Note: This exchange may be of interest to other Boyd researchers, so I am copying them. Besides, I would greatly appreciate their take on this question of war and migration. Gordon, Yes, like all nations, the United States has a bit of selective memory when it comes to victories and defeats. Of course, some Americans consider the War of 1812 to be something of a mopping up operation after the War of Independence. I remember when I was a kid, my friends went around saying things like "Yeh, we may be like stripped candy cane, but we have never been licked" - which of course they got from adults - and was not literally true even before Vietnam. The problem with chauvinism and nationalism anywhere that it bublles up is that it breeds the idea of invincibility that in turn leads to belligerence and concepts like pre-emptive wars - and out and out jingoism. All nations do this to greater or lesser extent. Yes, it is ironic at least that our national anthem came out of the "forgotten war." Once again, history is the context and a primary tool of genealogy. I don't know what the answer is, but a potentially important question comes up now that we are entertaining the possibility that at least one Boyd family split and wound up on opposite sides of the U.S/Canada border at a time of unsettled personal allegiances. What if any influence did personal allegiances have on migration decisions? By the time our (known) Boyd ancestors settled in Canada about 1825, it was about 13 years after the War of 1812. Moreover, in 1812 those Boyds would have been only 10-15 years old. But, if Canada "remembers" 92 years later, as you suggest, then these Boyds must have been influenced by the Canadian "perspective." Besides, they were still British subjects. This gets complicated when the possibility that they spent time in the United States before migrating to Canada is considered, especially if "kin" had preceded them for any length of time. Also, while "Canadians" may h! ave felt a common purpose regarding the War of 1812, many of the Scots-Irish Presbyterians had no love lost for the British - and might have been (at least secretly) sympathetic to the American cause. Could, in fact, sharply divergent positions on national loyalties even "caused" the migration of some Boyds to Canada? The great thing about having your assistance on this project is that not only are you an excellent genealogist, as a Canadian, you can give us a "different perspective" on these questions. It would be interesting to learn how the English, Scottish, Irish, and Australian (and so on) Boyds perceive this bit of history. It seems I sparked something of a renewed buzz on the Boyd lists about Boyd migrations in the United States and there were some really excellent descriptions of the migration patterns of individual Boyd families. I will try to digest some of that material and offer more comments. We are fortunate to have our resident Boyd historians like Mike and Laura and Richard and Eddie for help on this. Larry Hugh Boyd Tempe, Arizona ----- Original Message ----- From: Gordon Hillman To: 'LAWRENCE BOYD' Sent: Saturday, May 29, 2004 9:40 AM Subject: RE: A Wayward Seaman Interesting that in the U.S. they call the War of 1812 the 'forgotten war" but it is very well remembered in Canada. We perceive it as the American invasion of Canada and the British and Canadian successful resistance to an attack by a foreign power. We have monument at various spots honoring those who lead this resistance to invasion. It was during reprisals that Washington, New Orleans and Baltimore were attacked and the "Stars Spangled Banner" was written while Baltimore was under attack. Interesting how History is slanted by different perspectives. Gord -----Original Message----- From: LAWRENCE BOYD [mailto:lboydaz@cox.net] Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 1:27 PM To: Gordon Hillman Cc: Jerry Dalder; Gloria Dalder; Jack W Boyd; Bill Boyd; Ruth Waters Subject: Re: A Wayward Seaman Gordon, Good point about female heads of households in Missouri (and surrounding states). In addition to military operations on the frontiers, there was the "forgotten war," the War of 1812, which apparently involve battles and campaigns all the way from Canada to New Orleans. This history may not have directly affected the Boyds of the generation of David, James, and Robert (and another brother?), but it would have affected their relatives in the previous couple of generations had they immigrated to this country earlier. I meant to make another observation about migrations and distances (subjective, point to point, and real). When I said the Boyds may have gone from SC, TN, or MO to Canada, most Americans would think this was an incredible trek to the north pole. But one can see on a map that east of Michigan, Ontario dips way down to be south of many American States. Consequently, the distances between SC and MO, MO and (Western) Ontario, TN and Ontario, and SC and Ontario are roughly about the same. Of course, the difficulty of routes are a factor. In any case, this more objective perspective of distances may explain why there could be considerable migration between the American South and Middle West and Ontario (in both directions later on). Larry ----- Original Message ----- From: Gordon Hillman To: 'LAWRENCE BOYD' Sent: Tuesday, May 25, 2004 5:19 AM Subject: A Wayward Seaman I guess when searching in Missouri we have to consider that the men may be away from home serving in the frontier military and the wife is not necessarily a widow if the men are not on the census.