The December 8 issue of the Wilmington Messenger reported that Boyd was arrested by federal agents and accused of membership in the Ku Klux Klan.

[3] Boyd received a recess appointment from President William McKinley on July 11, 1900, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina vacated by Judge Hamilton G. Ewart.

He was confirmed by the United States Senate on January 9, 1901, and received his commission the same day.

On or about October 31, 1919, President Woodrow Wilson certified Boyd involuntarily as disabled in accordance with the act of February 25, 1919, 40 Stat.

His service terminated on August 21, 1935, due to his death in Greensboro, North Carolina.