James Russell McCoy (4 September 1845 – 14 February 1924) served as Magistrate of the

British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or alternatively referred to as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are the fourteen dependent territory, territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, ...

Pitcairn Island Pitcairn Island is the only inhabited island of the Pitcairn Islands, in the southern Pacific Ocean, of which many inhabitants are descendants of mutineers of HMS ''Bounty''. Geography The island is of volcanic origin, with a rugged cliff ...

7 times, between 1870 and 1904. McCoy was among the first wave of settlers to return to Pitcairn from

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

in 1859. He was the son of Matthew McCoy and Margaret Christian. His son Matthew Edmond McCoy also served as Magistrate, and was among the last islanders to hold the surname McCoy. Through his daughter Adelia, he is a grandfather of Warren Clive Christian, and Ivan Christian, and a great-grandfather of

Steve Christian Steven Raymond Christian (born 26 June 1951) is a politician, convicted sex offender and child rapist from the Pitcairn Islands. He was mayor of the islands from 1999 until 2004, when he was removed from office after being found guilty in the ...

and Brenda Christian.

Literary reference

He appears as Magistrate "James Russell Nickoy" in

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's 1879 story "The Great Revolution in Pitcairn." There he is forced to resign his post through the political intrigue of an American interloper,

Butterworth Stavely Butterworth Stavely is a fictional character in Mark Twain's 1879 story "The Great Revolution in Pitcairn". He is an American adventurer and filibuster who instigates a ''coup d'état'' on the Pitcairn Islands and has himself crowned "Emperor Butt ...

Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...

reinvented McCoy as a mythic hero and agent of redemption in the short story "

The Seed of McCoy ''South Sea Tales'' (1911) is a collection of short stories written by Jack London. Most stories are set in island communities, like those of Hawaii, or are set aboard a ship. List of Stories *The House of Mapuhi *The Whale Tooth *Mauki *"Ya ...

," based on a true incident of piloting a burning ship to safety in 1900.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, James Russell 1845 births 1924 deaths Pitcairn Islands politicians Pitcairn Islands people of Polynesian descent Pitcairn Islands people of Manx descent Pitcairn Islands people of Scottish descent Pitcairn Islands people of English descent