McCOY, Isaac, American missionary and Indian agent: b. near Uniontown, Pa., 13 June 1784; d. Louisville, Ky., 21 June 1846. His early life was spent in Kentucky. Reared on the frontier, his educational advantages were very limited, but he was of a studious disposi tion. He was married at the age of 20 and was ordained to the ministry of the Baptist Church at 24, settling in Indiana about the same time. After serving eight years as pastor of a church, he entered the mission field among the Miami Indians, in the valley of the Wabash River, in 1817. He subsequently labored among the peo ple of the Pottawatomie and Ottawa tribes in Michigan. During the course of his work among the Indians he became impressed with expediency of removing the Indians from the contaminating influences of the white settle ments. In June 1824 he submitted the matter to the consideration of the Baptist Mission Board at Washington, D. C., and was author ized to present the matter to the attention of the President of the United States. He failed to secure an audience with President Monroe, but he was successful in interviewing the Secretary of War, John C. Calhoun, under the jurisdic tion of whose department was included all matters pertaining to the administration of In dian affairs. Secretary Calhoun approved of the scheme thus proposed for the establishment of an Indian Territory west of the Mississippi and became its champion. Although several tribes had removed to the West prior to that time, the government had no settled policy in regard to the matter until after Secretary Cal houn took it up officially after the suggestion was made by Mr. McCoy. In 182:7• he again visited Washington, where he interviewed President John Quincy Adams and Secretary Barbour of the War Department. In 1828, Mr. McCoy and Capt. George Kennerly of Saint Louis were ap pointed by the Secretary of War as commis sioners to conduct delegations representing the Choctaw, Creek, Pottawatomie and Ottawa tribes on an inspection of the region to be included in the proposed Indian Territory, in the performance of which duty they made two tours of the wilderness region west of Mis souri and Arkansas during the late summer and autumn of 1828. During the ensuing 10 years Mr. McCoy was almost constantly in the Indian Territory (i.e., the present States of Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma), selecting and survey ing locations for immigrant Indian tribes for the government, and, at the same time, aiding in the location and establishment of missions and schools among them. He published a brief annual pamphlet entitled The Annual Register of Indian Affairs within the Indian (or West ern) Territory, during the years 1835 to 1838 inclusive. Previous to that he had published a pamphlet, 'The Practicability of Indian Re form.' He was also the author of 'A History of Baptist Indian Missions.> His last years were spent at Louisville, Ky., where he had charge of the work of the American Indian Mission Association.
McCOY, Joseph G., American pioneer in the overland cattle trade: b. Springfield, Ill., 20 Dec. 1837; d. Kansas City, Mo., 19 Oct. 1915. Reared on a farm, he made a specialty of feed ing cattle for the beef market. At the conclu sion of the Civil War the scarcity and high price of beef and the seeming impossibility of transporting the cheap cattle from the over stocked ranges of Texas to the Northern markets, because of the introduction of splenitic fever which was certain to follow among native herds, appealed to the typically American genius of McCoy for achieving that which had been reputed to be impossible. He finally proposed the establishment of a shipping point on one of the new railways, which were then being built westward across the great plains, to which the beef stock of Texas might be slowly driven northward during the grazing season, keeping well to the westward of the frontier settle ments, and shipped thence by rail to the market at Chicago for immediate slaughter. This pro posal, though simple, was so novel that railway managers at first refused to consider it seri ously. McCoy finally induced one of the rail
way companies to back him in the enterprise and he arranged to build shipping pens at Abiliene, Kan. As the result of a diligent ad vertising campaign a few Texas ranchmen were persuaded to undertake to drive herds across the Indian Territory to the designated shipping point on the Kansas Pacific Railway, during the season of 1867. Thirty-five thousand head of beef cattle were thus marketed that season. The next year the number thus driven overland to the shipping point was increased to 75,000 head; in 1869, this number was doubled, and in 1870 the number was doubled again. When the overland cattle trade was well established the railway company soon ceased to pay the stipu lated royalties to McCoy, but he continued his active interest in the live-stock business until old age forced his retirement. He published Historic Sketches of the Cattle Trade in the West and Southwest> (1874). He was a pioneer settler at El Reno, Okla., in 1889, and was nominated as the candidate for Territorial delegate to Congress by the convention of the Democratic party in 1890.
McCRACKAN,
William Deni son, American author and lecturer: b. Munich, Germany, 12 Feb. 1864. He is of American par entage, but received his earliest education at the Latin Gymnasium, Stuttgart, Germany, Saint Paul's School, Concord, N. H., and was after ward graduated at Trinity College, Hartford, Conn., in 1885. He has written 'The Rise of the Swiss Republic> (1892) ; 'Romance and Teutonic Switzerland' (1894); 'Swiss Solu tions of American Problems> ; 'Little Idyls of the Big World' (1895) ; 'The Huntington Let ters> (1897); (Fair Land Tyrol' (1905); 'The Italian Lakes' (1907) ;
MacCRACKEN, Henry Mitchell, American Presbyterian clergyman and educator: b. Ox ford, Ohio, 28 Sept. 1840; d. Orlando, Fla., 24 Dec. 1918. He was graduated at Miami Uni versity in 1857; for four years was a teacher and school superintendent ; studied at the United Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Xenia, Ohio, and at the Princeton Theological Sem inary, and later at Tubingen and Berlin univer sities. He was minister of the Westminster Church, Columbus, Ohio, 1863-67, and of the First Presbyterian Church at Toledo, Ohio, 1869-81. In 1867 he was deputy to the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, and to that of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland in 1884. From 1880 to 1884 he was chancellor of the Western University, Pittsburgh, Pa., and in the latter year became vice-chancellor and professor of philosophy in the University of the City of New York, of which he was made chancellor in 1891. Since then the name of the institution has been changed to New York Uni versity, and the seat of the University College and School of Applied Science has been re moved to University Heights, New York City. Under his administration the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (q.v.) was added to the uni versity, its growth and prosperity greatly in creased and the extension of its work and in fluence has given it a leading position in the field of American education. During Dr.. Mac Cracken's active connection with the institution it grew from a college with 91 students to a university with 4,113 students, and the prop erty increased in value from $547,000 to $5, 211,000. He resigned the chancellorship 28 Sept. 1910. Besides numerous papers on subjects of education, religion and philosophy, he published 'Tercentenary of Presbyterianism' (1870) ; 'Popular Sermons> (1875) ; 'Leaders of the Church Universal> (1879) ; 'John Calvin' (1888) ; 'Cities and Universities' (1882) ; 'The Scotch-Irish in America' (1884) ; 'A Metro politan University' (1892) ; 'Educational Prog ress in the United States> (1893) ; 'Lives of Church Leaders: or Heroes of the Cross' (1900) ; 'The Three Essentials) (1901) ; 'The Hall of Fame' (1901) ; 'Urgent Eastern Ques tions' (1912).