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Compiled by John H. Wheeler Published in 1903 by B. F. Bowen Biography Page 174 - 175 |
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DANIEL McCOY
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The subject of this review, formerly a prominent business man and honored citizen of Cadillac, is now a resident of Grand Rapids, with the industrial interests of which city he has been identified for a number of years, and in addition thereto he has also been called to high official stations, serving at the present time his second term as state treasurer. Daniel McCoy is a native of Pennsylvania, born in the city of Philadelphia on July 17, 1845. His father, John McCoy, a native of Scotland, came to the United States in 1832 and settled in Oakland county, Michigan, with his father's family, whence he went to Philadelphia and spent the remainder of his life, dying in that city in the year 1861. Mary, wife of John McCoy and mother of the subject, was born and reared in County Antrim, Ireland, came to this country in 1839, married in Pennsylvania, and is still living in Philadelphia. Paternally, the McCoys are Scotch. They were first represented in the north of Ireland in 1745, but returned to Scotland the next generation, and in 1832, as noted above, certain members of the family became residents of the United States, since which time the descendants have settled in various parts of the Union. Daniel McCoy was educated in the schools of Philadelphia, and at the death of his father, in 1861, entered the wholesale hardware warehouse of Shields Brothers in that city, with the object in view of obtaining a practical knowledge of commercial life. Not making the progress he desired, he severed his connection with his employers five years later and went to the oil fields of West Virginia, near Parkersburg, and at Burning Springs, on the Little Kanawha, where he remained variously engaged until May, 1867, when he started west in search of a more favorable opening, going as far as Wyandotte, Kansas. Failing to find in that state the opening desired, he returned eastward, and while en route stopped to visit some relatives in the town of Romeo. Michigan, where in due time he found the opportunity for which he had long sought. Soon after his arrival in Romeo Mr. McCoy embarked in the supply business, to furnish grain, provisions and other necessities to the men engaged in lumbering in the Michigan pineries, and to this line of endeavor he devoted his attention, with handsome profits, until 1872. In that year he discontinued the supply enterprise, and, in partnership with James A. Remick, of Detroit, and John G. Riggs, of Saginaw, engaged in the lumber business under the style of Riggs & McCoy, the scene of the firm's operations being confined principally to a large area of fine timber land on the south branch of the Manistee river. This partnership lasted for only a limited time, and about one year after its organization the subject came to Clam Lake and became associated with Charles M. Ayer, the firm thus constituted doing an extensive and very lucrative lumber business on Big Clam lake, and continuing the same for a period of ten years. During his residence at Clam Lake Mr. McCoy took an active interest in the development of the place, served as president of the village, and subsequently, after its incorporation as the city of Cadillac, he was elected mayor. He did much to advance its industrial and commercial interests, was also zealous in promoting the educational, social and moral welfare of the young and thriving city, and few have been as influential as was he in shaping and directing the public policy of the municipality. In 1883 the firm of McCoy & Ayer was dissolved, and the same year the subject disposed of his business interests at Cadillac and removed to Grand Rapids, which city he has since made his home and in the civic and public affairs of which he has been a prominent and influential factor. Mr. McCoy has been honored with a number of high official positions, including that of president of the State Bank of Michigan, which he has held since the organization of the institution, in 1892, and, as stated in a preceding paragraph, he is now serving his second term as treasurer of the state, having been first elected to the office in November, 1899. Among the industrial enterprises with which he is identified are the Grand Rapids Edison Electric Light Company, of which he has been president since 1886 the year of its organization; the Imperial Furniture Company of the same city, and the Alfred Baxter Company, to both of which he sustains the relation of executive head. He is also connected with the Herkner Jewelry Company, of Grand Rapids, and various other important interests, with the management of which he has contributed in no small degree. For a number of years Mr. McCoy has taken an active part in
the political affairs of Michigan, and he has long been recognized as one of the
Republican leaders in this state. His influence in the councils of his party has
had much to do with its success, and the honorable position he now holds is one
of the many testimonials to the confidence with which he is regarded by his
political associates and to the high esteem in which he is held by the public.
Mr. McCoy subscribes to the Episcopal creed in matters religious, and, with his
wife, is a faithful member of the church in Grand Rapids and a liberal
contributor to its support and to various benevolences. Mr. McCoy was nlarried on the 19th of March, 1869, in Romeo, Michigan, to Miss Gail Lyon Ayer, a descendant of an old New England family, the union being blessed with four children, as follows: Mrs. Helen Frances Grab, born June 28, 1871; Lieutenant Ralph McCoy, of the Twenty-seventh United States Infantry, born January 27, 1873; Mrs. Katherine Braddock, born April 20, 1879, and Gerald, whose birth occurred on December 24, 1881. |