Betsey (Thorson) Boyd (1850-1933)

THORSON, BOYD, SCOTT, MICHAELSON, HAMMERSLAND, EGGLAND, HARNDEN, LARSON

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 11/18/2012 at 18:15:14

From The Roland Record, January 3, 1934

Funeral services were held Thursday afternoon at the residence and at Immanuel Lutheran church in Story City for Mrs. K. P. Boyd, former pioneer resident of this community. Her pastor, Rev. T. T. Heimarck, was in charge of the services. Interment was made in the Roland cemetery.

Pall bearers were grandsons of the deceased, Earl and Knute Hammersland of Clear Lake, and Grant Eggland, Jeffrey, Milton and John Michaelson of this place. Musical numbers were a duet, “It Is Well With My Soul,” by Mr. and Mrs. O. S. Boyd, and a trio number in the Norwegian language, “Sov I Ro,” by Mr. and Mrs. Boyd and Robert Boyd. The latter number was sung at the request of the family, having been used at the funeral of Mr. Boyd twenty years ago.

Mrs. Boyd was injured December 10 when she fell at her home and fractured a bone in her hip. Owing to her advanced years she was unable to withstand the shock and died two weeks later on Christmas Day.

Betsy Thorson Bauge was born August 30, 1850, near Morris, Ill., and died December 25, 1933, at her home in Story City. She was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thor Thorson Bauge, who came to this country from Norway in 1847 and located on a farm near Morris, Illinois.

At the age of eight she moved with her parents, three sisters and a brother to the old homestead between Yorkville and Lisbon, Ill. Shortly after moving to this home she lost two sisters and her brother, who all died within three weeks of each other in an epidemic of typhoid fever. This left one sister, Carrie Scott, and two half-brothers, and a half -sister, namely, Thor, John and Betsy, who are now deceased.

She resided with her parents near Yorkville, Ill, where she took active part in all church and community work.

On April 19, 1870, she was united in marriage to K. P. Boyd, and in 1871 they moved to a farm near Lee, Ill. To this union 12 children were born, namely: Thor, Sara, Peter, Anna, Arthur, Isabelle, Carrie, Alfred, Emma, Kate, Henry and Meyer. Four children, Thor Peter, Emma and Meyer have preceded her in death.

In March, 1880, they moved to the Boyd farm near Roland, which has remained in the family for 53 years. Mr. Boyd died November 16, 1913, and Mrs. Boyd remained there until 1919, at which time she moved to her home in Story City, where she lived until the time of her death. She reached the age of 83 years, three months and 23 days.

She is survived by eight children, Arthur of Story City; Mrs. Sarah Michaelson of Roland, Mrs. Anna Hammersland of Clear Lake, Mrs. Isabel Eggland of Roland, Mrs. Carrie Harnden of Story city, Alfred of Story City, Mrs. Katherine Larson of Springfield, Ill, and Henry of Story City.

She also leaves 24 grandchildren and 16 great grandchildren to mourn her passing.

Mrs. Boyd was endowed with real pioneer spirit and helped to make her home attractive and productive. But it was not merely in the physical development of the community that she was active. She also made her home one which everyone loved to visit; it was open to everyone and many have stated “It was home to us.” She was an influence in a spiritual sense and stood always for the best in life, a good neighbor, and a faithful friend.