Laura Josephine Nisbet Boykin (1834-1900)

Laura Josephine Nisbet Boykin

Birth

4 Mar 1834

Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, USA

Death

25 Mar 1900 (aged 66)

Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, USA

Burial

Rose Hill Cemetery

Macon, Bibb County, Georgia, USA Show Map

Plot

In Lot 21, Block 1, Forest Hill Section:

Memorial ID

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Daughter of Eugenius Aristides Nisbet and Amanda Melvina Fitzallen Battle. Class of 1851 Graduate of the Female College in Madison, GA. Writer and musician. She could often be found playing accompaniment on her piano, which she referred to as " my darling Grand, " while noted Poet, Sidney Lanier played flute. She was the primary and favored caregiver prior to her mother, Amanda's death.

She married Dr. Samuel Boykin, Jr. on 10 May 1853 in Macon, Bibb Co., GA by Rev. Robert L. Breck. They were 2nd cousins. She and Samuel had 2 daughters, Laurette Nisbet Boykin and Eugenia N. Boykin. Laurette died in 1894 from an extended illness. Eugenia married attorney Charles Stanley DaShiell and relocated to Washington, DC. Eugenia died in 1960 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Her Civil War Diary, published by her granddaughter Mary Stock as "Shinplasters and Homespun" gives a firsthand account of day to day life in the Georgia South during the Civil War. On July 19, 1861, Laura became the Secretary of the "Ladies Soldiers' Relief Society" and served in this capacity until the close of the war. Laura was instrumental in seeing that her father, Eugenius A. Nisbet ( Author of GA Ordinance of Succession ) was properly pardoned by the Union authorities so he could remain safely at home. President Andrew Johnson granted Eugenius a full pardon after the war.

Interesting Notes:

Laura's cousin, Emma LeConte, also kept a Civil War Diary . Her diary of events surrounding General William T. Sherman's attack on Columbia, South Carolina, in February 1865 was published as "When the World Ended."

Laura's cousin, Mary Boykin Chestnut, daughter of former SC Governor, also kept a Civil War Diary. Her close friendship with Jefferson and Varina Davis gave her diary a unique perspective. First published on 1905, it is titled, "A Diary from Dixie."