Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-06-28
SOUGHT FOR MANY YEARS
TWO BROTHERs MEET AFTER
40 YEARS SEPARATION.


one of Them Leaves His Home in Vir-
ginia aud Is MOurned MS Dead The
Other Settles In savannah-The Lost
Brother Found and the Two rs Get and
Talk over Their BOyhOod Days.
One of those strange instances of menu
beers of family meeting after having been
separated many years occurred in this
city on Saturday. Forty years ago Josiah
Mccoy, young blacksmith OF y, left his
home in Norfolk, Va, and went neither
his parents nor relatives knew where.
Not word was heard from the missing
Son and brother, and as the years rolled
BY he was giveu up for dead. Efforts were
made to trace him, but his relations could
never receive any intelligence of his
whereabouts. At last they accepted his
disappearance and silence as a mystery
which would never be solved.
Twenty-Five years after Josiah left
home a younger brother, Frank, settled in
Savannah. lie has r grown son, Ernest
H., an energetic and bright young drug
Igst, now clerkIng in David Porter's new
drug store. Besides being a drug clerk,
Bir. +. X. Mccoy is the proprietor of a
ten cent store under metropolitan Han on
Whitaker street. His father manages the
business.
A few weeks ago customer from the
country entered the store and bought a
bill of goods. Noticing the proprietOr's
name on the bill head be inquired if Nr.
Mccoy was related 10 an expert black
smith OF that name who was travelling
Through the State teaching some secrets
of the trade. The customer stated thathe
Owed in BullOch county and he promised
TO md out what he could about the black
smith and inform Mr.. Frank Mccoy.
The customer, when he went back home,
hunted up the blacksmith ard told him OF
having been in a Mr. L. X. McCOy's store
in Savannah. The BullOch county man
bad made the mistake of surprising the
manager OF the store TO be the proprietor.
The blacksmith sand that ne mad no brother
named +. X. AS ne left home before the
young man was born, of course ne did not
know anything about his nephew. The
countryman wrote that the blacksmith's
Christian name was joe ah, and that his
headquarters were at Olustee, Fla, where
he had an agent to attend to his business
while he was away. A letter was written
10 Olustee asking the Josiah Mccoy to
answer whether he was the right man or
not. MIR. Josiah Mccoy did not return to
Ulustee until last Thursday night. He
was handed the letter from Savannah. and
after reading it knew that 1t was written
by his brother. On the next train that
came TO savannah Mr.. Josiah Mccoy was
q passenger.
The brothers were deeply moved at
meeting. Both have become old men since
they parted. Josiah is O. and his brother
Us So They talked with quivering lips
over old times and the years that have
intervened since they last saw each
other. Josiah was of roaming dlsposi-
tion. and he has seen pretty much all of the
world. One Of the strange things con-
nected with the story is that Josiah has
been in Savannah SIX or eight times since
his brother settled here. and they have
possibly met on the streets without re-
cOgnizing each other.
The blacksmith was a skiliful mechanic,
full OF ingenuity, and he picked up MANY
q secret and trick of the trade. OF later
years he has found it profitable to impart
these secrets to other mechanics. After
travelling around the world he settled
Sf0wn in Oiustee, and now has a flourish
Ing orange grove near the town and is
well to do.