Joseph Thompson Boyd b. 24 Dec 1868 Newtown, New South Wales, Australia d. 26 Nov 1944 Honolulu, Hawaii: Lucies Family History Site

1868 - 1944 (75 years)

Name	Joseph Thompson Boyd
Birth	24 Dec 1868	Newtown, New South Wales, Australia [1]
Gender	Male
Immigration	1889	USA [2]
	Year of immigration 1889 per the 1910 census (Honolulu).
Occupation	1899-1902	San Francisco, California [3]
	In the San Francisco city directory Joseph Boyd is shown as a "marine engineer" (1899-1902), and in one instance is associated with the steamer Gaelic.
Residence	21 Jun 1928	1554 Palolo Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii [1, 4]
Occupation	Bef 1944	Honolulu, Hawaii [5]
	President and general manager of Williams Mortuary (Williams Mortuary Co., Ltd.), Honolulu. Earlier a marine engineer: at one time president of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association No. 35 of San Francisco. Member of Hawaiian Lodge 21, F. & A. M., and Honolulu Lodge 616, BPOE.
Will	20 Nov 1944	Honolulu, Hawaii [6, 7]
	Will made six days before his death; executor and trustee the Hawaiian Trust Co., Ltd. Bequests of $1,000 each to his late wife's nephew Albert J. Wilkinson, to her niece Florence Mann of Oakland, and to his goddaughter Lillian Nieper (nee Anderson) of Albany, California, among others. After the deaths of other heirs the estate (about $135,000-$140,000 in Honolulu plus about $15,000 of property in Australia) was to go to the trustees of the Edith Boyd Memorial Trust Fund of the New South Wales Masonic Schools, Sydney, as a memorial to his wife. In 1948 the Hawaiian Trust Co. asked the court whether the fund had ever been created, and three of Boyd's first cousins in New South Wales contested the trust. Circuit Judge Willson C. Moore found, from Boyd's letters to the Masonic Schools, that he intended it, and on 13 Mar 1953 the Territorial Supreme Court upheld him: the Masonic Schools inherited the bulk of the estate.
Death	26 Nov 1944	Honolulu, Hawaii [1]
	Death date from Helen Wilkinson's diary, per Carolyn Wilkinson.
Notes	THE WAIKIKI LAND (family tradition and research, Oct 2026). Albert Wilkinson, Edith's nephew and Craig Walsh's grandfather, always said that the Boyds owned the land opposite the Moana Hotel. The 1930 census places Joseph and Edith at 2366 Kalakaua Avenue, on the mauka side directly across from the Moana. Family memory (Loretta O'Berg, 2004) adds that Ida "had the money before she married Tom Boyd". INFERENCE (not yet proven): the land opposite the Moana on the Diamond Head side of Kaiulani Avenue was part of Ainahau, the estate of Princess Kaiulani, which was sold off as house lots after Archibald Cleghorn died in 1910; the Princess Kaiulani Hotel stands there now. The International Market Place, on the ewa side, stands on land held for the Queen's Hospital (Queen Emma Land Company) and was leased, not sold. If the Boyds bought an Ainahau lot before the Ala Wai Canal and the Waikiki reclamation of about 1921-1928, the rise in Waikiki land values could explain the wealth that appears in the 1930s. TO CHECK: deeds and owner of record at the Bureau of Conveyances (search by the names Edith Boyd, Ida A. Boyd and Joseph Thompson Boyd); Edith's 1941-42 probate inventory at the Hawaii State Archives.
Person ID	I513973307	Walsh - Wilson Family Tree \| Craig
Last Modified	2 Oct 2017

Father	John Alexander Bowman Boyd, b. Abt 1848, Ireland
Mother	Anna Holso [?], b. Abt 1848, Auckland, New Zealand
Marriage	1868	Sydney, Australia
Family ID	F513881959	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family	Ida Alice Wyser, b. 30 Oct 1867, Montevideo, Uruguay d. 16 Feb 1941, On Board S.S. Mariposa at Sea, Between Samoa and Suva, Fiji (Age 73 years)
Marriage	23 Dec 1894	Alameda County, California, USA [8, 9]
Documents » Slide Show		1930 Census - Joseph T. Boyd and wife Ida Wiser Boyd The 1930 census shows Joseph T. Boyd (age 61, Australian, father from Northern Ireland, mother from New Zealand) living with wife Edith (age 61, born in California, father from Switzerland mother from Frankfurt, Germany). Joseph is a mechanist - garage, and time of immigration into the United States is 1902. Living at 2366 Kalakaua Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii, which is right across the street from the Moana Hotel. Roll: 2633; Page: 1A; Enumeration District: 15; Image: 558.0
		1900 United States Census - Joseph T. Boyd, wife Ida Wiser, and Lena The 1900 census shows Joseph T. Boyd (born in Australia in Dec 1869, father born in England, mother in Australia) living with wife Edith (born in Brazil Oct 1869, father born in Switzerland, mother born in Germany). With them is Lena, Boyd's step-daugher (born Mar 1887, father born in Australia, mother - presumably Edith - born in Brazil). The family is living at 55 Minna Street, San Francisco. Father naturalised in 1888, and is an engineer (maritime). Edith and Lena came to the States in 1891. Roll T263_100; Page 1B; Enumeration District: 8
		1910 United States Census - Joseph T. and Edith Boyd - Pukele Homesteads, 5th Avenue, Palolo, Honolulu, Hawaii The 1910 census shows Joseph T. Boyd (age 41, emigrated to the US from Australia in 1889, his father Irish, mother Australian) living with wife Edith (age 41, emigrated to US in 1891, born in Brazil, father Swiss, mother German). Joseph is a machinist in a foundry. They have a 28 year old live-in Japanese servant, Isuburo Horii. Roll: T624_1753; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 17; Image 602.
Family ID	F505778160	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	19 Oct 2026

Event Map

	Residence - 21 Jun 1928 - 1554 Palolo Avenue, Honolulu, Hawaii
	Occupation - President and general manager of Williams Mortuary (Williams Mortuary Co., Ltd.), Honolulu. Earlier a marine engineer: at one time president of the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association No. 35 of San Francisco. Member of Hawaiian Lodge 21, F. & A. M., and Honolulu Lodge 616, BPOE. - Bef 1944 - Honolulu, Hawaii
	Will - Will made six days before his death; executor and trustee the Hawaiian Trust Co., Ltd. Bequests of $1,000 each to his late wife's nephew Albert J. Wilkinson, to her niece Florence Mann of Oakland, and to his goddaughter Lillian Nieper (nee Anderson) of Albany, California, among others. After the deaths of other heirs the estate (about $135,000-$140,000 in Honolulu plus about $15,000 of property in Australia) was to go to the trustees of the Edith Boyd Memorial Trust Fund of the New South Wales Masonic Schools, Sydney, as a memorial to his wife. In 1948 the Hawaiian Trust Co. asked the court whether the fund had ever been created, and three of Boyd's first cousins in New South Wales contested the trust. Circuit Judge Willson C. Moore found, from Boyd's letters to the Masonic Schools, that he intended it, and on 13 Mar 1953 the Territorial Supreme Court upheld him: the Masonic Schools inherited the bulk of the estate. - 20 Nov 1944 - Honolulu, Hawaii
	Death - 26 Nov 1944 - Honolulu, Hawaii

= Link to Google Earth

Documents » Slide Show		Joseph T. Boyd Obituary - Honolulu Advertiser 30 Nov 1944 "With the Rev. E. Tanner Brown, rector of St. Clement's Episcopal church, officiating, and under the auspices of Hawaiian Lodge No. 21, F. & A.M., services will be held at 4:30 this afternoon at Williams' Mortuary for Joseph T. Boyd, 1552 Palolo Avenue, president and manager of Williams Mortuary, who died at his home early Sunday evening [26 Nov 1944]. The ashes will be sent to Australia to be buried alongside those of his wife, the late Mrs. Edith Boyd, who died at sea in 1941. Mr. Boyd was born in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 24, 1868, and was nearly 76 years old."
		Birth Certificate of Joseph Thompson Boyd - 24 Dec 1868
		Boyd House Party at 1554 Palolo Road Honolulu Star-Bulletin - 1 Nov 1932
		The Will of John T Boyd Bequests of $1,000 to Albert Wilkinson, $1,000 to Florence Mann. Boyd was President and Manager of Williams Mortuary
		Mrs. Edith Boyd Dies on Mariposa - Honolulu Star-Bulletin - 18 Feb 1941 - Page 3 "Mrs. Edith Boyd, wife of Joseph T. Boyd, president and manager of Williams mortuary, died Monday morning on the Mariposa en route to Australia, according to word received here. Mrs. Boyd, who was about 73 years old, had been in ill health for some time and was making the trip to Australia because of her health. The Mariposa left here on February 10. Funeral services are expected to be held in Sydney, Australia, where Mrs. Boyd had lived for many years. She was born in Brazil. Surviving are the widower, who accompanied her on the trip; a daughter, Mrs. Amy L. Roberts of Honolulu; three sisters, Mrs. Faye Jurgensen and Mrs. Lily Wilkinson of Honolulu and Mrs. Mary Burns of Oakland; a brother, Bruno Wyser, of Oakland; three nephews in Honolulu and a niece in Oakland." Note: "born in Brazil" - her baptism record is from Montevideo, Uruguay. The daughter "Mrs. Amy L. Roberts" is Amy Winifred (Lena), raised by Bruno and Elisa as their own. The Advertiser death notice of 19 Feb 1941, p. 14, gives the address as 1554 Palolo Ave. Newspapers.com image 258429977.
		Determination Of Heir in Boyd Estate Sought - Honolulu Star-Bulletin - 9 Jun 1948 - Page 20 "Whether a Masonic school in Sydney, Australia, is entitled to the bulk of the estate of the late Joseph Thompson Boyd of Honolulu will be determined at hearings scheduled to begin June 26 before Circuit Judge Willson C. Moore ... He left an estate of $135,000 here and property worth $15,000 in Australia. An official of the Hawaiian Trust Co. estimated that total assets have increased to nearly $200,000. Mr. Boyd's will provides that after the death of other heirs, the estate goes to trustees of the Edith Boyd memorial trust fund in care of the N.S.W. Masonic school in Sydney. However, in a petition filed in circuit court, the Hawaiian Trust Co. asserts 'a substantial doubt exists as to whether ... the Edith Boyd memorial trust fund was ever created.' ... Pratt, Tavares & Cassidy, attorneys for 13 Australians who claim to be trustees of the fund, submitted photostatic copies of 35 letters written by them and Mr. Boyd in an effort to prove the existence of the fund." Newspapers.com image 269561944.
		Sydney Schools To Inherit Local Man's Estate - Honolulu Star-Bulletin - 14 Mar 1953 - Page 3 "The NSW Masonic Schools in Sydney, Australia, through the Edith Boyd Memorial Trust Fund will inherit the bulk of the estate of Joseph Thompson Boyd, late Honolulu resident. The Territorial Supreme Court so ruled in a decision filed late yesterday afternoon. Mr. Boyd left assets here valued at about $140,000 ... The Supreme Court upheld a ruling by former Circuit Judge Willson C. Moore that it was Mr. Boyd's intention as disclosed in a series of letters he wrote to officials of the Masonic Schools, to leave most of his estate to the trust fund. The contribution is designated as a memorial to Edith Boyd, Mr. Boyd's wife who died at sea while the couple were en route to Australia for a visit in 1941. A provision in Mr. Boyd's will setting up the trust fund was contested by three of his first cousins living in Lawton [Lawson?], NSW. Their contention that Mr. Boyd did not create a charitable trust cannot be upheld, the Supreme Court ruled." Newspapers.com image 269301538.
		Administrator's Sale - Estate of Edith Boyd - Honolulu Star-Bulletin - 9 Jan 1942 - Page 2 "A. H. Rice & Co., Ltd., call attention to Administrator's sale at public auction of one parcel of real property in Palolo Valley, area 11,490 sq. ft., and a portion of Kawailoa Beach Lot No. 12, area 15,032 sq. ft. by Joseph Thompson Boyd, Administrator of the Estate of Edith Boyd, deceased. This sale was continued from December 11, 1941, until January 15, 1942, at 12:00 o'clock noon. Said sale will take place at their offices at 227 So. King St., Honolulu, T. H." Both parcels were in Edith's own name. Family memory (Loretta O'Berg interview, 2004) says Ida "had the money before she married Tom Boyd"; where it came from is not yet known. Kawailoa Beach is on the North Shore of Oahu, near Haleiwa. Newspapers.com image 275203349.

Sources

[S4980] Honolulu Advertiser, 30 Nov 1944 (Reliability: 3).
[S5004] Ancestry.com, 1889, 1910 United States Federal Census (Reliability: 2).
Joseph T Boyd, Honolulu, born 1869 Australia; year of immigration 1889.
[S4940] Nancy S. Peterson, California Genealogical Society (Reliability: 3).
[S4956] Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, 21 Jun 1928, Roll T-14892 (Reliability: 2).
[S59] Honolulu Star Bulletin, 28 Nov 1944, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Tue 28 Nov 1944, p. 4, "Joseph T. Boyd" (Reliability: 3).
"Joseph T. Boyd, 75, of 1554 Palolo Ave., and president and general manager of Williams mortuary, died suddenly at 6 p. m. Sunday at his home following a heart attack ... Born in Sydney, Australia, on December 24, 1868, he was a member of Hawaiian lodge 21, F. & A. M., Honolulu lodge 616, BPOE, and was at one time president of Marine Engineers' Beneficial association 35 of San Francisco. He is survived by three cousins, Mrs. Mildred Copland, Mrs. Lea Rodley and Mrs. Jessie Batterham, all of Australia, and three nephews, Albert, James and Charles Wilkinson, all of Honolulu."
[S59] Honolulu Star Bulletin, 9 Jun 1948, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Wed 9 Jun 1948, p. 20, "Determination Of Heir in Boyd Estate Sought" (Reliability: 3).
"Whether a Masonic school in Sydney, Australia, is entitled to the bulk of the estate of the late Joseph Thompson Boyd of Honolulu will be determined at hearings scheduled to begin June 26 before Circuit Judge Willson C. Moore ... He left an estate of $135,000 here and property worth $15,000 in Australia. An official of the Hawaiian Trust Co. estimated that total assets have increased to nearly $200,000. Mr. Boyd's will provides that after the death of other heirs, the estate goes to trustees of the Edith Boyd memorial trust fund in care of the N.S.W. Masonic school in Sydney. However, in a petition filed in circuit court, the Hawaiian Trust Co. asserts 'a substantial doubt exists as to whether ... the Edith Boyd memorial trust fund was ever created.' ... Pratt, Tavares & Cassidy, attorneys for 13 Australians who claim to be trustees of the fund, submitted photostatic copies of 35 letters written by them and Mr. Boyd in an effort to prove the existence of the fund."
[S59] Honolulu Star Bulletin, 14 Mar 1953, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Sat 14 Mar 1953, p. 3, "Sydney Schools To Inherit Local Man's Estate" (Reliability: 3).
"The NSW Masonic Schools in Sydney, Australia, through the Edith Boyd Memorial Trust Fund will inherit the bulk of the estate of Joseph Thompson Boyd, late Honolulu resident. The Territorial Supreme Court so ruled in a decision filed late yesterday afternoon. Mr. Boyd left assets here valued at about $140,000 ... The Supreme Court upheld a ruling by former Circuit Judge Willson C. Moore that it was Mr. Boyd's intention as disclosed in a series of letters he wrote to officials of the Masonic Schools, to leave most of his estate to the trust fund. The contribution is designated as a memorial to Edith Boyd, Mr. Boyd's wife who died at sea while the couple were en route to Australia for a visit in 1941. A provision in Mr. Boyd's will setting up the trust fund was contested by three of his first cousins living in Lawton [Lawson?], NSW. Their contention that Mr. Boyd did not create a charitable trust cannot be upheld, the Supreme Court ruled."
[S4946] California Marriage Index, 23 Dec 1894, Ancestry, California, U.S., Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941 (collection 8797, record 157179); original at California State Archives (Reliability: 3).
Index to Marriage Licenses and Certificates: Joseph T Boyd, spouse J A Widmer [sic - I. A., Ida Alice, then using her first husband's surname Widmer], married 23 Dec 1894, Alameda, California.
[S54] 1900 United States Federal Census, 1900, 1900 U.S. census, San Francisco, California, roll 100, ED 0008, sheet 1, dwelling 8, family 12 (Reliability: 3).
Jos T Boyd, 31, head, married, years married 7 [the marriage record gives Dec 1894, about 5 1/2 years before the census], marine engineer, immigrated 1888, naturalized; wife Edith 30; Lena Boyd 13, step daughter. 55 Minna Street, San Francisco.