Person:William McCoy (50)

Research Notes

• 1st wife = Mary Washington. 7 children (per Harding). Sources = Some Virginia Marriages" (Vol/pg needed), Harding (not named), DAR apps.
  • Note of Caution: wife Mary Washington is never mentioned in any other records (such as pension apps, etc.), so stronger evidence is needed.
• 2nd wife = Nancy Waple. 6 children born bef 1835. Source = Rev war pension & Harding.
• 3rd wife = Susan Buchanan. Source = Rev war pension. [Note: Harding does NOT mention her.]

Possible children (from Decatur County Early Marriage records):

• George McCoy m 26 May 1830 Sarah Becket
• Barton S McCoy m 15 Apr 1831 Ellen E Hamilton, then m 25 Apr 1834 Eunice Lawson
• Almyra McCoy m 17 Feb 1833 James Lee
• Margarett McCoy m 12 Jun 1834 Benjamin J Barker
• Caroline S McCoy m 31 Dec 1835 Charles Hazelrigg
• Isaiah McCoy m 8 Nov 1838 Mary Short - CONFIRMED CHILD

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Family Recorded, in A Genealogical and biographical record of Decatur County, Indiana: compendium of national biography. (Chicago, Illinois: Lewis Publishing Company, 1900).

   ... William McCoy, father of our subject, was a native of Virginia, and as he was born about 1762 he was not old enough to be admitted to the continental army when the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed. The youth possessed the true patriotic spirit, however, and in 1777 he enlisted and served in the ranks for five years, or until the colonists were triumphant. He participated in numerous hotly contested battles, and at Cowpens a bullet grazed his head, cutting a swath through his hair, while another bullet lodged in his hip. He continued to carry the British lead with him throughout life, and death did not claim him until he was eighty-four years old. Plucky and daring, he would not enter a hospital for treatment, but bore his sufferings with fortitude, and a splendid constitution carried him through the trouble. Having a strong love of adventure, which his army life had fostered, he shipped on board a sailing vessel, at the close of the war, and went to Africa, for the ship was engaged in the slave trade. One day, while he and a companion were on shore, the ship weighed anchor and sailed without them, and three long, dreadful months dragged by ere they were taken away by another vessel which stopped at that port. His experiences by that time had been sufficient to last him for the remainder of his life, and he returned to Virginia, where he settled down to the quiet routine of a farmer. He married and had seven children, and some time subsequent to the death of his first wife he wedded Nancy Waple. She departed this life in 1835, leaving six children. Later Mr. McCoy removed with his family to Kentucky, and in 1819 came to Decatur county. Taking up a tract of wild land, he proceeded to clear and improve it, and for a number of years he operated the Shellhorn mill, which was the first mill built in this county and which received the patronage of the pioneers from quite distant places. While visiting his son in Louisville, Kentucky, he died quite suddenly, but his life-work had been well rounded and he was ready to receive the summons. ...

2. ↑ Family Recorded, in Harding, Lewis Albert. History of Decatur County, Indiana: its people, industries and institutions, with biographical sketches of representative citizens and genealogical records of many of the old families. (Indianapolis [Indiana]: B. F. Bowen, 1915)
   775.

   ... William McCoy was a miller on Clifty creek and a soldier in the War of 1812. He died in Kentucky. ...

3. ↑ ^3.0 3.1 Research Notes, in Rootsweb - verification needed.

   William McCoy first volunteered for service on Mar 1, 1770 in Capt. Tilman Weaver's Co; Col. Edmont's Regt. being sent to Williamburg and discharged on the Potomac River. In Sep 1773 he was drafted into the Virginia militia of Faquier Co; serving in Capt. Thomas Hellen's Co; Col John Fillison (Pillison?) Regt. for almost six months. He then enlisted in Co. William Washington's Rifle Regt. under Gen. Morgan, General of the Line. He was wounded at the Battle of Cowpens. He continued in the service and was at Yorktown when Cornwallis surrendered. He was discharged in Oct 1781 at Winchester, Va.
   
   Under the Act of 1832 he was entitled to a pension and bounty land, but it was not granted, and in 1863 his widow (another wife) applied for same, but it was not granted until ten days after her death. On Feb 1, 1869 Jesse McCoy, a son, made application that the warrant for 160 acres of bounty land and pension due his mother's estate be paid, but there is no record the request was granted.
   
   William McCoy, son of William McCoy, lived in Virginia until the end of the Revolutionary War. Soon thereafter, he shipped out on a sailing vessel bound for Africa. HE WAS ACCIDENTALLY LEFT ASHORE AND REMAINED FOR THREE MONTHS BEFORE BEING PICKED UP BY ANOTHER SHIP (Documentation for this is : the Pension record, marriage records from Decatur and Jefferson Counties, Indiana, Cemetery records, Star Church Cemetery, Decatur County. Greensburg Indiana.)