Alexander Boyter


Alexander Thomas "Scotty" Boyter was an American stonemason and builder who was active in Beaver, Utah. He is known for his use of local "pink tuff" rock, and several of his works are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His brother James Boyter also was a mason and they sometimes worked together.

Biography

Boyter was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1848 or 1849. He served as a soldier at Fort Cameron, Utah, and returned to Scotland after being discharged from the Army in 1875. Along with his brother James and their mother, Boyter settled in Beaver, Utah in the late 1870s.
In 1879, Boyter was married to Alice Bryant Boyter, a native of Wales born in 1858. They had several children, including Rosella Sophia, Mary Davey, Georgina, William, Arreta, Carlisle, Alexander, Jr., and George Davey.

Work as a stonemason

Working as a stonemason, Boyter built a number of houses in Beaver using local bricks and "pink tuff" rock from nearby hills. He sometimes worked on construction projects with his brother James, though James devoted most of his efforts to carving monuments, many of which are found in the Beaver cemetery. Henry Boyter and Philo Boyter also worked as stonemasons in and around Beaver.
A number of Boyter's works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In the NRHP nomination form for his Alexander Boyter House, the nominator described Boyter's stonework as "fabulous." In the NRHP nomination for his Henry C. Gale House, the nominator noted that Boyter's style was "characterized by a herringhone chisel pattern on the smoothed rock faces and raised, square mortar joints."

List of works

Works attributed to Boyter and/or his brother James Boyter include :