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November 3, 2009

James Alexander and Josephine Andrews Coffey

In an earlier blog [click on title link to read] I wrote about the descendants of Patterson Vance and Nancy Martisha Estes Coffey from Caldwell Co., NC.  At the time I had no information about their second son, James Alexander. Since then I have discovered the following about him:

Patterson and his family moved to Douglas Co., OR sometime around 1900. Their second son, James Alexander, born Jul. 4, 1872 in Lenoir, died in Jamestown, Stutsman Co., ND on Nov. 27, 1957. A short biography of the professional life of James appears on the website of the North Dakota Supreme Court:

Judge Coffey was born in Lenoir, North Carolina, on July 4, 1872. He attended school at Lenoir, until moving to Portland, Oregon, where he graduated from high school. He received his B. A. degree from the University of Idaho, and L. L. B. degree from the University of Minnesota. He came to Courtenay, North Dakota in 1902, where he practiced law until 1910. In 1911 he was appointed Judge of the Fifth Judicial District by Governor John Burke, he served in that capacity until 1919, when the judicial districts were revised he became Judge of the Fourth Judicial District from 1919 until 1928. He returned to private practice, and was briefly associated with Alvin C. Strutz, and later headed the firm of Coffey, Mackenzie and Jungroth in Jamestown, North Dakota. Judge Coffey died on November 27, 1957.
James married Josephine Andrews, a Minnesota school teacher in about 1903.  Shortly after their marriage - as indicated by his arrival in ND in 1902 - the family settled into life and raised two children:  Robert Andrews, born c1904 and Eleanore, born c1906. 

The family appeared in the 1910 through 1930 census records in Jamestown, Stutsman Co., ND.  Josephine appeared as the head of household in the 1900 census for Fairbault, Rice Co., MN where she taught school and lived with her brother, Stanley, age 15.

I have been unable to find a death record for Josephine, or a burial site for her or James.  Neither have I found any record of Robert and Eleanore after 1920. 

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

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