Willie Newton Coffey

There is no doubt that Willie Newton Coffey was a son of Mathew and Emily Troxell Coffey.

Willie was born in Kentucky in 1903, probably in Wayne Co.  He was in that county in 1910.  In 1920 he and his family lived in McCreary Co.  

Mathew, the father, was born to Henry Baker Coffey and Sarah Elizabeth Dobbs in June of 1875, married Emily, a daughter of Jacob and Salena Steel Troxell in about 1896.

Between Oct., 1896 and Jan., 1917 Emily and Mathew had at least six children. They were: Sarah Jane; William "Willie"; Salena, who is said to have married Lark Bell in about 1924; Sallie; Ed Lincoln, born 1911, married Edna Hatfield; and Goldman, born in 1917.

Willie is something of an enigma.  I write that with some misgivings because he may have been no puzzle at all over his lifetime* and did not try to hide from the law.

A newspaper article appeared in the Lexington  (KY) Herald in July, 1946 announcing the arrest of Willie Newton Coffey in Birmingham, AL for killing his father, Mathew Coffey, in Wayne County in 1928.  It was reported that "shortly before the elder Coffey was slain, his son had escaped from a Wayne county jail where he had been held on a "drunkenness charge."  

That was the first and last article that I have been able to find in any KY newspaper so it is not possible for me to tell you if he was tried, convicted and jailed, or if found innocent or not guilty of his father's death.

News Item, The Lexington Herald, Lexington, KY, Thu., Jul. 11, 1946, Page 9, Col. 4

Arrest Suspect in 1928 Patricide

Monticello, Ky., July 10 (AP) - County Judge S. E. Anderson announced today the arrest of Willie Newton Coffey, 44, wanted in Wayne county for the past 17 1/2 years in connection with the slaying of his father.

Judge Anderson said Coffey was picked up on a disorderly conduct charge at Tarrant, Ala., a Birmingham suburb.  He said Birmingham police notified Wayne county officials that Coffey admitted he fatally shot his father, Matthew Coffey, in 1928.

"Coffey hadn't been seen in Wayne county since then," declared the judge, adding that a murder indictment had been returned in March, 1929, against Coffey.

The judge said Sheriff J. J. Gibson would go to Frankfort, probably Thursday, to get a requisition for the extradition of Coffey from Alabama to Wayne county.

Judge Anderson said that shortly before the elder Coffey was slain, his son had escaped from jail where he had been held on a drunkenness charge.  The judge said Coffey had been quoted as saying he fired as his father was about to attack his mother.

What I do know is in 1930 a William Coffee [sic] appeared in the McDowell Co., WV census with Minnie Jane Carter Coffee.  He was 26 years-old; Minnie was also 26.  With them was Helen Blaylock, a five year-old step-daughter to Willie.  Willie was employed as a coal digger.

There is a 1938 marriage license in  McDowell Co. that tells us he and Minnie were married on Oct. 14 of that year.  The application tells us that he was born in Crossville, TN, and named his parents as George and Mary Coffey**.  Minnie named her parents as Ernest and India Carter.

The 1940 census for Birmingham, Jefferson Co., AL includes William [sic] and Minnie as well as Gladus [sic], a daughter, age 8, born WV; Hershel, a son, age 7, born WV; and William J., a son aged eight months, born in AL.  The step-daughter Helen was no longer with the family.  

Gladys, born in Matewan, Mingo Co., WV, had at least three children:  Lynda Sue Coffey, born KY in 1950; Glynda Gaye, born 1955 in Birmingham and Viola Coffey, born 1965 in McCreary Co.  Glynda Faye died by drowning in 1970 at Birmingham where she had been taken by her grandfather, Willie Coffey to visit relatives.  The obituary reports she was survived by sisters Viola and Lynda as well as a half-brother, Robert Lee Pearson, all of Stearns, KY.

Willie died in Jan., 1973 in McCreary Co. and was buried at Sherd Dobbs Cemetery in Whitley City.

Minnie died Feb. 7, 1986 at Somerset in Pulaski Co., KY.  She was 84 years-old.  Her obituary reports that she was the daughter of Lee and India Carter.  Her husband, William "Willie" Coffey preceded her in death in 1972.  A daughter, Helen Thompson, granddaughter Glynda Coffey, two brothers, Robert and Walter Carter and one sister, Gertrude Sloan also preceded her in death.  She was survived by children Herschel Coffey and Elsie Reynolds of Birmingham, AL; William, Jr. of Wayne Co., KY; Gladys Coffey and Lynda Dobbs of Sterns and a brother, Ray of WV.

Minnie is also buried at Sherd Dobbs.

Comments, corrections and additions welcomed.

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*Apparently, the law was not actively searching for Willie from 1928 until 1946 for killing his father.  It was only after he was arrested near Birmingham for "disorderly conduct" in 1946 and perhaps volunteering information about killing his father that he was returned to Wayne County to face the law.  Certainly, with all of the people who went back and forth between KY and WV to work in the coal mines, someone would have known and reported the whereabouts of Willie to the KY authorities.

**Well, he may have tried somewhat to misdirect any leads to his birthplace and involvement in the death of his father.

Lee Ella Coffey (Corrected Info)

William Washington and Lee Ella Coffey Collins

Lee Ella Coffey was born Nov., 1881 in Caldwell Co., NC to Thomas Avery Coffey and Louisa E. Gragg. She was a grand-daughter of Austin Coffey and Mary A. Blaylock, and half-niece to the infamous Keith Blaylock.

Lee Ella is shown here with her second husband, William Washington Collins, born c1867 in Georgia. They were married c1903 in North Carolina.

She and William had at least three children:

• E. Spencer Halton, born Oct. 9, 1903
• De Estia Sylvia*, born Dec. 14, 1905
• Thomas William Staple, born Sep. 6, 1915

Lee and William also adopted Norma Pauline Coffey, the daughter of Olin James Coffey.
Lee Ella's first husband was Joseph Commodore Church, born Jul. 1878 in North Carolina. They had one child, a daughter Alma who married Orville Johnson of Tennessee.

*Some comments to me indicate that her given name was Deatte but was called Sally. The NC Birth Index lists her as De Estia Sylvia Collins**.

Her obituary reads:

Miss Sally Collins, age 92, of 112 Collins Store Road, Blowing Rock, died Thursday morning, January 15 [1997], at Watauga Medical Center.

A retired motel owner and operator and former merchant, Miss Collis was born at Shulls Mills on December 14, 1905, a daughter of the late W.W. and LeElla Coffey Collins. She was a member of the Blue Ridge Advent Christian Church.

Miss Collins is survived by one sister, Norma Hodges*** and husband, Rev. Howard Hodges of Morganton, N.C.; one sister-in-law, Mrs. Edna Hampton of Boone, two nephews, William S. Collins, Jr. of Conway, South Carolina and Roy Johnson of Kingsport, Tennessee; four nieces, Sharon Dowdy of Altamont Springs, Florida, Ernestine Nanny of Marion, S.C., Rebecca Parsons, of Lexington, N.C. and Susan Ballard of Charlotte, N.C.; several great nieces and nephews also survive.

She was preceded in death by her parents, W.W. and LeElla Coffey Collins, two brothers, Staple Collins and Spencer Collins, two half brothers and two half sisters.

Funeral services for Miss Collins were conducted Saturday, January 18 at The Blue Ridge Advent Christian Church. Officiating was the Rev. Ronnie Jones and the Rev. Gordon Nobles. Interment followed in the Boone Fork Cemetery.

Memorials may be considered to the Blue Ridge Advent Christian Church, in care of Susan Coffey, 146, Wilson Coffey Road, Blowing Rock, NC 25605.

Austin and Barnes Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

**Name: De Estia Sylvia Collins Date of Birth: 14 Dec 1905 Gender: Female Race: White Birth County: Watauga Parent1 Name: William Washington Collins Parent2 Name: Lee Ella Coffey Roll Number: B_C102_66001 Volume: 18 Page: 53

***Norma Pauline Coffey Hodges died on Nov. 9, 2003 in Denton, Davidson Co., NC. Her obituary reads:

DENTON--Mrs. Norma C. Hodges, 79, of Denton, died Sunday, Nov. 9, 2003, at her home. Born in Watauga County on June 3, 1924, she was a daughter of the late Olin J. and Estie Coffey Coffey and was a homemaker and a member of Zion Baptist Church in Morganton. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, the Rev. Howard Thomas Hodges, who died April 20, 2001. She also was preceded in death by her foster family, Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Collins, Sally Collins, Spencer and Staple Collins.

She is survived by daughters, Rebecca Parsons and husband, Lloyd, of Denton, and Susan Bullard of Fort Mill, S.C.; grandchildren, Jessica, Caitlin and Robb Bullard of Fort Mill, S.C. and Jen Parsons of Richlands and Amanda Perez of High Point.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Zion Baptist Church in Morganton.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Cedar Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 1048, Linwood, N.C. 27299.

Briggs Funeral Home in Denton is assisting the family.

Photo courtesy of Margaret Coffey Farley

Thomas A. and Margaret Ann Coffey Wright (Update)

Updated Sep. 15, 2008.

Thos. & Margaret Coffey Wright

Margaret was a daughter of Austin and Mary A. Blaylock Coffey. She was born Aug 22, 1847 in Caldwell Co., NC and died there on Dec. 1, 1931. Thomas was born c1834 in Georgia and died Apr. 5, 1906 in North Carolina.

Both are buried in the Boone Fork Baptist Church Cemetery in Watauga Co.

They had nine children:

Mary Josephine

- Mary Josephine, born Oct., 18, 1867, died Jan 31, 1944 in Mabscott, Raleigh Co., WV. Mary married Tilmon Monroe Gragg, a son of Edmond and Indiana Gragg Gragg on Mar 3, 1883 [Marriage Book 6, Page 24] in Caldwell Co. Tilmon was born Feb., 1858 in Caldwell Co., and died in Camden Co., NC [North Carolina Death Records, 1968-1996 on Dec. 12, 1928. I know of three children: William Henderson, Rhett and Alverdia.

[Two additional children have been reported to me: Cora E. and Bina. No other information provided]

- Sarah Jane, born c1870, married Edmund G. Haupt in Caldwell Co., 1893. No other info.  [A child, Maude, born Apr. 1892, married Frank Baker. Both families were in Knox Co., TN census records for 1910]

- Robert Arthur, born c1875, married Lurenie Holloway, a daughter of Reid D. and Martha Andrews Holloway, on Jul. 14, 1894 in Watauga. Robert disappeared shortly after marriage but fathered a son with Lurenie.  Robert Reaves Wright was born Jun., 18, 1895.  Robert married Nettie McAlister on Jun. 17, 1917 in Watauga Co.  He died on Jan. 18, 1944.  Lurenie later married William Wiley Church c1896.

Sarah Ellanora

- Sarah Ellanora (Ellie), born Jan. 26, 1877, died Dec. 18, 1942. Sarah married Samuel Wiley McCroskey in Nov. 1900 in Knox Co., TN. Sarah had been previously married on Oct. 16, 1896 to Henderson Phillips. Samuel was a son of William and Mira Johnson McCroskey and was born Apr. 10, 1869 in Bluff City, Sullivan Co., TN and died Apr. 14, 1926 in Burke Co., NC. Their children were: Raymond, 1902-1926, Mae, 1904-1983, Lula Nevada, 1907-?, Earl Lemuel, 1909-1967; Lany Esther, 1910-1978, Edward Lawrence, 1915-?, Virgie Edith, 1917-1970, and Roy Lois, 1921-1970.

More information is available on the McCroskey-Wright family.

- Sarah L., born c1879. No other info.

- Emmerette [born c1876, died 1897] married Thomas Coleman May 17, 1892, Caldwell Co.  [Marriage Book 9, Page 209].  I know of two children: Robert Lawrence, born Feb. 19, 1891 and Lloyd Ziniman, born Aug. 10, 1895.  [There was a third, Ora, born 1897. She married Boyd Ragan.]

Thomas Lemuel

- Thomas Lemuel, born Mar. 22, 1884, died Mar. 23, 1946. He married Sarah Emeline Bragg, daughter of James Jackson and Rhoda Cox Bragg. Sarah was born Mar. 18, 1893 in Summers Co., WVa., and died Sep. 10, 1979 in Caldwell Co., NC. I have found three children for them: Thomas Jackson, born 1915; Rexford Lemuel, born 1922, and Vadis Graham, born 1927.

[Three other children have been found: James Selden, born Jan. 9, 1917, died May 13, 1990; Margaret Marcella, born 1919, died 1979; and Theodore Frank, born Nov. 5, 1924, died Jan. 19, 1982.]

  - Annie Lee, born Jul. 27, 1885, died Dec. 11, 1951, married Roby Monroe Coffey on Mar. 19, 1903 in Watauga Co. Roby was son of George Washington and Matilda Coffey Coffey, and was born Mar. 20, 1881 in Caldwell Co., and died in Lenoir, NC on Oct. 1, 1955. There were at least nine children born to this union and will be a subject of a later blog.

- Doctor Hill, born Apr. 1, 1889, died Oct. 4, 1949 in Watauga Co. He married Virgie Nona Gragg, daughter of Leonard L. and Alva Sims Gragg on May 20, 1913 in NC. Virgie was born Oct. 18, 1897 in NC and died in Watauga Co. on Nov. 13, 1945. At least four children were born to them: Meda Geneva Virginia, born May 22, 1914; William Paul, born Jun. 19, 1918; Agnes Adele (Addie), born Aug. 15, 1921, died Jan. 25, 1988; and Thomas Hill, born Dec. 20, 1930. "Addie" married James Bynum Coffey on Jul. 5, 1939 in NC. James was a son of James Hardy and Lillian Mae Gray Coffey. James died Apr. 26, 1986 in Watauga Co. Their children were Patricia Joe Ann, born Mar. 21, 1941, died c1996, and James Robert, born Sep. 27, 1942, died Nov. 11, 1999.

I am uncertain whether Sarah Ellenora and Sarah L. are the same person. It seems unlikely to me that there would be two, much less three children born to the same parents who gave their children the same first name.

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Photo courtesy Margaret Coffey Farley

Olin James Coffey

Olin James Coffey*, born Apr. 4, 1900 in Watauga Co., NC was a son of David Nathaniel and Caroline Lovina Coffey Coffey. Caroline was the daughter of Levi L. and Temperance C. [perhaps also a Coffey] Coffey. David Nathaniel was a son of Austin and Mary A. Blaylock Coffey. Austin and David Nathaniel were second cousins.

Olin married Estie Coffey [her parents are yet unknown] about 1923, and together they had a daughter, Norma Pauline Coffey. Either at the birth of, or shortly thereafter Estie died because Olin shows up in the 1930 Watauga Co. census as a widower in the household with his brother, Austin Blaine Coffey.

The child Norma appears in the household with the William W. and Lee Ella Williams family as their "adopted daughter." Interestingly enough, the Williams family had an older daughter named Estie, age 24.

Olin registered for the WW1 draft in Sep., 1918, but apparently was not drafted. In 1942 he enlisted in the US Army and recorded that he was a widower without dependents. In 1918 he was recorded as being of medium height with blue eyes and light colored hair. In 1942 he was 6' tall and weighed 135 lbs.

He apparently never remarried. Another marriage record has not been found and he died as a widower on May 28, 1986 in Watauga Co.**

Norma Pauline married the Rev. Howard Thomas Hodges. After 56 years of marriage and several children, Pauline died at age 79 on Nov. 9, 2003 in Denton, NC. Her obituary, which appeared in both the News Herald in Morganton, NC and The Dispatch in Lexington, NC reads respectively:

Norma Hodges

DENTON--Mrs. Norma C. Hodges, 79, of Denton, died Sunday, Nov. 9, 2003, at her home. Born in Watauga County on June 3, 1924, she was a daughter of the late Olin J. and Estie Coffey Coffey and was a homemaker and a member of Zion Baptist Church in Morganton. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, the Rev. Howard Thomas Hodges, who died April 20, 2001. She also was preceded in death by her foster family, Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Collins, Sally Collins, Spencer and Staple Collins.

She is survived by daughters, Rebecca Parsons and husband, Lloyd, of Denton, and Susan Bullard of Fort Mill, S.C.; grandchildren, Jessica, Caitlin and Robb Bullard of Fort Mill, S.C. and Jen Parsons of Richlands and Amanda Perez of High Point.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Zion Baptist Church in Morganton.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be sent to Cedar Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 1048, Linwood, N.C. 27299.

Briggs Funeral Home in Denton is assisting the family.

Obituaries

November 11. 2003 12:00AM

Norma C. Hodges

DENTON - Norma Coffey Hodges, 79, of Denton, died Sunday, Nov. 9, 2003, at her home. A memorial service will be Saturday at 2 p.m. at Zion Baptist Church in Morganton, where she was a member.

Mrs. Hodges was born June 3, 1924, in Watauga County to Olin J. and Estie Coffey Coffey. She was a homemaker. She was married to the Rev. Howard Thomas Hodges, her husband of 56 years, who died April 20, 2001. She was also preceded in death by her foster family, Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Collins, Sally Collins and Spencer and Staple Collins.

Surviving are two daughters, Rebecca Parsons and her husband, Lloyd, of Denton and Susan Bullard of Fort Mill, S.C., and six grandchildren, Jessica, Caitlin and Rob Bullard of Fort Mill, S.C., Matthew and Jen Parsons of Richlands and Amanda Perez of High Point.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Cedar Grove Baptist Church Building Fund, P.O. Box 1048, Linwood, N.C. 27299.

Briggs Funeral Home in Denton is assisting the family.



*In some records his name is recorded as Olin Jay Coffey, and Olin James Coffey in others.

**Ancestry.com: North Carolina Death Collection, 1908-1966, and NC Department of Health, Deaths 1983-87

Austin and Mary Blaylock Coffey

Austin was born c1818 in Burke Co., NC to Jesse and Margaret Edmiston Coffey. Mary Blaylock (variously spelled) was born Mar. 25, 1818 and died Jan. 19, 1905. Blaylock was her maiden name, and she is said to have been the mother of two children born out of wedlock: Keith, born c1838, and Mary, born c1842.

Children born to Austin and Mary were:

Margaret Ann Coffey, born c1847, married Thomas Wright David Nathaniel Coffey, born c1852; Thomas Avery Coffey, born c1855, married Louisa Gragg; Jesse Filmore Coffey, born Oct. 22, 1858, died Aug. 22, 1931, married Mattie Storie, born Mar. 26, 1852, died Apr. 25, 1892. Children were Edna, born Aug. 4, 1882, died Mar. 3, 1942; and Jesse L., born Feb. 29, 1888, died Nov. 16, 1956.

I have previously provided some information about Austin and Mary in a blog about William Clayton Coffey, a brother to Austin.

The photographs were generously provided by Margaret Coffey Farley, great-great granddaughter of Austin and Mary.

William Clayton Coffey

William Clayton Coffey was a son of Jesse Coffey and Margaret Edmiston. He was born c1808 in Burke Co., NC and killed in Feb. 1865 in Caldwell Co., NC by a gang of Union renegades led by William McKesson "Keith" Blaylock. William was brother to Austin Coffey who had married Mary Blaylock, Keith's mother. Mary had Keith and one other child named Mary out of wedlock, and Austin had raised them as his own.

A story found in A History of Watauga County, North Carolina by John Preston Arthur reveals that Keith had married Malinda Pritchard, and both had joined the Confederate Army, she as "Sammy Blalock," with hopes of getting close enough to Union lines to defect. But, "Sammy" was wounded and discovered to be a female and sent home. Keith, not to be left alone is said to have rolled in poison ivy and was so affected that he too was discharged. When he returned to Watauga Co., NC he became a recruiting officer for the Union's 10th Michigan Regiment. They also resorted to bushwhacking, thievery and murder.

According to the above source, during the period Aug. 1864 and Feb. 1865 the citizens in the Watauga Co. were hounded and harassed by gangs who stole horses and other livestock; what they did not steal they destroyed. Their victims were mostly women and children whose husbands and fathers were away fighting in the war.

The Coffey families in the area mostly supported the Confederacy, so Keith and his gang must have felt it their duty to seek out the enemy. They first searched for Reuben Coffey, the older brother of William and Austin. Fortunately Reuben was away when the gang came to visit so they rode on to William's home where they found him working in his field. They took him from the field to James Gragg's mill where he was shot by a man named Perkins, one of Keith's henchmen.

William had married his first cousin, Sarah Green, a daughter of John and Elizabeth B. Coffey Green. I have not found a marriage date, nor an accurate birth and death date for Sarah.

Together they had six children:

- Silas Carroll., born c1835 Burke Co., NC, died Jul. 3, 1893. Silas married Eleanor (Nellie) Green - probably some relation to his mother. They had at least seven chidren: Martha J.; William Pinkney; Francis Richmond; Mary E.; David Columbus; Silas W.; and Rebecca S.

[Update Jun. 13, 2007: Silas Carroll and Nellie's child Silas W. was actually Silas Milton, born c1870. His family was subsequently confused with that of Silas Milton Coffey, born Jun. 16, 1886, a son of John Carroll and Nancy Hartley Coffey. John's Silas married Maggie Philyaw on Nov. 5, 1905 in Caldwell Co. This info may still need some "fine tuning", so please contact me at the e-mail address below if you have information on these families.]


- William Clayton, Jr. born c1838 in Ashe Co., NC, married Louisa Adeline Curtis on May 10, 1866 in Wilkes Co. William served in Co. E, 86th NC Infantry, and died in 1919. No other information has been found.

[Update Jun. 13, 2007: William and Louisa had children: George Calbin, born Jan., 1860, died Dec. 21, 1934, married Louisa Elizabeth (Lou) Curtis; Sarah, born c1862; Andrew J., born Jun. 1863, died Jan. 3, 1951, married Matilda Harrison; Nancy Ann, born May, 1868, married Charles Solomon Young; and Mary E., born 1869]


- George Washington (Wash), born Nov. 21, 1842 in Ashe Co., died Nov. 9, 1912 in Caldwell Co. He married Matilda (Tilda) Coffey. (His first cousin, once removed as well as his second cousin, once removed) She was the daughter of Jesse Calton and Nancy Raines Coffey. Jesse was a son of Reuben, brother to William Clayton, Sr. George and Tilda had 11 children: William Leander; Eliza Jane; Jesse Calton; John A.; Sarah E.; Silas Columbus; Thomas F.; George Washington, Jr.; Roby Monroe; Martha L.; and Mary Etta.

- Jesse Patterson (Pat), born Nov. 1845 in Burke Co., died May 2, 1924 in Watauga Co. he married Phoebe Matilda Curtis, born Feb. 1845 in Caldwell Co., died Oct. 26, 1915 in Watauga Co. Their children were: Laura J.; Eliza Rebecca; Myra Angeline; W. J.; Doctor Peterson; and Thomas Stephen.

- Eliza A. (Louisa), born Jul. 6, 1848 in Burke Co., died May. 24, 1924/25. She married Jesse Hartley, but no additional information has been found.

[Update Jun. 13, 2007: Jesse McAbee Hartley was born Aug. 29, 1846 in Watauga Co., and died Jun. 19, 1905 at Blowing Rock, Watauga Co. They were married in 1868 in Watauga Co. They had at least nine children. Contact me for details]

- John C., born c1851 in North Carolina, married Margaret E., last name unknown. She was born c1852 in North Carolina. Their children were: William Jefferson, born c1876, married Elsie Mae Hodges; Finley Carroll, married Connie Rebecca Tolbert; and Thomas Hall, married Cora Ellen Tolbert. More information is available via e-mail address below.

[Update Jun. 13, 2007: John Carroll married Nancy Evalyn Hartley on Sep. 18, 1873 in Watauga Co. In addition to above three children, they had Joel Partee, born Jul. 1884, died Dec. 21, 1919, married Lillie Mamie Pearl Tolbert; Silas Milton, married Maggie Philyaw; Ilar Jane, born Jun, 1888, died 1981, married Pinkney David Philyaw; and Lilla E., born Jun., 1890.


I have additional information on several of the above families. Please contact me at the below e-mail address if you need more info, or can provide additional data and/or corrections.