He was born in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 18). He was born in March 1843 (15). He was 18 years old when he was enlisted (4 [19], 9 [18], 10, 11 [18], 14 [36 in 1880], 15 [57 in 1900], 18 [64 at death in 1907]).
He was a machinist when he was enlisted (9, 10, 11).
He was 5 feet 5-1/2 inches tall, and had a light complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair (9, 10, 11).
He also served in company B of the 4th Pennsylvania Infantry (7, 13, 19). He was mustered into service on 20 April 1861 (7). He was discharged on 26 July 1861 (7).
He was enlisted and mustered into service on 25 or 27 September 1861 (1 [27 Sep], 4 [25 Sep], 7 [25 Sep], 9 [25 Sep], 10 [25 Sep], 11 [25 Sep]). He was enlisted for three years, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Captain Casner (4, 9, 10, 11). He was mustered into service in company K at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Captain Dye (USA) (4, 9, 10, 11). He was appointed corporal on 8 October 1861 (8; see also 4 and 5).
On 18 March 1863, he returned to duty from being absent sick (3).
He fought at the Battle of Gettysburg (17). He was then a corporal (17).
In April 1864, he was tried by court martial (20).
On 25 April 1864, he was reduced to the ranks, by order of a general court martial (5).
On 2 May 1864, he was sick in his quarters (6).
In May or June 1864, he lost one Springfield rifle musket and accoutrements (2).
On 8 July 1864, he was reported as a captain's cook (12).
He mustered out on 6 November 1864, when his term expired (1, 4, 5 [2 Nov], 16).
In 1866 or 1867, he married Nellie [unknown surname] (15). In 1900, she had had four children two of whom were alive (15).
In 1880, he was living at 1319 Savery Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (14). He was living with his wife Nellie and three children (14). He was an engineer (14).
In 1890, he was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (7).
In 1900, he was living in Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania (15). He was living with his wife Nellie, two sons, and brother Andrew (15). He was a farmer (15).
On 25 February 1901, he applied successfully from Pennsylvania for a pension (13, 19).
On 1 March 1907, he again applied for a pension (19).
He died at Marble Hall, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, on 2 October 1907, of cirrhosis of liver (18, 19, 21). He was a farmer (18). He lived in Marble Hall, Pennsylvania (18). He was buried on 7 October 1907, at Greenwood, Knights of Pythias, Cemetery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (18).
On 11 October 1907, his widow, Nellie W Boyer, applied successfully from Pennsylvania for a pension (13, 19).
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster)
2 letter, Lentz to Bennett, 16 July 1864
3 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 18 March 1863 (Corpl Boyer)
4 Civil War Veterans' Card File, available at the Pennsylvania State Archives, searched 23 June 2004 (John M Boyer)
5 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 25 April 1864 (Corpl Boyer)
6 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 2 May 1864 (Private Boyer)
7 1890 US census, veterans schedule, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Philadelphia, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 342, page [3] (image 714 on Ancestry), line 28 (John M Boyer)
8 company K, list of non-commissioned officers (John M Boyer)
9 company K, descriptive roll (John M Boyer)
10 company K, second descriptive roll (John M Boyer)
11 company K, third descriptive roll (John M Boyer)
12 consolidated morning report, 91st PA, 8 July 1864 (Pri Boyer)
13 pension index, by name (John M Boyer)
14 1880 US census, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, supervisor's district 1, enumeration district 330, microfilm series T9, film 1177, pages 80C-D = 11-12 handwritten (John M Boyer)
15 1900 US census, Pennsylvania, Montgomery County, Whitemarsh Township, supervisor's district 2, enumeration district 281, microfilm series T623, film 1445, page 170 B = 11 handwritten (John M Boyer)
16 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 3 November 1864 (Privt Boyer)
17 Pennsylvania Memorial, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (John M Boyer)
18 death certificate, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2 October 1907, #24868 (John M. Boyer)
19 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company K (John M Boyer)
20 National Archives Archival Research Catalog (accessed 24 July 2010) (J M Boyer)
21 * Pennsylvania death indices, 1907 ('Boyer, John Mathias: 99008; Montgomery Co.; Oct. 2.')
[ordered death certificate 29 March 2013]
| line | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 1 |
| street name | Savery St | Savery St | |||
| house number | 1319 | 1319 | |||
| dwelling visit # | 111 | 111 | |||
| family visit # | 118 | 118 | |||
| name | Boyer, John M | - Nellie W [?] | - Lillie E | - Elmer F | Boyer Linn H |
| color | W | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | F | M | M |
| age | 36 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 10/12 |
| month born if born in year | July | ||||
| relationship | wife | daughter | son | Son | |
| single | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||
| married | 1 | 1 | |||
| widowed/divorced | |||||
| married during year | |||||
| occupation | Engineer | Keeping house | At school | ||
| months unemployed | [blank?] | ||||
| currently ill? | |||||
| blind | |||||
| deaf/dumb | |||||
| idiotic | |||||
| insane | |||||
| disabled | |||||
| school this year | 1 | ||||
| can't read | |||||
| can't write | |||||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Penna | England | Pa | Pa | Penna |
| mother's birthplace | Penna | Penna | Pa | Pa | Penna |
| line | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 |
| street | |||||
| house number | |||||
| dwelling number | 215 | ||||
| family number | 220 | ||||
| name | Boyer John M | - Nellie | - Elmer F | - Lynn H | - Andrew |
| relationship | Head | Wife | Son | Son | Brother |
| color | W | W | W | W | W |
| sex | M | F | M | M | M |
| birth date | Mar 1843 | June 1849 | Jan 1877 | July 1879 | July 1845 |
| age | 57 | 51 | 33 | 20 | 54 |
| married? | M | M | S | S | S |
| # years married | 33 | 33 | |||
| mother of how many children? | 4 | ||||
| # of children living | 2 | ||||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania | England | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| mother's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania |
| immigration year | |||||
| # years in USA | |||||
| naturalized citizen? | |||||
| occupation | Farmer | Farm laborer | Architect | Salesman (dry goods) | |
| # months not employed | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| # months in school | |||||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| can write | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| speaks English | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
| owned/rented | R | ||||
| free or mortgaged | |||||
| farm/house | F | ||||
| # of farm schedule | 91 |