It’s rare I do more than just cursory research on Loy branches not of my Martin Loy (to America 1741). After all, family trees for many of these branches usually can be found somewhere online, that I might simply link to this site. The only exception has been when I’ve found a reasonable trove of family information that I’ve not found posted anywhere else online. Such was in the case of Matthias Loy (to America 1817), when I compiled more information than what I could find in any online trees. And now is the case for the Westmorland County, England Loys.

In only one generation my Loy line migrated from NC to TN to AL to IL, settling in Shelby Co., IL. Two years later, they left Shelby Co. for neighboring Effingham Co., where descendants are to this day. In my earlier days of research, I kept coming across other Loys that settled in Shelby Co. a few decades after mine left. And these Loys were immigrants from England. While researching some of my Loy distant cousins in the St. Louis, MO area, I kept finding other Loys living there of England ancestry. And while researching distant cousins in the area of Eureka, KS (whose female ancestor had married out of the Loy surname), I kept coming across Loys of England ancestry again.

Last week I was going through my digital historical newspaper “clippings” file of Loys mentioned in the Decatur, IL newspapers. This paper covered news in Effingham and surrounding counties as well as Decatur, Macon Co., IL. Sadie Loy’s obituary made me curious enough to try to “place” her; her mysterious late husband was only mentioned as “Mr. Loy.” Though she died in Tuscola, Douglas Co., IL, there was mention of her having a dual residence in “Eureka.” After a false start (there is a Eureka, IL, after all), I soon discovered Sadie, a widow, had married widower Robert Loy (to America from England 1856) of Eureka, KS just a month before his death.

Historical newspaper clippings mentioned Robert and his two brothers, all three who had come to the U.S. from Westmorland County, England. Many news articles mentioned one brother visiting the other, despite residing several states away. I decided to see if I could authenticate their residence in England, before leaving for the U.S. The search, which had only taken a few hours, soon brought me to FamilySearch.org’s U.K. census, baptismal, and death records. As I’d found the three Loy brothers in their parents’ 1841 Westmorland County census household, I assumed my quest was complete. But then I realized there was much more information to be had: these databases allowed me to trace the brothers’ parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, great-great-grandparents, and possibly further back. As a result of not finding any online trees even for the brothers’ parentage, I extended my “project” two more days, that I might include it on this site, to assist those of you researching this family. The result is what you see here.