The family of James McCoy 1777-1833

James McCoy is one of my favorite ancestors.  He was the son of a Baptist pastor and a "clerk" of the Baptist churches, and became a pastor after moving to Washington County, Indiana in 1820.  He was born in Pennsylvania, lived for some years as a boy and young man in Kentucky, and ended up in Clark County, Indiana, where he and his wife and a son died in the terrible cholera epidemic of 1833.  His wife, Nancy Lane, is also one of my favorites, simply because she endured. James and Nancy married when Nancy was barely sixteen years old, and she went on to bear children for close to 29 years.  I am not entirely clear on how many children, exactly, but census records from 1820 and 1830 appear to indicate perhaps as many as 12 children lived to make the slash marks on the census records.  There may be others who were born and died in between census reports, or prior to 1820.  It is also possible that some of the youngest children in the 1830 census were actually grandchildren or other relatives, rather than the children of James and Nancy.

Let's see what we can figure out...

Sarah seems to have been the first born, likely within a year or two of her parents' marriage.  She married Jesse Wilson, the son of James and Susan Decker Wilson.  They had three children together, Polly, Nancy, and James, who were granted 1/9 of their grandfather's estate.  Sarah must have been deceased by then, but whether it was in the cholera epidemic, or from childbirth, or other causes, I have not yet learned. (Jesse still had a wife of Sarah's age in 1830.)

Lewis was born January 31, 1806 and died in 1874 in Franklin, Johnson County, Indiana.  He married Rebecca Hester, daughter of Matthias and Susannah Huckleberry Hester.  Their children are George, John, Henrietta, and William.  Most of the McCoy children were named for someone else in the family but I can't say for sure about Lewis.  

Vincent was born in 1807, probably still in Shelby County, Kentucky, and died in 1857 in Fulton County, Indiana.  He married Eleanor Jackson, the daughter of Alexis and Catherine Moore Jackson.  Their children are James, Catherine, Nancy, Isaac, William, John, Eliza, George, Sarah, and Nelson.  I'll write more of this family in my next blog post.

Elizabeth may be the next child, born about 1808 and died in 1844 in Pike Township, Marion County, Indiana.  She married Thomas Hume, the son of John and Mary Barnett Hume.  Their children are Priscilla, James, John, Thomas, William, Isaac, and Henry.  The Pike Township location is interesting because that is where Eleanor Jackson McCoy's father died.  Vincent (above) may have lived there while he courted and met his wife.  

Priscilla is the next daughter, , born in 1812 and died in 1890 in Washington County, Indiana.  She married Richard Thompson, the son of Levi and Jane Nicholson Thompson.  Their children are Nancy, Jane, Elizabeth, Christiana, John, Richard, Thomas, William, Lewis, James, and Edwin.  

Milton, sometimes seen as James Milton, was born in 1814 and died in the cholera epidemic of 1833.  

Isaac was born in 1816 and died in 1903 in Boone County, Illinois. He married Cynthia Penwell, the daughter of Reuben and Cynthia Winslap Penwell in Boone County.  Their children include Esther, Mary, Amanda, Carrie, Frederick, Vincent, Sarah, and (possibly) James.  As yet, I do not know how or why Isaac was in northern Illinois.  Most of the family stayed fairly near to Washington County, Indiana, or at least had a reason and additional family for moving on.

Nancy was born in 1818.  She was alive at the time of her father's estate settlement, but I have not been able to trace her further.  There is a woman of that name who married Thomas Moulton in Decatur, Adams County, Indiana in 1839 and died there the same year, but I don't know if this is our Nancy.

Christiana was born in 1822 and alive in 1833.  Her court appointed guardian was Jeremiah Payne, but I haven't been able to trace her after that.  

John was the next son.  He was born in 1825 and died in 1893 in Johnson County, Indiana.  He married Mary Rozor or Razer, the daughter of William and Elizabeth Kean Razor.  Their children are Fleming, Christiana, John, Lucyh, Martha, Mary, Dora, Sarah, and Jennie.  

Finally, in 1829 Thomas was born, the last of the known children.  He died in 1916 in Marshalltown, Iowa.  His wife was Malinda Millsap, the daughter of Byrd and Gemima Morrow Millsap (Milsap).  Their children are Ida, Ollie, and Earl.  I have also seen James, John, and George as his children, but not as hers, so their may well be an earlier marriage I haven't yet uncovered.  Again, there is a mystery here, both as to a possible prior marriage, (the marriage mentioned here was in 1870, when Thomas would have been 41 years old) and how Thomas ended up in Iowa.  

I have seen one other daughter mentioned as being the child of James and Nancy.  Her name was Rebecca, reportedly born in 1808.  It looks to me like she belongs to another of the McCoy families, but there is a female mentioned in the 1820 census aged 10-15, which would fit Rebecca.  The jury is still out on this one.

As always, I'd love to hear from anyone who can shed more light on some of the questions I've posed in this post.  I'd also love to hear from you if you are a cousin!  We can honor these ancestors, who surely led difficult and dedicated lives.