Buford Francis Boykin was born in Troup County, Georgia, October 4, 1884, the eldest son of Samuel J. and Ida May (Wilkinson) Boykin. Boykin went to public school and then colleges in LaGrange and Dahlonega, Georgia. He graduated from a school for dentistry in Atlanta and established his own practice in Carrollton, Georgia. While still practicing dentistry, Boykin began studying law. He was admitted to the bar in 1909 after passing his examination. In 1911, he became a member of the Georgia Supreme Court and in 1916 he was admitted to the United States Board of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Among Carroll County families the Boykins have long enjoyed well-earned distinctions in the professions, in public affairs, and as citizens of the finest integrity and honor. Buford F. Boykin is one of the younger attorneys practicing at Carrollton, and though his practice has covered only a few years he now enjoys a prestige hardly second to any in the Coweta Circuit. Boykin died at age 79 in Carrollton Georgia on February 2nd 1964.

Knight, Lucian Lamar. A Standard History of Georgia and Georgians. Volume V. Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1917, 2748.

It is unknown how he might be related to Shirley Caffee Boykin (1889-1963), whom Boykin Hall on the West Georgia College campus was named in honor of when it was built as a women's dormitory in 1966.