Washington Wallace Boynton was born on a farm in Russia Township, Lorain County, Ohio. His parents, General Lewis D. and Ruth Wellman Boynton, were natives of Maine.[2] From age sixteen he taught school, and was in charge of a select school in South Amherst, and was county school examiner.[3]
Boynton studied law with his uncle, Elbridge Gerry Boynton, of Elyria, Ohio,[2] and was admitted to the bar in 1856. In 1858, he was chosen Prosecuting Attorney of Lorain County.[4] In the fall of 1863, he discontinued his practice due to ill health, and traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota.[5] He returned to Ohio the next year, and in 1865 he was elected to a single term in the Ohio House of Representatives.[6] He authored a resolution to strike the word "white" from the provisions of the Ohio Constitution regarding suffrage. It failed at the ballot box, but was adopted when the Federal Constitution was amended.[5]
In 1869, Boynton was appointed by GovernorHayes as Common Pleas Judge, and was elected by the people to that position in 1871, serving until he resigned to take a seat on the Supreme Court.[5][4]
In 1876, Boynton was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court, and resigned in 1881 due to poor health and meager salary. He returned to private practice at Cleveland.[4] After 1906, he retired from professional work and moved to Elyria.[5]
Boynton was married December 29, 1859 to Betsey A. Terrell of North Ridgeville, Ohio.[5] Boynton helped found and was president of the Elyria Memorial Hospital. He helped found the Gates Home for Crippled Children. He was a director of the Savings Deposit Bank and Trust Company of Elyria.[1] Boynton died at home in Elyria June 27, 1916, and was buried in Ridgelawn Cemetery. He had no children.[1]
