Primary Name: Boyd, W. C.
Filed as: boyd_w_c
Also known as: W. C. Boyd
Occupation / Association: Prospector; Manager, Alaska Snettisham Gold Mining Company; Douglas Cemetery Committee Clerk
Born: ca. 1837
Died: 1917, Sitka Pioneer Home, Sitka, Alaska
Parents:
Spouse:
Children:
Associated places: Douglas, Alaska; Snettisham, Alaska; Sitka, Alaska; California
Keywords: W C Boyd, Boyd W C, Douglas Alaska pioneers, Alaska Snettisham Gold Mining Company
Biography
W. C. Boyd came to Douglas around 1885 and was referred to as the "grand old man of Douglas." He was very active in Douglas civic affairs.
Boyd was a prospector and served as manager of the Alaska Snettisham Gold Mining Company.
In 1899, mining engineer W. A. Sanders agreed to give the people of Douglas “the dry knoll this side of Lawson Creek” for use as a cemetery if the townspeople would not object to his mining patent. Sanders also agreed to build a road to the grounds, stating that his word was sufficient rather than putting the agreement in writing.
Immediately after the meeting, a Cemetery Committee consisting of P. H. Fox, M. J. O'Connor, Reverend Peplogle, and W. C. Boyd took possession of the knoll and ran a line from Third Street in Douglas to the area.
In November 1900, Boyd was appointed clerk of the Douglas Cemetery Committee and was responsible for maintaining all cemetery records. He was also placed in charge of the road gang and later appointed a grave digger because earlier diggers had not been “observing the plan of the streets and alleys as marked out.”
In 1910, Boyd moved to California for health reasons but later returned to Alaska, where he lived at the Pioneer Home in Sitka. He died there in 1917 at nearly eighty years of age.
Sources
Douglas historical records
Tags: W C Boyd, Boyd W C, Douglas Alaska pioneers, Douglas Cemetery Committee, Alaska Snettisham Gold Mining Company