Wetzel Ancestry - A Tree of Life
» Show All «Prev «1 ... 11631 11632 11633 11634 11635 11636 11637 11638 11639 ... 21514» Next» » Slide Show
McCoy, Sam SquirrelHuntin 1855-1941 anc_
20231115GHLn-
Judy VanNewkirk originally shared this on 3 May 2022
279529020_563560168465566_6585720830674059963_n
This image is of the Pike County deadeye, Squirrel Huntin' Sam McCoy, a.k.a. "Big Sam McCoy" (1855 - 1941).
Squirrel Huntin' Sam McCoy, who was nicknamed in his youth for his hunting prowess, was the brother of Paris McCoy and involved in Hatfield-McCoy Feud lore.
As once recorded by historian Everett Johnson, “Sam was an outdoorsmen of great skill and marksmanship, claiming to have killed 38,000 squirrels with one rifle, and 40,000 with another,” in addition to many other mountain dinner-table varmints.
Whether or not these totals are accurate or implausible, it’s safe to say Sam had keen eyesight, being accurate and renowned as a rifleman. He likely used his shotgun on occasions, too. It’s likely he had a strong love for red or gray bushy-tailed squirrel meat, and a taste for homemade squirrel gravy.
Sam’s exploits as a hunter and outdoorsman were known statewide throughout his adult life, and likely the topic of many mountain tales.
On June 18th, 1880, in Logan County, WV, Sam and Paris happened into a violent exchange with Bill Staton, killing him during a bloody altercation. At that point, the three-Sam, Paris and Bill-forever entered into the indexes and worn pages of Logan County feud history books. Afterwards, Paris was arrested within a month for the brutal killing, while Squirrel Huntin' Sam evaded capture for over two years.
According to Grandson Orville McCoy, Big Sam was married three or four times, and had descendants scattered across a wide swath of countryside, living in Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Colorado, Utah, Montana and elsewhere. Sam passed in 1941.
Linked to
Samuel McCoy
Saved by (10 of 35)
BevJusticeTaylor
candabaldwin
ingrida rae Franks
myfamilygarden
CherylB57
Sara Pitts
kbchristianson
sue48781
Everett Hatfield
rogerskempin
Comments
| Date | 11/15/2023 5:23:57 PM |
| File name | McCoy, Sam SquirrelHuntin 1855-1941 anc_.jpg |
| File Size | 21.26k |
| Dimensions | 565 x 770 |
| Linked to | McCoy, Samuel Jr. |
» Show All «Prev «1 ... 11631 11632 11633 11634 11635 11636 11637 11638 11639 ... 21514» Next» » Slide Show
We make every effort to document our research. If you have something you would like to add, please contact us.
