's earli- est home and field of labor in this State be- ing St. Louis. The elder Boyle's ministerial labors, under the itinerant system of the Methodist Church, caused frequent removals of the family thereafter, and the son attended school at various places, until he entered Asbury University, of Greencastle, Indiana, where he completed his academic education. Coming then to St. Louis, he read law in that city, Honorable Edward Bates, who had been Attorney General in Lincoln's Cabinet, being for a time his preceptor. January 1. 1868, he was admitted to the bar in St. Louis, and im- mediately afterward entered upon a profes- sional career in that city, which has given him a place among the leading members of the Western bar. After practicing eight years, he was elected a judge of the Circuit Court of St. Louis, in 1876. For six years thereafter he sat upon the circuit bench, and the judgment of his professional contem- poraries and the general public gave him a place among the ablest and most thorough- ly conscientious and upright jurists who have graced that bench. The esteem in which he was held was evidenced by the fact, that when, in the summer of 1892, he made known
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his intention to decline a second term, lead- ing members of the bar paid him the com- pliment of making an organized effort to in- duce him to accept a renomination to the judgeship. Irrespective of political predilec- tions, all the more prominent members of the bar of the city signed a testimonial to his fairness, ability and impartiality as a judge, and urged him to consent to continue to serve the public as a judge of the circuit court. Judge Boyle felt, however, that his duty to himself and family demanded that he should return to the practice of law, which he resumed on the first of January, 1883. From 1885 to 1892 he was senior member of the firm of Boyle, Adams & McKeighan. In 1892 he became head of the firm of Boyle & Adams, and this firm continued in existence until 1895, when its dissolution was brought about by the appointment of Judge Adams to the judgeship of the United States Dis- tiict Court for the Eastern District of Mis- souri. Immediately afterward the firm of Boyle, Priest & Lehmann was formed, which has since been known as one of the ablest law firms in 'the West. Judge Boyle mar- ried, in 1864, Miss Fannie L. Brother.
Brace, Theodore, lawyer, soldier, leg- islator and judge of the Supreme Court of Missouri, was born in Allegany County, Maryland, in June, 1835. After receiving a common school education, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1856. He came to Missouri in 1857 and soon had a good practice. In 1861 he espoused the South- ern cause in the Civil War and served as colonel of the Third Missouri Cavalry. After the close of the war he returned to the practice of his profession and in 1874 was elected to the State Senate. In 1880 he was elected judge of the Circuit Court of the Sixteenth Judicial District; in 1886 he was elected judge of the Supreme Court of the State; and at the end of the ten years' term in 1896 was re-elected. He is held in high esteem as a lawyer, jurist and citizen, and his opinions command the respect of the bar and the people.
Bradley, Nicholas Milton, lawyer and legislator, was born May 16, 1868. in Johnson County, Missouri, son of Thomas G. and Sarah Elizabeth (Fulkerson) Brad- ley, both of whom were natives of the county
in which their son was born, his grandpar- ents in both the paternal and maternal lines having been among the earliest settlers in that county. The mother of Nicholas M. Bradley, who still resides in Warrensburg, is a daughter of Dr. James M. Fulkerson, a native of Virginia who settled originally on government land in Johnson County. Ile became a man of prominence in that portion of the State and was in public life as a mem- ber of the General Assembly of Missouri. Mr. Bradley was educated in the public schools of Johnson County and at the State Normal School at Warrensburg, being graduated from the last named institution in the class of 1888. For two years after his graduation from the Normal School he taught school, in the meantime reading law under the pre- ceptorship of S. P. Parks and IIonorable W. W. Wood, both able lawyers. In 1890, lie was a student in the academic department of the University of the State of Missouri at Columbia, and the following year entered the law department of the same institution. He completed his law studies in the law de- partment of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of bachelor of laws in the class of 1893. In October fol- lowing, he was admitted to the bar of Mis- souri by his old preceptor, Honorable W. W. Wood, then judge of the Circuit Court of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit. Imme- diately afterward he began the practice of his profession at Warrensburg, and soon im- pressed himself upon both the bar and the general public as a young man of superior ability and attainments. In 1894 he was elected city attorney of Warrensburg and two years later was made prosecuting attor- ney of Johnson County. He was re-elected to the prosecuting attorneyship in 1898 and during his four years of service in that capac- ity established an enviable reputation as a faithful guardian of the public interests and a vigorous and able prosecutor. In 1900 he was elected to the State Senate from the Seven- teenth Senatorial District and has entered upon a promising career as a legislator. Affil- iating with the Democratic party, Senator Bradley has taken an active part in numerous political campaigns and his high character and ability have made him one of the recog- nized leader of his party in western Missouri. As a man of affairs he is no less highly
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