- James McCoy
James McCoy (
August 12 ,1821 –November 8 ,1895 ) was an American Democraticpolitician fromCalifornia .McCoy was born 1821 in
County Antrim ,Ireland . He was a big, imposing man and came to the U.S. in 1842 and joined the Army in 1846, which was recruiting for theMexican-American War . He came to San Diego in Summer of 1850 as part of the First U.S. Artillery (Magruder's Battery), as a non-commissioned officer. Sergeant McCoy and his troops helped protect the countryside during the war. After discharge in 1853, McCoy remained in San Diego.McCoy worked odd jobs, surveying and carrying mail between Yuma and
Tucson, Arizona .In 1859 McCoy was elected Assessor of San Diego. He also started raising sheep near Cuyamaca.
McCoy was sheriff of
San Diego County, California during 1862–1872. At the time the county stretched to the Colorado River. Charles Kelly described McCoy as "a big man over six feet tall who weighed 190 pounds [85 kilograms] . He could speak Spanish fluently. Everybody though a great deal of him."Ephraim Morse said that during the time "there are only two men in San Diego that don't occasionally get drunk and they are James McCoy, the sheriff, and myself."McCoy married Winifred "Winnie" Kearney on
April 27 ,1869 . They bought a newly-built 2-story house in Old Town San Diego. The house was renovated in 1898 to Victorian style. The house was reconstructed in 1999 and is open to the public. It is located across the street from the Trolley Station.McCoy was president of the San Diego's Board of Trustees during 1869–1871, when San Diego did not have a Mayoral form of government. During 1871–1874 he served in the
California State Senate . While senator he worked on getting a railroad to San Diego (with limited success), mail service, and land cessions to San Diego.In 1887, McCoy and others laid out the subdivision of Moreno, east of Mission Bay. Moreno was named for Felipe Morena, a minor character in the novel
Ramona .McCoy died in his home in 1895, and his wife died later. They had no children.
See also
* [http://www.sandiegohistory.org/journal/77fall/mccoy.htm "James McCoy Lawman and Legislator", "The Journal of San Diego History" 23:4 (Fall 1977)]
*, v. 2, pp. 24-26: "James McCoy"
*. Reprinted 1956 by Riverside Museum Press. An engraged portrait (but no biography) is on p. 153.
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