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Mary Frances Redding, long enjoyed a notable place in the ranks of women lawyers of California. Her law offices are in the Palace Hotel at San Francisco. She was born in Ohio, daughter of William A. and Sarah Louise (Boyd) Driggs. Her grandfather, John Boyd II, was one of the interesting and prominent Americans of his generation. He was the third son of John Boyd I. John Boyd II was born at Kinderhook, New York, August 25, 1787. He was a playmate of his cousin, Martin Van Buren, who subsequently achieved fame as President of the United States. John Boyd when a boy was taken by his parents to Phila- delphia and later to Alexandria, Virginia. Alexandria at that time was located in the District of Columbia. As he grew up he learned the trade of saddler. Several of his sons learned the same occupation. John Boyd on July 1,1810 married Mary Gough (Goff) Kirk, of Philadelphia. She was born July 3,1793, an only child. Her parents came from England in 1789. John Boyd moved his family a few years after his marriage to Gratiot in Licking County, Ohio, and there lived out his life, passing away January 26, 1862. His wife died December 9, 1868. John Boyd was one of the earliest members of Alexandria Lodge [p.181] of Masons. George Washington was a member of this lodge. He was master of the lodge early in the nineteenth century and was the first Mason in the United States to attain the supreme honorary thirty-third degree in the Scottish Rite. Mrs. Redding has her grandfather's Masonic apron. It is probably the oldest Masonic apron in existence today. John Boyd and wife had a family of thirteen children, three of whom
died
Source: Hunt, Rockwell D., ed. California
and Californians, Vol. Three.
More on this line: Record of the Boyd Family, Edgar E. Boyd 1913 Looking for a Lost Internet Pal? TRY: VERIPOST |