Summary
The Boyle family of Sloatown Road is a documented Beaver Island family cluster associated with a farm near Piper's Corner. A February 2026 interview identifies Dan P. Boyle (“Turner”) and Maggie Boyle as the maternal grandparents of Eleanor Gallagher McDonough. It also reports a memorial stone at the corner and says the property was then held by descendants of the late Morris Boyle.
Evidence and scope
This article represents the specific Boyle family branch and place relationship reported by the interview. It is not a claim about every Boyle on Beaver Island, and it does not turn the reported descendant relationship into a complete family tree. The source does not supply dates of birth, marriage, land-patent numbers, or a surveyed boundary for the farm.
The family is a useful bridge between the Irish-settlement history, Piper’s Corner as a locally used place, and modern family memory. Dan P. Boyle and Maggie Boyle are represented as Eleanor’s source-named maternal grandparents, not as a complete Boyle pedigree. The memorial stone is an additional physical lead, not by itself proof of its inscription or legal ownership.
Open questions
- What land and census records identify Dan P. Boyle, Maggie Boyle, and Morris Boyle and connect the farm to a surveyed parcel?
- What does the memorial stone say, and when was it placed?
- Can earlier island newspapers or parish records establish the family’s Arranmore origin without relying on surname inference?
See also
Sources
- Michelle LaFreniere, "On the Front Porch with Eleanor McDonough," *Northern Islander*, February 2026.The interview identifies Dan P. Boyle ("Turner") and Maggie Boyle as Eleanor's maternal grandparents, places their farm on Sloatown Road near Piper's Corner, records a memorial stone at the corner, and says the property is held by descendants of the late Morris Boyle.