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Note: Greenbriar was in the commonwealth of Virginia later became West Virginia from chart done by Elvira (McCoy) Bryant 604 South 5th Street Effingham, Illinois 62401 Information taken from family bible of Elisha McCoy and records in Effingham count clerks office Elisha McCoy (as written by Elma McCoy Bryant) Elisha McCoy, son of Andrew and Sarah Williams McCoy, was born in Greenbriar County, Commonwealth of Virginia on 9 Jun 1897. This area of Virginia later became part of the State of West Virginia, but the county was still called Greenbriar. He died at his home in section 2, Mound Township, Effingham County, Illinois, on 14 May 1892. He was 84 years 11 months and 5 days old. His family consisted of his second wife, Caroline Ashing McCoy, their children Sarah, Margaret, Alice and James Sylvester, who was soon to be born, and three children from his first marriage, Brumwell, Jefferson Lee and Nancy Jane. In Allen County Ohio, he left the graves of his first wife, Elizabeth Stotthard, one of their sons, William Thomas who died at the age of eleven and one small daughter of his second marriage. This was Mary Louise, and she died at the age of eleven months. His parents and many of his brothers and sisters are in the same cemetery. The Salem Cemetery is located in Auglaize Township, Allen County, Ohio, near Lima. James Sylvester was born shortly after they arrived in Effingham County, Illinois. Then followed the rest of Elisha's children; Samuel Andrew, Georgeanna, and Nancy Caroline. Elisha's obituary was written by Lucy Agnes Magers McCoy, and it states he united with the Methodist Church at the age of twenty-nine, and has lived in the church over fifty-five years. Although his declining years were feeble and infirm he never lost sight of the glory of God and His Goodness. Elizabeth Stotthard died in 1845, leaving him with four small children. They married 10 Mar 1836, in Madison County, Ohio. In 1846 he married Caroline Ashing in Allen County, Ohio. This was on 17 Mar 1846 and Caroline was from Champaign County, Ohio, at that time. The Ashing family is supposed to have been originally from Kentucky. When Elisha died he had six children from his second marriage and one son from his first marriage living. His wife Caroline passed away 18 Oct 1902. A small clipping from the Altamont News of 1892 was found in Elisha's Bible, it read; "Elisha McCoy, living northeast of Altamont a few miles, died last Friday morning. He was eighty-five years of age, and an old and much respected citizen. He had been in feeble health for a long time. His remains were interred in the Cemetery at this place last Monday, in the presence of a large number of persons who came to pay their last respects to the old pioneer". Elisha is buried on the McCoy lot in Union Cemetery, Altamont, Illinois. His grave is located just a short distance inside the center arch, on the right-hand side of the drive. Nearby is his wife, Caroline, his daughters, Kate Hightower, who was the last of his children to die; Georgeanna Dickman and Alice Combs; also, his son James S. Several grandchildren are buried here and two great-grandchildren are close by. Two daughters, Nancy Jane McCauley and Sarah Elizabeth Byers, are buried in the McCoy graveyard, which was on two acres of land of the farm. This was set aside for the purpose of a family graveyard and a school. It is north of the present McCoy School building, about halfway between the school and the present Altamont Lake. There are no markers standing now, but an iron pipe railing surrounds a few of the graves. It is believed about 35 or 40 persons were originally buried there, but some were later reinterred at Union Cemetery, Altamont, Illinois. The McCauley family had a large marker, which stood for many years, and it is said Nancy Jane and her mother-in-law were the first to be buried there. The school house is now used as a community center. Each year, usually on the Sunday preceding Labor Day, a reunion is held for present neighbors and those who attended the school in the earlier days. The old school director's books go back to 1885, and give a pretty accurate record of the children who once attended this school. The enrollment varies from 37 pupils in a spring term to more than 60 in later terms. The very first books are missing and, perhaps, never were in existence. James Sylvester attended school there for a short while, and his youngest sister Nancy Caroline, then called "Callie" was on record in 1887 and for several later terms. Grandchildren known to have attended there include the children of Elisha's daughter Sarah Byers; Eddie, Ida, Nellie, Minnie, Carrie, Myrtle, and Ethel also children of Alice Combs'; Harry Edward, Otis Harley, and George Arthur Combs. Three of James S. McCoy's children attended school there. Samuel, who is registered as "Sammy", Belve Catherine, and Alva Elisha. A note was made in Alva's case saying a "tuition" of $1.25 per month was charged because he lived "outside" the district boundary lines. This was true because the farm we were raised on in Mound Township was the farm of Grandpap Magers and located about two miles south of grandfather McCoy's land. The school director's books are presently in the possession of Everett Combs, who was the school director at the time the school was closed. He is the great-grandson of Elisha, being the son of Edward Combs and grandson of Alice McCoy Combs. In grandfather's day several of his children lived near him in the McCoy neighborhood; Aunt Sara Byers lived "down the path" to the east; Aunt Alice Combs "across the creek" North East; Aunt Annie (Georgeanna) had a small house by them after her husband, Uncle Frank Magers, died, and when she married William Dickman their home was about a mile to the east. Two of his sons from his first marriage, were in the Civil War, Brumwell and Jefferson Lee. "Brum" came back, married, lived near grandfather for a while, then moved to Shelby County, Illinois, and in 1888 moved to Puxico, Stoddard County, Missouri. He died there 7 Aug 1904. Jefferson Lee died in service of pneumonia on 21 Feb 1861 at the Overton Hospital, Memphis Tennessee. Their sister, Nancy Jane McCauley, died 2 Jan 1866 in Effingham Co., Illinois and is buried in the McCoy Cemetery. James S. and Samuel A were sons of the second marriage, and there were six girls of this marriage. Uncle Sam never married. He was a prospector in the mountains of Colorado in the Pueblo area, and in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, where he died at Burke Idaho on 1 Oct 1921, of the type of tuberculosis miners get from too much and too long exposure to the dust in the mines. In 1914, my father (James S.) received a last letter from him. In it he said he weighed about 145 pounds, had to wear specks to read and write, and was not very gray except for his whiskers which used to be pretty red but were then about half white. He and his partner had a small house in Seattle, Washington, and he had a lot of mining stock which he thought was going to do well for him. He had planned to make a visit back to Illinois, but it never happened. He died "broke" and is buried in the Wallace, Idaho Cemetery. His long-time partner, H.B. Green, took care of him and paid for his burial. He was older than Uncle Sam and called him "son". When grandfather Elisha brought his family from Ohio to Illinois in 1857, they came via wagon on the Old National Trail (old route #40). He drove one wagon and grandmother drove her very own mare and buggy. According to my brother Sam both grandmother and the mare were pregnant. Certainly grandmother was, for my father James S. McCoy was born soon after they arrived here. He was born 31 Oct 1857 and had the honor of being their first child to be born to them in Illinois. Brum and Jefferson Lee rode horseback and drove the livestock. When the hooves of the calves became so sore and they were so lame they could hardly keep traveling, the boys cut the tops of their boots off and made booties for the calves. Grandfather Elisha was tall and in later years wore a long white beard which he tucked inside of his shirt front. He also chewed tobacco, and it was Aunt Kate's job to wash his beard to keep him looking presentable. He grew his own tobacco and trained a tame turkey gobbler to "deworm" his tobacco plants. When he took his cane and headed for the tobacco patch, the gobbler followed. As he lifted the tobacco leaves with the cane, the gobbler promptly made short work of the worms. (Sam said when the gobbler was not deworming the tobacco plants, and the kids were nearby the gobbler would chase them). The milk sick disease was a constant menace to the pioneers of the area. It was caused by the cattle eating the white snake root plant which grew in abundance at this time. People got the disease by use of the afflicted animal's milk or butter. Grandfather lost several head of stock; and the story is that one of his very prized animals was very sick with the disease, and Walt Ensign who was staying with granddad at the time, cured the animal by giving excessively large doses of whiskey. Later my brother Alva, had the disease and was so ill my parents feared for his life. Aunt Annie Dickman came with whiskey, gave it to him all through the night, and he recovered. It is believed this treatment was what saved his life. Dad (James S.) used to tell about the wild wolves on the prairie, and how the cattle would form a circle around the baby calves with their heads and long horns facing the wolf pack when they attacked. And once, his brother Brumwell put him on the back of one of the cows to get the cattle home faster and to safety, when they heard a wolf howl and immediately other wolves answered, with each howl seeming to be closer to them. He spoke of the hard cold winters on the prairie and the snow storms and blizzards. One winter they had a wire strung from the house to the barn to keep them from getting lost if they were unlucky enough to get caught in the storm or had to get to the barn. Elisha bought his farm from the railroad company and saved all of the receipts of payment and all of his tax bill receipts. They even include the payments made for six years following his death. One payment is of special interest. It is a letter dated 30 APR 1864, from the Land Dept. Ill Central R.R. Co., at Chicago, Ill.: #9323 Elisha McCoy, Esq. Freemanton, Illinois Dear Sir: Out of your payment to Col. Mason, received this day by express, we "return" herewith a "$20 counterfeit" treasury note, which you should replace immediately with current money. Yours respectfully, W.H. Whalen, Cashier We have no idea where grandfather got that $20 counterfeit bill, but we do know he did not make it. He was a farmer and a tailor, but NEVER a counterfeiter. In 1870 the Effingham County Democrat Newspaper had a very lengthy list of names of those who had not paid their taxes. It seems most had not and grandfather's name was listed among them. In fact, it was one of those sold at a sheriff's sale for taxes, but he redeemed it later. The taxes on his 240 acres of land that year were $47.92. In 1869 they were $25.35, and in 1887 only $15.64 for the same 240 acres. The 1870 tax bill included state tax, county tax, township tax, district school tax, and a "poor" tax. I guess we still have all but the "poor" tax today, at least not the kind of poor tax they had then, when it went to support the county Poor farm. Elisha's Bible was published in 1837, and contains the Old and New Testaments, translated out of the original tongues. Numerous entries are made in Elisha's handwriting, James Sylvester and Samual Harley McCoy also made numerous entries. These contain birth dates and death dates of family members. There is a certified copy of Marriage for Elisha and Elizabeth Stuthard from the State of Ohio, Madison County, signed and sealed by Burton Blizard, J. P. and a reference to Volume A, page 202 of the probate records, London, Ohio. After Elisha died, Chris Byers petitioned the court to settle grandfather's estate and to be appointed as guardian for his children, Edward, Nellie, Myrtle and Ethel who were still minors. After this was done, James S. bought some of the land that Sarah's children inherited as well as some of the other heirs inheritance. James S. sold all, including his own part, several years later, but I can remember when he used to farm "up on the prairie" and hunted prairie chickens there. Facts about this person: Burial Union Cemetery, Effingham Co., Altamont IL Baptism (LDS) April 17, 1991 Logan, UT Endowment (LDS) July 05, 1991 Logan, UT Sealed to parents (LDS) October 25, 1991 Logan, UT Greenbriar was in the commonwealth of Virginia later became West Virginia from chart done by Elvira (McCoy) Bryant 604 South 5th Street Effingham, Illinois 62401 Information taken from family bible of Elisha McCoy and records in Effingham count clerks office Elisha McCoy (as written by Elma McCoy Bryant) Elisha McCoy, son of Andrew and Sarah Williams McCoy, was born in Greenbriar County, Commonwealth of Virginia on 9 Jun 1897. This area of Virginia later became part of the State of West Virginia, but the county was still called Greenbriar. He died at his home in section 2, Mound Township, Effingham County, Illinois, on 14 May 1892. He was 84 years 11 months and 5 days old. His family consisted of his second wife, Caroline Ashing McCoy, their children Sarah, Margaret, Alice and James Sylvester, who was soon to be born, and three children from his first marriage, Brumwell, Jefferson Lee and Nancy Jane. In Allen County Ohio, he left the graves of his first wife, Elizabeth Stotthard, one of their sons, William Thomas who died at the age of eleven and one small daughter of his second marriage. This was Mary Louise, and she died at the age of eleven months. His parents and many of his brothers and sisters are in the same cemetery. The Salem Cemetery is located in Auglaize Township, Allen County, Ohio, near Lima. James Sylvester was born shortly after they arrived in Effingham County, Illinois. Then followed the rest of Elisha's children; Samuel Andrew, Georgeanna, and Nancy Caroline. Elisha's obituary was written by Lucy Agnes Magers McCoy, and it states he united with the Methodist Church at the age of twenty-nine, and has lived in the church over fifty-five years. Although his declining years were feeble and infirm he never lost sight of the glory of God and His Goodness. Elizabeth Stotthard died in 1845, leaving him with four small children. They married 10 Mar 1836, in Madison County, Ohio. In 1846 he married Caroline Ashing in Allen County, Ohio. This was on 17 Mar 1846 and Caroline was from Champaign County, Ohio, at that time. The Ashing family is supposed to have been originally from Kentucky. When Elisha died he had six children from his second marriage and one son from his first marriage living. His wife Caroline passed away 18 Oct 1902. A small clipping from the Altamont News of 1892 was found in Elisha's Bible, it read; "Elisha McCoy, living northeast of Altamont a few miles, died last Friday morning. He was eighty-five years of age, and an old and much respected citizen. He had been in feeble health for a long time. His remains were interred in the Cemetery at this place last Monday, in the presence of a large number of persons who came to pay their last respects to the old pioneer". Elisha is buried on the McCoy lot in Union Cemetery, Altamont, Illinois. His grave is located just a short distance inside the center arch, on the right-hand side of the drive. Nearby is his wife, Caroline, his daughters, Kate Hightower, who was the last of his children to die; Georgeanna Dickman and Alice Combs; also, his son James S. Several grandchildren are buried here and two great-grandchildren are close by. Two daughters, Nancy Jane McCauley and Sarah Elizabeth Byers, are buried in the McCoy graveyard, which was on two acres of land of the farm. This was set aside for the purpose of a family graveyard and a school. It is north of the present McCoy School building, about halfway between the school and the present Altamont Lake. There are no markers standing now, but an iron pipe railing surrounds a few of the graves. It is believed about 35 or 40 persons were originally buried there, but some were later reinterred at Union Cemetery, Altamont, Illinois. The McCauley family had a large marker, which stood for many years, and it is said Nancy Jane and her mother-in-law were the first to be buried there. The school house is now used as a community center. Each year, usually on the Sunday preceding Labor Day, a reunion is held for present neighbors and those who attended the school in the earlier days. The old school director's books go back to 1885, and give a pretty accurate record of the children who once attended this school. The enrollment varies from 37 pupils in a spring term to more than 60 in later terms. The very first books are missing and, perhaps, never were in existence. James Sylvester attended school there for a short while, and his youngest sister Nancy Caroline, then called "Callie" was on record in 1887 and for several later terms. Grandchildren known to have attended there include the children of Elisha's daughter Sarah Byers; Eddie, Ida, Nellie, Minnie, Carrie, Myrtle, and Ethel also children of Alice Combs'; Harry Edward, Otis Harley, and George Arthur Combs. Three of James S. McCoy's children attended school there. Samuel, who is registered as "Sammy", Belve Catherine, and Alva Elisha. A note was made in Alva's case saying a "tuition" of $1.25 per month was charged because he lived "outside" the district boundary lines. This was true because the farm we were raised on in Mound Township was the farm of Grandpap Magers and located about two miles south of grandfather McCoy's land. The school director's books are presently in the possession of Everett Combs, who was the school director at the time the school was closed. He is the great-grandson of Elisha, being the son of Edward Combs and grandson of Alice McCoy Combs. In grandfather's day several of his children lived near him in the McCoy neighborhood; Aunt Sara Byers lived "down the path" to the east; Aunt Alice Combs "across the creek" North East; Aunt Annie (Georgeanna) had a small house by them after her husband, Uncle Frank Magers, died, and when she married William Dickman their home was about a mile to the east. Two of his sons from his first marriage, were in the Civil War, Brumwell and Jefferson Lee. "Brum" came back, married, lived near grandfather for a while, then moved to Shelby County, Illinois, and in 1888 moved to Puxico, Stoddard County, Missouri. He died there 7 Aug 1904. Jefferson Lee died in service of pneumonia on 21 Feb 1861 at the Overton Hospital, Memphis Tennessee. Their sister, Nancy Jane McCauley, died 2 Jan 1866 in Effingham Co., Illinois and is buried in the McCoy Cemetery. James S. and Samuel A were sons of the second marriage, and there were six girls of this marriage. Uncle Sam never married. He was a prospector in the mountains of Colorado in the Pueblo area, and in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, where he died at Burke Idaho on 1 Oct 1921, of the type of tuberculosis miners get from too much and too long exposure to the dust in the mines. In 1914, my father (James S.) received a last letter from him. In it he said he weighed about 145 pounds, had to wear specks to read and write, and was not very gray except for his whiskers which used to be pretty red but were then about half white. He and his partner had a small house in Seattle, Washington, and he had a lot of mining stock which he thought was going to do well for him. He had planned to make a visit back to Illinois, but it never happened. He died "broke" and is buried in the Wallace, Idaho Cemetery. His long-time partner, H.B. Green, took care of him and paid for his burial. He was older than Uncle Sam and called him "son". When grandfather Elisha brought his family from Ohio to Illinois in 1857, they came via wagon on the Old National Trail (old route #40). He drove one wagon and grandmother drove her very own mare and buggy. According to my brother Sam both grandmother and the mare were pregnant. Certainly grandmother was, for my father James S. McCoy was born soon after they arrived here. He was born 31 Oct 1857 and had the honor of being their first child to be born to them in Illinois. Brum and Jefferson Lee rode horseback and drove the livestock. When the hooves of the calves became so sore and they were so lame they could hardly keep traveling, the boys cut the tops of their boots off and made booties for the calves. Grandfather Elisha was tall and in later years wore a long white beard which he tucked inside of his shirt front. He also chewed tobacco, and it was Aunt Kate's job to wash his beard to keep him looking presentable. He grew his own tobacco and trained a tame turkey gobbler to "deworm" his tobacco plants. When he took his cane and headed for the tobacco patch, the gobbler followed. As he lifted the tobacco leaves with the cane, the gobbler promptly made short work of the worms. (Sam said when the gobbler was not deworming the tobacco plants, and the kids were nearby the gobbler would chase them). The milk sick disease was a constant menace to the pioneers of the area. It was caused by the cattle eating the white snake root plant which grew in abundance at this time. People got the disease by use of the afflicted animal's milk or butter. Grandfather lost several head of stock; and the story is that one of his very prized animals was very sick with the disease, and Walt Ensign who was staying with granddad at the time, cured the animal by giving excessively large doses of whiskey. Later my brother Alva, had the disease and was so ill my parents feared for his life. Aunt Annie Dickman came with whiskey, gave it to him all through the night, and he recovered. It is believed this treatment was what saved his life. Dad (James S.) used to tell about the wild wolves on the prairie, and how the cattle would form a circle around the baby calves with their heads and long horns facing the wolf pack when they attacked. And once, his brother Brumwell put him on the back of one of the cows to get the cattle home faster and to safety, when they heard a wolf howl and immediately other wolves answered, with each howl seeming to be closer to them. He spoke of the hard cold winters on the prairie and the snow storms and blizzards. One winter they had a wire strung from the house to the barn to keep them from getting lost if they were unlucky enough to get caught in the storm or had to get to the barn. Elisha bought his farm from the railroad company and saved all of the receipts of payment and all of his tax bill receipts. They even include the payments made for six years following his death. One payment is of special interest. It is a letter dated 30 APR 1864, from the Land Dept. Ill Central R.R. Co., at Chicago, Ill.: #9323 Elisha McCoy, Esq. Freemanton, Illinois Dear Sir: Out of your payment to Col. Mason, received this day by express, we "return" herewith a "$20 counterfeit" treasury note, which you should replace immediately with current money. Yours respectfully, W.H. Whalen, Cashier We have no idea where grandfather got that $20 counterfeit bill, but we do know he did not make it. He was a farmer and a tailor, but NEVER a counterfeiter. In 1870 the Effingham County Democrat Newspaper had a very lengthy list of names of those who had not paid their taxes. It seems most had not and grandfather's name was listed among them. In fact, it was one of those sold at a sheriff's sale for taxes, but he redeemed it later. The taxes on his 240 acres of land that year were $47.92. In 1869 they were $25.35, and in 1887 only $15.64 for the same 240 acres. The 1870 tax bill included state tax, county tax, township tax, district school tax, and a "poor" tax. I guess we still have all but the "poor" tax today, at least not the kind of poor tax they had then, when it went to support the county Poor farm. Elisha's Bible was published in 1837, and contains the Old and New Testaments, translated out of the original tongues. Numerous entries are made in Elisha's handwriting, James Sylvester and Samual Harley McCoy also made numerous entries. These contain birth dates and death dates of family members. There is a certified copy of Marriage for Elisha and Elizabeth Stuthard from the State of Ohio, Madison County, signed and sealed by Burton Blizard, J. P. and a reference to Volume A, page 202 of the probate records, London, Ohio. After Elisha died, Chris Byers petitioned the court to settle grandfather's estate and to be appointed as guardian for his children, Edward, Nellie, Myrtle and Ethel who were still minors. After this was done, James S. bought some of the land that Sarah's children inherited as well as some of the other heirs inheritance. James S. sold all, including his own part, several years later, but I can remember when he used to farm "up on the prairie" and hunted prairie chickens there. Facts about this person: Burial Union Cemetery, Effingham Co., Altamont IL Baptism (LDS) April 17, 1991 Logan, UT Endowment (LDS) July 05, 1991 Logan, UT Sealed to parents (LDS) October 25, 1991 Logan, UT In 1870, Elisha is in Illinois. His son, Bromwell is living next to him.In 1870, Elisha is in Illinois. His son, Bromwell is living next to him.Greenbriar was in the commonwealth of Virginia later became West Virginia from chart done by Elvira (McCoy) Bryant 604 South 5th Street Effingham, Illinois 62401 Information taken from family bible of Elisha McCoy and records in Effingham count clerks office Elisha McCoy (as written by Elma McCoy Bryant) Elisha McCoy, son of Andrew and Sarah Williams McCoy, was born in Greenbriar County, Commonwealth of Virginia on 9 Jun 1897. This area of Virginia later became part of the State of West Virginia, but the county was still called Greenbriar. He died at his home in section 2, Mound Township, Effingham County, Illinois, on 14 May 1892. He was 84 years 11 months and 5 days old. His family consisted of his second wife, Caroline Ashing McCoy, their children Sarah, Margaret, Alice and James Sylvester, who was soon to be born, and three children from his first marriage, Brumwell, Jefferson Lee and Nancy Jane. In Allen County Ohio, he left the graves of his first wife, Elizabeth Stotthard, one of their sons, William Thomas who died at the age of eleven and one small daughter of his second marriage. This was Mary Louise, and she died at the age of eleven months. His parents and many of his brothers and sisters are in the same cemetery. The Salem Cemetery is located in Auglaize Township, Allen County, Ohio, near Lima. James Sylvester was born shortly after they arrived in Effingham County, Illinois. Then followed the rest of Elisha's children; Samuel Andrew, Georgeanna, and Nancy Caroline. Elisha's obituary was written by Lucy Agnes Magers McCoy, and it states he united with the Methodist Church at the age of twenty-nine, and has lived in the church over fifty-five years. Although his declining years were feeble and infirm he never lost sight of the glory of God and His Goodness. Elizabeth Stotthard died in 1845, leaving him with four small children. They married 10 Mar 1836, in Madison County, Ohio. In 1846 he married Caroline Ashing in Allen County, Ohio. This was on 17 Mar 1846 and Caroline was from Champaign County, Ohio, at that time. The Ashing family is supposed to have been originally from Kentucky. When Elisha died he had six children from his second marriage and one son from his first marriage living. His wife Caroline passed away 18 Oct 1902. A small clipping from the Altamont News of 1892 was found in Elisha's Bible, it read; "Elisha McCoy, living northeast of Altamont a few miles, died last Friday morning. He was eighty-five years of age, and an old and much respected citizen. He had been in feeble health for a long time. His remains were interred in the Cemetery at this place last Monday, in the presence of a large number of persons who came to pay their last respects to the old pioneer". Elisha is buried on the McCoy lot in Union Cemetery, Altamont, Illinois. His grave is located just a short distance inside the center arch, on the right-hand side of the drive. Nearby is his wife, Caroline, his daughters, Kate Hightower, who was the last of his children to die; Georgeanna Dickman and Alice Combs; also, his son James S. Several grandchildren are buried here and two great-grandchildren are close by. Two daughters, Nancy Jane McCauley and Sarah Elizabeth Byers, are buried in the McCoy graveyard, which was on two acres of land of the farm. This was set aside for the purpose of a family graveyard and a school. It is north of the present McCoy School building, about halfway between the school and the present Altamont Lake. There are no markers standing now, but an iron pipe railing surrounds a few of the graves. It is believed about 35 or 40 persons were originally buried there, but some were later reinterred at Union Cemetery, Altamont, Illinois. The McCauley family had a large marker, which stood for many years, and it is said Nancy Jane and her mother-in-law were the first to be buried there. The school house is now used as a community center. Each year, usually on the Sunday preceding Labor Day, a reunion is held for present neighbors and those who attended the school in the earlier days. The old school director's books go back to 1885, and give a pretty accurate record of the children who once attended this school. The enrollment varies from 37 pupils in a spring term to more than 60 in later terms. The very first books are missing and, perhaps, never were in existence. James Sylvester attended school there for a short while, and his youngest sister Nancy Caroline, then called "Callie" was on record in 1887 and for several later terms. Grandchildren known to have attended there include the children of Elisha's daughter Sarah Byers; Eddie, Ida, Nellie, Minnie, Carrie, Myrtle, and Ethel also children of Alice Combs'; Harry Edward, Otis Harley, and George Arthur Combs. Three of James S. McCoy's children attended school there. Samuel, who is registered as "Sammy", Belve Catherine, and Alva Elisha. A note was made in Alva's case saying a "tuition" of $1.25 per month was charged because he lived "outside" the district boundary lines. This was true because the farm we were raised on in Mound Township was the farm of Grandpap Magers and located about two miles south of grandfather McCoy's land. The school director's books are presently in the possession of Everett Combs, who was the school director at the time the school was closed. He is the great-grandson of Elisha, being the son of Edward Combs and grandson of Alice McCoy Combs. In grandfather's day several of his children lived near him in the McCoy neighborhood; Aunt Sara Byers lived "down the path" to the east; Aunt Alice Combs "across the creek" North East; Aunt Annie (Georgeanna) had a small house by them after her husband, Uncle Frank Magers, died, and when she married William Dickman their home was about a mile to the east. Two of his sons from his first marriage, were in the Civil War, Brumwell and Jefferson Lee. "Brum" came back, married, lived near grandfather for a while, then moved to Shelby County, Illinois, and in 1888 moved to Puxico, Stoddard County, Missouri. He died there 7 Aug 1904. Jefferson Lee died in service of pneumonia on 21 Feb 1861 at the Overton Hospital, Memphis Tennessee. Their sister, Nancy Jane McCauley, died 2 Jan 1866 in Effingham Co., Illinois and is buried in the McCoy Cemetery. James S. and Samuel A were sons of the second marriage, and there were six girls of this marriage. Uncle Sam never married. He was a prospector in the mountains of Colorado in the Pueblo area, and in the states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, where he died at Burke Idaho on 1 Oct 1921, of the type of tuberculosis miners get from too much and too long exposure to the dust in the mines. In 1914, my father (James S.) received a last letter from him. In it he said he weighed about 145 pounds, had to wear specks to read and write, and was not very gray except for his whiskers which used to be pretty red but were then about half white. He and his partner had a small house in Seattle, Washington, and he had a lot of mining stock which he thought was going to do well for him. He had planned to make a visit back to Illinois, but it never happened. He died "broke" and is buried in the Wallace, Idaho Cemetery. His long-time partner, H.B. Green, took care of him and paid for his burial. He was older than Uncle Sam and called him "son". When grandfather Elisha brought his family from Ohio to Illinois in 1857, they came via wagon on the Old National Trail (old route #40). He drove one wagon and grandmother drove her very own mare and buggy. According to my brother Sam both grandmother and the mare were pregnant. Certainly grandmother was, for my father James S. McCoy was born soon after they arrived here. He was born 31 Oct 1857 and had the honor of being their first child to be born to them in Illinois. Brum and Jefferson Lee rode horseback and drove the livestock. When the hooves of the calves became so sore and they were so lame they could hardly keep traveling, the boys cut the tops of their boots off and made booties for the calves. Grandfather Elisha was tall and in later years wore a long white beard which he tucked inside of his shirt front. He also chewed tobacco, and it was Aunt Kate's job to wash his beard to keep him looking presentable. He grew his own tobacco and trained a tame turkey gobbler to "deworm" his tobacco plants. When he took his cane and headed for the tobacco patch, the gobbler followed. As he lifted the tobacco leaves with the cane, the gobbler promptly made short work of the worms. (Sam said when the gobbler was not deworming the tobacco plants, and the kids were nearby the gobbler would chase them). The milk sick disease was a constant menace to the pioneers of the area. It was caused by the cattle eating the white snake root plant which grew in abundance at this time. People got the disease by use of the afflicted animal's milk or butter. Grandfather lost several head of stock; and the story is that one of his very prized animals was very sick with the disease, and Walt Ensign who was staying with granddad at the time, cured the animal by giving excessively large doses of whiskey. Later my brother Alva, had the disease and was so ill my parents feared for his life. Aunt Annie Dickman came with whiskey, gave it to him all through the night, and he recovered. It is believed this treatment was what saved his life. Dad (James S.) used to tell about the wild wolves on the prairie, and how the cattle would form a circle around the baby calves with their heads and long horns facing the wolf pack when they attacked. And once, his brother Brumwell put him on the back of one of the cows to get the cattle home faster and to safety, when they heard a wolf howl and immediately other wolves answered, with each howl seeming to be closer to them. He spoke of the hard cold winters on the prairie and the snow storms and blizzards. One winter they had a wire strung from the house to the barn to keep them from getting lost if they were unlucky enough to get caught in the storm or had to get to the barn. Elisha bought his farm from the railroad company and saved all of the receipts of payment and all of his tax bill receipts. They even include the payments made for six years following his death. One payment is of special interest. It is a letter dated 30 APR 1864, from the Land Dept. Ill Central R.R. Co., at Chicago, Ill.: #9323 Elisha McCoy, Esq. Freemanton, Illinois Dear Sir: Out of your payment to Col. Mason, received this day by express, we "return" herewith a "$20 counterfeit" treasury note, which you should replace immediately with current money. Yours respectfully, W.H. Whalen, Cashier We have no idea where grandfather got that $20 counterfeit bill, but we do know he did not make it. He was a farmer and a tailor, but NEVER a counterfeiter. In 1870 the Effingham County Democrat Newspaper had a very lengthy list of names of those who had not paid their taxes. It seems most had not and grandfather's name was listed among them. In fact, it was one of those sold at a sheriff's sale for taxes, but he redeemed it later. The taxes on his 240 acres of land that year were $47.92. In 1869 they were $25.35, and in 1887 only $15.64 for the same 240 acres. The 1870 tax bill included state tax, county tax, township tax, district school tax, and a "poor" tax. I guess we still have all but the "poor" tax today, at least not the kind of poor tax they had then, when it went to support the county Poor farm. Elisha's Bible was published in 1837, and contains the Old and New Testaments, translated out of the original tongues. Numerous entries are made in Elisha's handwriting, James Sylvester and Samual Harley McCoy also made numerous entries. These contain birth dates and death dates of family members. There is a certified copy of Marriage for Elisha and Elizabeth Stuthard from the State of Ohio, Madison County, signed and sealed by Burton Blizard, J. P. and a reference to Volume A, page 202 of the probate records, London, Ohio. After Elisha died, Chris Byers petitioned the court to settle grandfather's estate and to be appointed as guardian for his children, Edward, Nellie, Myrtle and Ethel who were still minors. After this was done, James S. bought some of the land that Sarah's children inherited as well as some of the other heirs inheritance. James S. sold all, including his own part, several years later, but I can remember when he used to farm "up on the prairie" and hunted prairie chickens there. Facts about this person: Burial Union Cemetery, Effingham Co., Altamont IL Baptism (LDS) April 17, 1991 Logan, UT Endowment (LDS) July 05, 1991 Logan, UT Sealed to parents (LDS) October 25, 1991 Logan, UT In 1870, Elisha is in Illinois. His son, Bromwell is living next to him.In 1870, Elisha is in Illinois. His son, Bromwell is living next to him.
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