There was a notation in Daniel McCoy's Revolutionary War pension file for Hon. A. Drum, 23 August 1854, but there were no letters to him or from him in the file. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia holds a box of papers for Augustus Drum who was an attorney from Greensburg, Pennsylvania and served one term in Congress (March, 1853-March, 1855). Since I was visiting family at the end of June in Maryland and Pennsylvania, I decided to see if the Augustus Drum papers would yield any further information on Daniel McCoy.
There were two letters to Augustus Drum asking for his help since the surviving children of Daniel McCoy believed there was money owed to their deceased father from his Revolutionary War pension.
The first letter was from James McCreay, Shelocta, Indiana County, Pennsylvania and was dated 30 June 1854. He stated in his letter that there were two surviving children of Daniel McCoy, his mother, Mary McCreay, and Joseph McCoy. It also states that there is a family Bible.
The second letter was from James Gordon, Indiana County, Pennsylvania and was dated 25 April 1854. He states that Daniel McCoy's son, Joseph McCoy, believes there is money owed to his deceased father from his Revolutionary War pension.
Although Daniel McCoy had at least three daughters based on the early census records, Mary is the only child for whom we have a baptism record. We know from the first letter that Mary married a man named McCreay and had a son James McCreay. The 1850 census lists a Samuel McCreay with a wife Polly (Polly was a nickname for Mary) and a son James in Plum Creek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania.
Samuel McCrea 78 born Ireland
Polly 68 born Pennsylvania
James 30 Laborer
One of the trees on Ancestry.com lists the following daughters of Daniel McCoy but does not list any source(s) for the information: Mary married to Samuel McCreasy, Margaret married to James McCain, and Nancy married to Nicholas Gordon. Mary was married to a McCreay and there was a Samuel McCrea in 1850 in Plum Creek Township, Armstrong County, Pennsylvania where Daniel McCoy was living in the 1820 census. The name Samuel McCreasy is very similiar to Samuel McCreay. The letter from James McCreay supports the information in this tree for Daniel McCoy's daughter Mary.
The second letter was from James Gordon. Daniel McCoy's daughter Nancy was supposedly married to a Nicholas Gordon but no census or other record can be located for a Nicholas Gordon in Armstrong or Indiana County. It is interesting that James Gordon's surname is the same as that given for the husband of Daniel McCoy's unproven daughter Nancy.
There was a James McKean (similiar to McCain) living in Plum Creek Township in 1820 where Daniel McCoy was living.
I contacted the owner of the family tree on Ancestry.com but she had been given the information by someone and did not have a source for the information. Since the first letter states there is a family Bible, one can only hope that maybe someone reading this blog will know if it still exists and where a copy of it is available.
Harry W. Rowland enlisted in the 10th Pennsylvania National Guard unit (Company F) located in Indiana, Pennsylvania on May 7, 1917. The 10th Pennsylvania National Guard Regiment was mobilized on Sunday, July 15 and mustered into federal service on July 16. It became part of the of the United States Army on August 5. On Friday, September 7, the Regiment departed for Camp Hancock, Georgia for training purposes. The 10th Pennsylvania National Guard Regiment became part of the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry on October 11, 1917, a part of the 28th Division (known as the Keystone Division) of the American Expeditionary Force. A Short History and Illustrated Roster of the 110th Infantry is available on Google Books. It has pictures of all the officers and enlisted men. The following picture is that of Harry W. Rowland in this book.
The Regiment left Camp Hancock on April 24, 1918 for Camp Merritt in New Jersey where they received their equipment and their final physical examinations. On May 2 the Regiment went to Hoboken, New Jersey where they boarded four ships: the Corsican, Demosthenes, The City of Calcutta, and Ansonia. Harry W. Rowland boarded the Corsican along with other members of Company F. The Corsican sailed on May 3, 1918 for Europe. The Army Transport lists are available on Ancestry.com. The easiest way to access them is to enter Army Transport as a keyword search in the card catalog. The following page shows Harry W. Rowland's name on the Corsican Army Transport list.
The troops on the Corsican debarked at Liverpool on May 17 and left Dover for Calais, France on May 19. They received training from both the British and the French before being placed in the front lines on July 4. The History of the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry gives a detailed record of the unit's participation in World War 1. It is available on https://archive.org to search and download. It also lists all the officers and enlisted men in the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry. Individual service records for many World War 1 veterans were destroyed in the fire in St. Louis, Missouri in 1973. It is possible to know where a soldier was during the war if one knows what unit he was in. The above book lists all the officers and enlisted men in the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry with additional information on them. The following entry is for Harry W. Rowland on page 268.
ROWLAND, HARRY W. (1240653) Cpl. Co. F; Disch. May 23, '19; (75-17) Indiana, Pa.
The war ended when the armistice was signed on November 11, 1918 at 11 am. Company F with the 110th Pennsylvania Infantry remained in France and Germany and became part of the Army of Occupation until they returned home in May, 1919. Harry W. Rowland left St. Nazaire, France on April 29, 1919 on the Santa Olivia and arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 12, 1919 with other members of Company F (see Army Transport lists on Ancestry.com). He was discharged from Camp Dix New Jersey, on May 23, 1919. The 28th
Division (Keystone Division) had a Welcome Home Parade in Philadelphia
on May 15, 1919 that over two million people watched.
Harry W. Rowland's discharge papers, application for a victory medal in 1922, and application for veteran's compensation from Pennsylvania in 1934 listed the following engagements he participated in: Champagne-Marne Defensive from July 15 to July 18, 1918; Aisne-Marne Offensive from July 18 to August 6, 1918; Fismens Sector, August 7 to August 17, 1918; Oise-Aisne Offensive from August 18 to September 8, 1918; Meuse-Argonne Offensive from September 26 to October 9, 1918; and Thiacourt Sector from October 15 to November 11, 1918.
The applications of Pennsylvania men that participated in World War I for a victory medal and for veteran's compensation are available on Ancestry.com.
