Folks, I came across an item regarding a BOYD who may have arrived on one of the five ships in New England circa 1718 and then ended up in Upper Octorara (Octoraro) Church in Chester Co, PA. Whenever I see the BOYD surname, I become interested because it appears so often with Fulton families in Ayrshire, SCT, in Northern Ireland, and in PA. When I read this, I thought immediately of Norma Jenkins' James Fulton, who seems to have connections to Lancaster Co, PA, whose horse is bred in New England, and who ends up in Augusta Co, VA. And as we learn more about the "neighbors" of these people and their migration paths, some of these long distance migrations are beginning to sound more feasible. Or it explains how people in Lancaster know people from New England and thus have contacts to enable them to buy horses from that area. Enclosed below are details of some of these items. *************************************************************************** "Robert BOYD (a tailor) was on the tax list in Sadsbury Township, Chester Co PA by 1726. His wife was Jennett. His two sons were also on the list at that time....so they were of age. The family was associated with the Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church. These people supposedly came over on one of the Five Ships. The migration pattern of my part of the family was from PA to Iredell Co NC to Lincoln Co KY to the Nashville TN area. Mary Jo" Source: Subject:Five Ships - BOYD Resent-Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 06:37:27 -0700 (PDT) Resent-From: Scotch-Irish-L@rootsweb.com From: haggis@ix.netcom.com When I contacted Mary Jo and asked her the source of her information regarding Robert Boyd's arrival on one of the five ships, she said it was based on family tradition. *************************************************************************** If you recall on previous postings, we learned that the Octoraro Creek divides Lancaster County from Chester County, PA and at the Octoraro Lake it branches into an East Branch and a West Branch. Near the West Branch of Octoraro Creek is Meetinghouse Creek where the Middle Octorara Cemetery is located. In the vicinity of the East branch of the creek is the Upper Octoraro Cemetery. On a modern map it appears that Upper Octoraro Cemetery is about 18 miles (as the crow flies) from the birthplace of Robert Fulton of steamboat fame. It is about 11 miles from the Middle Octorara Cemetery. And the Middle Octorara Cemetery is about 10 miles from the birthplace of Robert Fulton. Well, what do we know about Upper Octorara Presbyterian Church and early Fultons ? Jeff Miller posted the following: "In regards to the source date for the death of William Fulton who married Susannah Keys in Chester County, Pa. William's tombstone lists dates 1720-1785 it is located at the Upper Octorara Presbyterian church cemetery, Next to his wife Susannah's tombstone which lists 1732-1792. The Octorara cemetery is located in the town of Parkesburg, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Cemetery can be found across from the Presbyterian Church on Main street. It should be known that this church is not affiliated with the cemetery. Burial's at this cemetery started in ca 1740." SOURCE: for more discussion see the Fulton-L archives for: Subject: Re: William Fulton b ca 1720 Irl, d 1785 West Clan Twp, PA, m Susannah Keys Resent-Date: Sat, 21 Nov 1998 07:11:42 -0800 (PST) From: JAM <Jeffone@prodigy.net> *************************************************************************** "The Middle Octorara Presbyterian Church (South side of Valley Road, Pennsylvania Route 372 in current Bart Township, Lancaster PA) was established in 1727 by Rev. Adam Boyd." It was one of the the earliest in what is now Lancaster Co, PA. (SOURCE: Churches and Cemeteries of Lancaster Pennsylvania, A Complete Guide by A. Hunter Rineer, Jr, publ. by Lancaster Co Hist Soc, 1993, p 43). I wonder if this Rev. Adam BOYD is any relation to Robert BOYD, the tailor. One of the ministers of the Middle Octorara Church, Rev. Alexander Craighead, was a staunch Covenanter in that area until about 1743 (he was suspended). He moved on to Windy Coce on Cow Pasture River, Augusta Co, Va in 1749 and then to Macklenburgh Co, N.C. (Source for more discussion see the Fulton-L archives for: Subject: James FULTON, Lancaster Co, PA, 1753 thru 1768 Resent-Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 15:42:37 -0700 (PDT) From: "Roberta (Fulton) Hirth" <hirth@frontiernet.net> ) Using the USGS Geographic Names Information System on the web, I was able to find a Cowpasture River in VA that is located a little east of Covington, Allegheny Co, VA, and continues northeast through Bath Co and Highland Co near the borders of Rockbridge Co and Augusta Co. In 1749, these counties were part of Augusta Co. *************************************************************************** Just some bits and pieces... Roberta R. (Fulton) Hirth Harriman, New York 10926 FULTON web page at: http://www.frontiernet.net/~elisa96/hirth/fulton.htm