Story by Fred Gahimer
Jesse was the son of Capt. John Boyd and Maria Veder, and was born in Rushville in 1830. In 1852, he married Lucinda Innis, daughter of Alexander and Christiana Innis. Lucinda’s parents gave them 40 acres of one corner of their farm north of Milroy as a wedding gift because they wanted her to live close to them. There Jesse built their home.
For more information about Jesse’s younger years, see this story. For more information about Lucinda’s younger years, see this story.
They had nine children: William Marshall, Hervey Alexander, Laura Ellen, John Franklin, Emma Irene, James Sidney, Charles Elbert, Christi Anna, and Frederick Burton.
Jesse was a carriage and buggy builder by trade, and constructed his shop on their home place. When the children grew older, he wanted them to have an education, so he bought a small farm for the boys, and built himself a large factory. In the 1879 Rush County Atlas, Jesse is shown owning 34 acres on the southeast corner of Rushville, south of the Big Flat Rock River, and east of State Road 52. Jesse was at least successful enough to give his children a chance to go to school. Two of his sons stayed in the factory with him, later building automobiles.
Jesse once perfected a double-shovel corn plow, which is believed to have been the first such device of its kind used. He secured a patent on it, but failed to protect one of the basic principles of his invention, the arch supporting the plows. An enterprising manufacturer of agricultural implements recognized the weakness of the original patent, and put out a plow which covered the principle, and made a fortune which might have otherwise gone to Jesse.
Lucinda attended the American Centennial Celebration in Philadelphia, where it rained, and she got a cold. According to her daughter, Anna, that began her final illness. She died on March 4, 1884 at age 49.
Jesse died June 29, 1911, at Rushville. Jesse and Lucinda are buried in the southeast corner of Section 4 of East Hill Cemetery in Rushville with many of their children, including Emma Irene (Boyd) Gruell.