Charles Edward and Sarah Jane Ogden Coffey - Update 2-22-2011

If you live anywhere in the US where the humidity and ambient temperature typically try to out do each other in the summer, you'll understand when I write that not much physical activity has been going on at my house for the past couple of days!

The outside cooling unit went down on Sunday.  A friend knowledgeable about such things came over and changed out a capacitor and the compressor started.  That lasted about an hour and we spent last night with every fan in the house, and one outside, running!

Today, I moved the wireless laptop out onto the deck and set up office in front of that large fan where I remained for most of the day.  Heat doesn't seem to bother my wife as much as me, so she rarely ventured out unless it was to refill my empty iced tea glass!

By the time my friend got back this afternoon with the new outside unit, temps were 91F inside and 90F outside!  Humidity inside and out was at about 49%.  But, it didn't take long to install the new unit and temps inside are steadily dropping.  We can look forward to a cool nights rest once again!

I didn't waste all of my time just sitting in front of that fan.  With the help of my friend John Taylor, I decided to update some of the information on Charles Edward Coffey, a son of John Jack and Elizabeth Susan Duff Coffey in the Jordan Coffey line.

<--Charles Edward Coffey

Charles was born on Nov. 30, 1882 in Amherst Co., VA and died there on Feb. 13, 1924.  He is buried at Bridge Hill Cemetery in Amherst Co.

He and Sarah Jane Ogden were married Feb. 14, 1854 somewhere - probably Amherst Co. - in Virginia.  Sarah was born Oct. 22, 1833 in Virginia, the daughter of Zachariah and Elizabeth McDaniel Ogden.  She died Jan. 17, 1904 and is also buried at Bridge Hill (note headstone).


One of their sons, Pittward (Pitt) Coffey (I've see his name in some genealogies as Pitt Woodford) was married to Lucy White on Oct. 3, 1881 in Amherst Co.  The entry reads that Lucy, age 18 and a widow,  was the daughter of Henry and Eliza White. She was also sister to Sallie M. White who married Pitt's younger brother, Charles Edward Coffey.

I have seen at least one unsourced genealogy that gives her name as Lucy Parks White.  I wonder if she could have been previously married to a Parks who died, and then to Pitt!?

Lucy gave birth to a daughter named Vernie some 10 months later, on Sep. 23, 1882.  Within a very short time - probably around 1885 - Pitt absconded with Flavona Fletcher, a daughter of Lucian and Marie Frances Crawford Fletcher.  Lucian had some interest in Sweet Brian College in Amherst Co., and in 1901 Flovona received a portion of his share, some $5000.

Pitt and Flavona had already relocated to Kanawha Co. in West Virginia where Pitt farmed a little and eventually went into the grocery business.  In 1900 he was a farmer.  In 1910 he was a grocer.  The extra cash that Flavona brought home probably helped him get started in the retail business.

By 1920 Pitt was retired.  Too bad he didn't live longer to enjoy his retirement.  He died on Jan. 9, 1922 of stomach cancer, and was buried on Jan. 10 at the Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston, Kanawha Co.

I do not yet know where Flavona went after 1920.  But, she died on Nov. 5, 1955 in Putney, Kanawha Co.

In 1930 Flavonia was living with her daughter Alma and Alma's second husband, Frank C. Briscoe in Charles, WV.
Vernie, Pitt's daughter with Lucy married Robert L. Seay, who was born Oct. 25, 1875 (not yet sure where).  He and Vernie had at least six children:

Evelyn, born Nov. 10, 1900, died Aug. 16, 1966
Vivian, born Sep. 25, 1903, died Nov. 1, 1973
John Robert, born Jun. 25, 1906, died apr. 2, 1984
Henry Vaughn, born Apr. 7, 1908, died Nov. 16, 1940
Marion, born Oct. 16, 1910, died May 23, 1975
William Lee, born Sep. 3, 1913, died Mar. 20, 1940

Pitt's children with Flavona were:

Jesse, born Sep., 1885, died Feb. 12, 1918 of "probably typhoid fever" and,  was buried at Spring Hill Cemetery in Charleston, Kanawha Co.  Jesse died unmarried.

Janet Aurelia, born Jul. 1888, died Mar. 27, 1945.  She married first T. Edward Berry on Nov. 19, 1908 in Lexington, Rockbridge Co., VA.  She later married Chester L. Martin, born 1886, died Sep. 14, 1959 in Huntington, Cabell Co., WV.  She is also buried at Spring Hill Cemetery.

Alma, born Mar., 1890. Alma married first to Thomas H. Young in 1911, Kanawha Co., WV. She gave him at least three children: Harless, born c1913; Margaret, born c1915; and Carroll Cletcher, born c1918, each in WV. She last appeared with Young in the 1920 census in Charleston. In 1924 she married a widower, Frank C. Briscoe and gave him at least two children: Mary, born c1925 and Joseph H., born c1927. That marriage license shows that Alma was divorced. Briscoe was 17 years senior to Alma and seemingly preceded her in death because, in 1963, at the age of 73, Alma married for the third time. This husband was 72-year old James Marshall Lawson. Alma is buried at Spring Hill. I have not discovered Mr. Lawson's burial place.
Harry Clarkston, born Jun. 8, 1892, died Mar., 1969.  Buried at Putnam Co., WV.

Fletcher, born Jul. 5, 1895, died Nov., 1980 in Kanawha Co.

Stoughton Edward, born Feb., 1897, died Apr. 17, 1918.  I've seen some genealogies who named this child Steven.  However, Stoughton is how it is spelled on his death certificate.  He died very young (age 21) from Tuberculosis.  He was also buried at Spring Hill.

James Tinsley, born Sep. 21, 1901, died Oct. 10, 1934.  James died early as well.  He was deceased from a heart attack by the time he was 33 years old.  He is also buried at Spring Hill.

More to come on the remainder of Charles' children with Sarah Jane Ogden.

Please contact me at the above e-mail address to add to or correct any of this information.

Photos courtesy of John Taylor