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:
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:
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:
I have been told that Andrew MCCOOL died in 1876 in Grant
County.
George Washington "Wash" MCCOOL
George Washington MCCOOL and Elender E. MOORE had the
following children:
Andrew Mathis MCCOOL
Andrew Mathis MCCOOL and Emily HUMPHRIES had the following
children:
Roscoe Daniel MCCOOL
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:
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:
Roscoe Daniel McCool, 1895 - 1948
Andrew Mathis McCool, 1857 - ?
George Washington McCool, 1827 - 1886
Andrew J. McCool, ca 1805 - 1876
James McCool, ca 1769 - 1838
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Last update: 11 Oct 1999
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.
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.
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.
Marian Louise Buffington
Ruby Violet Hayes, 1901 - ?
Emily Louizia Humphries, 1856 - 1916
Elender E. Moore, 1835 - ca 1867
Catherine Gentry, ? - ca 1833