My grandfather, Leslie RYAN, was born in Merrill in 1898. His birth records were destroyed in a fire sometime before 1930. I hope the ones you are looking for did not suffer the same fate. On the bright side, If your Boyce leads you to NY, there is an extensive, active and published genealogy of the descendent of Chretien DuBois of Wicres, France. The Dubois family were Huguenots who came to New Paltz in the 1600s and Anglicized the pronunciation of the surname. There are tons of them around here. Many descendent use Boyce, Boice, Boyse, etc. There is a Dubois Family Association that you might be able to get in touch with through the Huguenot Historical Society. I think they have a site but I don't know what it is off hand. Look around a bit and I'm sure you'll find it. Good luck, Margaret