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Marcus Wrightman "M. W." Boyles was born on Oct. 27, 1842 on his parent's farm near Laurel Hill, Lincoln Co., North Carolina. He was the son of Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles (1816-1894) and Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Yount (1819-1905). Their farm was located on the waters of Indian Creek in Lincoln County. Both of Marcus' parents were born in Lincoln County. They died in Burke Co., NC and are buried there in the Salem Methodist Cemetery located in Morganton, NC.
Marcus' father, Josiah, was born near Henry, Lincoln Co., NC. He was a farmer and an "old-time" Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher. He was the youngest of the 11 known children born to Rev. John Boyles II (1770-1843) and Margaret Whitaker (1765-1849).
Marcus was born in America but was of Irish ancestry. His GG-GF, William Boyles I (abt 1720-abt 1818 ?), along with his brother, Charles Boyles I (1722-1813), immigrated to America from County Donogal, Ireland around 1838/39. They are thought to have worked as deck hands to pay for their passage across the Atlantic Ocean, a relatively common practice in those days. The Irish surname of the two brothers may have been "O'Boyles". Uncertain.
Josiah's father (Marcus' GF), John Boyles II, was also a Methodist (M.E.) preacher. He moved his family from Virginia to a farm near the waters of Howard's Creek near Henry, Tryon Co. (now in Lincoln Co.), NC in the late 1700s where he and his wife were to live the rest of their lives. Born in Rowan Co., NC, they are known to have died in Lincoln County and are though to have been buried on their family farm.
Marcus' mother, Annie, was the daughter of William Whitaker (1732-1799) and Abigail Baker (1740-1772). Both of Annie's parents were born in North Carolina and lived there their entire lives. Their grave sites are unknown.
Marcus was just 19 years of age when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Neither he or his family owned slaves and they did not support the practice of slavery. However, he felt compelled to join the Confederacy to defend his home fearing that the Union would eventually invade the state of North Carolina. His 18 year old brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), did likewise. Marcus joined the CSA as a private on July 12, 1861 and served in the 1st NC Infantry Regiment from Lincolnton, Lincoln Co., NC.
Not long after his enlistment, Marcus became so ill that he had to be hospitalized. After his recovery the army decided to assign him to hospital duty for nearly two years (1862-64), probably due to his strong work ethic and his ability to relate to sick or wounded men. With manpower shortage becoming an issue late in the war he was reassigned to the infantry in 1864.
On April 6, 1865 Marcus was captured by the Union Army near Richmond, Virginia. Greatly out-numbered, he and a number of his comrades had been deliberately left behind to slow down the advancement of the much larger Union forces near the end of the Siege of Petersburg. The goal of this strategy was to allow the majority of the Confederate army to withdraw in order to fight another day. It is said that the men left were able to hold off the much larger opposing Northern army for two days.
Many of the Confederate soldiers who stayed behind to slow the advancement of the Union army were killed in battle. Those who survived the fierce fighting, including Marcus, were marched 125+ miles to Camp Point Lookout Prison Camp in Maryland.
Camp Point Lookout was the Union's largest prison camp and had the reputation of being it's worse. Created for a maximum of 10,000 men, the number of inmates in the camp always exceeded that figure and at one time reached over 20,000. Prisoners were housed in small tents with up to 16 men per tent. Sanitary conditions were extremely poor resulting in much sickness and many prisoners dying from disease.
A little known fact is that about the Civil War is that nearly two thirds of the men who died during that war died from disease. The number one killer disease was dysentery. The number two killer was typhoid fever ("Camp Fever"). Some of the other killer diseases that caused many deaths were malaria, scurvy, yellow fever, pneumonia, smallpox, tuberculosis (TB) and chicken pox.
On June 23, 1865, with the war now ended, the Confederate prisoners at Camp Point Lookout were released. Possessing only the ragged clothes on his back, Marcus returned to his home in Lincoln Co. NC, walking the entire way, a dangerous journey of 450+ miles. Food was hard to come by and even though the war was officially over, he and other released confederate prisoners had to be careful to avoid being seen and shot by former Union soldiers or Union sympathizers, especially those who had lost loved ones or friends during the war. Years later he would write "...thank God, I reached home alive." Most likely, he walked at night with little to eat each day.
Upon returning to Lincoln Co., NC, the emaciated Marcus found only his parents and a brother, David Adolphus Boyles (1852-1938), living at home. His younger brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), also a soldier for the Confederacy, had died in 1863 from disease in Goldsboro N.C. at the age of 18. He learned that his younger sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), had died from typhoid fever. She was just 16 when she died.
On Mar. 14, 1866, 24 year old Marcus married his neighbor's daughter, Susan A. (Alice ?) Wood (1846-1895), in the home of her parents. His surname (Boyles) was misspelled on their marriage license, spelled "Boiles" like the surname of the Justice of the Peace (David Boiles) who had performed the ceremony.
Susan A. Wood was the 19 year old daughter of John Henry Wood (1810-1891) and Elizabeth Catherine "Katie" Bess (1818-1900). Both of Susan's parents were born in Lincoln Co., NC. They died near Lincolnton, NC and are buried there in the Zion
Methodist Cemetery.
Marcus and Susan were married for 25 years and had ten known children, four of them dying before their second birthday. Their first born child, John C. Boyles (1866-1866), died in infancy. He was apparently named after both his great-grandfather, Rev. John Boyles II (1768-1843), and his great-great grandfather, John Boyles I (1744-1770).
My grandfather, Augustus Clingman "A.C." Boyles (1867-1936), was the second born child of Marcus Boyles and Susan (Wood) Boyles. As an adult he graduated from Baltimore University (School of Medicine) becoming a medical doctor. Their third child was Francis A. Boyles (1869-1870) who died when he was just three months old. Since his middle initial was "A", he was probably named after his paternal grandfather, Rev. Josiah Adolphus Boyles.
Their next child was Franklin Columbus "Frank" Boyles (1871-1955), then Dr. Joseph Henry Boyles (1873-1939), Ola Blanche Boyles (1876-1964), Minnie Bell Boyles (1878-1880), Marvin Marcus Boyles (1880-1954), Jessie Pitman Boyles (1883-1921) and Willie Brown Boyles (1885-1886). Marcus' son, Joseph, was named after his paternal GF, Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles, while son, Marcus, was named after his father.
In 1867, Marcus built a house for he and Susan on his father's farm near Laurel Hill in Lincoln County. Their sons, Augustus (1869) and Frank (1871), were born there. Although he really did not care much for working the soil he tried farming for a few years. During that time his crops, despite his hard work, were largely unsuccessful, probably due to unfavorable weather conditions. Marcus was knowledgeable but unlucky.
Marcus started to feel that farming was not his calling, that God was calling him to the ministry instead. Years later Marcus said that he had joined the Methodist Church in 1860 as a "seeker" but did not accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior until two years later. In 1890 he wrote "...in 1862, in Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia, under the ministry of Bro. Christian (appropriate surname!), I was converted, the effects of which I still feel and may I feel to the end."
In 1872, Marcus, short on money but long on faith, decided to give up farming and enroll in Rutherford College in Burke Co., NC as a 29 year old student to prepare himself for the ministry. His wife, Susan, was very supportive of his decision and convinced him that they would be alright while he was away at school. She and their two young sons, Augustus and Frank, remained behind and survived during his long absences due to Susan's faith, determination and hard work, and most likely, the support of the parents
of Marcus and Susan..
Marcus, who often signed his name using his initials ("M. W.") with his surname (Boyles), was highly intelligent but did not have a great deal of formal education. His schooling while growing up had been for only a 2-3 months each winter. Despite this handicap, he worked hard while he was in college and consequently, did quite well.
On June 10, 1873 at the Palm Tree Methodist Episcopal Church M.E. (South Fork Circuit) in Vale, Lincoln Co., NC, he was licensed to preach. According to Marcus this church was just "...two miles east of father's farm".
Years later, Marcus stated that he had attended Sunday School at that little church. Since it was so close to his family's farm it was almost assuredly the home church that his family regularly attended, especially with his father being gone frequently serving as a Methodist circuit preacher. His brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), and sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), who died at ages 18 and 16 respectively, are both buried in the Palm Tree Church Cemetery.
Marcus was an "old-time" Bible believing Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher who served in numerous churches during his 18 years in the ministry. He is known to have served in the following preaching circuits in North Carolina: Monroe Circuit (1874-1875) in Lincoln Co., Cokesbury Circuit (1876-77) in Harnett Co., Uwharrie Circuit (1878-80) primarily in Randolph Co., Robeson Circuit (1881-84) in Robeson Co., Mt. Gilead Circuit (1885-88) in Montgomery Co. and Davidson Circuit (1888-91) in Davidson County.
In 1891, Marcus was serving as a preacher for the newly established Linwood Methodist Church, located in the small community of Linwood just south of Lexington, Davidson Co., NC. He was the first minister to preach in their newly established church. As he was in an organized Methodist church circuit , he was also preaching at several other churches, as well.
During that time there was a world-wide influenza pandemic (1888-1890), with recurrences in the early 1890s. Called the "Asiatic Flu" and the "Russian Flu", this deadly infectious disease resulted in over one million deaths worldwide. In late December of 1891, Marcus came down with the flu, often called "the grippe" in those days.
His flu developed into pneumonia. Marcus died on Jan. 15, 1892 in Lexington, Davidson Co., NC, at the relatively young age of 49. He is buried in the Lexington City Cemetery. His impressive Georgian marble monument was paid for with contributions from many of the sorrowful yet appreciative congregations he had served during his ministry.
One side of Marcus' marker, is inscribed "A minister of the M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church for over 18 years. He that goeth forth and weeping bearing precious seed shall doubt come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." The other side of the marker is inscribed about his wife, Susan, who was later buried next to him. See her memorial for additional information.
The following is a quote about Rev. Marcus Boyles that appeared in a 2006 book entitled "DNA Cousins" by Dr. Paul Weldon Boyles (1925-2018), and his wife, Dorothy Holmes Cobb (1924-2004). It should be noted that Dr. Boyles was a great-grandson of Marcus.
......................"Marcus M. Boyles, after failing in farming, with a wife............................
......................and two small boys received a higher "Calling'. He became.....................
..................... a third generation of Boyles preachers from NC. He went......................... ......................to Rutherford College and later was a Methodist circuit.......................... .........................................rider (preacher) for 18 years..................................................
Another quote, from an unidentified source (probably a Methodist Church publication), states this about the life of Rev. Marcus W. Boyles:
........................"...from early manhood was one of deep consecration........................... ........................to Christianity. He was converted in early life, was................................ .......................educated at Rutherford College, entered the North................................. .......................Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church, and he............................
.......................gave up all ambition for the rewards of business and............................. .......................devoted himself with remarkable singleness of aim to............................ .......................church and humanity. He submitted cheerfully to the............................. .......................inconveniences of his calling, involving frequent changes...................... .......................of location. He was greatly loved for the purity of his life........................ .......................and his unselfishness, and his influence and teachings.......................... .......................brought large numbers to the Christian life & good citizenship."............
His beloved wife, Susan, died about three years after Marcus' death, on May 30, 1895 in Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC. Susan, only 48 , died from the effects of dropsy (edema). The inscription on the marker that she shares with her husband quotes the Bible (Proverbs 31:28). "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." It also reads "She is waiting for us in the glorious Eden Land which lies beyond the sunset of life."
Susan was a wonderful helpmate for her husband and his ministry throughout their 25 years of marriage. When she died, the Lexington Dispatch newspaper ran an article about her death entitled "A Good Lady Passes Away-Mrs. M. W. Boyles".
The article stated that Susan Boyles "...was well known all over the county (Davidson Co., NC) as the beloved wife of the late and lamented Rev. M. W. Boyles." It went on to describe her as "...a gentle, modest Christian wife and mother". It also referred to her as a "good, kind Christian woman". Susan obviously lived an exemplary life and was loved and respected by all who knew her.
Her body was transported from Greensboro, NC to Lexington, NC to be buried in the Lexington City Cemetery, next to her husband, Marcus. As mentioned earlier, Susan shares his monument, just as she shared his life and his ministry. In 1921, their son Jessie, who never married, died at the age of 37 and was buried next to his parents.
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The information contained in this memorial for Rev. Marcus Wrightman "M.W." Boyles, his wife, family members, ancestors and descendants, is thought to be correct. This memorial is revised/corrected, however, as new information becomes available.
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Marcus Wrightman "M. W." Boyles was born on Oct. 27, 1842 on his parent's farm near Laurel Hill, Lincoln Co., North Carolina. He was the son of Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles (1816-1894) and Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Yount (1819-1905). Their farm was located on the waters of Indian Creek in Lincoln County. Both of Marcus' parents were born in Lincoln County. They died in Burke Co., NC and are buried there in the Salem Methodist Cemetery located in Morganton, NC.
Marcus' father, Josiah, was born near Henry, Lincoln Co., NC. He was a farmer and an "old-time" Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher. He was the youngest of the 11 known children born to Rev. John Boyles II (1770-1843) and Margaret Whitaker (1765-1849).
Marcus was born in America but was of Irish ancestry. His GG-GF, William Boyles I (abt 1720-abt 1818 ?), along with his brother, Charles Boyles I (1722-1813), immigrated to America from County Donogal, Ireland around 1838/39. They are thought to have worked as deck hands to pay for their passage across the Atlantic Ocean, a relatively common practice in those days. The Irish surname of the two brothers may have been "O'Boyles". Uncertain.
Josiah's father (Marcus' GF), John Boyles II, was also a Methodist (M.E.) preacher. He moved his family from Virginia to a farm near the waters of Howard's Creek near Henry, Tryon Co. (now in Lincoln Co.), NC in the late 1700s where he and his wife were to live the rest of their lives. Born in Rowan Co., NC, they are known to have died in Lincoln County and are though to have been buried on their family farm.
Marcus' mother, Annie, was the daughter of William Whitaker (1732-1799) and Abigail Baker (1740-1772). Both of Annie's parents were born in North Carolina and lived there their entire lives. Their grave sites are unknown.
Marcus was just 19 years of age when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Neither he or his family owned slaves and they did not support the practice of slavery. However, he felt compelled to join the Confederacy to defend his home fearing that the Union would eventually invade the state of North Carolina. His 18 year old brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), did likewise. Marcus joined the CSA as a private on July 12, 1861 and served in the 1st NC Infantry Regiment from Lincolnton, Lincoln Co., NC.
Not long after his enlistment, Marcus became so ill that he had to be hospitalized. After his recovery the army decided to assign him to hospital duty for nearly two years (1862-64), probably due to his strong work ethic and his ability to relate to sick or wounded men. With manpower shortage becoming an issue late in the war he was reassigned to the infantry in 1864.
On April 6, 1865 Marcus was captured by the Union Army near Richmond, Virginia. Greatly out-numbered, he and a number of his comrades had been deliberately left behind to slow down the advancement of the much larger Union forces near the end of the Siege of Petersburg. The goal of this strategy was to allow the majority of the Confederate army to withdraw in order to fight another day. It is said that the men left were able to hold off the much larger opposing Northern army for two days.
Many of the Confederate soldiers who stayed behind to slow the advancement of the Union army were killed in battle. Those who survived the fierce fighting, including Marcus, were marched 125+ miles to Camp Point Lookout Prison Camp in Maryland.
Camp Point Lookout was the Union's largest prison camp and had the reputation of being it's worse. Created for a maximum of 10,000 men, the number of inmates in the camp always exceeded that figure and at one time reached over 20,000. Prisoners were housed in small tents with up to 16 men per tent. Sanitary conditions were extremely poor resulting in much sickness and many prisoners dying from disease.
A little known fact is that about the Civil War is that nearly two thirds of the men who died during that war died from disease. The number one killer disease was dysentery. The number two killer was typhoid fever ("Camp Fever"). Some of the other killer diseases that caused many deaths were malaria, scurvy, yellow fever, pneumonia, smallpox, tuberculosis (TB) and chicken pox.
On June 23, 1865, with the war now ended, the Confederate prisoners at Camp Point Lookout were released. Possessing only the ragged clothes on his back, Marcus returned to his home in Lincoln Co. NC, walking the entire way, a dangerous journey of 450+ miles. Food was hard to come by and even though the war was officially over, he and other released confederate prisoners had to be careful to avoid being seen and shot by former Union soldiers or Union sympathizers, especially those who had lost loved ones or friends during the war. Years later he would write "...thank God, I reached home alive." Most likely, he walked at night with little to eat each day.
Upon returning to Lincoln Co., NC, the emaciated Marcus found only his parents and a brother, David Adolphus Boyles (1852-1938), living at home. His younger brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), also a soldier for the Confederacy, had died in 1863 from disease in Goldsboro N.C. at the age of 18. He learned that his younger sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), had died from typhoid fever. She was just 16 when she died.
On Mar. 14, 1866, 24 year old Marcus married his neighbor's daughter, Susan A. (Alice ?) Wood (1846-1895), in the home of her parents. His surname (Boyles) was misspelled on their marriage license, spelled "Boiles" like the surname of the Justice of the Peace (David Boiles) who had performed the ceremony.
Susan A. Wood was the 19 year old daughter of John Henry Wood (1810-1891) and Elizabeth Catherine "Katie" Bess (1818-1900). Both of Susan's parents were born in Lincoln Co., NC. They died near Lincolnton, NC and are buried there in the Zion
Methodist Cemetery.
Marcus and Susan were married for 25 years and had ten known children, four of them dying before their second birthday. Their first born child, John C. Boyles (1866-1866), died in infancy. He was apparently named after both his great-grandfather, Rev. John Boyles II (1768-1843), and his great-great grandfather, John Boyles I (1744-1770).
My grandfather, Augustus Clingman "A.C." Boyles (1867-1936), was the second born child of Marcus Boyles and Susan (Wood) Boyles. As an adult he graduated from Baltimore University (School of Medicine) becoming a medical doctor. Their third child was Francis A. Boyles (1869-1870) who died when he was just three months old. Since his middle initial was "A", he was probably named after his paternal grandfather, Rev. Josiah Adolphus Boyles.
Their next child was Franklin Columbus "Frank" Boyles (1871-1955), then Dr. Joseph Henry Boyles (1873-1939), Ola Blanche Boyles (1876-1964), Minnie Bell Boyles (1878-1880), Marvin Marcus Boyles (1880-1954), Jessie Pitman Boyles (1883-1921) and Willie Brown Boyles (1885-1886). Marcus' son, Joseph, was named after his paternal GF, Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles, while son, Marcus, was named after his father.
In 1867, Marcus built a house for he and Susan on his father's farm near Laurel Hill in Lincoln County. Their sons, Augustus (1869) and Frank (1871), were born there. Although he really did not care much for working the soil he tried farming for a few years. During that time his crops, despite his hard work, were largely unsuccessful, probably due to unfavorable weather conditions. Marcus was knowledgeable but unlucky.
Marcus started to feel that farming was not his calling, that God was calling him to the ministry instead. Years later Marcus said that he had joined the Methodist Church in 1860 as a "seeker" but did not accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior until two years later. In 1890 he wrote "...in 1862, in Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia, under the ministry of Bro. Christian (appropriate surname!), I was converted, the effects of which I still feel and may I feel to the end."
In 1872, Marcus, short on money but long on faith, decided to give up farming and enroll in Rutherford College in Burke Co., NC as a 29 year old student to prepare himself for the ministry. His wife, Susan, was very supportive of his decision and convinced him that they would be alright while he was away at school. She and their two young sons, Augustus and Frank, remained behind and survived during his long absences due to Susan's faith, determination and hard work, and most likely, the support of the parents
of Marcus and Susan..
Marcus, who often signed his name using his initials ("M. W.") with his surname (Boyles), was highly intelligent but did not have a great deal of formal education. His schooling while growing up had been for only a 2-3 months each winter. Despite this handicap, he worked hard while he was in college and consequently, did quite well.
On June 10, 1873 at the Palm Tree Methodist Episcopal Church M.E. (South Fork Circuit) in Vale, Lincoln Co., NC, he was licensed to preach. According to Marcus this church was just "...two miles east of father's farm".
Years later, Marcus stated that he had attended Sunday School at that little church. Since it was so close to his family's farm it was almost assuredly the home church that his family regularly attended, especially with his father being gone frequently serving as a Methodist circuit preacher. His brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), and sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), who died at ages 18 and 16 respectively, are both buried in the Palm Tree Church Cemetery.
Marcus was an "old-time" Bible believing Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher who served in numerous churches during his 18 years in the ministry. He is known to have served in the following preaching circuits in North Carolina: Monroe Circuit (1874-1875) in Lincoln Co., Cokesbury Circuit (1876-77) in Harnett Co., Uwharrie Circuit (1878-80) primarily in Randolph Co., Robeson Circuit (1881-84) in Robeson Co., Mt. Gilead Circuit (1885-88) in Montgomery Co. and Davidson Circuit (1888-91) in Davidson County.
In 1891, Marcus was serving as a preacher for the newly established Linwood Methodist Church, located in the small community of Linwood just south of Lexington, Davidson Co., NC. He was the first minister to preach in their newly established church. As he was in an organized Methodist church circuit , he was also preaching at several other churches, as well.
During that time there was a world-wide influenza pandemic (1888-1890), with recurrences in the early 1890s. Called the "Asiatic Flu" and the "Russian Flu", this deadly infectious disease resulted in over one million deaths worldwide. In late December of 1891, Marcus came down with the flu, often called "the grippe" in those days.
His flu developed into pneumonia. Marcus died on Jan. 15, 1892 in Lexington, Davidson Co., NC, at the relatively young age of 49. He is buried in the Lexington City Cemetery. His impressive Georgian marble monument was paid for with contributions from many of the sorrowful yet appreciative congregations he had served during his ministry.
One side of Marcus' marker, is inscribed "A minister of the M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church for over 18 years. He that goeth forth and weeping bearing precious seed shall doubt come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." The other side of the marker is inscribed about his wife, Susan, who was later buried next to him. See her memorial for additional information.
The following is a quote about Rev. Marcus Boyles that appeared in a 2006 book entitled "DNA Cousins" by Dr. Paul Weldon Boyles (1925-2018), and his wife, Dorothy Holmes Cobb (1924-2004). It should be noted that Dr. Boyles was a great-grandson of Marcus.
......................"Marcus M. Boyles, after failing in farming, with a wife............................
......................and two small boys received a higher "Calling'. He became.....................
..................... a third generation of Boyles preachers from NC. He went......................... ......................to Rutherford College and later was a Methodist circuit.......................... .........................................rider (preacher) for 18 years..................................................
Another quote, from an unidentified source (probably a Methodist Church publication), states this about the life of Rev. Marcus W. Boyles:
........................"...from early manhood was one of deep consecration........................... ........................to Christianity. He was converted in early life, was................................ .......................educated at Rutherford College, entered the North................................. .......................Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church, and he............................
.......................gave up all ambition for the rewards of business and............................. .......................devoted himself with remarkable singleness of aim to............................ .......................church and humanity. He submitted cheerfully to the............................. .......................inconveniences of his calling, involving frequent changes...................... .......................of location. He was greatly loved for the purity of his life........................ .......................and his unselfishness, and his influence and teachings.......................... .......................brought large numbers to the Christian life & good citizenship."............
His beloved wife, Susan, died about three years after Marcus' death, on May 30, 1895 in Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC. Susan, only 48 , died from the effects of dropsy (edema). The inscription on the marker that she shares with her husband quotes the Bible (Proverbs 31:28). "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." It also reads "She is waiting for us in the glorious Eden Land which lies beyond the sunset of life."
Susan was a wonderful helpmate for her husband and his ministry throughout their 25 years of marriage. When she died, the Lexington Dispatch newspaper ran an article about her death entitled "A Good Lady Passes Away-Mrs. M. W. Boyles".
The article stated that Susan Boyles "...was well known all over the county (Davidson Co., NC) as the beloved wife of the late and lamented Rev. M. W. Boyles." It went on to describe her as "...a gentle, modest Christian wife and mother". It also referred to her as a "good, kind Christian woman". Susan obviously lived an exemplary life and was loved and respected by all who knew her.
Her body was transported from Greensboro, NC to Lexington, NC to be buried in the Lexington City Cemetery, next to her husband, Marcus. As mentioned earlier, Susan shares his monument, just as she shared his life and his ministry. In 1921, their son Jessie, who never married, died at the age of 37 and was buried next to his parents.
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The information contained in this memorial for Rev. Marcus Wrightman "M.W." Boyles, his wife, family members, ancestors and descendants, is thought to be correct. This memorial is revised/corrected, however, as new information becomes available.
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Marcus Wrightman "M. W." Boyles was born on Oct. 27, 1842 on his parent's farm near Laurel Hill, Lincoln Co., North Carolina. He was the son of Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles (1816-1894) and Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Yount (1819-1905). Their farm was located on the waters of Indian Creek in Lincoln County. Both of Marcus' parents were born in Lincoln County. They died in Burke Co., NC and are buried there in the Salem Methodist Cemetery located in Morganton, NC.
Marcus' father, Josiah, was born near Henry, Lincoln Co., NC. He was a farmer and an "old-time" Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher. He was the youngest of the 11 known children born to Rev. John Boyles II (1770-1843) and Margaret Whitaker (1765-1849).
Marcus was born in America but was of Irish ancestry. His GG-GF, William Boyles I (abt 1720-abt 1818 ?), along with his brother, Charles Boyles I (1722-1813), immigrated to America from County Donogal, Ireland around 1838/39. They are thought to have worked as deck hands to pay for their passage across the Atlantic Ocean, a relatively common practice in those days. The Irish surname of the two brothers may have been "O'Boyles". Uncertain.
Josiah's father (Marcus' GF), John Boyles II, was also a Methodist (M.E.) preacher. He moved his family from Virginia to a farm near the waters of Howard's Creek near Henry, Tryon Co. (now in Lincoln Co.), NC in the late 1700s where he and his wife were to live the rest of their lives. Born in Rowan Co., NC, they are known to have died in Lincoln County and are though to have been buried on their family farm.
Marcus' mother, Annie, was the daughter of William Whitaker (1732-1799) and Abigail Baker (1740-1772). Both of Annie's parents were born in North Carolina and lived there their entire lives. Their grave sites are unknown.
Marcus was just 19 years of age when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Neither he or his family owned slaves and they did not support the practice of slavery. However, he felt compelled to join the Confederacy to defend his home fearing that the Union would eventually invade the state of North Carolina. His 18 year old brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), did likewise. Marcus joined the CSA as a private on July 12, 1861 and served in the 1st NC Infantry Regiment from Lincolnton, Lincoln Co., NC.
Not long after his enlistment, Marcus became so ill that he had to be hospitalized. After his recovery the army decided to assign him to hospital duty for nearly two years (1862-64), probably due to his strong work ethic and his ability to relate to sick or wounded men. With manpower shortage becoming an issue late in the war he was reassigned to the infantry in 1864.
On April 6, 1865 Marcus was captured by the Union Army near Richmond, Virginia. Greatly out-numbered, he and a number of his comrades had been deliberately left behind to slow down the advancement of the much larger Union forces near the end of the Siege of Petersburg. The goal of this strategy was to allow the majority of the Confederate army to withdraw in order to fight another day. It is said that the men left were able to hold off the much larger opposing Northern army for two days.
Many of the Confederate soldiers who stayed behind to slow the advancement of the Union army were killed in battle. Those who survived the fierce fighting, including Marcus, were marched 125+ miles to Camp Point Lookout Prison Camp in Maryland.
Camp Point Lookout was the Union's largest prison camp and had the reputation of being it's worse. Created for a maximum of 10,000 men, the number of inmates in the camp always exceeded that figure and at one time reached over 20,000. Prisoners were housed in small tents with up to 16 men per tent. Sanitary conditions were extremely poor resulting in much sickness and many prisoners dying from disease.
A little known fact is that about the Civil War is that nearly two thirds of the men who died during that war died from disease. The number one killer disease was dysentery. The number two killer was typhoid fever ("Camp Fever"). Some of the other killer diseases that caused many deaths were malaria, scurvy, yellow fever, pneumonia, smallpox, tuberculosis (TB) and chicken pox.
On June 23, 1865, with the war now ended, the Confederate prisoners at Camp Point Lookout were released. Possessing only the ragged clothes on his back, Marcus returned to his home in Lincoln Co. NC, walking the entire way, a dangerous journey of 450+ miles. Food was hard to come by and even though the war was officially over, he and other released confederate prisoners had to be careful to avoid being seen and shot by former Union soldiers or Union sympathizers, especially those who had lost loved ones or friends during the war. Years later he would write "...thank God, I reached home alive." Most likely, he walked at night with little to eat each day.
Upon returning to Lincoln Co., NC, the emaciated Marcus found only his parents and a brother, David Adolphus Boyles (1852-1938), living at home. His younger brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), also a soldier for the Confederacy, had died in 1863 from disease in Goldsboro N.C. at the age of 18. He learned that his younger sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), had died from typhoid fever. She was just 16 when she died.
On Mar. 14, 1866, 24 year old Marcus married his neighbor's daughter, Susan A. (Alice ?) Wood (1846-1895), in the home of her parents. His surname (Boyles) was misspelled on their marriage license, spelled "Boiles" like the surname of the Justice of the Peace (David Boiles) who had performed the ceremony.
Susan A. Wood was the 19 year old daughter of John Henry Wood (1810-1891) and Elizabeth Catherine "Katie" Bess (1818-1900). Both of Susan's parents were born in Lincoln Co., NC. They died near Lincolnton, NC and are buried there in the Zion
Methodist Cemetery.
Marcus and Susan were married for 25 years and had ten known children, four of them dying before their second birthday. Their first born child, John C. Boyles (1866-1866), died in infancy. He was apparently named after both his great-grandfather, Rev. John Boyles II (1768-1843), and his great-great grandfather, John Boyles I (1744-1770).
My grandfather, Augustus Clingman "A.C." Boyles (1867-1936), was the second born child of Marcus Boyles and Susan (Wood) Boyles. As an adult he graduated from Baltimore University (School of Medicine) becoming a medical doctor. Their third child was Francis A. Boyles (1869-1870) who died when he was just three months old. Since his middle initial was "A", he was probably named after his paternal grandfather, Rev. Josiah Adolphus Boyles.
Their next child was Franklin Columbus "Frank" Boyles (1871-1955), then Dr. Joseph Henry Boyles (1873-1939), Ola Blanche Boyles (1876-1964), Minnie Bell Boyles (1878-1880), Marvin Marcus Boyles (1880-1954), Jessie Pitman Boyles (1883-1921) and Willie Brown Boyles (1885-1886). Marcus' son, Joseph, was named after his paternal GF, Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles, while son, Marcus, was named after his father.
In 1867, Marcus built a house for he and Susan on his father's farm near Laurel Hill in Lincoln County. Their sons, Augustus (1869) and Frank (1871), were born there. Although he really did not care much for working the soil he tried farming for a few years. During that time his crops, despite his hard work, were largely unsuccessful, probably due to unfavorable weather conditions. Marcus was knowledgeable but unlucky.
Marcus started to feel that farming was not his calling, that God was calling him to the ministry instead. Years later Marcus said that he had joined the Methodist Church in 1860 as a "seeker" but did not accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior until two years later. In 1890 he wrote "...in 1862, in Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia, under the ministry of Bro. Christian (appropriate surname!), I was converted, the effects of which I still feel and may I feel to the end."
In 1872, Marcus, short on money but long on faith, decided to give up farming and enroll in Rutherford College in Burke Co., NC as a 29 year old student to prepare himself for the ministry. His wife, Susan, was very supportive of his decision and convinced him that they would be alright while he was away at school. She and their two young sons, Augustus and Frank, remained behind and survived during his long absences due to Susan's faith, determination and hard work, and most likely, the support of the parents
of Marcus and Susan..
Marcus, who often signed his name using his initials ("M. W.") with his surname (Boyles), was highly intelligent but did not have a great deal of formal education. His schooling while growing up had been for only a 2-3 months each winter. Despite this handicap, he worked hard while he was in college and consequently, did quite well.
On June 10, 1873 at the Palm Tree Methodist Episcopal Church M.E. (South Fork Circuit) in Vale, Lincoln Co., NC, he was licensed to preach. According to Marcus this church was just "...two miles east of father's farm".
Years later, Marcus stated that he had attended Sunday School at that little church. Since it was so close to his family's farm it was almost assuredly the home church that his family regularly attended, especially with his father being gone frequently serving as a Methodist circuit preacher. His brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), and sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), who died at ages 18 and 16 respectively, are both buried in the Palm Tree Church Cemetery.
Marcus was an "old-time" Bible believing Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher who served in numerous churches during his 18 years in the ministry. He is known to have served in the following preaching circuits in North Carolina: Monroe Circuit (1874-1875) in Lincoln Co., Cokesbury Circuit (1876-77) in Harnett Co., Uwharrie Circuit (1878-80) primarily in Randolph Co., Robeson Circuit (1881-84) in Robeson Co., Mt. Gilead Circuit (1885-88) in Montgomery Co. and Davidson Circuit (1888-91) in Davidson County.
In 1891, Marcus was serving as a preacher for the newly established Linwood Methodist Church, located in the small community of Linwood just south of Lexington, Davidson Co., NC. He was the first minister to preach in their newly established church. As he was in an organized Methodist church circuit , he was also preaching at several other churches, as well.
During that time there was a world-wide influenza pandemic (1888-1890), with recurrences in the early 1890s. Called the "Asiatic Flu" and the "Russian Flu", this deadly infectious disease resulted in over one million deaths worldwide. In late December of 1891, Marcus came down with the flu, often called "the grippe" in those days.
His flu developed into pneumonia. Marcus died on Jan. 15, 1892 in Lexington, Davidson Co., NC, at the relatively young age of 49. He is buried in the Lexington City Cemetery. His impressive Georgian marble monument was paid for with contributions from many of the sorrowful yet appreciative congregations he had served during his ministry.
One side of Marcus' marker, is inscribed "A minister of the M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church for over 18 years. He that goeth forth and weeping bearing precious seed shall doubt come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." The other side of the marker is inscribed about his wife, Susan, who was later buried next to him. See her memorial for additional information.
The following is a quote about Rev. Marcus Boyles that appeared in a 2006 book entitled "DNA Cousins" by Dr. Paul Weldon Boyles (1925-2018), and his wife, Dorothy Holmes Cobb (1924-2004). It should be noted that Dr. Boyles was a great-grandson of Marcus.
......................"Marcus M. Boyles, after failing in farming, with a wife............................
......................and two small boys received a higher "Calling'. He became.....................
..................... a third generation of Boyles preachers from NC. He went......................... ......................to Rutherford College and later was a Methodist circuit.......................... .........................................rider (preacher) for 18 years..................................................
Another quote, from an unidentified source (probably a Methodist Church publication), states this about the life of Rev. Marcus W. Boyles:
........................"...from early manhood was one of deep consecration........................... ........................to Christianity. He was converted in early life, was................................ .......................educated at Rutherford College, entered the North................................. .......................Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church, and he............................
.......................gave up all ambition for the rewards of business and............................. .......................devoted himself with remarkable singleness of aim to............................ .......................church and humanity. He submitted cheerfully to the............................. .......................inconveniences of his calling, involving frequent changes...................... .......................of location. He was greatly loved for the purity of his life........................ .......................and his unselfishness, and his influence and teachings.......................... .......................brought large numbers to the Christian life & good citizenship."............
His beloved wife, Susan, died about three years after Marcus' death, on May 30, 1895 in Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC. Susan, only 48 , died from the effects of dropsy (edema). The inscription on the marker that she shares with her husband quotes the Bible (Proverbs 31:28). "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." It also reads "She is waiting for us in the glorious Eden Land which lies beyond the sunset of life."
Susan was a wonderful helpmate for her husband and his ministry throughout their 25 years of marriage. When she died, the Lexington Dispatch newspaper ran an article about her death entitled "A Good Lady Passes Away-Mrs. M. W. Boyles".
The article stated that Susan Boyles "...was well known all over the county (Davidson Co., NC) as the beloved wife of the late and lamented Rev. M. W. Boyles." It went on to describe her as "...a gentle, modest Christian wife and mother". It also referred to her as a "good, kind Christian woman". Susan obviously lived an exemplary life and was loved and respected by all who knew her.
Her body was transported from Greensboro, NC to Lexington, NC to be buried in the Lexington City Cemetery, next to her husband, Marcus. As mentioned earlier, Susan shares his monument, just as she shared his life and his ministry. In 1921, their son Jessie, who never married, died at the age of 37 and was buried next to his parents.
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The information contained in this memorial for Rev. Marcus Wrightman "M.W." Boyles, his wife, family members, ancestors and descendants, is thought to be correct. This memorial is revised/corrected, however, as new information becomes available.
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Marcus Wrightman "M. W." Boyles was born on Oct. 27, 1842 on his parent's farm near Laurel Hill, Lincoln Co., North Carolina. He was the son of Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles (1816-1894) and Anna Elizabeth "Annie" Yount (1819-1905). Their farm was located on the waters of Indian Creek in Lincoln County. Both of Marcus' parents were born in Lincoln County. They died in Burke Co., NC and are buried there in the Salem Methodist Cemetery located in Morganton, NC.
Marcus' father, Josiah, was born near Henry, Lincoln Co., NC. He was a farmer and an "old-time" Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher. He was the youngest of the 11 known children born to Rev. John Boyles II (1770-1843) and Margaret Whitaker (1765-1849).
Marcus was born in America but was of Irish ancestry. His GG-GF, William Boyles I (abt 1720-abt 1818 ?), along with his brother, Charles Boyles I (1722-1813), immigrated to America from County Donogal, Ireland around 1838/39. They are thought to have worked as deck hands to pay for their passage across the Atlantic Ocean, a relatively common practice in those days. The Irish surname of the two brothers may have been "O'Boyles". Uncertain.
Josiah's father (Marcus' GF), John Boyles II, was also a Methodist (M.E.) preacher. He moved his family from Virginia to a farm near the waters of Howard's Creek near Henry, Tryon Co. (now in Lincoln Co.), NC in the late 1700s where he and his wife were to live the rest of their lives. Born in Rowan Co., NC, they are known to have died in Lincoln County and are though to have been buried on their family farm.
Marcus' mother, Annie, was the daughter of William Whitaker (1732-1799) and Abigail Baker (1740-1772). Both of Annie's parents were born in North Carolina and lived there their entire lives. Their grave sites are unknown.
Marcus was just 19 years of age when the Civil War broke out in 1861. Neither he or his family owned slaves and they did not support the practice of slavery. However, he felt compelled to join the Confederacy to defend his home fearing that the Union would eventually invade the state of North Carolina. His 18 year old brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), did likewise. Marcus joined the CSA as a private on July 12, 1861 and served in the 1st NC Infantry Regiment from Lincolnton, Lincoln Co., NC.
Not long after his enlistment, Marcus became so ill that he had to be hospitalized. After his recovery the army decided to assign him to hospital duty for nearly two years (1862-64), probably due to his strong work ethic and his ability to relate to sick or wounded men. With manpower shortage becoming an issue late in the war he was reassigned to the infantry in 1864.
On April 6, 1865 Marcus was captured by the Union Army near Richmond, Virginia. Greatly out-numbered, he and a number of his comrades had been deliberately left behind to slow down the advancement of the much larger Union forces near the end of the Siege of Petersburg. The goal of this strategy was to allow the majority of the Confederate army to withdraw in order to fight another day. It is said that the men left were able to hold off the much larger opposing Northern army for two days.
Many of the Confederate soldiers who stayed behind to slow the advancement of the Union army were killed in battle. Those who survived the fierce fighting, including Marcus, were marched 125+ miles to Camp Point Lookout Prison Camp in Maryland.
Camp Point Lookout was the Union's largest prison camp and had the reputation of being it's worse. Created for a maximum of 10,000 men, the number of inmates in the camp always exceeded that figure and at one time reached over 20,000. Prisoners were housed in small tents with up to 16 men per tent. Sanitary conditions were extremely poor resulting in much sickness and many prisoners dying from disease.
A little known fact is that about the Civil War is that nearly two thirds of the men who died during that war died from disease. The number one killer disease was dysentery. The number two killer was typhoid fever ("Camp Fever"). Some of the other killer diseases that caused many deaths were malaria, scurvy, yellow fever, pneumonia, smallpox, tuberculosis (TB) and chicken pox.
On June 23, 1865, with the war now ended, the Confederate prisoners at Camp Point Lookout were released. Possessing only the ragged clothes on his back, Marcus returned to his home in Lincoln Co. NC, walking the entire way, a dangerous journey of 450+ miles. Food was hard to come by and even though the war was officially over, he and other released confederate prisoners had to be careful to avoid being seen and shot by former Union soldiers or Union sympathizers, especially those who had lost loved ones or friends during the war. Years later he would write "...thank God, I reached home alive." Most likely, he walked at night with little to eat each day.
Upon returning to Lincoln Co., NC, the emaciated Marcus found only his parents and a brother, David Adolphus Boyles (1852-1938), living at home. His younger brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), also a soldier for the Confederacy, had died in 1863 from disease in Goldsboro N.C. at the age of 18. He learned that his younger sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), had died from typhoid fever. She was just 16 when she died.
On Mar. 14, 1866, 24 year old Marcus married his neighbor's daughter, Susan A. (Alice ?) Wood (1846-1895), in the home of her parents. His surname (Boyles) was misspelled on their marriage license, spelled "Boiles" like the surname of the Justice of the Peace (David Boiles) who had performed the ceremony.
Susan A. Wood was the 19 year old daughter of John Henry Wood (1810-1891) and Elizabeth Catherine "Katie" Bess (1818-1900). Both of Susan's parents were born in Lincoln Co., NC. They died near Lincolnton, NC and are buried there in the Zion
Methodist Cemetery.
Marcus and Susan were married for 25 years and had ten known children, four of them dying before their second birthday. Their first born child, John C. Boyles (1866-1866), died in infancy. He was apparently named after both his great-grandfather, Rev. John Boyles II (1768-1843), and his great-great grandfather, John Boyles I (1744-1770).
My grandfather, Augustus Clingman "A.C." Boyles (1867-1936), was the second born child of Marcus Boyles and Susan (Wood) Boyles. As an adult he graduated from Baltimore University (School of Medicine) becoming a medical doctor. Their third child was Francis A. Boyles (1869-1870) who died when he was just three months old. Since his middle initial was "A", he was probably named after his paternal grandfather, Rev. Josiah Adolphus Boyles.
Their next child was Franklin Columbus "Frank" Boyles (1871-1955), then Dr. Joseph Henry Boyles (1873-1939), Ola Blanche Boyles (1876-1964), Minnie Bell Boyles (1878-1880), Marvin Marcus Boyles (1880-1954), Jessie Pitman Boyles (1883-1921) and Willie Brown Boyles (1885-1886). Marcus' son, Joseph, was named after his paternal GF, Rev. Josiah Adolphus "Joseph" Boyles, while son, Marcus, was named after his father.
In 1867, Marcus built a house for he and Susan on his father's farm near Laurel Hill in Lincoln County. Their sons, Augustus (1869) and Frank (1871), were born there. Although he really did not care much for working the soil he tried farming for a few years. During that time his crops, despite his hard work, were largely unsuccessful, probably due to unfavorable weather conditions. Marcus was knowledgeable but unlucky.
Marcus started to feel that farming was not his calling, that God was calling him to the ministry instead. Years later Marcus said that he had joined the Methodist Church in 1860 as a "seeker" but did not accept Jesus as his Lord and Savior until two years later. In 1890 he wrote "...in 1862, in Church Hill, Richmond, Virginia, under the ministry of Bro. Christian (appropriate surname!), I was converted, the effects of which I still feel and may I feel to the end."
In 1872, Marcus, short on money but long on faith, decided to give up farming and enroll in Rutherford College in Burke Co., NC as a 29 year old student to prepare himself for the ministry. His wife, Susan, was very supportive of his decision and convinced him that they would be alright while he was away at school. She and their two young sons, Augustus and Frank, remained behind and survived during his long absences due to Susan's faith, determination and hard work, and most likely, the support of the parents
of Marcus and Susan..
Marcus, who often signed his name using his initials ("M. W.") with his surname (Boyles), was highly intelligent but did not have a great deal of formal education. His schooling while growing up had been for only a 2-3 months each winter. Despite this handicap, he worked hard while he was in college and consequently, did quite well.
On June 10, 1873 at the Palm Tree Methodist Episcopal Church M.E. (South Fork Circuit) in Vale, Lincoln Co., NC, he was licensed to preach. According to Marcus this church was just "...two miles east of father's farm".
Years later, Marcus stated that he had attended Sunday School at that little church. Since it was so close to his family's farm it was almost assuredly the home church that his family regularly attended, especially with his father being gone frequently serving as a Methodist circuit preacher. His brother, Franklin J. Boyles (1844-1863), and sister, Sarah A. Boyles (1847-1864), who died at ages 18 and 16 respectively, are both buried in the Palm Tree Church Cemetery.
Marcus was an "old-time" Bible believing Methodist Episcopal (M.E.) preacher who served in numerous churches during his 18 years in the ministry. He is known to have served in the following preaching circuits in North Carolina: Monroe Circuit (1874-1875) in Lincoln Co., Cokesbury Circuit (1876-77) in Harnett Co., Uwharrie Circuit (1878-80) primarily in Randolph Co., Robeson Circuit (1881-84) in Robeson Co., Mt. Gilead Circuit (1885-88) in Montgomery Co. and Davidson Circuit (1888-91) in Davidson County.
In 1891, Marcus was serving as a preacher for the newly established Linwood Methodist Church, located in the small community of Linwood just south of Lexington, Davidson Co., NC. He was the first minister to preach in their newly established church. As he was in an organized Methodist church circuit , he was also preaching at several other churches, as well.
During that time there was a world-wide influenza pandemic (1888-1890), with recurrences in the early 1890s. Called the "Asiatic Flu" and the "Russian Flu", this deadly infectious disease resulted in over one million deaths worldwide. In late December of 1891, Marcus came down with the flu, often called "the grippe" in those days.
His flu developed into pneumonia. Marcus died on Jan. 15, 1892 in Lexington, Davidson Co., NC, at the relatively young age of 49. He is buried in the Lexington City Cemetery. His impressive Georgian marble monument was paid for with contributions from many of the sorrowful yet appreciative congregations he had served during his ministry.
One side of Marcus' marker, is inscribed "A minister of the M. E. (Methodist Episcopal) Church for over 18 years. He that goeth forth and weeping bearing precious seed shall doubt come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." The other side of the marker is inscribed about his wife, Susan, who was later buried next to him. See her memorial for additional information.
The following is a quote about Rev. Marcus Boyles that appeared in a 2006 book entitled "DNA Cousins" by Dr. Paul Weldon Boyles (1925-2018), and his wife, Dorothy Holmes Cobb (1924-2004). It should be noted that Dr. Boyles was a great-grandson of Marcus.
......................"Marcus M. Boyles, after failing in farming, with a wife............................
......................and two small boys received a higher "Calling'. He became.....................
..................... a third generation of Boyles preachers from NC. He went......................... ......................to Rutherford College and later was a Methodist circuit.......................... .........................................rider (preacher) for 18 years..................................................
Another quote, from an unidentified source (probably a Methodist Church publication), states this about the life of Rev. Marcus W. Boyles:
........................"...from early manhood was one of deep consecration........................... ........................to Christianity. He was converted in early life, was................................ .......................educated at Rutherford College, entered the North................................. .......................Carolina Conference of the Methodist Church, and he............................
.......................gave up all ambition for the rewards of business and............................. .......................devoted himself with remarkable singleness of aim to............................ .......................church and humanity. He submitted cheerfully to the............................. .......................inconveniences of his calling, involving frequent changes...................... .......................of location. He was greatly loved for the purity of his life........................ .......................and his unselfishness, and his influence and teachings.......................... .......................brought large numbers to the Christian life & good citizenship."............
His beloved wife, Susan, died about three years after Marcus' death, on May 30, 1895 in Greensboro, Guilford Co., NC. Susan, only 48 , died from the effects of dropsy (edema). The inscription on the marker that she shares with her husband quotes the Bible (Proverbs 31:28). "Her children arise up, and call her blessed." It also reads "She is waiting for us in the glorious Eden Land which lies beyond the sunset of life."
Susan was a wonderful helpmate for her husband and his ministry throughout their 25 years of marriage. When she died, the Lexington Dispatch newspaper ran an article about her death entitled "A Good Lady Passes Away-Mrs. M. W. Boyles".
The article stated that Susan Boyles "...was well known all over the county (Davidson Co., NC) as the beloved wife of the late and lamented Rev. M. W. Boyles." It went on to describe her as "...a gentle, modest Christian wife and mother". It also referred to her as a "good, kind Christian woman". Susan obviously lived an exemplary life and was loved and respected by all who knew her.
Her body was transported from Greensboro, NC to Lexington, NC to be buried in the Lexington City Cemetery, next to her husband, Marcus. As mentioned earlier, Susan shares his monument, just as she shared his life and his ministry. In 1921, their son Jessie, who never married, died at the age of 37 and was buried next to his parents.
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The information contained in this memorial for Rev. Marcus Wrightman "M.W." Boyles, his wife, family members, ancestors and descendants, is thought to be correct. This memorial is revised/corrected, however, as new information becomes available.
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