CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · People & Ideas

Richard B. McCoy

American politician (died 1902)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 24, 2026
Entity authorityQ117181954 ↗
Source-derived summary

Richard B. McCoy (c. 1821 – October 18, 1902) was an American politician from Maryland. He served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Harford County from 1860 to 1864.

Early life

Richard B. McCoy was born in Baltimore.

Career

McCoy served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Harford County from 1860 to 1864. He was elected on the Know Nothing ticket.

McCoy was one of the original incorporators and served as a director of the Conowingo Bridge Company.

Personal life

McCoy had four daughters and three sons, Jennie, Priscilla, Helen, Nannie, David G., John G. and Richard B. Jr. He was a Quaker and abolitionist.

McCoy died October 18, 1902, at the age of 81, at the home of his brother in Dublin, Maryland.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Richard B. McCoy” as american politician (died 1902). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1821, 1902, 1860, 1864—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. The account is most persuasive where Richard, McCoy and American 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 (died 1902). 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 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q117181954. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1821, 1902, 1860 and 1864.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. 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
Verify next

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 “Richard B. McCoy”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Richard B. McCoy primary sources, Richard B. McCoy archive and Richard 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 “Richard B. McCoy”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Richard B. McCoy” 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.