My family of Boyds immigrated from Scotland directly to Nova Scotia in 1802 aboard the Dove of Aberdeen settling in Antigonish NS, from there they migrated to Ontario and Boston for work as NS was hit hard during the depression. I'm sure other Boyd familys came to the States in the same was as it was less expensive to book passage from Scotland to Canada, didn't involve having to go through the Ellis Island health check proceedures and settlers were given land to farm in NS. It was, however, a rough life, you would land in Pictou NS, where the land grant office was and then had to buy all your supplies there, including your transportation to your land. You then had to load all your supplies, food, tools, nails, seed, farm animals etc. into the boat or wagon and get to the land. My grandmother's family the MacInnis's lived in a lean to built into the side of the hill for their first winter, at one point they had to dig up their seed potatoes to eat. It is easy to see why families are clustered together as they could share tools and breeding stock. I really enjoy reading about how other Boyds came to America. While the name isn't as common as other Scot names like MacDonald they certainly got around and prospered. God Bless! Teri Boyd