Treasure Chest Thursday: Cotton mill chimney in Arizona, La.

Chimney remaining from the post-Civil War cotton mill in the Arizona community near Homer, Louisiana.  Photo courtesy of and copyright 2011 by reader Linda [last name withheld for privacy].

One cool thing about having a genealogy blog is that you occasionally hear from new-to-you relatives with whom you can collaborate.  An unexpected delight is when a reader like Linda connects with you and you end up with a piece of your family's history.

Linda saw my blog post about James McCoy, my great-great-grandfather who moved from Delaware to post-Civil War Louisiana to work in the first cotton mill west of the Mississippi.  Her family now owns the land where the mill once stood, and she was wondering about its history.  I gave her some suggestions about where to look up land records (the Claiborne Parish Courthouse, federal General Land Office records, and Arphax Publishing's "Family Maps" volumes) and sent her links with a bit of history about the Arizona community and its cotton mill.  And in return, Linda graciously sent me this photo.  She says the chimney once had a bronze plaque on it that apparently was stolen.

A photo of the entire building as it once existed is posted on the Louisiana GenWeb Archives site here.  There is an Arizona Museum in the area; a Google book search turned up a older guidebook entry that states it is open by appointment only.  On my genealogy to-do list (with a long list of others) is to contact them for info they might have on the mill or perhaps even about my great-great grandpa James McCoy, his wife Rebecca Jane Harrell, and their family.

Text copyright 2011 Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.

Tombstone Tuesday: James McCoy

Headstone of James McCoy (1841-1906) and half-brother Alexander McCoy (1856-1893), Wilmington and Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware, Nov. 2009.  Digital photo courtesy of J. Marler, all rights reserved.  (The reverse side of the stone, here, memorializes their parents.)

James McCoy was my great-great-grandfather and one of my few "Yankee" ancestors (among those born in the United States -- most are from so deep in the Deep South that Delaware seems like the frozen North in comparison).  A cabinetmaker and thread-mill worker born in Wilmington, Delaware about 1841, James moved to Louisiana between 1865 and 1871 to work as a supervisor of a cotton-thread mill in Arizona, a small community near Homer in Claiborne Parish.  (I'm fairly sure he served as a Union soldier for Delaware in the Civil War.  Wonder if he mentioned that to any of his Louisiana acquaintances?)

He married Rebecca Jane Harrell and had two children, including my great-grandmother Maggie Elizabeth McCoy Stevenson.  The family is listed in the 1880 census in Lincoln Parish, La.  Some time after Jane's death in 1881, he either returned to Delaware to live or was simply visiting family when he died there on Jan. 26, 1906.

If anyone has more info on where James lived during his life, his wife Rebecca Jane Harrell's burial place, or what happened to their son "N.," who disappears after the 1880 census (I'm guessing he died young), please e-mail me at hallroots (at) sbcglobal (dot) net.  Thanks!

Text copyright 2010 by Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.

Surname Saturday: McCOY from Ireland to DE to LA

Today we have my McCOY line, one of my few Northern lines, originating from my maternal great-grandmother. Corrections, additions, and questions welcomed; this is a work in progress. Numbers refer to ahnentafel (pedigree chart) numbering. Sources are available--just ask!  See my blog ("about me" on the right sidebar) to contact me for more info or to share info.

Immigrant ancestor Alexander McCoy's plot in Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery, Wilmington, Delaware.  Digital photo courtesy of J. Marler, Nov. 2009, all rights reserved.

(The direct line is in bold; spouses in bold italic.)

1. Liz HALL MORGAN - me
3. Mom STEVENSON
6. Alvin Jasper STEVENSON (Sr.) (1897-1974)

13. Maggie Elizabeth McCOY.  Born on 16 Aug 1876 in LA. Maggie Elizabeth died in Minden, Webster, LA, on 11 Aug 1937. Buried in Athens, Claiborne, LA (Tulip Cemetery near Athens). On 30 Nov 1893 in Athens?, Claiborne Parish, LA, she married:
12. John William STEVENSON. Born (to James W. Stevenson and Hannah E. Kilpatrick) on 9 Jul 1871 near Homer, Claiborne Parish, LA. John died in Caddo Parish, LA, on 29 Apr 1942. Buried in Athens, Claiborne, LA (Tulip Cemetery near Athens). 
Children: Ethel Gertrude Stevenson, Alvin Jasper Stevenson (Sr.), John T Stevenson and Vera Mae Stevenson Frye.

26. James McCOY. Born abt 1841 in Wilmington, New Castle, DE. A cabinetmaker and then a cotton mill worker, James died in Wilmington, New Castle, DE, on 26 Jan 1906.  Buried in Wilmington, New Castle, DE (Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery). Between 1865 & 1872, prob. in LA (where he reportedly moved to be a supervisor in a cotton thread mill in the Arizona community near Homer, LA), he married:
27. Rebecca “Jane” HARRELL. Born (to Levi Thomas Harrell ("Billy") and Rebecca A. Smith) abt 1854 in AL. Rebecca Jane died in Lincoln or Union Parish, Louisiana, abt 1881.
Children: (son) N. McCoy [died young?] and Maggie Elizabeth McCoy Stevenson.
Note: We'd love to know more about Jane if anyone has more info.

52. Alexander McCOY. Born in 1816 in IRELAND.  Alexander was a cotton weaver and farmer and died prob. in Wilmington, DE, in 1872.  Buried in Wilmington, New Castle, DE (Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery). Before 1838, prob. in PA, he married his first wife:
53. Margaret ALLEN. Born in DE. Margaret died in 1849, prob. in Wilmington, DE.  Buried in 1849 in Wilmington, New Castle, DE (Wilmington & Brandywine Cemetery).
Children: Martha Jane McCoy Garey or Geary, Ann or Anna McCoy McCartney, Mary McCoy, William "Will" McCoy, and Emily McCoy Colwell.
(Alexander's second wife was Margaret BRANNEN or BRANNON, whom he married 4 July 1850, in Loveville, near Wilmington, DE. They had children Catherine B. "Kate" McCoy Johnson and Alexander McCoy (Jr.).)