Who was Elijah McCoy?
Ypsilanti can say with great pride that Elijah McCoy, a re-markable inventor, was a prominent citizen in our town 100 years ago. Elijah was one of eleven children born to George and Millie McCoy on a farm near Colchester, Essex County, Ontario, Canada, May 2, 1844. His parents, both having been slaves in the state of Kentucky, came up thru Michigan and then to Ontario by way of the Underground Railroad. Young Elijah always showed great interest in anything mech-anical and had a natural talent for fixing and improving machinery. From Ontario the family moved to Ypsilanti which at that time in the 1850s, was the last stop on the Underground Railroad before the final crossing of the Detroit River to freedom in Canada. No record has been found in the Ypsilanti Public Schools or the old Michigan State Normal for Elijah McCoy. The story is told that when he was 15, just prior to the Civil War, he was sent to Edinburgh, Scotland to study and develop his engineering talents. At the close of th
… When did he make it? McCoy studied this most of his life. His invention was built in the early 1870’s. … McCoy was fascinated by steam engines. He was born in Canada on May 2, http://www.oakland.edu/~srmchugh/ElijahmcCoy 12. The Real McCoy: The Life of Elijah McCoy, Inventor The Real McCoy: The Life of Elijah McCoy, Inventor ; Reading Level … One involves an invention by an African-American man named Elijah McCoy. 2 Elijah McCoy was born in Canada in 1844. http://www.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension_54_841.html 13. McCoy He established the Elijah McCoy Manufacturing Company in Detroit, Michigan, in 1920 to manufacture some of his own inventions. By the end of his life, McCoy had patented 57 inventions. http://www.gibbsmagazine.com/mcCoy.htm 14. Black History Month: Elijah McCoy’s Invention Coined The Phrase “The Elijah McCoy was born in Colchester, Ontario, Canada, in 1843 to George and Mildred McCoy. … When McCoy was a child, his family returned across the border, settling
