Samuel S. Boyd | |
|---|---|
 Samuel Stillman Boyd of Natchez, Mississippi; engraved by J. C. Buttre from a daguerreotype, and published in History of Bowdoin College (1882) | |
| Born | May 27, 1807 Portland, Cumberland Co., District of Maine, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | May 21, 1867 (aged 59) Near Natchez, Adams Co., Mississippi, U.S. |
| Other names | S. S. Boyd, Judge Boyd, the Old Man |
Samuel Stillman Boyd (May 27, 1807 – May 21, 1867), often referred to as S. S. Boyd or Judge Boyd, was a prominent attorney in early 19th-century Mississippi and one of the Natchez nabobs who stood at the apex of antebellum Mississippi society. He also served briefly as a judge (possibly for just one special case), invested in cotton agriculture, speculated in real estate, engaged in large-scale enslavement, and advocated for pro-slavery causes. Boyd wielded significant political influence in his community, initially as a leader in the Whig Party. His name was considered for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1852 and 1860.
In addition to his legal career, Boyd entered into a business partnership with Rice C. Ballard, a former slave trader. Together, they established an "empire of plantations." Ballard's business records at the University of North Carolina provide valuable insights into American slavery and the slave trade, shedding light on Boyd's personal and professional endeavors. In the 21st century, Boyd is primarily remembered for letters detailing his mistreatment of enslaved African-American women. In one of the letters, another white man, a newspaper publisher and former municipal mayor, begs for help (from Boyd's business partner Ballard) in his attempt to rescue a woman Boyd enslaved, describing her suffering as blood streamed down her body as she was being whipped for offending Boyd in some way. In another letter, an enslaved woman wrote from exile in a slave trader's pen, shaming Boyd for his treatment of her after Boyd raped her and she gave birth to at least one of his children. Boyd also fathered a son by a woman whom he enslaved and raped; his white half-sisters later hired this son to manage family plantations.