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Below is a family biography included in The History of Gibson County, Tennessee published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1887. These biographies are valuable for genealogy research in discovering missing ancestors or filling in the details of a family tree. Family biographies often include far more information than can be found in a census record or obituary. Details will vary with each biography but will often include the date and place of birth, parent names including mothers' maiden name, name of wife including maiden name, her parents' names, name of children (including spouses if married), former places of residence, occupation details, military service, church and social organization affiliations, and more. There are often ancestry details included that cannot be found in any other type of genealogical record.
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William McCoy is a son of Sexton and Mary A. (Johnston) McCoy who were born, reared and married in the Palmetto State. Sexton McCoy was a shoe maker and followed that calling all his life. He was probably a Democrat in politics, as he was an advocate of secession and free trade. He died when about forty years of age, and his widow married Isaac Neill, by whom she had one son. To her first marriage seven children were born. About 1844 she and Mr. Neill moved to McNairy County, and about twenty years later located in Gibson County, where the mother died in 1877. William McCoy was born June 15, 1821, in South Carolina. His early educational advantages were somewhat limited, and when only a youth he came to Tennessee. At the age of eighteen he began farming for himself, and in 1844 married Elizabeth J. McClintock, who was born on the 14th of January, 1826. Their union resulted in the birth of six children, and all the family save one are members of the Methodist Church. From 1856 to 1861 Mr. McCoy resided in Missouri, but the war caused his return home. He was a Whig previous to the war but has since been a Democrat. He owns 220 acres of land.
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This family biography is one of 242 biographies included in The History of Gibson County, Tennessee published in 1887. The History of Gibson County was included within The History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley & Lake Counties of Tennessee. For the complete description, click here: History of Gibson, Obion, Dyer, Weakley, and Lake Counties of Tennessee
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