Latest additions to the Coyan family website

• August 14, 1999: The passing of Floyd "Boone" Coyan Jr. at age 68 - Boone was a close family relative and a good friend to all who knew him. Click here for a picture of Boone and his wife Joy. They are responsible for getting me "hooked" on the Coyan family history. His obituary appears here.
• January 31, 2000: Update on my gggg-grandparents (Hugh & Elizabeth Coyan) story. Also, update on Hugh's brother John Coyan (1784-1854).
• April 21, 2000: I have added surname lists as well as ancestor/descendant tree charts and family group sheets in hopes of locating more "cousins" out there in cyberspace. There are 1409 names in the database. Enjoy!
• April 25, 2000: I just found an obituary on the Internet for John "Pat" Coyan, age 81. Pat was one of the few living descendants of Robert Coyan (1854-unknown). Robert was a brother to my gg-grandfather Jackson Coyan.
• May 5, 2000: Two very tragic and premature deaths in the family. Karen Coyan, age 40, of Ft. Scott, Kansas, and James H. Coyan III, age 17, in Columbus, Ohio. Links can be found here.
• May 16, 2000: I've added some pictures and links for William Theaker Coyan (1805-1891). He was the youngest son of our "patriarch" Edward Coyan.
• May 17, 2000: I've added the marriage license for Mary Ann Coyan (my gg-grandfather Jackson's only sister) and Jacob Garrett in 1866. Also, Jacob's obit in 1910.
• June 7, 2000: Here is "the document"  from 1891 that I found (with help from Joy Coyan and Rick Borland) and copied at the Ohio Historical Society in 1999 which gives proof of the sibling relationship between two of my Revolutionary War "patriot" ancestor Edward Coyan (Bef. 1755-Aft. 1816)'s children.
• June 8, 2000: Today while at the Ohio Historical Society in Columbus, I found PROOF of our Scotch-Irish ancestry. Something just "clicked" when I studied "the document" - probably posted in the Carroll county, OH newspaper in 1891 by Rosanna Coyan Hawk  (1820-1908) whose obituary now provides THE PROOF.
• June 10, 2000: I have updated and relocated the Coyan family tree database. It now contains over 1600 names, an increase of over 200 names since April. My thanks go out to Pauline Constant - Thank You Pauline - who was able to add about 100 people to Jacob and Mary Ann Coyan Garrett's "branch". My own research has added about 100 names as well.
• June 17, 2000: Updates on William T. Coyan (1805-1891). Several changes have also been made on the homepage, including a link to a Coyan family inventor awarded a U.S. patent in 1933. Also, my best guess on why so few "Coyan's" have been born in the U.S. in the last 200 years.
• July 17, 2000: More "clues"  have surfaced for solving the mysterious disappearance of Robert Coyan (1854-unknown) in 1875. I've also added some things to my travel journal, links to several family-related websites, and some old pictures of Jackson, Ohio. All of this can be accessed from the homepage.
• July 26, 2000: A Dublin, Ohio woman has been charged with murder in the tragic May 1st shooting of my 2nd cousin, James H. Coyan III.
• July 27, 2000: Another article in the Columbus newspaper today covers the arraignment of the woman charged with murdering James H. Coyan III.
• August 22, 2000: Yet another update on the mysterious disappearance of Robert S. Coyan in 1875. Documents have been found to confirm speculation that has existed for 125 years!
• August 24, 2000: Enough of this mystery and murder news (unfortunate as it is..). I have graduation, wedding and college scholarship award news for "younger" Coyan family members this spring/summer.
• August 26, 2000: I have added some great pictures of Luke Edward and Josephine Amer Coyan and family thanks to Jeanette Coyan Maxfield, who paid me a visit recently (from Oklahoma!). Jeanette is the granddaughter of  Luke and "Josie" Coyan. Luke Edward Coyan and my great-grandfather William Coyan were first cousins. These pictures are nearly a century old - thank goodness there are Coyan relatives who are PRESERVING our heritage before things like this make their way to a yard sale or landfill - my point here: PLEASE SHARE with us what is lying in a closet or photo album that you know about! A generation from now, our children and grandchildren will be curious (and perhaps without answers) about what we now take for granted - our heritage - if we don't preserve it!!! 
• September 15, 2000: Several updates - I have added a couple of maps of Northern Ireland that may show where our ancestors left their homeland in order to come to America in the 1700's. Also, lots of info on Jane Coyan McKinnon (sister to my gggg-grandfather Hugh Coyan) and picture's of the family's gravesite in Columbiana county, Ohio. I've also added a family guestbook that I hope that you will sign.
• September 19, 2000: Updates on our "patriarchal" ancestor, Edward Coyan, in Maryland during the 1780-1790-timeframe. Also, some interesting history on Harford county, Maryland and it's significance in the founding of our nation.
• October 9, 2000: The Coyan family tree database has been updated. It now contains 1773 names, an increase of about 75 people since July. The COYAN surname - by far the most common in the database - has increased from 314 to 336. My thanks go out to several people who have been in contact with me via email!
• October 15, 2000: Finally, I've solved the "mystery" of the Coyan family tree "branch" who went to Montana in the 1890's. Yes, they are blood relatives to those of us with this RARE surname.
• October 22, 2000: I have spent several hours this weekend in adding info to the pages for my gg-grandparents, Jackson and Sarah Overly Coyan. If your Coyan "roots" are in Jackson county, Ohio, you should visit here.
• November 7, 2000: Hazel Coyan Timberman (1st cousin to my great-grandfather William Coyan) was a Hollywood film actress who appeared in over 50 silent movies in the 1920-28 timeframe, some of which were made by Mack Sennett. Sennett directed numerous films starring a comedian by the name of the legendary Charlie Chaplin.....
• November 8, 2000: My Internet research has uncovered "links" to a renowned Nevada state legislator, whose mother was a Coyan and thus is in a "branch" of our family tree.
• November 11, 2000: The Coyan family tree database has been updated. The database now contains 1851 people, with 370 of them having the Coyan surname. This is an  increase from the 1773 and 336 totals that I posted on October 9. Most of these increases came about when I was able to tie the "Montana branch" of Coyan's to our tree.
• November 11, 2000: I have started a Coyan war veterans page. PLEASE NOTE that I need YOUR help here. This page should grow substantially in the coming months IF you will drop me an email with the names of your family who are/were war veterans.
• November 27, 2000: I've added some pictures, census records, etc., to John (1784-1854) and Margaret Coyan's pages.
• December 27, 2000: The 1783 tax list record for our common ancestor, Edward Coyan, has proven significant in my finding where our ancestors lived in Maryland just after the end of the Revolutionary War. It has also given more significance to a birth record for my 4th great-grandfather, Hugh Coyan.
• January 5, 2001: I have started what is already my favorite page on this website. Thanks to Conley and Joann Coyan, I have accumulated some pictures of Coyan family heirlooms, one of which could well have been in our family for 200 years or more.  ANTIQUE COLLECTORS: PLEASE LOOK & GIVE ME FEEDBACK!
• January 5, 2001: I have updated the "links" page (it was sorely needed :). I've added several new links that lead you to newspaper articles, family websites, etc., for some of my Coyan "cousins".
• January 15, 2001: I have added more of my own family pictures, including one of my Dad in the Army in 1952 with baseball Hall-of-Famer Whitey Ford.
• January 23, 2001: Jury selection has begun in the trial for the woman accused of murdering my 2nd cousin, James H. Coyan. If you have not yet read about this family tragedy, scroll back up this page to the updates on May 5, July 26 and 27.
• January 24, 2001: An update in the murder trial of James Coyan that appeared today in the Columbus Dispatch.
• January 25, 2001: Today's Dispatch update on the murder trial of James "Jimmy" Coyan.
• January 26, 2001: Today's Dispatch update on the murder trial in progress in Columbus, Ohio
• January 27, 2001: More testimony in the murder trial of Jimmy Coyan
• January 30, 2001: The defendant has taken the stand in the Jimmy Coyan murder trial  - regardless of the trial outcome, this is a tragedy
• January 30, 2001: The Coyan family tree database has been updated. There are now 1986 people in the database, including 379 people with the Coyan surname. This is an increase of 125 people total and 9 with the Coyan surname since November. Several surnames have been added and I want to thank Carol McCrary for her sharing!
• January 31, 2001: Murphy's Law of Genealogy - how true this can be (trust me)..
• January 31, 2001: Closing arguments in the murder trial of Jimmy Coyan
• February 1, 2001: Carol  Finkes has been found guilty of all charges in the murder of James H. "Jimmy" Coyan. Please pray for the family and loved ones of Jimmy as they try to move forward with their lives. We should all pray that NONE of us ever have to be faced with a family tragedy like this where a child has been taken in such a senseless way.
• February 16, 2001: Carol Finkes has been sentenced  (with some unprecedented penalties) for the murder of Jimmy Coyan.
• February 18, 2001: Carol Finkes' business has been closed while the court evaluates her assets.
• February 21, 2001: My Jackson county, Ohio family has always wondered what happened to my grandfather's sister Hazel Belle Coyan's children after she died in 1929 at age 31. Check the Coyan Family news  page to see part of the answer.
• March 8, 2001: The store that was scene of the murder of Jimmy Coyan reopens
• March 9, 2001: The Coyan family tree database has been updated. It now contains 2095 individuals, an increase of 109 since the end of January. The surname list page has been updated as well.
• April 5, 2001: I was pretty excited a few days ago when Karl Hilbert sent me an email and told me that he had a picture of Rosanna Coyan Hawk (1820-1908). I knew as well as anyone that there were no confirmed pictures of ANY of the grandchildren of Edward and Sarah Coyan. Certainly, there are none of their children either. Here's our first glimpse at what our Coyan ancestors may have looked like!
• April 12, 2001: Karl Hilbert has opened Coyan family genealogy "doors" again! His unselfishness and "I'll take the time" attitude to share family info has provided me with the answer to THE question that our family - and I suppose ALL family's - wish they could know (if they don't already). Thanks Karl!
• February 21, 2002: Sorry that I've been so long updating. I'm a busy person, just like you!. The Coyan family database has now grown by nearly 400 individuals since March 9, 2001 to 2497. I have been working particularly hard on the John and Margaret McKinnon "branch" the last few months, as well as the OVERLY branch of my own Sarah Overly Coyan.  I've had MUCH help from Coyan descendants of John and Margaret, particularly those with California roots. I'll post those "thank you's" to them soon. Here's the link to the Coyan database.
• February 26, 2002: There is a VERY important addition to the Coyan family tree. Bryce Christopher Coyan, born June 14, 2001, is almost certainly the FIRST 10th generation male Coyan descendant of our immigrant ancestor, Edward Coyan. Picture is attached.  
• May 28, 2003: I have had my COYAN male Y-chromosome DNA analyzed, for genealogical purposes, and the results are quite interesting. It confirms a Northern British Isles (ie, Scotland/Northern Ireland) male ancestry. More soon!
• June 10, 2003: The MAPS page that shows where our Coyan ancestors most likely had Scotch-Irish "roots" has been updated
• June 15, 2003: I had given up on EVER finding family tree records for Rosanna Coyan (born in 1787 and a daughter of our "patriot" Edward John Coyan). No Coyan family researcher to date knew if she ever lived beyond birth or if so, did she marry in Washington County, PA and raise a family? A significant "previously unknown" female branch of direct Coyan descendants has now been found. In additon, we now have concrete documentation that patriot immigrant ancestor, Edward Coyan, is from Ireland!
• July 19, 2003: The Coyan family is "officially" descended from an American Revolutionary War Patriot, Edward John Coyan
• August 2008: The website is back online after a brief shutdown when I inadvertently let my domain name expire! The latest news reflects the sad news that in the last 10 months, both of my parents have passed away. I have updated the web page devoted to them. I'll add more later....