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Jeffrey Coy

American politician (1951–2018)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ6175915
Source-derived summary

Jeffrey W. Coy (October 6, 1951 – June 4, 2018) was an American politician who was a member of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and a former Democratic member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives.

A 1969 graduate of Shippensburg Area Senior High School, Coy earned a degree from Shippensburg University in 1973, and served as a director for the Shippensburg-based Orrstown Bank.

Coy was first elected to represent the 89th legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1982. He served as Democratic (Majority) Caucus Chairman from 1993 through 1994 as the majority party. In 1995, he was elected to serve as Democratic (Minority) Caucus Secretary. He was re-elected 11 times in a heavily Republican district.

Coy announced his intention not to seek re-election in early 2004. In August, Coy was nominated by the House Democratic leader Bill DeWeese to become a member of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, a controversial nomination because of a provision of the Pennsylvania Constitution prohibiting legislators from serving on such boards "during the time for which he was elected". Senate Republicans interpreted the phrase to mean the entire two-year legislative term, which would expire on November 30, 2004, and suggested that the Democrats appoint a placeholder until the end of the legislative term. Coy's resignation from his seat would satisfy the constitution.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Jeffrey Coy” as american politician (1951–2018). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1951, 2018, 1969, 1973—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1951-10-06. The account is most persuasive where Jeffrey, American and politician can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as american politician (1951–2018). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6175915. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1951, 2018, 1969 and 1973.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Jeffrey Coy”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Jeffrey Coy primary sources, Jeffrey Coy archive and Jeffrey research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Jeffrey Coy”?
  2. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Jeffrey Coy” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.