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Man fights for great-grandfather's memory as early Elmore Sheriff
In a small section of land in Mountain View Cemetery stands a small block of carved marble bearing the name of Louise Boyd. The black stone lies inconspicuous among the hundreds of other markers dotting the city's cemetery along North 18th Street.
But that's where the story begins.
Two years before her death in 1942, she lost her husband, Frank W. Boyd, who died just nine days shy of celebrating their 43rd wedding anniversary. A public servant for Elmore County and Mountain Home for more than 45 years, Memories of Frank nearly ended after he and his wife were both gone, since she was never able to get him a headstone.
John Geyer hopes to change that.
In recent months, the Lake Havasu City, Ariz., native began a campaign to restore the memory of Boyd -- his great-grandfather. In the end, he hopes to enlist the help of others in town to mark his great-grandfather's final resting place with a suitable memorial.
"It seemed odd that he didn't have a minimal headstone or at least a marker," said Geyer as he highlighted his great-grandfather's years of public service to the community here.
An ATV accident months ago started Geyer's journey into his past. As he recovered at home, the retired painting contractor started tracing his family's ancestry. During his search, he located his father in California. The two hadn't spoken in years.
After rekindling ties, Geyer became hooked on learning more about his father's side of the family, hoping to fill in significant gaps of their history. The search eventually led him to his grandmother and grandfather, who owned hotels in Burley and Rupert. The trail then led to his great-grandparents here.
Hoping to fill in more blanks, Geyer and his wife, Chris, traveled to Mountain Home last August. During their visit, they spent time at the Elmore County Museum going through old records. Among them was an article in a book titled "Elmore County: Its Historical Gleanings." Author Olive Groefsma wrote about Boyd's years of service to the community as a sheriff, deputy sheriff, probation officer and night marshal.
Groefsma recalled an alleged incident during Boyd's time as sheriff when he caught Joe Farrel by whacking him on the head with a stove poker as the suspect tried to flee a local bar after killing Aleck Bruce in a gunfight.
Back then, Mountain Home remained a fairly rough city, where cowboys were asked at the time to leave their six shooters behind the bar of a dance hall before they were allowed to enter.
These were stories that inspired Geyer to do his part to honor his great-grandfather.
"He was a big-time public servant back in those days. It would be appropriate for him to be recognized. He put a lot of time and energy into this community. I was hoping to somehow pay him back."
In September, Geyer contacted the Idaho Sheriffs' Association in Boise hoping they could cover the costs for a cemetery marker. However, limited funds prevented the association from helping.
He ran into a similar situation after he contacted County Sheriff Rick Layher, who approached the county commissioners for help. The commission denied the request in part due to lack of funding and because the county doesn't extend similar considerations to other past sheriffs.
For now, Geyer remains determined to do something for his great-grandfather. During his recent visit here, he learned that someone in the local area stops by Boyd's grave once or twice a year. Hoping to establish contact with this person, Geyer left his name and contact information at the grave site hoping someone would call him. In September, he placed an advertisement in the Mountain Home News asking for folks with any information to step forward.
To date, he's not heard from anyone, but he hasn't given up hope.
As he waits for any word from possible relatives in the Mountain Home area, he continues to trace his family's roots back to Europe, which led him to Ireland and Germany.
"Now I'm sadly addicted," said Geyer, who devotes one day a week looking through microfiche records in hopes of a breakthrough. Some leads come to a dead end. Others don't.
While he hopes to some day get a suitable marker for his great-grandfather's grave, Geyer ultimately hopes his quest leads him to long-lost members of his extended family in southern Idaho.
"If I can get that headstone, that would be great," he said. "But if I had some relatives that stepped forward that would be even greater. It would help me confirm my family's history and fill in the rest of the blanks."
Those with information on Boyd or his descendents here may call Geyer at 928-680-1386 or 503-705-4277.