Eben Moody Boynton (1840 - 1927)

Born 1840 in Harrisville Township, Medina County, Ohio

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Bartlett (Gale) Boynton — married 30 Apr 1872 in West Newbury, Massachusetts

Died 10 Mar 1927 at about age 87 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts

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Biography

Eben was born in 1840. He is the son of

Inventor of Boynton Lightning Saw and Boynton Bicycle Railroad; "tried for lunacy" 1920 but acquitted;

From The Boynton Family, Pgs. 34 - 37: (excerpted)

86. v. Methusalah 6, b. Nov. 17, 1777; m. Amelia Dodge of Newbury, Aug. 17, 1806. He was a mariner and "died at sea from a wound in his hand in Nov. 1819." His wid. m. 2d, Joshua Mace, March 22, 1824. Children of Methsalah:

i. Methusalah 7, b. May 4, 1807. He had his name changed to Alfred, Jan 26, 1826; m. Abigail Moody of West Newbury. Pub. March 24, 1832. res. in Harrisville, Ohio, and West Newbury; d. in W. N., Aug. 8, 1867. Children all born in Harrisville, Ohio.

i. Alered 8.

ii. Eben Moody 8, of "Lightning Saw" and "Bicycle Railway" fame, was b. in 1840; he m. Anna Bartlett, dau of Stephen M. and Hannah (Johnson) Gale of Newburyport, May 1, 1872. Children:

i. Catherine C. 9, b. Nov. 2, 1873.

ii. Alice G. 9, b. Aug. 28, 1875.

iii. Abigail M. 9, b. Dec. 29, 1876.

iv. Ethel H. 9, b. Oct. 13, 1878.

v. Anna B. 9, b. May 8, 1880; d. May 16, 1880.

iii. Charles 8.

iv. William 8.

From Baker Library, Manuscripts and Archives Department, Harvard Univrtsity:

Eben Moody Boynton (1840-c1910) Manufacturer (b. 1840, Harrisville, Ohio, USA - d. circa 1910, Essex County, Massachusetts, USA) Son of Noah Boynton and Lucinda Vinton of Methusaleh Alfred Boynton and Abigal Moody. He married Anna Bartlett Gale on May 01, 1872 and had the following children: Catherine Coker Boynton (1874-?) aka Katharine Coker Boynton; Alice G. Boynton (1876-?); Abbie W. Boynton (1877-?); and Ethel H. Boynton (1879-?). In 1880 Eben appears in the US Census working in West Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts as a saw manufacturer. Bob Kerstein writes: Eben Moody Boynton [was] President [of the Boynton Bicycle Electric Railway Companies]. This train was built by Boynton and was supported by a wooden rail on top. Boynton's idea was to adapt bicycle technology to railroading. Conventional trains required over a ton of equipment per passenger, and much of the energy that they expended was wasted due to factors such as wind resistance and side sway. But Boynton was convinced that a system incorporating a single rail on the ground, plus another on the top of the train for stability, would not only be more efficient, but could transport people at the then-unheard-of rate of over 60 miles per hour. Brimming with enthusiasm, he set up an experimental line approximately a mile long in the grasslands of Coney Island. His locomotive, which was dubbed "The Flying Billboard" by some critics, weighed a scant 4 tons, and pulled a series of double-decker passenger coaches only 4 feet wide. In test runs the train indeed hit sixty mph, and could have conceivably gone much faster, had there been sufficient track for it to reach full velocity, and the ride was so smooth that the upper rail hardly seemed necessary. The public was impressed, although some doctors expressed the then-popular notion that such high rates of travel could be dangerous to passengers' health. Boynton began to propose rebuilding the city's elevated lines to accommodate his new technology, and spoke of inter-urban lines to Boston. Although Boynton's invention fascinated many scientists and engineers of his day, he was never able to garner enough backing to expand beyond his small demonstration line in Brooklyn. Railroad historians, however, believe that his major handicap was simply being born a century too soon. When the New York and Sea Beach Railroad leased the Brighton Beach Railway Company, it never ran trains on it. The line's condition was poor and the bridges it crossed were in questionable condition. However, the rails on the SB&B trestles were still in good condition and would be used to replace the NY&SB mainline rails that were in poor condition. Portions of the line between Gravesend Ave (today's McDonald Ave) and Brighton Beach became the experimental Boynton Bicycle Railroad, an early monorail. Today, Boynton Place commemorates both the Bicycle Railway and the SB&B right of way."

New York Times, 27 March 1927:

"Boston - March 10: E. Moody Boynton, inventor of a single-track "bicycle" railroad which he asserted would revolutionize railroading practice died here today. For thirty years he had made an annual appearance at the State House seeking State support for his invention, always without success.

In 1920, after the Interstate Commission had complained that he was "worrying them to death" by pleas in behalf of the invention, he was subjected to lunacy proceedings in Washington, but the jury freed him. Born of Massachusetts parents in Harrison, Ohio, in 1840, Boynton early in life went into the Michigan lumber district. While there he invented the "lightning" saw, which greatly shortened lumber operations."

Sources

See also:

• The Boynton Family. A genealogy of the descendants of William and John Boynton, compiled by John Farnham Boynton and Caroline Foster Harriman Boynton, 1897. Eben Moody Boynton is the son of Methuselah (Alfred) Boynton, the son of Methuselah Boynton, Record #86, Pg. 34.^[1]
• History of Essex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of its Pioneers and Prominent Men Vo;. 2., by D. Hamilton Hurd, published by J. W. Lewis & Co., Philadelphia, 1888. Eben Boynton biographical sketch, Pg's 1885 - 1891.History of Essex County, Pg. 1885.
• The Harvard University, Graduate School of Business Administration, Baker Library, Manuscripts and Archives Department: contains Dates of a collection from 1908-13 of the Boynton Bicycle Electric Railway Company, Boston, MA. Included in this collection are letters to and from E. Moody Boynton, patents, and a map.
• The Boynton Bicycle Railway
• Wikipedia: Boynton Bicycle Railroad
• East Patchogue Monorail
• Ephemeral New York
• 1850 US Census: Harrisville, Medina County, OH, 13 Aug 1850^[2][3]
• 1860 US Census: West Newbury, Essex County, MA, 19 Jun 1860, Pg. 54^[4]
• 1870 US Census: West Newbury, Essex County, MA, 29 Jun 1870, Pg. 13^[5][6]
• Massachusetts, Marriage Records, 1840-1915: Eben Moody Boynton and Anna Bartlett Gale, 30 Apr 1872, West Newbury. His parents listed as Alfred Boynton and Abigail Moody; her parents listed as Stephen M. Gale and Hannah Johnson.^[7]
• Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988: Marriage, Eben Moody Boynton and Anna Bartlett Gale, 1 May 1872, Newburyport. His parents listed as Alfred Boynton and Abigail Mosely (sic); her parents listed as Stephen Madison Gale and Hannah Johnson Gale.^[8]
• 1880 US Census: West Newbury, Essex County, MA, 11 Jun 1880, Enumeration District 150, Pg. 35. Line 14, Eben M. Boynton, 39, saw manufacturer, head of household. - Original data: Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Roll: 527; Page: 347C; Enumeration District: 150
• 1900 US Census: West Newbury, Essex County, MA, 22 Jun 1900, Enumeration District 469, Sheet 13A. Line 18, Eben M. Boynton, 52, railroad owner, head of household. - Original data: Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623, 1854 rolls; Page: 13; Enumeration District: 0469; FHL microfilm: 1240648
• 1910 US Census: West Newbury, Essex County, MA, 26 Apr 1910, Enumeration District 487, Sheet 6B. Line 53, Eben M. Boynton, 70, inventor, general railroad, head of household. - Original data: Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.; Roll: T624_588; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0487; FHL microfilm: 1374601
• Find A Grave: Memorial #9620395; Burial Details Unknown

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