Grapeland Texas

Starley N. Boykin

Starley Napoleon Boykin came to Leon County, Texas from Alabama and Mississippi in the 1850s. He married Nancy Elizabeth (Muddle) Meador and lived on a farm west of Grapeland. They had two sons, Albert Sidney and Starley Napoleon Jr. S. N. Boykin died in 1872 before the birth of his second son, S. N. Boykin Jr... Nancy Elizabeth Boykin then married Andrew J. Spence who lived inLeon County at that time and the Spence family moved to Grapeland in 1878. Nancy and Andrew Spence had two sons, Bob and Bee Spence. After the death of Andrew Jackson Spence, Sidney Boykin, Robert (Bob) Spence and Nancy E. Spence moved to westTexas for a while, but returned to Grapeland and lived on a farm that Starley N. Boykin Jr. had bought. Sidney Boykin worked for Kennedy Bros. and later went into the drug business with Murdock D. Murchison. (See Andrew J. Spence history for additional information on the Spence family). Starley Napoleon Boykin Jr. moved into Grapeland from the farm and went to work at Geo. E. Darsey & Co... He worked there until 1913 and then 'went on the road' as a shoe salesman. According to the supervisor of the shoe company that he worked for, he was the only salesman he ever had to talk to because his expense account was too small. After five years, Starley Boykin returned to work at Darsey's Store and worked there the rest of his life. He sold many thousands of dollars worth of merchandise and there were few days that had ever missed because of illness. He began at a small salary and advanced to a good salary, and through the years saved and eventually became a partner in the business. He had the reputation of being the best of salesmen. S. N. Boykin preferred to walk to and from his work. The Grapeland Messenger commented that he was one of the few who were able to own an automobile who did not indulge in that luxury. The paper stated that during the years that he walked to and from work (over thirty years) that he had traveled more than 10,000 miles and despite the many miles he walked, his step was still quick. Starley Napoleon Boykin Jr. married Fannie Arabella Murchison, daughter of Murdock K. Murchison. They had two children, Mable Arabella (b. 1900) and Starley N. Boykin HI (b. 1907). The Boykin families were members of the First MethodistChurch and gave many hours of service to that church. Fannie Belle Boykin was one of the organizers of the Women's Society of Christian Service. Mable, Miss Mable to hundreds of children, ran a nursery school and taught piano in Grapeland from the early thirties until illness forced her retirement in the early seventies. Mable Boykin was very talented musically and attended music school in Rochester, N. Y. She volunteered her time as the church pianist at the early age of sixteen and served in that capacity for fifty-six years. When the church purchased an organ, she attended Berkley University in California for organ lessons. She paid her own expenses in California by teaching in their nursery school. It was a familiar sight around town to see Miss Mable with her car loaded with nursery school children. Starley N. Boykin III attended John Tarlton College in Stephenville for two years after completing his schooling in Grapeland. This was to prepare him for entrance for school in A. & M as the schooling in Grapeland at that time was not advanced for college entrance. He received a degree in mechanical engineering from A. & M. and returned to Grapeland. After working in Grapeland for a while, he joined the U. S. Army until 1948 when he retired with a medical disability as an It. colonel. After retiring from the army, he taught school for three years in the Crockett Public Schools. He then taught at Marion Institute for five years and at Victoria College for nine years before again retiring and moving back to Grapeland. Starley N. Boykin III married Lynn Hendon (McGuyre) and has one stepson, Lewis Neal McGuyre. Lewis Neal McGuyre married Beth Wasson. They have two children, Starley Laurence and Christine Elizabeth. Starley Laurence married Kay Ramsey and had two children, Heather and Glenn. Christine McGuyre married Tom Frank. Christine and Tom Frank have three children, Amanda Beth, Candace Christine and Megan Ellen. Lewis Neal McGuyre served in the U. S. Army in Korea and Viet Nam. He retired as a colonel and now lives on his farm in Grapeland.