William Ancrum "Anc" Boykin, III

William Ancrum Boykin, III of Camden, SC died at his Lyttleton Street home on Tuesday, October 14, 2025. He was 91 years old.  Anc is survived by his wife, Mary Elizabeth Nettles Boykin. He was born February 28, 1934, and was the son of William Ancrum Boykin, Jr. and Carolyn Wooten Boykin.

Anc was born and raised at Wannah Plantation in Boykin, SC, a Boykin family place that had been in his family since the 1750’s. He was a renowned sportsman who descended from a long line of similar Boykin outdoorsmen. Anc also shared the Boykin family sense of humor and comic timing, and was the very best company socially. 

Anc was educated at Clemson and USC, and served in the US Army.  Following his military service, he returned to Wannah and farmed with his father before going into the timber business. In the timber business, he first worked for his mentor, Roderick Cantey, as a timber broker before founding his own timber brokerage, Boykin Wood, Inc.

Anc had three daughters from his previous marriage to Emilia Hope Howell (now Cooper) of East Islip, Long Island: Carolyn Hope Boykin Langley (married to Buist Taylor Langley), Martha Coachman Boykin Wallace (married to James Howard Wallace III), and Elizabeth Howell Boykin Adams (married to Weston Adams, III). He is also survived by six grandchildren: Christopher Ancrum Langley, Elizabeth Ancrum Jones Lynch (Jamie), Benjamin Huntting Jones (Miranda), Anna Katherine Wallace, Isabel Hope Adams, Edward Weston Boykin Adams, and two great-grandchildren: Whitaker Akins Lynch and Jack Howell Lynch. He was predeceased by his sister, Carolyn Boykin Wilson.

Anc was a member of, and President of, the Boykin Hunting Club, where he and his wife Mary Elizabeth enjoyed many deer drives with his many Boykin kinsmen and friends in the beautiful Wateree River swamps. He was passionate about fishing and turkey hunting. He also was a crack wing-shot and a member of the Old Man’s Dove Club in Boykin, SC. Further, Anc cherished many memories afield with his cousin and lifelong friend Joe Williams. When Anc finally gave up the sporting life in his early 80s due to age, he then took great pleasure in his daily morning coffee group and his several weekly lunch groups.

Anc was a Trustee for the Boykin family’s Tombfield Cemetery. He also was a member of Springdale Hall Club. Finally, while for most of his life his Sunday mornings were spent in the Wateree River swamps and the Boykin fields in a spiritual connection with nature, later in life those Sunday mornings were meaningfully spent as a devoted communicant at Grace Episcopal Church in Camden.

The funeral will be held Tuesday, October 21, 2025, at 11:00 AM at Grace Episcopal Church, with a reception to follow at the church’s Richardson Hall. Memorials may be made to the Boykin Spaniel Society or Grace Episcopal Church.

Kornegay Funeral Home, Camden Chapel, is in charge of arrangements.

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