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October 21, 2005

Recapping Jordan Coffey Family

Family Group Sheet
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Husband: Jordan COFFEY
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Birth: abt 1780 Virginia
Census: 1830 Amherst Co., VA
Census: 1840 Amherst Co., VA
Death: bef 1860 Virginia
Burial:
Marriage: Mar 21, 1803 Amherst Co., VA
Census (fam): Sep 17, 1850 Amherst Co., VA
Father:
Mother:
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Wife: Elizabeth (Betsey) RIPPETOE
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Birth: abt 1778 Virginia
Death: bef 1860 Virginia
Burial:
Father:
Mother:
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Children
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1 M Hudson (Huddie) COFFEY
Birth: abt 1805 Virginia
Census: Sep 17, 1850 Amherst Co., VA, enumerated in household with his parent
Death: 1870
Burial:
Spouse: Mrs. Mahala Green LANE (1813- )
Marriage: Sep 20, 1855 Amherst Co., VA
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2 M Schylar COFFEY
Birth: abt 1806 Virginia
Census: 1840 Amherst Co., VA
Census: Aug 16, 1870 Amherst Co., VA, with wife named Mary.
Death: bef Jun 2, 1880 Amherst Co., VA
Burial:
Spouse: Elizabeth (Betsey) HAMILTON (1820- )
Marriage: Jan 30, 1832 Virginia
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3 M John (Jack) COFFEY
Birth: abt 1809 Virginia
Census: 1840 Amherst Co., VA
Census: Jun 1, 1880 Amherst Co., VA
Death: Dec 14, 1888 of cancer; Amherst Co., VA
Burial:
Spouse: Elizabeth Susan (Betsey) DUFF (1807-1880)
Marriage: Jan 18, 1830 Amherst Co., VA
Spouse: Virginia CAMPBELL (1849- )
Marriage: Apr 1, 1873 Amherst Co., VA
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4 M Nelson COFFEY
Birth: abt 1810 Virginia
Census: 1840 Amherst Co., VA
Death: abt 1845 Virginia
Burial:
Spouse: Rebecca HAMILTON (1816- )
Marriage: Feb 5, 1833 Amherst Co., VA
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5 F Jane COFFEY
Birth: abt 1814 Virginia
Death:
Burial:
Spouse: Meredith ALLEN (1795- )
Marriage: Apr 21, 1834 Virginia
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6 M William (Billy) COFFEY
Birth: Apr 9, 1815 Virginia
Census: 1840 Amherst Co., VA
Death: May 11, 1896 Virginia
Burial: May 1896 Coffeytown, Amherst Co., VA
Spouse: Sarah G. (Sally) CRAWFORD (1820- )
Marriage: Sep 24, 1835 Amherst Co., VA
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7 F Elizabeth COFFEY
Birth: abt 1817 Virginia
Death:
Burial:
Spouse: John P. HAMILTON (1812- )
Marriage: May 5, 1835 Amherst Co., VA
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8 F Susannah COFFEY
Birth: abt 1819 Virginia
Death:
Burial:
Spouse: John D. CRAWFORD Jr. (1813- )
Marriage: Sep 9, 1835 Amherst Co., VA
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9 M Henry F. COFFEY
Birth: abt 1822 Virginia
Death: Jun 10, 1871 from Colic; Amherst Co., VA
Burial:
Spouse: Mrs. Elizabeth McDaniel (Betsy) OGDEN (1813-1871)
Marriage: Mar 10, 1848 Amherst Co., VA
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FAMILY NOTES
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Marriage (Mar 21, 1803): (1)
Census (fam) (Sep 17, 1850): (2)
General:

From the 1825 will of William Coffey, son of John and Jane Graves Coffey:

"It is my desire & request that my Executors hereafter named shall rent to Jordan Coffey my tract of land whereupon the said Jordan has lived he the said Jordan paying to them for the benefit of my Estate five pounds per annum so long as my Executors shall think it prudent to rent it to him but if my Executors shall think it right to sell the said tract of land the proceeds of the sale is to go to the rest of children hereafter named."

Some researchers believe that Jordan was a grandson of William through his daughter Jane and her relationship with an unknown male. Others think that his father was Benjamin Hawkins Fitzgerald, who eventually married Jane. Jordan often tried to use the Fitzgerald surname in official records, but the surname Coffey was also entered. Logic would indicate that if he were Benjamin's natural son then Benjamin would likely have claimed him.

"Item I give to Edmund F. Coffey and James Montgomery in trust & to their successors for the benefit of my daughter Jane Fitzgerald and the legitimate children of her body one half of my tract of land in Nelson County on Cub Creek containing by estimation two hundred and fifteen acres the said tract of land to be equally divided according to quantity and quality. The other moiety of the said last mentioned tract of land I give to my said trustees herein before mentioned & to their successors for the benefit of my son William Coffey during his natural life, at his death to return to the rest of my children or those which I shall name hereafter, each to hold the part they now live on. "

Other of William's daughters had illegitimate children, but Jane was the only
one mentioned thusly.
(3)

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HUSBAND NOTES: Jordan COFFEY
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Census (1830): (4)
Census (1840): (5)

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CHILD NOTES: Hudson (Huddie) COFFEY
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Census (Sep 17, 1850): (6)
General:

Hudson was born in what is now Nelson Co., VA. He and brother Schylar left Nelson Co. to live in Amherst, but were still in Nelson in 1826, but gone by 1828 when William Coffey (son of John Coffey and Jane Graves, and husband of Elizabeth Osborne) died in Nelson Co.



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CHILD NOTES: Schylar COFFEY
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Birth (abt 1806): (7)
Census (1840): (8)
Census (Aug 16, 1870): (9)
General:

"Schylar and Nelson (and Henry) are the only ones of the original 9 [children of Jordan] for whom no specific listing of parentage has been found." [John Taylor, Cold Mountain Cabbage]



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CHILD NOTES: John (Jack) COFFEY
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Census (1840): (10)
Census (Jun 1, 1880): (11)
Death (Dec 14, 1888):

John Jack Coffey died 14 December 1888 at the age of 80, of cancer. We have no specific place of burial for either him or Betsey from public records, but they may be buried behind Elsie Coffey's present house in an unmarked grave, as some believe. [John Taylor, Cold Mountain Cabbage]



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CHILD NOTES: Nelson COFFEY
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Census (1840): (12)

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CHILD NOTES: William (Billy) COFFEY
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Birth (Apr 9, 1815):

This date from his headstone. Other sources indicates 23 Apr. 1815 as his date of birth. [John Taylor, Cold Mountain Cabbage]


Census (1840): (13)
Death (May 11, 1896):
Billy's headstone shows a death date as 11 May 1896. Death records show a William Coffey, unlisted parents, dying 26 July 1897. Evidently Billy's death came as a result of falling down the stairs at the original house, after he had returned from the new house. If this is true and the new house was not built until 1897, the 26 July date may be accurate. Otherwise, it could have been over a year since his death when it was reported in Amherst Courthouse, and the record shows the reported date, not the actual date; or the listed William is not the right one. However, the listed Billy was 81 years old, which is right for his age. No other William of that age was known to be in Amherst County at the time. [John Taylor - Cold Mountain Cabbage]

Burial (May 1896):
"Sally" and Billy Coffey are buried on the hill behind Elsie Coffey's house in a fenced-in area which includes Bettie Coffey, their unmarried daughter. Bettie evidently died of grief, as she was very attached to her mother. Others in the cemetery include Walter Campbell, perhaps related to John Jack's second wife, or to one of John Jack Jr.'s two daughters, Lena and Emma Jane, who married Campbell men in sufficient time to have had Walter. Robert H. Coffey, great-grandson of Billy Coffey, grandson of Harden Coffey and Hersey Coffey's brother, has the only other marked grave (1903-1907) in this cemetery. John Jack and his wife Betsey Duff are also believed to be buried in this vicinity, although there is no marker. [John Taylor - Cold Mountain Cabbage]


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CHILD NOTES: Henry F. COFFEY
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Birth (abt 1822):

The 1860 census indicates that Henry was born closer to 1819.

(14)
Death (Jun 10, 1871):

Henry Coffey was the youngest of the bunch of Jordan's "kids". When he died, his son, Henry L. Coffey ("Big Hill" Henry) stated that his father's parents were Charles and Jane Coffey of Nelson County. [John Taylor, e-mail, 10-14-2005]


General:
Although Henry Coffey shows for the first time in the 1850 Census as the head of a household, he may have been one of 2 boys his age living with Jordan and Elizabeth in 1840. According to Census reports, Henry was born around 1817. He married, at the age of 31, Elizabeth (McDaniel) (Ogden) Coffey, who was slightly older than Henry, and she had several children of her own from a previous marriage to Zachariah Ogden. Henry seems to have acted as guardian to her older children and they took his surname, at least for the census reports, but, except for Paulin, they are believed to have used their own surnames later. Henry F. Coffey died 10 June 1871 of Colic, in Amherst County, according to the Amherst County death records. The information on the death record, including naming his parents as Charles and Jane Coffey of Nelson County, was given by Henry's son, Henry L. Coffey. His place of burial is unknown, but is probably up on the hill behind Embree Crawford's house, in an unmarked grave, perhaps with Elizabeth. [John Taylor, Cold Mountain Cabbage]


(15)



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SOURCES
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1. Dodd, Jordan R, et. al. Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850. Bountiful, UT: Precision Indexing Publishers, 19xx.
2. Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Original data: United States. 1850 United States Federal Census. M432, 1009 rolls. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. 1850 Amherst Co., Eastern Dist., Sheet 86, dwelling/family 205, Jordan Coffee , age 70, male, farmer; Betsey, age 72, female; Hudson, age 45, male, farmer; Margaret Painter, age 17, female.
3. John Taylor,The Coffey Family Settlers of "Coffeytown", Amherst County Virginia (: John Taylor,). "I am now fairly certain that Jane and Benjamin Hawkins Fitzgerald were properly married in Albemarle County, where she was living at the time, and where the marriage records have been lost. We just don't have a copy of an
official record; however, the courts treated them as married, as did her father." (John Taylor, e-mail to Jack Coffee, Feb. 25, 2005).
4. Ancestry.com. 1830 U.S. Federal Census [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004. Original data: United States. 1830 United States Federal Census. M19, 201 rolls. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. 1830 Amherst Co., Addison's Div., Sheet 10, Jordan Coffee, 1-122--1-------/111--1.
5. Ancestry.com. 1840 U.S. Federal Census [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004. Original data: United States. 1840 United States Federal Census. M704, 580 rolls. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington D.C. 1840 Amherst Co., Jordon Coffey, ----2--1/--------1.
6. Amherst Co., Marriage Records, Researched by Mary Anne Taylor, 1991. Hudson Coffey, age 51, single, farmer, born Amherst Co., parents Jordan and Eliz. Coffey to Mahala Lane, age 42, widow, born Amherst Co., married 9-22-1855.
7. , The Coffey Family Settlers of "Coffeytown", Amherst County Virginia. "The ancestry of Nelson and Schylar is not firmly established. Both of these names relate directly to Nelson County geography. Nelson was born approximately when a portion of Amherst became Nelson County. One district in Nelson County is Schuyler District. On occasions, Schylar's name has been written exactly that way. He and Nelson may be brothers, but only cousins to John Jack and Billy. They may be descendants of some of Edward the twin Coffey's people, or more likely, “excess” children from one or another neighbor. Henry was so much younger it is difficult to believe he came from the same parentage. No records have been found which conclusively prove parentage of Schylar or Nelson, and Henry's is not clear.".
8. 1840 U.S. Federal Census. 1840 Amherst Co., Geo. W. Christian Div., Schuyler Coffey, 2----1/-1--1.
9. Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census. [database on-line] Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2003-. Indexed by Ancestry.com from microfilmed schedules of the 1870 U.S. Federal Decennial Census.1870 United States Federal Census. [database online] Provo, UT: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2003. Original data: Data imaged from National Archives and Records Administration. 1870 Federal Population Census. M593, 1,761 rolls; part of Minnesota T132, 13 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. 1870 Amherst Co., Peddler Twp., Cool Well Twp., Page 80,
dwelling 638, family 611, Coffee, Schyler, age 65, male, white, farmer, $__, $125, born VA; Mary, age 56, female, white, keeping house, born VA; Fanny, age 40, female, white, at home, born VA; Jordan, age 26, male, white, farm hand, born VA; John, age 20, male, white, farm hand, born VA.
10. 1840 U.S. Federal Census. 1840 Amherst Co., Geo. W. Christian Div., John Coffey, 22---1/11---1.
11. 1880 U.S. Census Index provided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints © Copyright 1999 Intellectual Reserve, Inc. 1880 Amherst Co., Pedlar Dist., ED20, Page 3, dwelling/family 21, Coffey, John, white male, age 71, farmer, born VA, parents born VA.
12. 1840 U.S. Federal Census. 1840 Amherst Co., Geo. W. Christian Div., Nelson Coffey, -1--1/2---1.
13. Ibid., 1840 Amherst Co., Geo. W. Christian Div., William Coffey, 1---1/1---1.
14. Ancestry.com. United States Federal Census [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004. Original data: United States Federal Census for years indicated.
15. , The Coffey Family Settlers of "Coffeytown", Amherst County Virginia. According to his death record, he was not Jordan's biological son, but he could have been and probably was informally adopted by Jordan prior to his leaving Nelson County.

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