Boyd Ladd, Sr.
Sixty years of residence in Grant County constitute in Mr. Ladd one of the men whose view comprehends a greater and by far the most important time in which this county has been growing under the impetus of white men's efforts. The obligations which fall to man in the course of such long years have been worthily discharged by Mr. Ladd, and now when well beyond the limits of three score and ten, he enjoys peace and contented days, and the regard of many friends.
Boyd Ladd, Sr., has his home in Section Fifteen of Sims Township, his dwelling being one mile north and one and one-half mile west of Swayzee. He was born in Wayne County, Indiana, on July 19, 1837, and comes from one of the old families of this State. His parents were William and Isabelle (Boyd) Ladd. William Ladd, who was born in North Carolina in 1796, was brought to Wayne County, Indiana, at the age of eighteen years, in 1814, two years before Indiana was admitted to the Union. His death occurred near Jonesboro in Grant County. Grandfather William Ladd was a Revolutionary Soldier, and first moved out to Indiana in 1812, bringing his family three years later. The maternal grandfather was Samuel Boyd, who had also seen service on the American side of the Revolutionary War, and came to Wayne County, Indiana, in 1814, passing his remaining days in that county.
Boyd Ladd, Sr., is the only one living in 1913 of a family of nine children. When he was sixteen years old the family moved to Grant County, and since that time he has been continuously a resident of this locality. He went to school in Wayne County and finished in grant County. Boyd Ladd, Sr., was united in marriage in 1860. He married Mary H. Powell, who was born in Ohio and came to Grant county at the age of eight years. They are the parents of seven living children, named as follows:
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Olive, the widow of William Bryant
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Margaret, wife of James Life
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Frank J., of Sims Township
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Carrie, wife of Ulysess Minor of Lafayette, Indiana
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Lindy, unmarried and living at home
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Arlington, a teacher in a high school in Texas, was graduated from high school in Grant County, and was a student in DePauw University
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Boyd Ladd, Jr., is a mail carrier on the rural free delivery route No. 31 out of Swayzee.
The family are all members of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Swayzee. In politics Mr. Ladd has voted the Republican ticket since 1860, and during his early career did his share toward preserving the Union of States. He enlisted in Company B of the One Hundred and Fifty-first Indiana Volunteer Infantry, and saw nine months of service during the closing period of the war. Mr. Ladd is the owner of fifty acres of land in Sims Township, but is now living retired and enjoying the fruits of a well spent life. He gets a pension as an old soldier of twenty-two dollars and a half per month.
Source: Centennial History of Grant County Indiana 1812-1912. The Lewis Publishing Co., 1914, page 1318.