Montgomery County PA Archives Biographies.....Boyer, Hon. Henry K. February 19, 1850 - 
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Source: Biographical Annals of Montgomery County Pennsylvania, T. S. Benham & Company and the Lewis Publishing Company, 1904
Author: Ellwood Roberts, Editor

  HON. HENRY K. BOYER, ex-Speaker of the House of 
Representatives, ex-State
Treasurer, and ex-Superintendent 
of the United States Mint at Philadelphia, was
born at 
Evansburg, Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, February 19, 
1850.

  The
first ancestor of the Boyer family in America was of 
French Huguenot stock, and
came to Pennsylvania during the 
colonial days. A large number of his
descendants followed 
the trade of blacksmith, while others were farmers and 

mechanics. Jacob Boyer (great-grandfather) was a resident of 
Chester county,
Pennsylvania. Henry Boyer (grandfather), a 
native of Montgomery county,
followed the trade of a 
blacksmith during his active life, but spent his
declining 
years with a son at Mont Clare, where he died. He was a 
Jeffersonian
Democrat, but never aspired to political 
notoriety. He married Elizabeth Dull,
whose Huguenot 
ancestors emigrated to this country in the earliest colonial 

times. Their children were: Manassah, a blacksmith by trade; 
Charles, and
Ephraim D. Boyer.

  The father of Mrs. Elizabeth (Dull) Boyer was a son of 

Christian Dull, who was a soldier in the Revolutionary war, 
and was killed at
the battle of German town. Mr. Dull 
(father)resided near Mont Clare, where he
owned and managed 
a farm on scientific principles. It was known as the 

ornamental farm, was beautiful in many ways, and all of his 
attention was given
to its cultivation. He resided on the 
same up to the time of his death. He was
a member of the 
Lutheran church. He married Elizabeth Essick and the 
following
named children were born: Mary, unmarried; 
Margaret, unmarried; Catharine,
unmarried; Elizabeth (Mrs. 
Henry Boyer); Sarah (Mrs. F. Coates): Hannah (Mrs.
Rev. John 
Davis), her husband being a Presbyterian minister; Theresa 
(Mrs.
Samuel Custer); Charles, a stationery, and paper 
merchant in Philadelphia.
 

 Ephraim D. Hover (father) was born in Limerick township, 
Montgomery county,
Pennsylvania. He was reared on a farm, 
chose the trade of blacksmith, and after
his marriage became 
the village blacksmith at Evansburg, where he had a 

comfortable home, and where he died. His wife, Rebecca 
(Kline) Boyer, a native
of Montgomery county, and a 
descendant of a German ancestry, bore him two
children 
Matilda (Mrs. J. Espenship), and Henry K., mentioned 
hereinafter
Gabriel Kline, father of Mrs. Hover, was a 
prominent farmer and innkeeper at
Trappe, on the 
Philadelphia and Reading turnpike, his place of business 
being
a widely known and popular hostelry, where now stands 
a farm house. At this inn
he entertained all comers, among 
them statesmen, clergymen, professional men,
farmers on 
their way to market, teamsters, and others of the traveling 
public.
It was at this house that the name of the town (now 
borough) of Trappe,
originated. He married a Miss Croll, and 
their children were: Sarah (Mrs. J.
Espenship); Sophia, died 
unmarried; Henry, a bachelor; Kitty (Mrs. Longstreth);
and 
Rebecca, aforementioned as the wife of Ephraim D. Boyer. The 
Croll family
are among the best known. residents of the 
upper section of Montgomery county.
The name is variously 
spelled as follows: Krull, Crull, Croll, Kroll, Crall,
and 
Krall.

  Henry K. Boyer is a combination of French Huguenot and 

Pennsylvania German stock. He early developed qualities of 
leadership in
politics which soon made him prominent in 
public life. He was educated in the
public schools and in 
Freeland Seminary, now Ursinus College, at Collegeville,
in 
the vicinity of which he was reared. At the age of sixteen 
he became
teacher of a district school in the neighborhood 
of his hone, and later went to
Philadelphia, where he became 
teacher of a classical academy in that city,
and 
subsequently taught school in the Quaker settlement of 
Byberry.

  He then
accepted the position of principal of the grammar 
school at Kaighn's Point,
Camden, New Jersey, he having been 
granted a grammar school teachers'
certificate when only 
eighteen years of age. He remained in New Jersey until
1871, 
when he registered as a law student in the office of 
Benjamin Harris
Brewster, late attorney-general of the 
United States under President Arthur. He
was but 
twenty-three years of age when admitted to the Philadelphia 
bar in the
fall of 1873. He confined his attention more 
especially to civil cases. 

  In
the meantime Mr. Boyer had transferred his voting place 
from Montgomery county
to the seventh ward of Philadelphia. 
His growing inclination for public affairs
led him in the 
spring of 1882 to attend a meeting of Republicans, of which 

Edwin S. Stuart was chairman, preparatory to choosing 
delegates for the state
convention which nominated General 
James A. Beaver for governor. He was
announced as a 
candidate for delegate from the seventh ward, and secured a 

very complimentary vote, although not elected. He was a 
candidate for member of
the state house of representatives 
in the fall of that year, and was elected by
a handsome 
majority, which was largely increased in 1884 and again in 
1886. 


 As a member of the legislature of Pennsylvania Mr. Hover 
at once took a very
prominent position, having a large share 
in framing the revenue act of 1885.
Other important 
legislation to the success of which he contributor included 

the board of health law, the Bullitt charter for 
Philadelphia, and the medical
examiners' bill, all of which 
were vigorously advocated by him. He offered the
amendment 
to the Bullitt bill that postponed the operation of the new 
charter
until the termination of Mayor Smith's term.

  At thirty-seven years of age Mr.
Boyer was unanimously 
nominated in the Republican canons for speaker of the
house 
of representatives at the session of 1887, and his election 
was made
unanimous after the formality of the Democratic 
members voting for their two
candidates had been completed. 
At the close of his term as speaker, members of
both parties 
testified that his rulings had always been fair and just, 
that he
had displayed rare knowledge and ability as a 
parliamentarian, and that even
when the partisan spirit ran 
high and controversy was acrimonious, he wielded
the gavel 
of the speaker with justice and impartiality to all. A 
compliment
that had not been bestowed on anyone since the 
adoption of the new constitution
of Pennsylvania in 1874 was 
given to Mr. Boyer in his re-election to the
speakership in 
1889, the caucus nomination again being unanimous. 
 
  At the
end of his second term as speaker he enjoyed a 
repetition of the compliments
paid to him two years 
previously, not only by his party friends, but also by
his 
political opponents. The Republican state convention that 
year nominated
him unanimously for state treasurer, and 
though it was an off year in politics,
with Mr. Boyer the 
only candidate on the state ticket, his majority at the 

polls was 60,926.

  During his term as state treasurer Mr. Boyer became the 

author of the revenue act of 1891, a very important piece of 
financial
legislation, through whose agency the state 
treasury has been constantly
replenished without imposing 
any undue burden upon the farmers and other real
estate 
owners of the commonwealth. This statute, which is the law 
of today,
was passed without the aid of a conference 
committee. It made possible the
appropriation yearly of 
$5,500,000 to the schools, and has ever since provided
ample 
revenue.

  Retiring from the office of state treasurer in May, 1892, 

Mr. Boyer was returned as a member of the house of 
representatives at
Harrisburg in November of that year. When 
the legislature met he was made
chairman of the ways and 
means committee, the leading house committee.

  In
Mr. Quay's contest for the state chairmanship against 
B. F. Gilkison, Mr. Boyer
espoused the case of Senator Quay. 
He succeeded Frank Willing Leach at the head
of the 
executive committee of the state organization, holding that 
position
until Mr. Quay and his lieutenants agreed that the 
one man to be at the helm in
the capitol during the 
legislative session of 1897 was the ex-speaker. Mr.
Elkin 
was elected chairman of the state committee, and Mr. Boyer 
was again
elected representative from the seventh ward of 
Philadelphia in the fall of
1896, and having carried the 
caucus unanimously was elected speaker of the
house the 
following years in spite of the fight between Wanamaker and 
Quay,
this making his third election to that place, an honor 
never before conferred
upon any man. 

  In the house and senate caucus for the Republican 
nomination
for United States senator, Mr. Boyer made the 
speech putting in nomination Hon.
Bories Penrose, present 
senior senator. Other honors awaited Mr. Boyer. He was
given 
the appointment of superintendent of the United States Mint 
at
Philadelphia, and in order to accept this he resigned his 
membership in the
legislature. He held the position during 
the construction of the new mint,
which is equipped with all 
modern machinery, being the most complete money-
making 
establishment in the world. When he manifested his desire to 
be
released from the position it was no easy task to fill 
the place. He made three
or four attempts to resign before 
he succeeded in having his resignation
accepted by the 
President. He served four years in all, being relieved in 

1902, since which time he has lived retired from the busy 
whirl of politics.
His services were sought in every 
position which he has filled, his experience
illustrating 
very fully the idea of the office seeking the man and not 
the man
the office.

  He has made several investments in real estate near his 
old
home, purchasing the old Perkiomen Bridge Hotel and 
twenty-two acres of land.
He has also bought farm lands from 
time to time, adding to his original
holdings. He commenced 
with forty-one acres known as the Fry farm, having in
his 
possession deeds continuously transferring the title from 
1722 to the
present time (1904). His farm now contains one 
hundred and sixty-seven acres.
He has remodeled the farm 
buildings, adding to them a large barn with many
modern 
conveniences, it being a model structure equipped with 
modern machinery
for all purposes, operated by a gasoline 
engine.  Everything about Mr. Boyer's
property is 
up-to-date, his farm implements being of the most improved 
kind.
He has built a model creamery equipped with all the 
modern requirements, and
has given much attention to the 
improvement of his dairy stock, having a large
herd of cows, 
a number of which are thoroughbred Guernsey¹s. He has one of 
the
best and most fertile farms in the state of 
Pennsylvania. He has planted many
forest and other trees, 
and has left nothing undone that is needed to bring his
farm 
up to the standard of perfection attainable in that 
direction. Quiet and
unobtrusive in his manners, he has 
strong social inclinations, causing his
company to be much 
sought after and enjoyed. In his school clays he was 

exceedingly apt in mathematics, and later he devoted himself 
to the study of
literature and history. He displayed his 
knowledge of English literature in an
address to the 
literary societies at the commencement at Ursinus College 
(his
alma mater), in 1887. The faculty met immediately 
afterward and conferred upon
him the degree of Master of 
Arts.

In 1871, shortly after attaining his
majority, he was made a 
Mason in Trimble Lodge, No. 117, F. & A. M., Camden,
New 
Jersey. He served in all the offices from junior deacon up, 
and thus
became a past master by merit, and a member of the 
grand lodge of New Jersey.
About the year 1880 he was 
demitted and became a member of Philates Lodge, No.
527, at 
Philadelphia. Mr. Boyer is fond of fishing, gunning and 
other out door
sports.

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