Alva Boyer was born in Oregon, on July 22, 1867, being the son of Lloyd and Sarah (Pinkerton) Boyer, natives of Missouri, born January 15, 1840, and July 18, 1844, respectively. They were married September 27, 1860. The father crossed the plains in 1859 and died in 1870. The mother died in 1873. She had two brothers. Henry and William, large land owners near Athena, Oregon. Alva went to live with his uncle, William Pinkerton, after the death of his parents and remained in the vicinity of Athena until he was twenty-one, securing a good education from the district schools and a fine training in farming and stock raising.

He entered the employ of others until the year 1897, and then he came to the reservation and purchased the relinquishment of his present place, four miles west from Gifford. To the improvement and subjugation of this land he has devoted his time and energies since, with the gratifying result that he has a good farm which produces abundant crops of the cereals, flax and fruits and sustains considerable stock. Mr. Boyer has two brothers, Henry, living on a farm near Summit, Idaho; William, in Adams, Oregon; two sisters, Angie, wife of Eugene Richardson; Mary, wife of James Johnson, whose brother, Burr Johnson, is a large stockman of Pendleton.

On June 21, 1891, Mr. Boyer married Miss Cora, daughter of Elijah V. and Sarelia (Wheeler) Cunningham, natives of Missouri and Polk county, Oregon. The father crossed the plains in the 'sixties; he and his brothers served in the Civil war. Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham now reside in Whitman county. Mrs. Boyer was born in Independence, Oregon, on July 9, 1871, and has two brothers and three sisters, Arthur, in the Buffalo Hump country; Macy, with his parents near Albion; Opal and Stella, single; Bertha, wife of Bert Rice, near Albion, Washington. Two children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Boyer, Veta and Lloyd. Mr. Boyer is a Populist in politics.