McCoy Home, Lewistown, Mifflin County

As promised in last week's post, this week I'll be taking my first shot at Mifflin County! It's always exciting when I get to do the first post from a county on this blog. The photos in this post all come courtesy of Kaylee Lindenmuth, the driving force behind the Shenandoah Sentinel. She's got to be one of the hardest-working young people in modern media and I genuinely do not know when she finds the time to sleep, much less send me pictures, but she had to take a road trip recently and was kind enough to provide me with some fodder for blog posts, so thank you, Kaylee!

This one's for all my readers who are fans of military history, since the family who lived in this house had not one but two generations of high-ranking soldiers. And yes, they were the real McCoys! (Probably not related to the one who started that expression though. But maybe?)

The marker stands in front of the home
at 17 North Main Street. Image
courtesy of Kaylee Lindenmuth.

The story of the McCoy Home (or McCoy House, depending on what source you're reading, but the marker says Home) begins with Thomas Franklin McCoy, a native of Mifflin County. Born in 1819, he was the youngest of several children of John and Jane (Junkin) McCoy; his grandfather, William McCoy, had been a sergeant in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. Both of Thomas's parents were Pennsylvania natives, and FindAGrave records for the family don't go back any farther, but the surname implies that his father's family at least was of Irish heritage.

As a young man, Thomas pursued a career as a newspaperman; he was the owner and publisher of the McVeytown Village Herald. When volunteers were requested to fight in the Mexican War, he - perhaps inspired by his grandfather's tales - was one of the many young men from the area to answer the call. He served as a captain of the 11th U.S. Infantry, 1847-48, in a regiment called the Juniata Guards. After returning home, he studied law and was admitted to the bar of Mifflin County, though he was called again to serve his country in the Civil War. He joined the 107th Pennsylvania Veteran Volunteers as a colonel for roughly the entire length of the conflict. After it ended in 1865, he returned once more to his birthplace of Lewistown and resumed his law career. In 1873 he married Margaret Eleanor Ross. 

I'm not clear on exactly when Thomas purchased the beautiful home on modern-day Main Street, but that's where he and Margaret were living when they welcomed their first child. Frank Ross McCoy was born in the house on October 29, 1874. He was eventually joined by three younger sisters, Janet, Margaretta, and Hannah. Janet died in childhood, but Margaretta and Hannah both lived into the latter half of the 20th century, though I can find no indication that either ever married or had children. All three daughters are buried with their parents in Lewistown's St. Mark's Cemetery. There was, according to Frank's obituary, another brother as well, but I've found no information about him.

Frank, meanwhile, had a storied military career, surpassing those of his father and great-grandfather. I'm going to try to condense it as best I can. After high school he entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1897. He took a commission as a second lieutenant and joined the 8th Cavalry, serving in both Cuba and the Philippines. His time in Cuba earned him two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart. He served first as an aide to General Leonard Wood and then, of more personal interest to me, spent several years as the aide of Theodore Roosevelt. (Teddy is my very distant cousin.) After the Mexican-American War, he entered the United States Army War College. He continued his career as General Staff, and when World War I began, he joined the American Expeditionary Forces. He was commander of the 165th Infantry, and during this time he also authored a book called Principles of Military Training. The public domain image of him seen here dates from no later than 1943, possibly earlier.

His work with the military earned him several foreign honors. For his service during the war, he was made a commander of the Order of the Crown of Belgium, an honorary companion of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George of Great Britain, and an officer of the French Legion of Honor. France also conferred upon him the Croix de Guerre with three palms, and he was entered into the Order of Prince Danilo I of Montenegro. After the war, he also received the Japanese Order of the Rising Sun, for his leadership during relief efforts following the Tokyo earthquake of 1923, and the Chinese Order of Chia-Ho, for his participation in the Lytton Commission regarding the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. 

After commanding a number of regiments in the States, he finally retired in 1938 - only to be called back to duty following the bombing at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The sleeping giant had awakened, and Frank McCoy with it. By the end of the war, the Brigadier General received the Army Distinguished Service Medal twice. Once peace was restored again, he was given honorary doctoral degrees from Washington & Jefferson College, Princeton University, and Columbia University. He was married to the former Frances Field Judson, but according to his obituary, they had no children. Frank died in 1954 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full honors; Frances, who died in 1973, is buried beside him.

Image courtesy of Kaylee Lindenmuth.

So those are the McCoys, and this is their house. It's a Federal style townhouse, built somewhere between 1836 and 1843. Standing two and a half stories tall, it features a gable roof, cornice trim, lintels over the doors, iron railings, and a double chimney. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973, and came into the possession of the Pennsylvania Historic and Museum Commission. The Mifflin County historical society maintains the building on their behalf, using it as a local history museum. As well as their other permanent collections, it houses the McCoy Memorial Collection, which includes rooms decorated in the Victorian styles that would have been seen when Frank and his sisters grew up in the house, as well as many items and pieces of memorabilia belonging to the entire McCoy family. 

And yes, there is a statue, as you see in the picture. That is General McGoose, dressed as and semi-named for Frank McCoy. He stands on permanent guard in front of the museum, and is a member of The Flock - a series of fiberglass goose sculptures found throughout Mifflin County and the Juniata Valley. This has been a community project since 2018, uniting the region in its shared history and culture; you can learn more about it here.

The museum is open to the public on Sunday afternoons from the middle of May through the end of September. Because of budget cuts in recent years, the historical society welcomes contributions to help with the care and upkeep of the property. If you are willing and able to assist, please click here to access their PayPal donation page; a full list of what's needed at the house can be found at the official site linked below. 

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Sources and Further Reading:

The McCoy House at the Mifflin County Historical Society

McCoy Home application for the National Register of Historic Places

Bacevich, Andrew J. Diplomat in Khaki: Major General Frank Ross McCoy and American Foreign Diplomacy, 1898-1949. University Press of Kansas, 1989.

Frank Ross McCoy and Thomas Franklin McCoy at FindAGrave.com

McCoy Home at the Historical Marker Database

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Except where indicated, all writing and photography on this blog is the intellectual property of Laura Klotz. This blog is written with permission of the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. I am not employed by the PHMC. All rights reserved.