Boyden Family History--Elijah the photographer

E.L.Boyden --Nanaimo B.C. ---1885

Recent research as to your Boyden Family History has revealed many 
interesting stories to share here.  "Older Posts" (below this post) told of 
Elijah Boyden, but with additional researched information, his life 
story can now be extended.

 Elijah Loring Boyden (1836-1906)   Elijah's parents were:

Otis Boyden (1801-1878) and Eliza Loring(1801-1894) Maine 
  Otis's parents were:

Dolphe Boyden (1771-1858) and Polly Morse (1772-1836) Norfolk, Mass
  Dolphe's parents were:

Jacob Boyden(1744-1818) and Sarah Patten (1743-1854)Norfolk, Mass

Jacob was the adventurer who came down the St Croix River in 1781. and 
liked what he saw in the Boyden Lake area and settled there. More about
his story at another time.

Thanks to cousin Ellen (Chausee) Wilhelm who visted there last
summer, we now have pictures of many of the gravesites of our ancestors 
from the Boyden Cemetery, Boyden Lake and the Mill Stream near by.

We have received  much of this information through the local people living in the area now.  Perry, Maine is the small town near where our Boyden ancestors settled.   For those of you who want to learn more about Boyden Lake present day activities you can use this link:   boyden lake association.

Otis and Eliza Gravestone

Mill Stream

To see the family who runs the Christmas Tree Farm on the old Boyden property 
you can use this link: Boyden Lake Farm.

http://www.perrymaine.org/htmlfiles/History.html  website for Perry Maine

Town of Perry, Maine  facebook page

To see the fith generation Loring family use this link: Loring family

https://archive.org/stream/loringgenealogy00pope#page/83/mode/1up

Eliza Loring Boyden had a brother Davis Loring (1819-1891) who was 
one of the first dauguerreian photographers.
Some of the photographs housed at the Maine State Archives can 
be seen at the link below. Photographer Davis Loring is credited 
with producing many of the images.  He had a studio in Eastport 
during the years 1855-1888." from the link: Davis Loring Studio

Also one picture of Water Street taken by Davis Loring you can see
 here: http://tidesinstitute.org/place/viewArt.php?id=1038

Davis Loring

Elijah may have learned the photography trade
from Davis Loring and may have had this
dauguerreian photo below taken by Davis Loring..  
Thanks to our friends from Perry who found it at 
a garage sale and sent me an email copy .

Elijah Loring Boyden

Elijah Loring Boyden’s Time Line

Birth:   March 31, 1836  Perry Township, Maine

Student:  1850, Perry Maine

Artist:  1860, Perry Maine
Married: Helen Kelly (1836-1867) New Brunswick, Canada in 1865
Windower: 1867

Married:  Ann McDonald (1850-1869) (Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia)  1867

Child:  Estella Loring Boyden born  June 6, 1869

Widower:  1870 

Photographer: 1874-1875 Hancock, Michigan (E.L. Boyden & Company)

Land Owner:  Michigan. Marlette County, Webster and Scio County
Arrival: Deadwood 1876

Stereoscopic Photographer: South Dakota area 1880-1885
Studio Owner: Pollack and Boyden(Corner of Main and Gold Street) 
  (Daughter Estella and Elijah lived in the back section of the studio)
Studio Owner:  Nanaimo, BC. 1884-1886 (Diamond City Photo Gallery)

Studio Owner:  Deadwood, SD 1886-1898  (Pollack and Boyden)

Studio Owner: Spearfish, SD 1898 (Boyden's Gallery)

Lived with daughter: Spearfish, SD 1900-1906

Passed: Dec. 12, 1906, burial Rose Hill Cemetery, Spearfish, SD

From the Business and Commercial Directories , stage arrivals  1876-1879

Recorded E.L.Boyden, photographer, arrived  by stage in 1876 and is 
listed as a Deadwood Photographer.

Old photos of Deadwood here:  http://photos.legendsofamerica.com/deadwood

D. S. Billington did not arrive until 1879

Census 1880 Estella lived with her Dad at age 10
Census 1900 Elijah lived with his daughter Estella Billington and family.

*Nanaimo, BC:  E.L. Boyden had a photography studio and sold it in 1886 
to J.W.  Simpson located on 64 Commerical Street.  It was known as the 
Diamond City Photo Gallery before 1886 and Gold Star Studio after 1886 
as far as I can tell.  The location is just around the corner from a present
day local museum, but is probably no longer a studio.  I am speculating he 
had this studio for only a short time..1884-1886.The portrait picture of him
was produced in Naniamo, so we can assume he was about 50 years old
at the time.

Elijah Boyden and partner Albert Pollock produced stereocards of the
Black Hills area. This is what a steroscope looked like and they were 
very popular in America at the time:

Here are a few of his stereocards:

Spearfish Falls, SD

.

Deadwood, SD

and his cabinet card  photos:

Daughter Estella about 1884

Grandson Sid about 1898, Spearfish SD

Paul Horstead, author-photographer, published a book using a few of 

Pollack/Boyden's photos. He revisited those same areas, photographed 

from the same view point and published both side by side.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Black-Hills-Yesterday-Today/dp/0971805334

Here are the photos (old and new) from his book. 

Add caption

We have learned much about our adventurous Elijah yet so many more

questions about him  are  unanswered:

Why did he travel to Canada?  How did his first wife, die and where is 

she buried?.

Where did his second wife die and who raised his daughter up to age 10?

Why did he travel to Nanaim British Columbia for a short time, and 

then back to SD?

Where are the pictures he took of the Canadian countryside?

Why's are not easily answerd through census records and written facts..

but a diary by one of his uncles is now being transcribed in Pembroke, 

Maine. Elijah is mentioned in this diary, so we may soon get information 

that will give us some answers.  In the meantime, we are grateful for 

Elijah's adventurous life and his dedication to his daughter, our great 

grandmother...Estella Loring Boyden Billington, and his grandchildren 

raised in Spearfish South Dakota.