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> To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-roots.html