Nathan Smith Boynton (June 23, 1837 – May 27, 1911)Castello, David J
Nathan S. Boynton
boyntonbeach.com. Retrieved September 5, 2013. was a Michigan politician, inventor, investor, hotel owner, and a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Major. He was born in

Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, the son of Granville Boynton and Frances (Rendt) Boynton. Frances Rendt was the daughter of Captain Ludwig Rendt, a Hessian soldier who fought for the British in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

; his wife was from Spain. Boynton was educated in

Waukegan, Illinois ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

, and briefly attended medical school in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, where he married Anna Fidelei. Together they had five children. After his service in the

, Boynton returned to

where he served in many capacities, including postmaster, newspaper publisher and mayor. He held patents related to fire fighting equipment and commemorative badges. He also founded the Order of the Maccabees, a national social fraternity that served as a form of life insurance. His failing health caused him to seek a warmer climate; Boynton visited

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of th ...

in 1895 with Congressman

William S. Linton William Seelye Linton (February 4, 1856 – November 22, 1927) was an American politician from Michigan. Early life Linton was born in St. Clair, Michigan and moved with his parents to Saginaw in 1859, where he attended the public schools. ...

. Boynton purchased land along the beachfront from Linton and built a wooden two-story hotel, The Boynton, later called the Boynton Beach Hotel. The associated town west of the hotel was named for Major Boynton on the plat filed by Byrd S. Dewey and her husband Fred S. Dewey on September 26, 1898. The town incorporated in 1920. Major Boynton died on May 27, 1911, at his home in Port Huron.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Boynton, Nathan 1837 births 1911 deaths American city founders Michigan postmasters Florida pioneers People from Boynton Beach, Florida People from Port Huron, Michigan People of Michigan in the American Civil War Businesspeople from Florida Businesspeople from Michigan Mayors of places in Michigan 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people)