Gayle:

Most people whose given names were Harvey were named after William Harvey
who first explained the circulation of blood. He captured the attention of
many unrelated families. Harvey became a fad name.

However, Willa (Harvey) McCoy having Harvey for her maiden name may be an
important clue, especially if she is of the right childbearing age and if
there are other factors pointing at her and husband as Candidate Parents
for Harvey McCoy.

It may help to analyze the names of Harvey and Louisa (Crist) McCoy's
children. It is important to understand the whole family picture.

"Arstarkus" is a phonetic rendering of Aristarchus, which has 5 items in
the Wikipedia.com disambiguation list. Lycurgus has even more. Since these
are from ancient Greek history, it sounds like the father was a history
buff.

In another message you said: "Harvey was an educated man because of some
of the things he did." What were some of those things he did besides
giving some of his children names from ancient Greek history? Are you
referring to his being county auditor of Perry Co., Indiana, and justice
of the peace in Moravia, Appanoose Co., Iowa? Anything else?

I collect unusual spellings of Bible names and Classical names which make
them hard to recognize until they are said out loud.

Melissa was also a name from ancient Greek which was a fad name in the
1800s. I suspect it was the mother's choice.

Four of Harvey and Louisa (Crist) McCoy's boys have double given names
which look suspiciously like what the late Arthur Fiske called unit names,
whether for a relative, brother-in-law, friend, prominent person in the
community, or famous person. The whole name of that other person is given
to the child. It is important to identify who each of these other people
are who are represented by unit names, if indeed these are unit names. And
what is their connection to the McCoy, Harvey, and Crist families?

Jehu is a Bible name of 4 people in the Old Testament, including a king of
Israel. However, if it is part of a unit name, that casts a different
light on it. If "Jehu Hardy" is a unit name, then that is probably more
important information than that Jehu is a Bible name.

Matthias is unusual in this group of names in that it is apparently a solo
name from the Bible (Acts 1:23,26) and like many less common Bible names
was fading in popularity in the 1800s. Therefore, it might have some
family
significance, especially since he was apparently the firstborn. Look for
another Matthias in Harvey's and Louisa's generation or earlier.

Do either Harvey or Louisa have a connection with the Moravian Church
(Unitas Fratrum or Unity of the Brethren)? Does the surname Crist have a
German background? There were some English speakers as well as German
speakers among the Moravians. Why did Harvey and Louisa move to Moravia,
Appanoose County, Iowa? Moravia was founded by Moravians migrating from
the Moravian colony at Salem (now Winston-Salem), NC.

What does the "C" in Lewis C. McCoy stand for? The Lewis may be an
American substitute for a German given name in an earlier generation. In
any event, the "Lewis C_____" may be a unit name.

It is important to thoroughly study the children and any known siblings of
Harvey and Louisa (Crist) McCoy.

--Ida Skarson McCormick, [log in to unmask], Seattle


-------------------------------
Gayle Garrett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

<snip>
Willa [Harvey] McCoy's maiden [name] might turn out to be a lead.

My Great great grandfather, Harvey McCoy was born in Virginia back in 1813
& Joseph being born in 1776. These dates could fit as father & son, but
need to check it out.

A lot of sons back then were named after uncles & several used their
mother's maiden name.

<snip>

[Children of Harvey McCoy and Louisa (Crist) McCoy:]

1.-*Matthias McCoy* b: July 10, 1842[,] Perry Co., Indiana[.]
d: April 30, 1864 Killed in action in Civil War Battle at Mark's Mills,
Arkansas

2.-*Jehu Hardy McCoy*(My Great Granddad) -b: October 18, 1844[,] Perry
Co., Indiana [.] d: August 04, 1926 [,] Graham County, Kansas [.] Wounded
& captured at in Civil War Battle at Mark's Mills, Arkansas, saw as his
brother Matthias McCoy shot in same battle.

3.-*John Riggs McCoy*  b: November 20, 1846	Perry Co., Indiana

4.-*Lewis C. McCoy*  b: September 28, 1848	Perry Co., Indiana

5.-*Melissa Ann "Sis" McCoy*  b: August 10, 1853   Appanoose County, Iowa

6.-*Isaac Madison McCoy*b: May 27, 1855   Appanoose County, Iowa

7.-*Arstarkus McCoy*b: April 11, 1858   Appanoose County, Iowa

8.-*Lycurgus McCoy*b: December 31, 1860   Appanoose County, Iowa

<snip>

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