He was born on 30 May 1847, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (2, 4, 5 [65 in 1910], 9). He was 18 years old when he was enlisted (4, 9 [63 in 1910]).
He was a laborer when he was enlisted (4).
His brother may be the John McCoy who also served in the 91st Pennsylvania (see 9).
He was 5 feet 5 inches tall, and had a fair complexion, grey eyes, and brown hair (4).
He also served in company C of the 1st, and company A of the 2nd, US Artillery (8). He also served in company K and H of the 3rd and A of the 5th US Cavalry (8).
He was enlisted and mustered into service on 5 January 1864 (1, 4). He was enlisted for three years, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by Captain Lane (4). He was mustered in as a private in company H, by Captain Lane (1, 4).
He was wounded on 5 May 1864 at Wilderness, Virginia (1).
On 14 August 1864, he returned to the regiment from hospital (6).
The company H Register of Deserters reports him as deserting on 1 April 1865, at the Battle of Five Forks, Virginia (3, 4). However, the entry is crossed out; I do not know whether that means he returned, or that he never deserted.
He mustered out on 10 July 1865, with his company (1).
He joined the regular army in 1866 (2). In March 1880, he retired as a Sergeant from the 3rd US Cavalry (2). He also served with the 5th US Cavalry (2).
He is said to have known William F ("Buffalo Bill") Cody (2).
In 1881/82, he married Virginia A [unknown surname] (9). In 1910, she had had 15 children, 7 of whom were alive (9).
On 11 February 1891, he applied successfully from Washington, DC, for a pension (7, 8).
He died on 7 September 1910, in Washington DC (2, 7). He was living at 2316 H Street Northwest (5).
In 1910, he was living at 312 McLean Avenue, Washington, DC (9). He was living with his wife Virginia, brother John (perhaps John McCoy?), seven children, and a lodger (9). He was a clerk at the Navy Yard (9).
On 15 September 1910, his widow, Virginia A McCoy, applied successfully from Washington, DC, for a pension (7, 8).
In 1920, his widow, Virginia A McCoy, was living at 312 McLean Street, Washington, DC (10). She was living with five of her children, the wife and two children of one of them, and a boarder (the same one as in 1910) (10).
On 28 November 1923, a minor dependent, Charles R McCoy, applied successfully from Washington, DC, for a pension (7, 8).
Michael McCoy is researching William James McCoy; contact him at g.m.mccoy@worldnet.att.net.
1 Bates, Samuel Penniman. History of Pennsylvania volunteers, 1861-5. Harrisburg: B. Singerly, state printer, 1869-71. 5 volumes. 'Ninety-first regiment', volume 3, pages 186-233. (In the roster) (William McCoy)
2 e-mail, Michael McCoy, citing a family Bible (William James McCoy)
3 company H, register of deserters, #24 (William McCoy)
4 company H, descriptive roll, #121 (William McCoy)
5 death notice, Washington Post 20 September 1910, page 3 (William McCoy)
6 consolidated morning report, 91st Pennsylvania, 14 August 1864 (Private McCoy)
7 pension index, by regiment, 91st PA Infantry, company H (William McCoy)
8 pension index, by name (William McCoy)
9 1910 US census, District of Columbia, supervisor's district [blank], enumeration district 71, microfilm series T624, film 151, page 20 B = 5 handwritten (William A McCoy)
10 1920 US census, Washington, District of Columbia, supervisor's district [blank], enumeration district 85, microfilm series T625, film 207, page 125 A = 13 handwritten (Virginia A McCoy)
[I did not find him in the HeritageQuest or LDS indices to the 1900 census (searched November 2009)]
[I did not find him in RootsWeb WorldConnect (searched 21 November 2009)]
| line | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 |
| street | McLean Ave | ||||||||||
| house nr | 312 | ||||||||||
| dwelling nr | 93 | ||||||||||
| family nr | 96 | ||||||||||
| name | McCoy, William A. | - Virginia A. | - John S. | - Francis H. | John S | Charles R | Michael D | Ethel M | George O [?] | Mary A [?] | Noonan Michael V. |
| relationship | Head | Wife | brother | son | son | son | son | daughter | son | daughter | lodger |
| sex | M | F | M | M | M | M | M | F | M | F | M |
| color | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| age | 63 | 45 | 35 [sic; presumably 55] | 20 | 16 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 52 |
| marital status | M1 | M1 | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | S | Wd |
| #years present marriage | 28 | 28 | |||||||||
| mother of # children | 15 | ||||||||||
| mother of # living children | 7 | ||||||||||
| birthplace | Pennsylvania | Dist of Col | Pennsylvania | District of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col |
| father's birthplace | Ire English | Ire English | Ire English | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Ire English |
| mother's birthplace | Ire English | Ire English | Ire English | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Dist of Col | Ire English |
| immigrated | |||||||||||
| naturalized/alien | |||||||||||
| speaks English | English | English | English | English | English | English | English | [erased?] | [erased?] | [erased?] | English |
| occupation | clerk | none | laborer | none | apprentice | newsboy | newsboy | none | none | none | Blacksmith |
| nature of industry etc. | Navy Yard | Store | Machinist | Navy Yard | |||||||
| employer etc. | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | ||||
| out of work 15 Apr 1910? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | yes | No | |||||
| # weeks out of work 1909 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||
| can write | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||
| school since 1 Sep 09 | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | ||||||
| owned/rented | O | ||||||||||
| owned free or mortagaged | M | ||||||||||
| farm/house | H | ||||||||||
| nr on farm schedule | |||||||||||
| civil war vet | UA | UA [sic] | |||||||||
| [It's tempting to speculate that 'UA' belongs on line 58, and not 57, and that John McCoy is the John McCoy who served in the 91st] | |||||||||||
| blind | |||||||||||
| deaf & dumb | |||||||||||
| line | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| street | McLean St | ||||||||||
| house number | 312 | ||||||||||
| dwelling visit number | 247 | ||||||||||
| family visit number | 249 | ||||||||||
| name | McCoy Virginia A. | - John S Jr. | - Minetta [?] | - Charles P. | - Evelyn A. | - Charles | - Ellan [?] V | - George W. | - Mary A. | - John S. Sr. | Noonan Michael B. |
| relationship | Head | Son | Daughter | Son | Daughter in law | Grandson [?] | Granddaughter | Son | Daughter | Brother in law | Boarder |
| own/rent | O | ||||||||||
| free/mortgaged (if owned) | F | ||||||||||
| sex | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | F | M | M |
| race | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| age at last birthday | 55 | 25 | 35 | 24 | 17 | 1 0/12 | 19 [?] | 17 | 12 | 65 | 62 |
| marital status | Wd | S | S | M | M | S | S | S | S | S | Wd |
| year of immigration | |||||||||||
| naturalized/alien | |||||||||||
| year of naturalization | |||||||||||
| attended school since Sept 1919 | No [?] | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||||
| can read | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| can write | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| birth place | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | Pennsylvania | District of Columbia |
| native language | |||||||||||
| father's birthplace | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | Ireland | Ireland |
| father's native language | Irish | Irish | |||||||||
| mother's birthplace | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | Virginia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | District of Columbia | Virginia | Ireland | Ireland |
| mother's native language | Irish | Irish | |||||||||
| can speak English | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | |
| occupation | none | Inspector | none | Bookkeeper | none | none | Instructor [?] | Letter Carrier | none | Window Cleaner | Blacksmith |
| industry, business | Navy Yard | War Dept | Playground | US Govt | Navy Yard | ||||||
| employment status | W | W | W | W | W | W | |||||
| number of farm schedule | |||||||||||