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June 13, 2009

Grover Coffey, son of Joshua Elmo Coffey



Grover Coffey
Sometime ago I wrote about the family of Joshua Elmo and his wife Emma Bridenbaugh. At the time I knew little about their son Grover.

Grover was born Aug. 22, 1892 in Rushtown, Scioto Co., OH and died Apr. 2, 1959 in Lima, Allen Co., OH. He was married c1920 to a lady named Phronia born c1896 in Ohio. Together they had three children: Elsie, born c1916; Glen, born c1924; and Gene, born c1929. Given the gap in years between children, it seems likel they had others who did not survive to adult hood.

On Jul 24, 1918 Grover enlisted in Battery D., 3d Field Artillery Regiment of the Ohio National Guard. He was honorably discharged on Jan. 10, 1919. It is not known if he saw duty overseas. In 1942 he was again called upon to register for the draft, and did so on Apr. 27, 1942 at the Barr Hotel in Lima.





Phronia Grafton
At that registration he was recorded as being 5' 10" tall and weighed 190 lbs. He was 49 yrs. old, born Aug. 22, 1892. He named his sister, Hazel Coffey Spurlock of Lima as someone who would always know his address.

Grover died on Apr. 2, 1959 in Lima and was buried at the East Cemetery in Cairo, Allen Co., OH.

No additional information has been found about Phronia. Please send an e-mail, Twitter me @coffeycall, or leave a comment if you know more about her.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Phronia's maiden name was Grafton. She was born in Mendon, Mercer County, Ohio on February 4, 1896. Her father was Arthur Park Grafton. Her mother was Mary A. (Ballard) Grafton. Mendon is about 27 miles from Lima, which is where she raised her family. Her husband Grover was my great uncle.

Submitted by Jack E. Coffey

Jack Coffee said...

Jack, thanks for the update. I had some of this info, received from another Grover researcher. According to one source, "Ohio Births and Christenings, 1821-1962," Phronia (sometimes spelled Thronia and Fronia) was born in Van West Co., OH.* Her marriage record to Floyd L. Foreman, found in "Ohio Marriages, 1800-1958," reports her birth place as Mendon, OH.*

Do you have a marriage date/place for her and Grover?

--The following sources can be found at https://familysearch.org--

*Name: Thronia Grafton Gender: Female Baptism/Christening Date: Baptism/Christening Place: Allen, Ohio Birth Date: 04 Feb 1896 Birthplace: Van Wert Co., Ohio Death Date: Name Note: Race: White Father's Name: Arthur P. Grafton Father's Birthplace: Father's Age: Mother's Name: Mary Ballard Mother's Birthplace: Mother's Age: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: C00040-7 System Origin: Ohio-VR Source Film Number: 0901423 Reference Number: V.2p.212

**Groom's Name: Floyd L. Foreman Groom's Birth Date: Groom's Birthplace: Deshler, Oh Groom's Age: Bride's Name: Phronia B. Grafton Bride's Birth Date: 1896 Bride's Birthplace: Mendon, Oh Bride's Age: 18 Marriage Date: 09 Apr 1914 Marriage Place: Lima, Allen, Oh Groom's Father's Name: Percy Foreman Groom's Mother's Name: Rosie A. Cox Bride's Father's Name: Park Grafton Bride's Mother's Name: Mary Ballard Groom's Race: White Groom's Marital Status: Single Groom's Previous Wife's Name: Bride's Race: White Bride's Marital Status: Single Bride's Previous Husband's Name: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M86839-3 System Origin: Ohio-VR Source Film Number: 0901422 Reference Number: 2:3J1GJXR