Dear County Tyrone Group - My name is Ron McCoy, and I am
writing on behalf of a small group of DNA-connected cousins
searching for our McCoy roots. I am submitting our family
histories in the hope it might jog some memories or
connections with others in your group. As far as I can tell,
we are not related to most branches of the common family
known as McCoy or McKay. As my father used to tell me, 'We
are different from them,' and years after his passing, YDNA
has proved him correct. Our family apparently came from the
family of McGillivray (spelled many ways), and sometime
around the early to mid-1700s they took the name McCoy. The
McGillivray branch we are most closely related to seems to
have come from the Inverness area, with a move to the
Western Isles before settling as McCoys in Ireland. Thoughts
regarding the name change include a price on the heads of
certain of the McGillivray clan after a battle such as
Culloden, or the legal battles of the Estate of John
McGillivray. All, however, are speculation and not provable
at this time. What I am fairly certain of is that part of
the family settled in Tyrone, and that in the early part of
1800, McCoy families flourished around Strabane, Clogher,
Pomeroy, and Tedavnet. These McCoys seem to have lived there
a number of years, and a significant number of McCoy
families are listed from the late 1700s through the latter
part of 1800. We can show that a number of these families
are our direct ancestors.
There is evidence that at least one branch of our family
took to the sea and ended up settling in the Canadian
Maritimes, but, over the course of a century, the ancestors
of the three DNA cousins represented here ended up in
America, interior Canada, and Australia. The following are
their stories:
Sue Abrahamsen's branch: My earliest known ancestor was my
2x great grandfather, John 'Thomas' McCoy b.1790 in New
York. (John Thomas seems to have used the name Thomas, and
that is how we usually refer to him.) Research indicates
that the father (or possibly grandfather) of Thomas migrated
to America around the mid-1700s and took up residence in New
York City. This ancestor, who I believe was named John,
likely travelled with close family - either brothers or
cousins named James, Alexander, and William. In 1775 these
four men all served in the same NYC Regiment during the
American Revolution, and in 1790 they were all living in the
same NYC ward and held similar occupations. My McCoy line is
through my dad, whose mother was Ada Marie McCoy b.1885 in
Brooklyn, New York.
Ron McCoy's branch: My first known ancestor was my 3x great
grandfather, John McCoy b.1769 in Pomeroy Parish, Tyrone,
Northern Ireland. John migrated to Ontario, Canada in 1838
with his wife, Mary Geddes, and their children, Margaret,
James, Robert, Mary Jane, William, and Annie. They were part
of a Sceeder religious movement led by David Evans. They
settled into a life of farming near Ottawa, Canada - a
tradition I carry on with today.
Ross McCoy's branch:
Ross McCoys branch: My earliest confirmed ancestor is
Elliott McCoy born 1792-1863. The McCoy name is common in
the Clogher district which encompasses southern Tyrone,
Fermanagh and most of Monaghan. My ancestor Elliott moved
into Sruveel townland around 1821. Prior to moving into
Sruveel the family can be traced via the childrens baptisms
at the Clones church moving from neighbouring townlands of
Agharagirg in 1814 and Dundrummons in 1815. This movement
may be due to large estate owners of the Tedavnet district
ie Lucas, Forster and Woodwright reorganizing their land on
a more efficient basis around this time and offering new
leases and consolidating older ones. It also seems that the
McCoys married into established well known farming families
such as the Elliotts and Thompsons. This intermarrying was
most likely a strategic move to consolidate their leasing
position and protect future generations. The Woodwright
family of Gola were the primary landlords of Sruveel owning
over 3700 acres dating back to the 1600s around Tedavnet and
extremely influential. The McCoy family would have been well
known to their landlord Rev W Woodwright as he married
Elliott's son Richard in1850 to Margaret Cassidy who was
also from Sruveel at the Mullaghfad church and was also
connected to the older Ballinode church which is still in
use today.
Elliott McCoy and Jane Thompson had a large family with only
their son David remaining at Sruveel after Elliott's death
in 1863. He eldest son son Samuel married Hannah Wright and
migrated to Newfoundland in 1841. Richard born 1830 joined
HM 49^th regiment and later settled in Belfast as did his
brother Joseph born 1837 who settled in England.
Any ideas, information, or thoughts you might have about our
family's origins would be greatly appreciated. All of us
have trees on Ancestry that you are welcome to take a look
at. You can also reach us via email at:
Sue: [email protected]
Ron: [email protected]
Ross: [email protected]
Thanks for taking the time to read our letter. We look
forward to hearing from you.
