McCoy, Josiah.

The following data is extracted from An Illustrated History of Southern California: embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of lower California..

Josiah McCoy Justice of the Peace at Westminster, was born in Washington County, Pennsylvania, May 20, 1826. His father was Colonel John McCoy, of Scotch ancestry; and his mother, whose maiden name was Jane Brice, was a daughter of Rev. John Brice, of West Virginia. They were among the early settlers of Washington County, Pennsylvania. In 1850 Josiah McCoy went to Marshall County, Illinois, followed farming for a number of years, and subsequently mercantile business some five years at Henry, that county.
In December, 1873, he became a citizen of California and a resident of the town of Westminster, where he bought 120 acres of land. This he has put under a high state of cultivation, and is carrying on the dairy business and stock-raising. He also owns valuable land near Beaumont, in San Bernardino County. Politically he affiliates with the Republican Party and sympathizes with the Prohibition movement; he is public-spirited, aiding in all good enterprises.
Mr. McCoy was first married in 1854, to Miss Mary L. Noe, a native of New Jersey; their children are: John J., now of Beaumont; Carrie B., a teacher; Jessie A., a student at the Normal School at Los Angeles; Chester M., of Beaumont. Judge McCoy lost his first wife in 1865, and was married again April 23, 1868, at Coshocton, Ohio, to Miss Martha L. Wells, a native of Licking County, that State, and daughter of Chester and Polly (Case) Wells, natives respectively of Chatham and Granby, Connecticut. By the latter marriage the children are: Hattie Wells, Mamie Sturges and Wells Brice. Miss Hattie is attending Hanna College, and Miss Mamie is a student at the Normal School at Los Angeles. Mr. and Mrs. McCoy are members of the Presbyterian Church, of which he is an elder.

Source: An Illustrated History of Southern California: embracing the counties of San Diego, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Orange, and the peninsula of lower California.

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