ABRAHAM LINCOLN BOYD

Sacramento County

Biographies

ABRAHAM LINCOLN BOYD

ABRAHAM LINCOLN BOYD--A business man whose methods and standards are as interesting and inspiring as the story of his remarkable success is Abraham Lincoln Boyd, the wholesale candy manufacturer with headquarters at 1117 Nineteenth Street, Sacramento. He was born at Jersey City, N. J., on December 8, 1860, the son of Thomas and Susan (Roe) Boyd, both natives of New York City, the former now deceased, having passed away at the age of eighty-seven, the latter having preceded her husband many years. Seven children were born to this worthy couple, among whom three have survived: Abraham L. Boyd is the subject of our review; George T., of Sacramento; and Mrs. J. E. Sauze resides in Walla Walla, Wash. The father, Thomas Boyd, came to California for the first time in 1852, having reached here by way of the Isthmus of Panama; he was at Grass Valley for a short time, and then he established himself as a confectioner in San Francisco. He returned East, and in 1864 brought out his family, and located at Sacramento, where he became the pioneer candy-maker. His first place of business was at the corner of J and Fifth Streets, the present site of the Traveler’s Hotel, and his second place was at 824 J Street, on the site of the Elks Building; he owned that property, and sold it to the Elks Lodge. He made “home-made” candy from his own recipes, and so well did he prosper that he came to own valuable real estate in Sacramento, which included the lot on the northeast corner of Ninth and N Streets, a part of the block where the Capital extension buildings are now being erected. He also bought and sold real estate, and owned a ranch of 320 acres in Sutter County, which was sub-divided and then sold, and also a ranch near Florin. He was an expert in the planting, pruning and growing of fruit trees and vines, and he was the inventor of the famous Rock Candy, which was used in mixing the drink rock and rye, and made the first batch of rock candy in 1868. His son has in his possession a can of the first batch his father made from brown sugar, brought from the Hawaiian Islands, wrapped and shipped in grass mats. He sold the rock candy to Captain Seddens, who conducted a parlor drinking place on J Street, on the spot where the original D. O. Mills Bank stands. Seddens’ place had no signs on the front, and the store had Brussels carpet on the floor, and was the meeting place of statesmen, bankers, and miners. He poured rye whiskey over the candy, and sold the drinks for twenty-five cents each. Thomas Boyd was a thirty-second degree Scottish Rite Mason, and at his death was the second oldest member of Sacramento Lodge No. 40, F. & A. M., of Sacramento. Al Boyd, as he is familiarly known by his friends, attended his first school in Sacramento, in a building in an alley between Fourth and Fifth Streets, and I and J Streets; and later he went to the Goethe School, conducted by Rev. Goethe, a German Lutheran preacher and school teacher, at the corner of Ninth and K Streets, where Hale Bros.’ Store stands today. He finished in the public schools, and at the E. C. Atkinson Business College. He learned how to manufacture candy while working with and under the direction of his father, and as long ago as twenty-five years, started in business for himself. He specialized in horehound and Irish moss cough drops, made from recipes supplied by his experienced father; and under the copyrighted names, “Blue Shield Horehound” and “Green Star Irish Moss,” these have become famous throughout California, and still enjoy a large sale. He sold his first batch of candy from house to house, and in stores, and carried the same in a leather bag. Mr. Boyd has witnessed many changes in Sacramento. He belongs to Sacramento Lodge No. 140 of the United Commercial Travelers’ Association.

In the year 1891, and at Sacramento, Mr. Boyd was married to Miss Georgia Shearer, a native of Monrovia, Maryland; and they have one son, Thomas Boyd, the well-known and popular musician. He was born on April 9, 1894, and for eight years studied with Arthur Hept, the famous violinist, who is now a member of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in Sacramento. He led the orchestra in both the State Theater and Hippodrome at Stockton, and the Hippodrome in San Jose; and he is a member of the Sacramento Musician’s Union, No. 12, the Stockton Union No. 189, and the San Jose Union, No. 153. He is married and has two children, Marie Alice and Thomas Earl; and he belongs to the San Joaquin Lodge of Masons, No. 19, at Stockton, and Pyramid No. 5, Sciots, of the same city.

Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.

Source: Reed, G. Walter, History of Sacramento County, California With Biographical Sketches, Page 926-927. Historic Record Company, Los Angeles, CA. 1923.