Robert McCoy Family
We know very little about Robert McCoy and his small family, largely because they probably were living on the margins, barely scraping by. As a result, Robert left very few records: he owned no land, was involved in no family disputes that ended up in court, and did not serve as a witness to the documents or court records of others.
Robert was born between 1776 and 1780 in North Carolina; we have no idea who his parents or siblings were, nor do we know which county he came from. He first appears in Rutherford County TN records in 1813, when he was paid $13 in the estate settlement of John Thompson. Because Robert was a carpenter -- there were numerous carpentry tools sold when his own estate was settled -- we surmise that this payment may have been for the coffin; he appears in several other estate records, always receiving about $10 or so, but evidently not as settlement of any kind of debt.
He married in Rutherford County probably around 1817; we do not know his wife's name. In the 1820 census, he is enumerated with one female (presumably his wife), aged 26-44, and two small daughters, both under the age of five. In 1830, he has disappeared from the census, but reappears in 1840, with two daughters both aged 20-30. It is possible that his wife died shortly after 1820 and that he moved in with other family members who could help take care of his toddlers.
Given that he was at least 38 when his first daughter, Mary Jane, was born, it is possible that this was his second marriage and that he had other children that we just don't know about.
He died in 1843 in Rutherford County, leaving no will; Henry Ransom was appointed as executor by the court to settle the estate.
Robert McCoy (b. between 1776/1780, North Carolina - d. 1843, Rutherford, TN)
m. ca 1817, probably Rutherford, TN
name unknown (b. between 1776/1794 - d. after 1820, Rutherford, TN)
Children:
i. Mary Jane McCoy (b. 1818, Rutherford, TN - d after 1880, probably Rutherford, TN); m. James L. Whitus
ii. Martha McCoy (b. 1820, Rutherford, TN - d. about April 1858, Rutherford, TN); never married