Photographs

The McCoy family papers include primarily the papers of Albert McCoy, his in-laws (the Gluyas family) and some of Albert’s children. Most of the papers were generated as a result of the daily activities of Albert McCoy and include such things as receipt for the consumer goods that he bought, checks that he wrote, promissory notes that he made with friends and family members, letters that he sent and received, and deeds for land that he bought. Because the McCoy family enslaved people during the antebellum years, there is a cemetery for enslaved people on the McCoy property and the family has carefully maintained it into the twenty-first century. Written and printed material about this cemetery is found in file 36. Also, traditional stories told by people enslaved by the McCoy family have become part of the McCoy family tradition and written notes of these stories are a part of this collection (see file 37). Two of Albert McCoy’s sons served in uniform during World War I and a daughter, Ella McCoy Nisbet, opened her home to some of the soldiers who were training at the military base in Charlotte during WWI. The letters, papers and photographs that the McCoys generated and accumulated during the war constitute one of the more interesting aspects of this collection. An appendix of war-time correspondence (itemizing the authors, recipients, dates and files where those letters are located) is included in this inventory. There is also a copy of the November 10, 1918 issue of the Charlotte Observer, and it is stored in oversize storage. This issue is especially significant because it has articles concerning the abdication of the German Kaiser and the armistice. One item, removed from this collection and placed with the UNC Charlotte rare book collection, is a flier entitled “The Brother Jonathan.”