Family History of Charles M. McCool III (MCCOOL line)

Family History of Charles M. McCool III
McCool line


General McCool History

My MCCOOL family line was in South Carolina from 1770 to at least 1810. They appeared in Alabama in 1825 and moved on to Arkansas around 1860. Between 1810 and 1825 they may have gone through Georgia or taken another route to Alabama. Many MCCOOLs moved from South Carolina to Ohio around 1810ish, for example. There is no evidence that my line went to Ohio but, then again, I do not know where they went. They could have moved to Ohio on the way to Alabama.

I also do not know, yet, where my MCCOOL line was before 1805. I can only speculate that James MCCOOL, see below, lived in SC from at least 1770. Whether or not he is my ancestor, his parents are unknown and thus my MCCOOL family history ends - a so-called "brick wall" - either with Andrew or James MCCOOL.

There were a couple of pockets of MCCOOLs in Colonial America. James MCCOOL (1709 - 1751) and Ann WRIGHT were early Quaker settlers in Old Frederick County, Virginia. Their first child was born in 1743. Some members of this family moved to South Carolina and were in the Bush River Monthly Meeting. Two of their sons, James Jr. and Gabriel, had boys named James in the mid 1770s. Nothing is known about James III. Gabriel's son James probably married Charity Chapman and spent much of his life in Ohio. So, he is probably not "my" James. Three MCCOOL brothers - Adam, Andrew, and Thomas - around the same time (1720+) appear to be unrelated to the James of Frederick County. The naming patterns of this second group are closest to the known family members in Alabama before 1840. James had sons named Andrew and Joseph, for example, and a brother named Thomas (possiblye). So, it is most likely that my line goes through them.

My James MCCOOL could be a descendant of either of those MCCOOL clans, a different one in Colonial America, or he could have emigrated from Ireland or Scotland. The latter theory is not supported by the 1830 census that says he was born in SC. Anyway, it is likely that my MCCOOL line, as with most or all, are Scotch-Irish. This means that they were part of the Ulster Plantation of Scots transplanted to Ireland in the 16th century. MCCOOLs have been researched in the Irish Counties of Antrim and Donegal.

Some Canadian MCCOOLs descend from Archibald and Margaret. Shortly after Archibald MCCOOL's death, Margaret MCCOOL moved the family from Orange, North Carolina to Ontario - around 1795. Today, of course, MCCOOLs live in every state, province, and many countries.


Andrew MCCOOL

My oldest confirmed MCCOOL ancestor is Andrew MCCOOL, my 4th great-grandfather. He was born in South Carolina around 1805 and married Catherine (Katie) GENTRY on 3 July 1825 in Montgomery County, Alabama. He appears on the 1830 Montgomery County census. An elder James MCCOOL appears as the next-door neighbor of Andrew. James was most likely Andrew's father.

James MCCOOL was 60/70, according to the 1830 Montgomery County census, and was born in South Carolina. With the given age, James was born between 1760 and 1770. James MCCOOL died in 1837 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Two other younger MCCOOLs, Joseph and Benjamin, appear on the same census. They were probably Andrew's brothers.

Andrew and Katie had three children:

  1. George Washington MCCOOL, born 1827
  2. Youngblood "Young B." MCCOOL, born 1829
  3. Alvin or Alva MCCOOL, born 1831

    Katie may have died while delivering Alvin or soon afterwards. Andrew then married Nancy ASHCRAFT, probably in 1834. Nancy was born 19 Jan 1811 in Aston County, NC. Her parents were John ASHCRAFT (1778 - 1845) and Sarah HUNTLEY (1786 - 1845). Andrew bought four parcels of land in Fayette County, Alabama between 1836 and 1858. Nancy's brothers, Thomas and John Mastin, are neighbors of Andrew and Nancy on the 1840 Fayette County census. Andrew and Nancy had several children, including:

  4. Thomas MCCOOL, born 1834
  5. Mary Jane MCCOOL, born 1835
  6. Martin MCCOOL, born 1838
  7. James MCCOOL, born 1840
  8. Rebecca MCCOOL, born 1841
  9. Andrew Jackson MCCOOL, born 1842
  10. William B. MCCOOL, born 1844
  11. George C. MCCOOL, born 1846

    On the 1850 Fayette County, Alabama census, Andrew has a wife named Permilia. On the 1860 Saline County, Arkansas census, Andrew appears with a wife named Adaline. Adaline and Permilia may have been the same person. Her exact name is unknown. Anyway, with this third wife, most likely, Andrew had a few more children:

  12. Elizabeth Caroline MCCOOL, born 1850
  13. Sarah A. MCCOOL, born 1852
  14. Nancy Frances MCCOOL, born 15 Sept 1855
  15. Disa MCCOOL, born 1859
The family moved to Saline County, Arkansas after Disa's birth and in time to be on the 1860 Saline County census. The family appears on the 1870 Grant County, Arkansas census but probably did not move -- Grant County was formed in 1869 from parts of Saline, Hot Springs, and Jefferson Counties.

I have been told that Andrew MCCOOL died in 1876 in Grant County.


George Washington "Wash" MCCOOL

Andrew's first child, George Washington MCCOOL, was my 3rd great-grandfather. He was called "Wash." Wash was born in 1827 and his mother was Katie GENTRY. Wash must have moved to Arkansas before the rest of the family, because he married in 1857 - Sept 24th to Elender E. MOORE. This was the second marriage for Elender, since there are three MOORE children in Wash's household on the 1860 Saline County census - James B. was 8, Henry B. was 6, and Bell I. was 4.

George Washington MCCOOL and Elender E. MOORE had the following children:

Wash's second wife was Sarah Hill ROOTES. It was her second marriage, after Harris ROOTES. She was born 4 April 1838 in Tennessee and died 7 Oct 1920. She is buried in Lost Creek Cemetery, in Sheridan, Arkansas, next to Harris ROOTES. Apparently, Wash and Sarah did not exactly get along too well. Wash was a letter carrier and was gone for days at a time. Anyway, they had the following children: Wash died 15 Oct 1886 in Grant County, Arkansas. He also may have been married to Sarah NALL.


Andrew Mathis MCCOOL

George Washington MCCOOL's first child, Andrew Mathis MCCOOL, was my 2nd great-grandfather. He was born August 1857 in Arkansas, according to the 1900 Grant County, Arkansas census. He married Emily HUMPHRIES in 1878. She was the daughter of Joshua Badger HUMPHRIES and his first wife. Joshua later married Mary Jane MOORE; the same Mary Jane MCCOOL born in 1835 to Andrew MCCOOL and Nancy ASHCRAFT. It was also her second marriage. Emily was born August 1856 in Mississippi.

Andrew Mathis MCCOOL and Emily HUMPHRIES had the following children:

  1. Henry Badger MCCOOL, born 11 September 1881
  2. Alfred MCCOOL, born January 1883
  3. Rachel Ann MCCOOL, born 5 April 1885
  4. Lunnia Belle MCCOOL, born February 1887
  5. Charlie Jackson MCCOOL, born June 1888
  6. Albert Mathis MCCOOL, born March 1890
  7. Roscoe Daniel MCCOOL, born 31 October 1895
Emily died on 27 February 1916 and is buried in New Friendship Cemetery. Andrew Mathis MCCOOL is also buried there but I do not know his date of death.


Roscoe Daniel MCCOOL

Andrew Mathis MCCOOL's last child, Roscoe Daniel MCCOOL, was my great-grandfather. He was born 31 October 1895 in Grant County, Arkansas. He married Ruby Violet HAYES around 1914. Ruby was born 16 October 1901 to Charles HAYES and Mary Ellen SHOCKLEY. Family history says that they married when Ruby was 13 but there are no documents (that I have found) to prove when they married.

Roscoe died 5 June 1948 and is buried in Mars Hill Cemetery in Bauxite, Arkansas - in Saline County. Ruby is buried next to him but her date of death is unknown. Roscoe and Ruby had the following children:

  1. Charles Mathis MCCOOL, born 11 April 1920
  2. Lester MCCOOL
  3. Daniel Roscoe MCCOOL Jr.

Notes

As with any history endeavor, there are bound to be errors, omissions, and discrepancies in this document. Please inform me if you have any corrections or additions to this data. If we share any of the same ancestors, I would love to hear from you.


My MCCOOL line, starting with my grandparents:

Charles Mathis McCool Sr., 1920 - 1997
Marian Louise Buffington

Roscoe Daniel McCool, 1895 - 1948
Ruby Violet Hayes, 1901 - ?

Andrew Mathis McCool, 1857 - ?
Emily Louizia Humphries, 1856 - 1916

George Washington McCool, 1827 - 1886
Elender E. Moore, 1835 - ca 1867

Andrew J. McCool, ca 1805 - 1876
Catherine Gentry, ? - ca 1833

James McCool, ca 1769 - 1838


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Last update: 11 Oct 1999