John C. Boyd (1833-1903) was MLEPC’s fifth pastor, serving from 1858 until he died; this was his only church. John was born near Latrobe, Westmoreland County. The son of William and Mary (Carnaham) Boyd, a farmer, John was educated at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, and the Theological Seminary in Allegheny County, graduating in 1858. He married Martha “Mattie” McFarland (1838-1869), by whom he had at least five children-Johnnie C., William, Melville, James and Robie. Of these children, only William reached adulthood.
John also had several children by his second wife, Margaret Lindsay (1848-1921). Of those children James Howard and Myra L. became missionaries in Egypt. In the early 1900s, MLEPC’s Women’s Missionary Society raised subscriptions to pay Myra a $202 annual subsidy to her salary.
According to his obituary, John died after several months of confinement due to “mental paralysis.”
John’s older brother Robert (1826-1882) married Margaret A. Wallace, a native of Ohio, on Oct. 12, 1854. The couple had four daughters, including Irene, who died at age 17.
Marker of Martha Boyd, John’s first wife
St. Clair Cemetery 