About Us

Founded in 1904, the Association of American Boyers, Inc. is an all-volunteer, non-profit organization. The mission of the Association, as noted in its constitution, is to educate, hold reunions, and to foster, encourage, and develop the family spirit of the Boyer people. We support this mission by cultivating family ties at reunions, and educating the Boyer family through the publication of our histories and genealogical records.

Boyer History

An introduction from the 1st edition of “American Boyers” by Dr. Charles Clinton Boyer (7-AI621441) provides a very nice overview of the Boyer histories which include some examples of various Boyer crests. You can access this information directly by clicking HERE.

Boyer Name

The Association of American Boyers realizes that over time a name can change and evolve as language and regional accents shift the pronunciation. Also descendants determine it is more expedient for various reasons to change it to a different form. Also as noted in the Boyer histories article the name originally started as “Boii” and has become many versions in over two thousand years. Both previous historians and our current historian have continued to add derivations of the Boyer name to the genealogies which we compile. Below is a table of the current derivations that are included in the “American Boyer” books, with 39 variations being tracked. If you would like a PDF version of the list then click HERE.

Name Derivations Researched
BAIER
BIARS
BORROR
BOYERS
BAIERS
BIER
BOUYER
BOYR
BAYER
BIERS
BOUYERS
BUYER
BAYERS
BIRES
BOVYER
BUYERS
BAYOR
BOHRER
BOWYER
BYAR
BEIER
BOHROR
BOWYERS
BYARS
BEIERS
BOIER
BOYAR
BYAS
BEYER
BORER
BOYEA
BYER
BEYERS
BOROR
BOYEE
BYERS
BIAR
BORRER
BOYER

Boyer Crest

The crest adopted by the Association of American Boyers early in the development of their Reunions is a French type. The upper third of the shield is silver white, signifying light, brightness, joy. The rest of the shield is sky blue, the complement of white, signifying hope, fidelity. The repetition of these qualities in the smaller shield imbedded in a star is very emphatic. The star evidently signifies the strong desire to live in light, night as well as day. The French lily, “Fleur-de-lis,” within the star-embedded shield, evidently shows the intimate connection of the Boyers d’Eguilles with the throne. The whole scheme is one of dignity and recognized loyalty. Nouveau plate 45The description of the crest adopted by the Association of American Boyers and belonging to the Boyer d’Eguilles of France is found on  page 317, Plate 45, of  “The Nouveau  Traite Historique  et  Archeologique de la Vraie et Parfaite Science des Armories,” published  1856. This volume is to be found in the State Library at Harrisburg. Pa. and in the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, whose building is located on Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA. German Boyer Crest The German crest belongs to the family of Frederick Bayer (possibly AW?) who settled in York County. Pennsylvania, having come from the neighborhood of Leipsic; Germany. It is a large watch-dog at rest in a big heart. The meaning is very evident. This family had served some lord or king faithfully in his fortress or palace that the lord or king trusted the man or family absolutely — with a big heart. A book on German Heraldry probably contains the record and explanation of this particular crest. There is also an English coat of arms that consists of a drawn bow and a startled stag. The French Boyers who came into England with the Norman Conquest were evidently archers of reputation, who had done noteworthy service and who had thus been permitted to record their honor. We will add an image once we find a good picture.

Boyer ID Numbering System

You may have noticed on the site codes in parenthesis that follow a name. These are the IDs assigned to this individual using the Boyer ID numbering system. It is based on the Henry System which is a descending system created by Reginald Buchanan Henry for a genealogy of the families of the presidents of the United States that he wrote in 1935. With the publication of the 7th edition of “American Boyers” a version of this system was introduced. A more detailed single page “cheat sheet” can be downloaded in PDF format by clicking HERE.

Officers of the Association

All officers are volunteers and support the mission of the Association as time permits. You can contact us using the contact form HERE and we will get back to as soon as we can. We are always looking for additional individuals who are interested in helping with keeping the Association viable.  There are a number of positions available so please let us know. The current officers of the Association are:

President – William Boyer (IE2184121), Jefferson, MD

Vice President – M. Richard Boyer (AI621411221), Lebanon, PA

Treasurer – Ann Marie Boyer (m. IE218412), Frederick, MD

Historian – Donald A. Boyer (BA132532151), York, PA

Director(s) 

Janice Boyer (AD263141121), King of Prussia, PA [Book Fulfillment Coordinator]

 

If you are interested you can click HERE and view a PDF list of all of our presidents with information of where they can be found in the 7th edition books.

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