Representative women of New England/Sarah J. Boyden
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SARAH J. BOYDEN
SARAH JANE BOYDEN was born in Chelsea, Mass., July 17, 1842, the daughter of Darius Allen and Sarah Ann (Hanson) 'Martin. When but six weeks old she was deprived through death of a mother's love and care, and, being a child of feeble health, it was feared she would not live to maturity. Her early education, obtained in the public schools of Chelsea and Boston, was supplemented by a course of study in Bradford Academy at Bradford, Mass., and in Captain Samuel Hayden's private school in Braintree, Mass.
At the age of twenty she became the wife of Robert Curtis Davidson, of Chelsea. Just previous to their marriage Mr. Davidson had enlisted in Company C, Thirty-fifth Massachusetts Regiment, to fight for the preservation of the Union. After two years' service in the army, he was wounded in the battle of Petersburg, July 30, 1864, and died at City Point, Va., on the 18th of August following. In 1872 the subject of this sketch was again married, her second husband being Walter Willington Boyden, of Roxbury. She is the mother of two daughters, Gertrude Louise, Edith Ferdinand, and a son, Walter Allen.
From her father Mrs. Boyden inherited traits of character which have made her steadfast in purpose and firm in principle. Mr. Martin held the position of State Constable for years, and was noted for his courageous acts in closing the saloons in Chelsea. Mrs. Boyden's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Albert H. Plumb, says of her: "I have known Mrs. Boyden for some thirty years. She is a living exemplification of the power to do and of the wisdom of doing two things at once, each being done better because the other is also in hand. In her own home and in the homes of the afflicted she has been a ministering angel. In the family, the church, in charitable and reformatory work, she has lived in all good# fidelity and zeal. In every sphere where she has moved she has shown great energy and administrative skill, a genial friendliness of spirit, and a genuine love for everything good. As one indication of the order of her household, I have learned that during fourteen years of school life her daughter was never absent or tardy, save one half-day, and never missed a session of the Sunday-school in a still longer period. 'I used to think,' said Will Carleton, the poet, ' if my wife ever got to he a club woman, I would not live with her—much of the time. Since she has,' he added, 'I find I value her more than ever before—what there is of her.'
"To be at one's best, one needs to see each duty in its relation to the whole problem of life. For a person to become religious does not mean any undue withdrawal of time and strength from any lines of laudable activity previously enjoyed. Some such withdrawal often conduces to desirable variety and therefore to efficiency. These considerations have a special application to the vexed questions concerning woman's sphere."
Naturally, a woman of so great executive ability has been sought for as one of the leaders among women. Mrs. Boyden is one of the Board of Management of the Home for Intemperate Women, president of the Woman's Publishing Company, and treasurer of the Suffolk County Branch of the King's Daughters and Sons. Her chief work, however, is as the efficient leader of the Ward and City Committee of the Independent Women Voters, of which she is president. This organization has a deep interest in the welfare of the public schools. It is thoroughly organized, and is a power at every election. Mrs. Boyden's province is to arrange for campaigns, instruct the women in the twenty-five wards of Boston, confer with kindred organizations and political parties, and keep an outlook on all that concerns the city schools, always working for their best interests. Naturally diffident, it was with extreme reluctance that she accepted the position of president of so large an organization, but experience has so enlarged her opportunities for service that now she commands the forces with skill, wisdom, and tact. She has endeared herself to the women she leads. Strong in body, cheerful in temperament, cordial in manner, loving in heart, in the prime of life, she wields a potent influence in helping many of her sisters to a higher life and into broader paths of usefulness.