[SEL] McCoy Lubricator

[Judge Tommy Turner]

Darn, and I thought the Hatfields here in KY came up with it! (..... 
make sure you shoot at a Real McCoy!).

Tommy Turner
Magnolia, KY


>>From the http://www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/mccoy/  website:
>
>
>"Real McCoy"
>Of the biographical sketches of Elijah McCoy one finds in books and on
>the Internet, a good many aim more for inspiration than historical
>accuracy and rely more on wishful thinking than evidence. The most
>fanciful writers fantasize that Elijah was the original Real McCoy, who
>gave rise to the expression that means "the genuine article." According
>to the fantasy, locomotive and factory machine operators demanded "real"
>McCoy products, preferring them to the pieces of junk hawked by less
>able competitors who could do no better than copy McCoy's creations.
>While the details of the story vary somewhat depending on the source,
>one thing that remains constant is a lack of evidence to back it all up.
>Never do the storytellers offer any concrete information that
>establishes a credible link between Elijah McCoy and the "Real"
>nickname. Extreme claims about McCoy lubricators dominating the market
>or becoming the industry-wide standard go unsubstantiated as well; such
>McCoy-centric historical views do not mesh with other, more reliable
>accounts of lubricator development.[8]
>
>Slang dictionaries and other linguistic publications do not support the
>notion of Elijah McCoy being the "real" one.[9] Most of them, after
>discussing one or more competing theories about how the phrase began
>(involving either a famous boxer, a clan chieftain, a cattle baron, a
>Prohibition-era rumrunner, a family feud, pure heroin from Macao, or an
>old Irish ballad) reach a conclusion similar to that of the Oxford
>English Dictionary, which says "Its origin remains uncertain."
>
>Although the ultimate source of Real McCoy may never be known, we can at
>least trace back early forms of the expression to Scotland years before
>Elijah McCoy began plying his trade. The Scottish National Dictionary
>presents an example from 1856: "A drappie o' the real McKay," meaning a
>drop of genuine Scotch whiskey.[10] The dictionary also says, "The
>phrase ['real Mackay'] was adopted as an advertising slogan by Messrs.
>G. Mackay and Co., whisky distillers of Edinburgh, in 1870 and must have
>been already current by that date." Variant spellings included Mackay,
>McCoy, and McKie (all equivalent to the Gaelic MacAoidh), with real
>McCoy eventually becoming the standard American form. Whether one or
>more specific persons named McCoy helped popularize the phrase or
>influence its spelling remains speculative.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com
>[mailto:sel-bounces at lists.stationary-engine.com] On Behalf Of Rick
>Rowlands
>Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 7:47 AM
>To: The SEL email discussion list
>Subject: Re: [SEL] McCoy Lubricator
>
>Sounds to me like you got "the Real McCoy"!  Yes this is where the
>saying 
>originates from.
>
>Rick
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "James Mackessy" <jmackess at twcny.rr.com>
>To: "The SEL email discussion list" <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>Sent: Thursday, April 17, 2008 10:06 AM
>Subject: Re: [SEL] McCoy Lubricator
>
>
>  
>
>>Hello Brandon;
>>    I don't know if you've tried this yet or not, but if you go to the
>>"Google Search" page and check the headings, (you may have to click on
>>"MORE", and choose "Patents", you can search patents. I put in the
>>    
>>
>words
>  
>
>>"McCoy lubricator" and came up with 5 pages worth of patents by Elijah
>>McCoy, some dating back to the 1870's. The ones I looked at were
>>displacement type lubricators of varying designs. I have done a lot of
>>research using this on-line tool, and one can get a lot of clues about
>>    
>>
>
>  
>
>>where
>>people lived and who they worked for at the time of the patents. Good
>>    
>>
>luck
>  
>
>>on your research!
>>Jim Mackessy
>>Camillus Canal Society Steam Engine Project
>>----- Original Message ----- 
>>From: "Brandon Newton" <timber at timbernewtoninteriors.com>
>>To: <sel at lists.stationary-engine.com>
>>Sent: Wednesday, April 16, 2008 10:11 AM
>>Subject: [SEL] McCoy Lubricator
>>
>>
>>Anyone know anything about a Mccoy Lubricator? I believe I have the
>>    
>>
>real
>  
>
>>thing and have pictures for anyone
>>who may be able to help.
>>thanks in advance.
>>
>>
>>Brandon
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>    
>>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>----
>  
>
>>----
>>
>>
>>    
>>
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