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This is the real Jacob by Miriam Engle Allen All residents of Beavercreek today,not just his descendants,many of whom still reside here,should feel pride in a sense of kinship with Jacob Coy.The penniless immigrant boy is the quintessential pioneer;he exemplifies what has been percieved for centuries as the trully American spirit.He dared to take risks and to defy hardships and hazzards.He signed documents with an X;Perhaps he could read and write in German,but not in English;perhaps his hard life as a boy in Germany and his first six years in America denied him even the rudiments of a formal education.Yet against tremendous odds by the sweat of his brow,the acumen of a sharp mind,and the determination of an unquenchable spirit,he made it-really twice-in a new land.He realized the importance of education for his children.He brought his German reformed faith with him to Ohio,and his sons and daughters and their sons and daughters carried the faith forward down throught the decades.True,many fell by the wayside.But there were always a few that remained faithful.Always!
I trully beleive Miriam has captured the true heart and soul of who of who Jacob Coy was. Information-from "Faith of our Fathers" by Miriam Engle Allen.Miriam is the the Hawker Church Historian.
(pg.15) |  |
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My opinion of what he looked like All of the information that I read about my progenitor Jacob,tells of his character and who he became.
It seems that no one makes any statements as what he looked like,or his build.So,I'm going to draw some conclusions of my own based on the pattern of our family's physical attributes.
I have included several photos on several pages, so look at all of them,and see if I miss the mark.I imagine that Jacob might have been anywhere from 5'9" to 6" feet tall.6 feet however,that would have been quite tall for a man in the late 1700's.So I think maybe 5"10, which is an aveage heighth in our family,and I'm keeping in mind the time frame.
I do believe he would have had a broad square frame on his body.Broad shoulders and upper body strenghth is an attribute of the German people.
I also believe his hair color would have been dark to maybe an auburn color.We have many red-heads in our COY line.His eyes probably a blue,to green shade.Perhaps a turqouise color.
In following the dress of his German Reformed faith he would have probably worn a full beard very much like the photo of Johannes V.Johns on another page.
The more I read about the men of the COY family, I believe in my own mind he would have been fairly strong and rugged.
I would say he might have weighed 160-180 lbs if he was about 5'10".Most of the men in the family are built solid, and not on the husky side. We had so many that were farmers,and then ran the saw mills and brick making.My own Grand-father was a plaster and had to carry many heavey bricks at a time.
The more I compare each generations photos,the more I think his face might have been a little oval shaped instead of rounded with a bit of a ruddy-reddish complextion.
I look at the photo of my oldest brother Tom,who looks so much like my grand-father Elmer,and he like his own father Thomas.I haven't been able to post the photo of Solomon,but my grandfather Thomas looks so much like him.Therefore,I think the oval facial shape prevails in the physical looks of our family. |
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