The family of Vincent McCoy 1807-1857

Vincent McCoy is my great great grandfather.  I've been to his grave site and I've seen the area in which he lived (although I am not absolutely sure we located the actual site). He is really just a hop, skip, and a jump from where we live, just two or three counties over and up.  So I feel close to this man, even though so many years separate us.  Learning about his family has been a joy, even though, once again, there are unanswered questions.

Vincent is the son of William and Nancy Lane McCoy.  He married Eleanor Jackson, the daughter of Alexis and Catherine Moore Jackson in Marion County, Indiana, and soon moved his family to what became Fulton County, Indiana.  As I was researching (well, really, all I can do for these posts is a relatively quick survey, not real feet to the ground and nose to the wheel research) the children of Vincent and Eleanor, I was shocked and delighted to learn that I had missed their first child entirely.  Vincent and Eleanor had at least eleven children.

The first child born was Thomas H.  He is not to be confused with the Thomas H who married Malinda Pound and died in Marshalltown, Iowa, mentioned in a previous post as the child of William and Nancy Lane McCoy.  This Thomas was born in 1830 or 31, and married Elizabeth Brandow (also seen as Brando), the daughter of Moses and Phebe Wood Brandow.  Their children are James, Loretta, and John.  It is more than possible that Thomas was a Civil War veteran, as there were several Thomas H McCoy's from Indiana listed on the NPS web site.  However, I have not yet been able to differentiate the various men, so I won't claim that as certain.  I have been unable to find a death date or location for him, but the frequently seen date of 1916 and location of Marshalltown, Iowa is not this Thomas.

James was born April 21, 1832 and that is the last I know of him.  He is not found in his parents' household in 1850, the first year a US census listed household members by name.  He was 18 at the time of the census so it is possible that he had already left home, but it is also possible that he didn't survive to adulthood.

Catherine was the first daughter, born in May of 1834.  She married Brant McKee, son of Anthony and Nancy Agnew McKee.  Their children are Eleanor, Phebe, Virgil, Emma, Homer, Albert and Ira.  Her death dates are conflicting, but it was in August of 1899 in Rochester, Fulton County, Indiana.  Brant had died in 1875 and she then married Charles Wileman.  Wileman was a Civil War veteran, and she filed to collect a widow's pension after he died.  There were no children born to the second marriage.

Nancy was the next born, in 1836.  She married George R Allen, son of Archibald and Margaret Dunn Allen, and I've previously written of their family.  Their children are Emma, the mysterious "Major" Andrew, Edward, Edwin, and George.  Nancy died November 4, 1880 in Fulton County, Indiana.  

Isaac was born next, in 1838.  He died in 1855 in Fulton County, Indiana.  That is all that I know of his life, except that he must have been loved and mourned.

Next was William H McCoy.  He was born August 24, 1840 and died in 1928 in Tulsa County, Oklahoma.  He married Huldah Carter, the daughter of Evan and Mary Sharp Carter.  Their children are Henry, Mary, Elmer, Minnie, Edward and Charles.  The 1910 census indicates that he was not a veteran.

John was born September 2, 1842 and died March 15, 1926 at the Soldiers' Home in Lafayette, Indiana.  He was a Civil War veteran.  He married Surilda Warman, whom I have not been able to trace.  Their children are Nettie, Tina, James, Nelson, and Joseph.  Surilda died, and John then married Margaret Hampton.  (Her name is also seen as Hanson or Anson, but at the time of her death, the obituary says she was the daughter of James and Jane Hampton.) No children were born to this marriage.

Next born was Eliza, on January 7, 1845.  She died in August of 1855, just a few days before brother Isaac.  It's possible, perhaps probable, that whatever the cause of death was (and there are many possibilties), it was a contagious disease.  What a sorrowful month for our Vincent and Eleanor!

George was born October 30, 1846 and died March 22, 1932, probably in Wichita, Kansas, which is where he was buried.  His wife is Addie Liza Ogburn, daughter of Wilkins and Helen Hunt Ogburn.  Their children are Vincent, Vera, Virgil, and Vernon.  George was the last of this McCoy family, having lived 85 years.

Sarah was next.  She was born January 10, 1850 and died May 16, 1931 in Winamac, Pulaski County, Indiana.  She married Thomas Dudley Moore, the son of Thomas and Mary Ann Mowdy Moore.  Their children are Granville, Luke, Maude, Mabel, Thomas, and Marie.  

And finally, their son Nelson was born September 8, 1853, the last of the eleven known children of Vincent and Eleanor. (I note a three plus year span between the birth of George and Sarah, and again between Sarah and Nelson.  It's possible there were other pregnancies or births during this time, with children being born and dying between census dates.) However, when Nelson was born, all of the known family was intact, although one or more of the older ones may have left home.  Nelson married Mary Finley, the daughter of Robert and Elizabeth Burley Finley.  Their children are Lillie, Elizabeth, Eleanor, Gemima, Leota, Sadie, Ida, Minnie, Mary, and Eva.  I wonder if Nelson was at all disappointed to have 10 daughters and no sons?  He died October 11, 1917 in Vermilion County, Illinois.

In the short amount of time I've had to look at this family, I have not found records of their religious affiliation.  Vincent was the son of a Baptist minister, and I'd be interested to test the common belief that some of the grandchildren of strong Christians fall away from the church.  I do know that John's wife was a member of the Christian Church in Lafayette.  Perhaps John was also part of that congregation.  There was a Christian Church located near the border of Pulaski and Fulton Counties, where the McCoy children largely grew up, but I don't know if they attended there or not.  It's just one of the questions I have about the family.

This is my last post tracing the McCoys and their families, unless I someday can go back further in time.  I've enjoyed learning of their lives and livelihoods, their service to their country, and their service to God.