More on Daniel McCoy and his wife Deborah Norris

Daniel McCoy was born in 1749 in Ireland according to he and his wife's tombstone that is located in Oakland Cemetery in Indiana, Pennsylvania.  He states he is 65 years old in the affidavit he gives in June, 1818 when he applies for a pension.  This would make him born about 1753.  Oakland Cemetery was not founded until 1864.  Therefore, his tombstone was probably erected by his grandson William McCoy who is also buried there with his father Joseph McCoy.  Deborah Norris was born in 1752 in the Isle of Man according to the information on her tombstone.  When Daniel McCoy applied for a pension in June, 1820, his affidavit stated his wife was 65 years old.  This would make her born about 1755.  She was baptized on 7 April 1754 in the Michael parish in the Isle of Man.  Her parents were Hen Norris and Esther Creer.  Based on the above information Daniel McCoy's birth date is from 1849 to 1853.  Based on the above information Deborah Norris' birth date is from 1752 to 1754.  

Daniel and Deborah lived in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania after they were married in 1777.  Their daughter Mary was baptized in 1781 in Philadelphia and Daniel was taxed as a weaver in Northern Liberties Township in Philadelphia County in 1782.  It is not known where they lived between 1782 and 1798.  The first record for them in Western Pennsylvania is a 1798 U.S. direct tax record for Daniel McCoy in Armstrong Township, Westmoreland County.  According to the tax record, he owned a small cabin, 10 x 24 feet, worth $20 and was taxed on 140 acres worth $210.  He was living on land owned by John McQuiston and was living adjacent to Benjamin Walker. The biographical entry for his grandson Church Smith McCoy in the Indiana County History by Arms and White states he (Daniel McCoy) was "an early settler on Crooked Creek" and "at one time resided on what is now the Benjamin Walker farm.  He was a scout in the Indian Wars."

The following McCoy head of households appear in the 1800 through the 1820 censuses in Westmoreland, Indiana and Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.   Charles McCoy was living near his father Daniel McCoy in the 1810 census.  Daniel McCoy, Joseph McCoy, and John McCoy were all living in Plumcreek Township in the 1820 census where their father Daniel McCoy was living.

The household composition for Daniel McCoy (father) in the 1800 census for Armstrong Township, Westmoreland County was:

Free white males under 10-2 (John and Joseph)

Free white males 10 thru 15-2 (Daniel and ?)

Free white males 16 thru 25-1 (Charles)

Free white males 45 and over-1 (Daniel)

Free white females under 10-2

Free white females 10 thru 15-1

Free white females 45 and over-1 (Deborah)

The household composition for Daniel McCoy (father) in the 1810 census for Armstrong Township, Indiana County was:

Free white males 10 thru 15-1 (John)

Free white males 16 thru 25-3 (Daniel, Joseph born 1791, and ?)

Free white males 45 and over-1 (Daniel)

Free white females 10 thru 15-1

Free white females 16 thru 25-1

Free white females 45 and over-1 (Deborah)

The household composition for Charles McCoy (son) in the 1810 census for Armstrong Township, Indiana County was:

Free white males 26 thru 44-1 (Charles)

Free white females under 10-1

Free white females 26 thru 44-1

The household composition for Daniel McCoy Sr. (father) in the 1820 census for Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County was:

Free white males 45 and over-1 (Daniel)

Free white females 45 and over-1 (Deborah)

Number of persons engaged in manufactures-1

The household composition for Daniel McCoy (son) in the 1820 census for Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County was:

Free white males under 10-2

Free white males 26 thru 44- 1 (Daniel)

Free white females under 10-3

Free white females 26 thru 44-1 (Nancy)

Number of persons engaged in agriculture-1

The household composition for Joseph McCoy (son) in the 1820 census for Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County was:

Free white males under 10-2 

Free white males 26 thru 44-1 (Joseph born 1791)

Free white females 16 thru 25-1 (Nancy)

Number of persons engaged in manufactures-1

The household composition for John McCoy (son) in the 1820 census for Plumcreek Township, Armstrong County was:

Free white males under 10-1

Free white males 16 thru 25-1 (John)

Free white females 16 thru 25-1 (Jane)

Persons engaged in agriculture-1

Since Joseph McCoy is the only son of Daniel McCoy with a known birth date, the ages of Daniel McCoy’s other sons (Charles, Daniel, and John McCoy) in the 1820 through the 1800 censuses were used to estimate their birth dates.  An excel chart was used to illustrate this but cannot be reproduced here.  

Birth dates for Daniel and Deborah McCoy's sons:

1)  Charles McCoy 1775 to 1784
2)  Daniel McCoy 1785 to 1790
3)  Joseph McCoy 1791 from tombstone
4)  John McCoy 1790 to 1800 

Daniel and Deborah McCoy also must have had daughters since there are two females under 15 in the 1800 census and two females under 25 in the 1810 census.  The only known daughter is Mary who was baptized in 1781 in Philadelphia, PA. 

There is no further information on Charles McCoy.  He may have died or moved after he appears in the 1810 census in Armstrong Township, Indiana County.  The children of Daniel, Joseph, and John McCoy and will be discussed in future posts.




 

 

Daniel McCoy-Revolutionary War Soldier

Daniel McCoy and Deborah Norris were my fourth great grandparents.  They were living in Armstrong Township in Westmoreland County in 1800 and Armstrong Township in Indiana County in 1810.  This was the same township since Indiana County was formed in 1803 from portions of Westmoreland and Lycoming Counties.  They had moved to Plumcreek Township in Armstrong County by 1820.  Armstrong Township in Indiana County and Plumcreek Township in Armstrong County are adjacent to each other.

Daniel McCoy's Revolutionary War Service is described in affidavits he and others gave when he applied for a pension from Pennsylvania and later the United States.  His service is also given in the Published Pennsylvania Archives and Pennsylvania in the War of the Revolution.

Daniel McCoy enlisted in Colonel Samuel Miles' Pennsylvania Rifle Regiment in April 1776 where he was a private in Captain John Murray's Company.  He was later a sergeant in Captain John Clark's Company under Colonel Walter Stewart's Regiment.  He was taken prisoner by the British on 27 August 1776 in the Battle of Long Island and was released in a prisoner exchange on 9 December 1776.  He was in the Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776, in the Battle of Brandywine on 11 September 1777, and in the Battle of Germantown on 4 October 1777 where he was severely wounded in the head.  He was discharged from Valley Forge on 1 January 1778 since this is when his enlistment was up.  He began receiving a pension from the State of Pennsylvania on 13 January 1818 for $40 a year. He received a pension (S40985) from the United States on 10 July 1820 retroactive to 8 June 1818 for $96 a year.  He died on 30 January 1821.  His wife Deborah began receiving a widow's pension from the State of Pennsylvania on 1 January 1822 for $40 a year.  She died on 22 October 1829.  Captain John Clark, Alexander McCurdy, and Daniel Boyle gave affidavits attesting that they had served with him since he no longer had proof of his service.

Daniel married Deborah Norris on 27 February 1777 in St. Michael's
Church, Germantown, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania.  He was a weaver but was indigent according to the affidavits he gave to the Court when he applied for a pension.  He owned a cow worth ten dollars but had been unable to work for seven years and needed assistance to walk in his affidavit of June 1820.

According to a biographical sketch for his grandson, Church Smith McCoy, in the Indiana County History by Arms and White, he was "an early settler on Crooked Creek" and "at one time resided on what is now the Benjamin Walker farm.  He was a scout in the Indian Wars."

Daniel and Deborah McCoy had the following children:

1)  Charles McCoy
2)  Mary McCoy born 4 November 1781 and baptized on 24 November 1781 at St. Joseph's Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
3)  Daniel McCoy married Nancy Smith
4)  Joseph McCoy married Nancy McCracken
5)  John McCoy married Jane Smith

More information regarding their children and grandchildren will be given in future posts.