James Boyd obituary

submitted by Steven C. Wehling

Source: BLACK HILLS WEEKLY JOURNAL, Rapid City, South Dakota, Feb, 16, 1912

RESPECTED LAWYER

PASSES PEACEFULLY

TO THE GREAT BEYOND

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CAME TO THE BLACK HILLS IN 1880

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WAS RESPECTED MEMBER OF PENNINGTON COUNTY BAR AND IDENTIFIED WITH RAPID CITY'S CIVIC AND SOCIAL LIFE.

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In Rapid City, Thursday, February 8, 1912, James Boyd of heart failure, aged fifty - seven years, six months and one day.

In 1880, thirty two years ago, there came to the Black Hills from New York State a young man who had made up his mind to carve out his fortune in the West. He had heard of the Black Hills and its Gold Fields , so he came to try for himself the then much talked of "diggings" near Rockerville. James Boyd was twenty five years of age, and had been in Rockerville but a few months when he thought he saw fortune beckoning him to Rapid City , then a small, but ambitious town, where he commenced his career by putting to good use his knowledge of contracting and building. A couple of years later , getting the newspaper fever, he became the editor and publisher of the Black Hills Index, and while getting out this paper he began reading the law. Like many another person he soon obtained a sufficient amount of newspaper experience to last him a lifetime, but the more he studied the law the better he liked it, and so from that time to the present he practiced law in the Pennington County Courts.

During all these years James Boyd served the people in various ways,filling his first years as alderman in 1887. He served as Alderman again in 1896 and 1897 and in 1906. Mr. Boyd also served two terms as states Attorney for Pennington County, and was County Judge for two terms . At the time of his death he was vice president of the Rapid City Library Board, having served upon it since the board was organized. Thus it will be seen in the subject of this sketch has been identified with the best interests of Rapid City.

James Boyd was born in Rector, New York, August 7, 1854 and in 1883 Married Miss Kittie Vaughan in her eastern home and immediately afterwards brought her to Rapid City, and they have lived ever since.

They had two sons, Robert E. Boyd who is now living in Portland and George F., of this city. Mr. and Mrs. Boyd have also been father and mother to the three children of Mr. Boyd s brother, Ed, whose wife died while they were small. They are Miss Kathleen, Miss Grace, an d James, the two latter being here, while Miss Kathleen is spending the winter in California , and all have the same feeling of loss that they would have in losing a parent. As a husband , father, neighbor and friend , Mr. Boyd had few equals, and as a business man his word wa s always to be depended upon. Rapid City will miss him.

Besides his immediate family Mr. Boyd leaves three brothers and one sister. The brothers are Andrew Boyd, of Utica, New York,; George and Ed Boyd of Carthage, New York, and the sister is Mrs. Malady also of Carthage. A fourth brother Robert , lived here a number of years , but died in the hospital in Omaha, and his body was brought here for burial.

Mr. Boyds illness dates from October thirtienth of last year, when he developed symptoms of arthramatus degeneration of the blood vessels. Later he suffered from pleuropneumonia , and yesterday passed away from heart failure. For a couple of weeks he seemed better, and hopes were entertained that he would recover, but yesterday morning he had a serious attack , though he rallied from it and talked at noon with members of his family as though nothing had occurred out of the ordinar y. At 1:15, he breathed hard, became unconscious and passed away without a struggle, leaving a grief stricken family to mourn his loss.

Deceased was a member of the A. O. U. W., Yeoman, Elks, Knights of Columbus and Degree of Honor. He was a Catholic and he will be buried from the Catholic Church in this city as soon as his son, Robert arrives from Portland.