Bovina Ex-pats: The Hoy Brothers

David Fletcher Hoy, Milton Robertson Hoy and William Wilson Hoy were the sons of John Robertson Hoy and Isabella Wilson Miller. They all grew up in Bovina, along with an older brother, James, who died when he was 21 in 1883, and three sisters, Mary (1857-1883), Jennette (1859-1942) and Margaret (1866-1936). David, Milton and William all left Bovina and made some name for themselves elsewhere.

David, Milton, William and Jennie Hoy with Silence Howard (David's wife)

I have already written about David Hoy, born in 1863. It was his efforts to preserve the history of Bovina that provide a critical foundation to the work I do today, but David made his fame as the registrar of Cornell University for many years, known there as Davey Hoy. Writer E.B. White recalled his very first day at Cornell, when he picked up the wrong form and found himself being yelled at by the Registrar Mr. Hoy. White was mortified and thought about leaving college then and there but decided instead to write a letter of apology to Hoy. He got a reassuring reply and continued at Cornell. More about Davy can be seen on this blog for October 6, 2014 at: http://bovinanyhistory.blogspot.com/2014/10/david-fletcher-hoy-give-my-regards-to.html

Milton R. Hoy in Spanish American War uniform, photo supplied by David W. Hoy III

His brother Milton was born in 1870. Like his brothers, he attended local Bovina schools then high school in Franklin, NY. He graduated from college in Albany. In 1897, he took a job as clerk for the National Transit Company in Oil City, Pennsylvania. About a year later, he joined the first infantry of the New York Volunteers in the Spanish-American War, spending the duration in Honolulu. He returned to Oil City and the National Transit Company after the war. In 1913, he started working for the United Natural Gas Company and was in their civil engineering department until he retired in 1941.

Milton was married first to Myrtie Hays in Oil City in 1901. They had three children, a daughter and two sons. He was widowed in 1913 and in 1928 married Elsie Hollabaugh, also in Oil City (she died in 1986 at the age of 97). Milton was heavily involved in the Oil City community, including the Masons and Spanish-American War veterans. Milton died in January 1959 in Oil City.

William W. Hoy in 1895. Photo from David W. Hoy III

William Wilson Hoy was the last child of John and Isabella Hoy, born in 1872. He, too, attended local schools. Like his brother David, he attended Cornell University, graduating in 1895. He married Elizabeth McFadden in Walton in 1897 and settled in Oil City, Pennsyvania, like his brother Milton. In 1902 he sailed to London as chief engineer of the Burma Oil Company of London. He then sailed for India for a spell and was back in the United States in late 1904. Sometime before 1913, he and his wife and four children moved to Santa Ana, California. They would have two more children in California and spent the rest of their lives there. His wife died in 1948. In 1950, he came back to Delaware County to marry Clara M. Scutt. He was her fourth and last husband. She died in 1965 in California. William died at the age of 94 in 1967, also in California.