What would be meant by Boyd County, Virginia

+3 votes
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In assisting a member with another question, I came across a 1934 death certificate with a place of birth (1850) given as Boyd County, Virginia.  This is also given as the place of birth of the parents of the deceased. I am not aware that such a county existed. Could this be Boydton (Mecklenberg County) or Boyd's Ferry (now South Boston) in Halifax County? Any other suggestions from our Virginia historians?

Edit: Is this perhaps Boyd County in Kentucky? However, it was not formed until 1860.

in The Tree House by T Stanton G2G6 Pilot (648k points)
edited by T Stanton
I think whoever filled out the form didn't know since there is no county remotely close to that name in Virginia.  The 1870 census says Malissa was born in Virginia;  her parents were living in Russell County, VA in 1850, so likely that's where she was actually born.
My first thought was it might be in West Virginia, since prior to the Civil War that was part of Virginia. But I didn't find anything obvious there either.
Interesting coincidence has Elisha Boyd as the next person listed after Melissa in the 1850 census. A Boyd is the first name on the page too. But, no Boyds are neighbors when the 1870 census was recorded. I can't make out who the informant was for the death certificate but most likely that person made a mistake. I see a lot of mistakes and unknowns in death certificates.

2 Answers

+3 votes
I suspect someone confused the name Boyd with the name "Floyd" which is in fact a county in southwest Virginia.
by Daniel Bly G2G6 Mach 9 (93.0k points)
+2 votes
by Kay Knight G2G6 Pilot (654k points)

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