This is an article written by the author, gun dog trainer, and dog expert Dave Duffey about the Boykin Spaniel and originally published in Gun Dog magazine in 1993. I am including it here because a friend wants to read it and this is the fastest way to get it to him.
Planet Curly Note: The American Water Spaniel is one of a number of ancestors of the Boykin, according to this article. Of course, the American Water Spaniel has curly coated retriever ancestors, according to my conversations with deceased AWS historian Vaughn Brockman. We know American Water Spaniels were particularly prevalent in the state of Wisconsin, including a heavy concentration along the Fox River, and curly-coated retrievers were being bred around the Great Lakes and Midwest region of the U.S. in the late 1800s and early 1900s. So the Boykin probably has a curly-coated retriever ancestor or two.