John Boyd (May 1, 1824July 2, 1882) was an

Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

, politician, and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

pioneer. He represented northern

Fond du Lac County Fond du Lac County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 104,154. Its county seat is Fond du Lac. The county was created in the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and later organized in 1844. Fond du La ...

as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

for four terms. He later served part of a term in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

, but was unseated due to a dispute over his election.

Biography

John Boyd was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on May 1, 1824, and graduated from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, in 1843. He emigrated to the United States with his parents and siblings in 1844. The Boyd family settled at

Calumet Calumet may refer to: Places United States *Calumet Region, in northern Illinois and Indiana **Calumet River **Calumet Trail, Indiana ** Calumet (East Chicago) * Calumet, Colorado *Calumet, Iowa * Calumet, Michigan *Calumet, Minnesota * Calumet ...

, in the

Wisconsin Territory The Territory of Wisconsin was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 3, 1836, until May 29, 1848, when an eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Wisconsin. Belmont was ...

. Boyd became active with the

Democratic Party of Wisconsin The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public educa ...

and was elected to four terms in the

from the district comprising northeastern Fond du Lac County. He served in the

1855 Events January–March * January 1 – Ottawa, Ontario, is incorporated as a city. * January 5 – Ramón Castilla begins his third term as President of Peru. * January 23 ** The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens ...

1860 Events January–March * January 2 – The discovery of a hypothetical planet Vulcan is announced at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences in Paris, France. * January 10 – The Pemberton Mill in Lawrence, Massachusett ...

1862 Events January–March * January 1 – The United Kingdom annexes Lagos Island, in modern-day Nigeria. * January 6 – French intervention in Mexico: French, Spanish and British forces arrive in Veracruz, Mexico. * January ...

, and

1870 Events January–March * January 1 ** The first edition of ''The Northern Echo'' newspaper is published in Priestgate, Darlington, England. ** Plans for the Brooklyn Bridge are completed. * January 3 – Construction of the Broo ...

sessions. In addition, he was a member of the Fond du Lac County Board of Supervisors for nine years between 1854 and 1866, and was chairman for 1857 and 1861. After visiting his brothers-in-law in Kansas in 1871, he moved to

Montgomery County, Kansas Montgomery County (county code MG) is a County (United States), county located in Southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the county population was 31,486. Its county seat is Independence, Kansas, Independence, and it ...

, with his wife and son, George. He was elected to the

in 1873, with an apparent margin of victory of just four votes. His Republican opponent, C. S. Brown challenged the results of the election in the Kansas House Committee on Elections, alleging he had identified at least four illegal votes for Boyd. The House ultimately voted to grant the seat to Brown in February 1874, by a narrow vote. He remained involved in Kansas politics and served as an officer of the state

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

and was active in the Greenback movement in the latter half of the 1870s. His health began to decline about 1880 and he returned to Wisconsin, hoping the environment would improve his health. After a year in Wisconsin, he returned to Kansas, feeling restored. Two months later, he began to fail again until finally, in June 1882, he decided to take another trip to Wisconsin. He died at

Fond du Lac, Wisconsin Fond du Lac () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 44,678 at the 2020 census. The city forms the core of the United States Census Bureau's Fond du Lac United States metrop ...

, on July 2, 1882.

Personal life and family

John Boyd was a son of Thomas Boyd (1785–1862) and his wife Ann. Thomas Boyd was an

Irishman The Irish ( ga, Muintir na hÉireann or ''Na hÉireannaigh'') are an ethnic group and nation native to the island of Ireland, who share a common history and culture. There have been humans in Ireland for about 33,000 years, and it has been co ...

who served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, he brought the family to America and purchased land in Calumet and Fond du Lac. John Boyd had several brothers and sisters, many of his brothers also became notable in early Wisconsin— Thomas Boyd served in the State Assembly, Samuel Boyd became a county judge, and Adam Boyd was a prominent real estate dealer and businessman in Fond du Lac.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, John 1824 births 1882 deaths 19th-century English people Alumni of Trinity College Dublin People from Calumet, Wisconsin People from Montgomery County, Kansas Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Members of the Kansas House of Representatives Kansas Greenbacks Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923)