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CHARLES SHIMER BOYER, the son of Benjamin Franklin and Alabama Shimer Boyer, is best remembered as first President of the Camden County Historical Society, and the author or co-author of numerous books and articles on the region's history. Born in Pennsylvania in 1869, his family came to Camden when he was three. At the time of the 1880 census they were living at 321 North 2nd Street, and by the late 1880s the Boyer family had moved to 528 Linden Street. His father, Benjamin F. Boyer, was a partner with George Shimer in Shimer & Boyer, manufacturers of woolen yarns, which later became the the B. F. Boyer Company. George Shimer was the father of Alabama Shimer Boyer. The Shimers also lived on Linden Street, at 503 Linden. On April 27, 1904 Charles S. Boyer married Anna Derousse, daughter of former Assemblyman and Camden Postmaster Louis T. Derousse. By 1910 Charles S. Boyer and family were living at 525 Cooper Street, where there immediate neighbors included Judge Frank T. Lloyd at 527, Dr. Byron Fortiner at 517, Dr. Paul Markley at 515, and father and son Drs. William A. and Albert Davis at 511. After a successful career upon taking over the the family business upon his father's passing, Charles S. Boyer devoted his time and energies to the study of the history of Camden County. He wrote many books and pamphlets, and was the first president of the Camden County Historical Society. His business and historical career are outlined in depth below, in a 1920s biography, and a new article written by a distant relation, Vincent Summers, for this web-page. In November of 1927 Mayor Winfield S. Price appointed a committee to arrange for the observance in February 1928 of the One Hundredth Anniversary of the City of Camden. The committee was composed of Charles S. Boyer, Chairman; T. Yorke Smith, E.G.C. Bleakly, Mahlon F. Ivins Jr., Fred S. Caperoon and Frank S. Albright. Charles S. Boyer later moved to Moorestown NJ. He passed away on November 10, 1936, and was buried at Harleigh Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers included many of Camden's leading citizens of the first third of the 20th century. |
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2nd Street South of Linden Street Postcard from about 1900 321 Linden Street, where Charles S. Boyer lived as a small boy, is at the far right. The gray twin home is 321-323 North 2nd Street. Click on Images to Enlarge |
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Linden
Street West of 5th Street As it appeared 1890s This is what Charles S. Boyer would have seen if he looked to the right as he left his home. Click on Images to Enlarge |
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Cooper
Street
Top: Bottom: As it appeared 1890s-1900s Click on Images to Enlarge
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| South Jersey - A History 1624-1924 |
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CHARLES SHIMER BOYER was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, May 23, 1869, son of Benjamin Franklin and Alabama (Shimer) Boyer. On the paternal side, his great-grandfather, John Boyer, arrived in Philadelphia from the Palatinate in 1739, while on the maternal side he can claim American ancestry dating back to 1739. His ancestors all settled in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Coming to Camden, New Jersey, as a mere child of three, Charles S. Boyer spent the balance of his active life in New Jersey. His early studies were pursued at the Cooper School, Camden, and the Friends' Central School, Philadelphia, and his education continued at the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he was graduated with the degree of Bachelor of Science in 1890. In his early business career he was identified with the chemical industry and was the author of a number of articles on chemical subjects which appeared in the "Journal of the Franklin Institute," Philadelphia; the "American Chemical Journal", the "Textile Colorist" and the "Dyers' Trade Journal." In 1894 he became identified with the worsted yarn business established by his father in 1872, and is today president of the company, which is one of the oldest in its line. For a number of years Mr. Boyer took a very active part in the civic affairs of his home city and served as president of the Camden Board of Trade for several terms, during which time this organization took a leading part in settling three events of prime importance to the community. Through its efforts the pierhead line along the river front was materially advanced, the sale of the municipally-owned water plant to private interests was prevented and the idea of building a municipal electric lighting plant abandoned. In later years his activities, aside from his business interests, have been largely connected with the history of Camden County and West Jersey. In this field, following the late Howard M. Cooper, Esq., he has become a recognized authority on local history and is frequently consulted on historical matters. His series of brochures, "Annals of Camden," of which he has privately published four numbers, are looked upon as standard sources of local history. He is also the author of a book on the "Waterways of New Jersey," in which the history and legal aspect of the State's ownership of lands under tide waters is fully set forth. He is a member of the Pennsylvania Historical Society, the New Jersey Historical Society, the Gloucester County (New Jersey) Historical Society, and the Friends' Historical Society of Philadelphia. As president of the Camden County Historical Society, he has, during the three years of his presidency, by the use of business methods, rejuvenated the society so that today it is heralded as one of the most active in the State. Fraternally Mr. Boyer is a thirty-second degree Mason, a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and in clubdom a member of the University Club of Philadelphia, the Manufacturers' Club of Philadelphia, the Piqua Club of Piqua, Ohio; the Camden Club, Camden, New Jersey; the Riverton Country Club, of Riverton, New Jersey; and the Seaside Park Yacht Club, of Seaside Park, New Jersey. He is also a member of the Sons of the Revolution. Charles Shimer Boyer married, April 27, 1904, Anne W. De Rousse, daughter of Louis T. and Anna (Fitzgerald) De Rousse, and they reside in Camden, New Jersey.. |
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Charles Shimer Boyer May 23, 1869 – November 10, 1936 © Vincent E. Summers August 31, 2004 Charles
Shimer Boyer is probably best known as an author of books about many
fascinating aspects of New Jersey’s early development.
By way of example, some of his titles are:
As can be seen he was an historian. This was his occupation and avocation. He was the first President of the Camden County Historical Society, serving from 1921 to 1936. We will discuss many other aspects of his life, but first, his background… Charles “Charlie” Boyer was the son of Benjamin Franklin Boyer and Alabama F. Shimer, and was born in Bethlehem, Northampton County, Pennsylvania. At age three, his family moved to Camden, New Jersey, and there he attended Cooper School, then Friends’ Central School in Philadelphia, and from there to the University of Pennsylvania, from which institution he obtained his baccalaureate in chemistry. He worked as a spinner in his father’s worsted yarn company, the B. F. Boyer Co. Upon his father’s demise, he became the company president, thus assuring his fortune. Charles had a brother, Benjamin Ralph Boyer, and at least one sister, Jane Boyer who married Dr. Paul Mecray. Charles took for his wife the daughter of Louis Theodore DeRousse, namely Anna Wilson DeRousse. We might allow a newspaper announcement to describe this event:
Charlie was an advocate of sail-boating, and had a home in Seaside Park. In the later part of his life, he lived in a very large and spacious home at 201-205 Central Avenue in Moorestown, New Jersey. Having visited that home when I was about six years of age, I recall its surroundings of large and numerous pine trees, and I recall visiting his wife, who we called ‘Cousin Nan.’ She was an elderly lady (Charles having died decades before) and was quite impressive to me as a child. The porch was decorated in a fashion that brought to my young mind, the wilds of Africa, whether or not that was the intent. The day was a hot one, the thermometer near the edge of the ‘woods’ reading an amazing 106 degrees – the hottest temperature I had ever known. The mental imagery for me is indelibly implanted. Charles was involved in quite a number of institutions. To name some:
Two
New Jersey Mirror articles, pointing to Charles’ death as well as his last
will and testament, inform us:
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Pomona
Hall Home of the Camden County Historical Society Top: Postcard from around 1900 Below: Photograph from around 2000, note the Museum Wing at left rear,
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Philadelphia Inquirer February 28, 1915 Charles
S. Boyer |
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Philadelphia
Inquirer W.
Penn Corson Click on Image for Enlarged View |
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Camden Courier-Post * October 29, 1931 |
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MORE MEN JOIN LEAGUE TO AID BAIRD Forty-seven more prominent professional and business men yesterday joined the Baird-for-Governor Business Men's League and pledged themselves to work actively in interest of David Baird Jr., for governor, and add special impetus to his campaign. The league was organized this week at an enthusiastic meeting of 18 outstanding Baird supporters in professional and business life at the Camden Club, 315 Cooper Street. The league membership is open only to business, professional and industrial leaders who are not holding public office and who are not politicians. The latest enrollments among community leaders pledging themselves to devote themselves to the Baird cause are the following: F. Morse Archer, president of the First Camden National Bank; Clinton. L. Bardo, president of the New York Shipbuilding Company and of the New Jersey Taxpayers' Association; George C. Baker, of the BakerFlick Company; Watson Shallcross, president of the Camden County Chamber of Commerce; Howard J. Dudley, Broadway merchant; Thomas E. French, prominent attorney; J. David Stern, publisher of the Courier-Post newspapers and of the Philadelphia Record; Wellington K. Barto, of the West Jersey Trust Company; Dr. Joseph Roberts, Cooper Hospital; William Clement, of the Clement Coverall Paint Company; Robert Wright, of the Haddonfield National Bank; Arthur J. Podmore, of the Camden Pottery Company; Nathan Leopold, Haddonfield druggist; Dr. J. Edgar Howard, of Haddonfield. Dr. Alfred N. Elwell, of this city; Edward Preisendanz, Clarence Peters, N. Franks, of. Franks & Sweeney; U. G. Peters, Ralph D. Baker, prominent real estate man; Archibald Dingo, George Bachman, Sr., and George Bachman, Jr., Dr. O. W. Saunders, Henry Cooperson, Leon Cooperson, Herman Z. Cutler. Charles Bauman, Harry Rose, George Austermuhl, Walter Gulick, Albert Voeglin, Howard Fearn, John A. Schlorer, Ernest L. Bartelt. William S. Casselman, George M. Carr, J. Price Myers, Carl R. Evered, former president of the Camden County Real Estate Board; Francis B. Wallen, former president of the Camden County Chamber of Commerce; William H. Alff, Edmund J. Alff, Harry Pelouze, Walter Campbell, Dr. Thomas R. Bunting, Joseph F. Kobus and Henry E. Kobus. Enrollments, it was announced, may be made through the following committee of the league: Ludwig A. Kind, Thomas Gordon Coulter, Charles H. Laird, Walter J. Staats, Frank C. Middleton, Jr., Frank J. Hineline, William T. Read, Charles S. Boyer, W. W. Robinson, George R. Pelouze, Paul A. Kind, Dr. Paul A. Mecray, Jerome Hurley, Harry A. Moran, James V. Moran, William J. Strandwitz, former Judge Lewis Starr and Frank C. Norcross. |
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Thanks to Vincent Summers, whose help made this page possible |
