William Lewis Coffey

William was a son of Richard L. and Julia Mattie Mason Coffey. He was born Sep. 7, 1866 in Brown Co., IN and died May 18, 1934 in that county. He married Rosa Belle Clarke on Jul 2, 1892 in Brown Co. She was born Jan. 22, 1872 in Brown Co., and died May 25, 1946 in Marion Co., IN.

William was a high school teacher and principal, and later became superintendent of Brown county schools where he served until about 1911. He was later an executive cashier for the Nashville State Bank in Nashville, Brown Co.

His biography* states that he was a "Republican in political alignment and is affiliated with the Masonic fraternity and the Knights of Pyhthias." William served on numerous boards and committees in Brown County in which he spearheaded "Liberty Loan" campaigns, Red Cross affairs, and Near East relief work. Rosa is said to have been the granddaughter of Dr. Charles Clark, a "kinsman of the great frontiersman and western explorer, George Rogers Clark."


Their children were:

- Marie, born Jan. 1895
- William Wendell, born Feb. 23, 1902
- Arthur Livingston, born c1905
- Alton Powell, born c1904
- Marguerite, born Apr., 1910

The family appeared in all census records in Brown Co. from 1900 through 1930. Arthur and Alton were twins. There were likely other children born between 1895 and 1902 that did not survive beyond infancy.

I have not researched the children and their descendants.

Please contact me if you have additional information and/or corrections to this data.


*From a book with no cover or title. See [http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/message/rw/localities.northam.usa.states.indiana.counties.brown/1341; the author of this message, and transcriber of the William L. Coffey biography wrote: "This book has no cover, and no index, and no author..."]