John Reuben and Malida Narcissa "Sis" Coffey Hayes

Just browsing my Ed Coffey Project files this morning and stumbled upon this family.  Reuben and "Sis" had at least 12 children, all born between 1876 and 1899, and from Tennessee to Missouri.

One of the children that I was digging around for was Agnes, born Jan. 12, 1895.   She was the tenth of the twelve.  Depending on which census record you believe, she was either born  in Arkansas or Missouri.  She died Jul. 10, 1978 in Snohomish Co., WA. 

Agnes married Andrew Jackson Franks, born Jan. 31, 1885 in Arkansas.  I have not found a marriage date for them, but they probably wed around 1915 or so.  As best as I can determine, they had only one child, Geraldine R., born c1918 in Washington state, and died there in 2007.  According to one report that I found, she was married to a Mr. Tackett.

Andrew registered for the draft in Everett, Snohomish Co. on Sep. 12, 1918.  At that time he described himself as having a slender build and of medium height.  He had blue eyes and black hair.  Andrew was employed as a laborer by the Wearhouser [sic] [Weyerhauser] mill in Everett.  He and Agnes resided at 3121 Broadway in that town.  In the 1920 and 1930 census records they were still residing in Snohomish Co.  In 1930 Andrew as a hod carrier* for a plaster company.

John Reuben Hayes was the son of Harmon and Martha Long Hayes.  "Sis" was the daughter of William Wesley and Gelina E. Shouse Coffey.  The Coffey line goes back to Edward through Cleveland and his wife Susan Hayes; Jesse and Margaret Edmisten Coffey;  Reuben and Sally Scott Coffey; John and Jane Graves Coffey.

Please leave a comment, or e-mail me with any corrections or additions.

*Most readers will know what a Hod is but, for those who don't, it is a three sided box used to haul bricks and/or mortar to bricklayers.  If Andrew worked for a company applying plaster he would likely have carried that material in a hod box.  A hod carrier is usually referred to as a "hoddie."  The term may be somewhat obsolete today.

Spainhour Coffey

Spainhour Coffey was a son of Larkin and Lessie Bauguess [sic] Coffey, born Feb. 28, 1912 in Wilkes Co., NC.  He died on May 30, 1981 in Yakima, Yakima Co., WA.

Spainhour, as a given name, is unusual.  I suspect that it comes from Catherine Spainhour who married Israel Boone Coffey in Caldwell Co. on Sep. 19, 1867.  Israel was a very distant cousin of Spainhour, their common ancestor being Thomas Coffey, a son of John and Jane Graves Coffey.

Spainhour married "Toots" Norman on May 31, 1934 in Benton Co., WA. So far, I have not been able to locate any information on "Toots," and would like to know more about her.

Please contact me if you can tell me more about "Toots."

John and Nancy Snyder Coffey

This John was a son of James M. and Frances Lane Coffey.  He was born Apr. 22, 1810 in Wayne Co., KY and died Apr. 8, 1879 in Lookingglass, Douglas Co., OR.  Nancy was born Dec. 1, 1815 in Virginia and died Feb. 28, 1893 in Lexington, Morrow Co., OR.

He descends from Edward and Ann Powell Coffey through their son John and wife Jane Graves; their son, James and Elizabeth Cleveland; their son Archelus and Eleanor Wade.  Archelus and Eleanor were parents of James M.

John and Nancy were married on Sep. 13, 1832 in Gallatin Co., IL.  They settled there, and received a 40-acre land grand in 1835.  They sold this land on Sept. 20, 1841 and went to Missouri.  They were back in Illinois by 1848, and were on the Hamilton County, IL census for 1850.

By December 1852 the family was back in Missouri, probably preparing for their westward trek.  A family record cited by Marvin Coffey in his family genealogy says only  that "they moved from southern Illinois to Missouri joining a wagon train and crossing the plains in 1853."

The Coffey family arrived in Oregon on August 12, 1853.

Their children were at least 12:

Vandexer Lee, born Oct. 26, 1833 in Gallatin Co., IL, and died May 2, 1909.  He married Rebecca J. Wright, born Jan., 1854 in Indiana, on Jan. 5, 1871 in Marion Co., OR.  Vandexer died in Beech Creek, Grant Co., OR.

Miles, born c1835 in Gallatin Co.

James Bluford, born Oct. 11, 1837 in Gallatin Co., IL, died Jul. 3, 1924 in Adams, Umatilla Co., OR.  James married first to Mary Ann McCorkle on Oct. 19, 1862 in Marion Co., OR.  Mary Ann was born Nov. 26, 1847 in Marion Co., and died there on Jan. 30, 1853.  They had one child, George F., born Jan. 20, 1864, died Jul. 3, 1912 in Canada.  Mary Ann died 10 days after George was born.  He married second to Mary Elizabeth Bolin of Jul. 16, 1866 in Salem, Marion Co., OR.  Mary was born Jul. 24, 1848 in Indiana and died in Oregon on Apr. 26, 1927.  They raised at least 13 children.  This is the family of Dr. Marvin Coffey (dec'd).

Martha Ellen, born c1839 in Gallatin Co., IL and died (probably) in 1861 in Clackamas Co., OR.  She married William Arthur, Jr., born c1831 in Missouri.  They were married on May 8, 1856 in Clackamas Co.  Their known children were Mildred A., born 1857; Martha Josephine, born 1859 and William C., born c1861.

Julia Ann, born Oct. 10, 1841 in MO, died Nov. 25, 1928 in Portland, Multnomah Co., OR.  She was married to Joseph A. Hugh on Dec. 24, 1861 in Clackamas Co.  Their children were John L., born 1868, died 1960; Minnie V., born c1877; Sam J., born c1879; and Richard D., born c1881.

Eli D., born c1844 in Missouri, died between 1860 and 1879.

Infant daughter, born c1846.

Winfield W., born c Nov. 1848 in Illinois, died Nov., 1849.

Mary Jane, born c1850 in Hamilton Co., IL, died before 1900 in Morrow Co., OR.  She was married first to John Sloan in July 1874 in Douglas Co., OR.  They had at least one child, Nancy E., born c1875.    Her second husband was Arthur McCarty to whom she was married on Jan. 24, 1877 in Douglas Co., OR.  They had at least one child, Eli Howard, born Nov. 13, 1877, died Dec. 18, 1918.  Mary Jane's third husband was William W. Kirk, to whom she was married on Apr. 14, 1899 in Morrow Co.

John Achilles Winfield, born Dec., 1852, died Mar. 10, 1931.

Thomas Wesley, born Sep. 27, 1854 in Coos Co., OR, died in Portland on Sep. 2, 1939.  He married Amanda E. Coon on Jun. 27, 1878 in Douglas Co.  She was born to Jacob L. and Sarah Miller Coon on May 18, 1854 in Linn Co., OR.  Amanda died Sep. 27, 1903 in Camas Valley, Douglas Co., OR.  Thomas may have married again, but I had no information.  Their children were at least four:  Lillian L., born Jul., 1879 in Douglas Co., died 1956; Fred L., born c1881; Sarah; and Mildred V., born Oct., 1886, died Oct., 1870.

The last known child born to John and Nancy was Louisa, born and died in 1857.

Please send additions and/or corrections to me at the above e-mail address.

Jesse and Eleanor Coffey Compton

According to some sources, Eleanor Coffey was born Jan. 9, 1793 in Wilkes Co., NC to John Coffey and Mary Hall.  Mary's maiden name has also not been agreed upon,  Some research shows it as Hull or Harbord.  I do not know which is correct.

John, born c1753, probably in Albemarle Co., VA, was a son of James and Elizabeth Cleveland Coffey.  He died Dec. 27, 1825 in Wilkes Co.  Mary was born Dec. 18, 1755, location unknown.

James Coffey, born Jul 4, 1729 in Essex Co., VA, was a son of John and Jane Graves Coffey.  Elizabeth Cleveland is said by some to be the illegitimate daughter of Grace Cleveland who may have been a daughter of Alexander Cleveland.  Some researchers believe that Elizabeth was the daughter of Edward Coffey, a son of Edward and Ann Powell Coffey, because he eventually married Grace.

By tradition, Alexander's wife has been named Mildred (Milly) Presly.  Her name is also the subject of some controversy.

In my opinion, and to my knowledge, this family arrangement has not been satisfactorily researched.

Eleanor is believed to be the ninth of 11 children born to John and Mary.  Jesse was the son of Hezekiah and Jane Fields Compton.  Jane Fields was the daughter of Thomas Fields and Elizabeth Coffey.  Eleanor is in the fourth generation of descendants of John and Jane Graves Coffey.  Jane Fields is in the third genereation of descendants.

Jesse Compton and Eleanor Coffey are said to have married in Feb., 1819.  They were in Forsyth Co., GA in 1840 and remained there at least through the 1850 census.  Eleanor seems to have died before 1860.  That year found Jesse in the household with his son Marshal in Polk Co., TN.

In addition to Marshall, born c1835, Jesse and Eleanor had at least three other children:  Jane Elvira, born c1821; Mary, born c1825; and Sarah, born c1832.  There were likely others.

Marshal is the only child for whom I have found descendants.  He married Jane, born c1829 in Kentucky, c1856.  Their first two children were Henry, born c1858 and Georgia, born c1859 and were born in TN.  The next child was Lovedy [sic], born c1862 in GA.  In 1870 Jane appeared as a widow in the 1870 Whitfield Co., GA census with those three children as well as a son Caswell [?], born c1867 in GA. 

Marshal enlisted in Co. H., 36th Inf. Regt., GA on Apr. 24, 1862.  He died on May 16, 1863 at Bakers Creek in MS from wounds received there.

Bakers Creek was a battle fought between Union and Confederates as part of the battle at Champion Hill in Hinds Co., MS.  The Raymond Road forded Bakers Creek, and was a Confederate escape route to the Vicksburg road and, of course, into Vicksburg.  The Confederates lost some 4,300 men in the campaign.

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

Thomas Jefferson Coffey

Thomas Jefferson Coffey was born on Feb. 16, 1805 in Burke Co., NC to Ambrose and Mildred (Millie) Moore Coffey.  He died Nov. 1, 1858 in Brazoria Co., TX and was buried in the Sandy Point Cemetery in that county.

He was married to Malinda Graves Haley on Jul. 17, 1827* in Hinds Co., MS.  Malinda was born Nov. 17, 1808 in TN and died in Brazoria Co. on Dec. 24, 1857.  She is also buried at Sandy Point.  I have wondered if perhaps Malinda had been previously married to a Mr. Haley and, if Graves was her maiden name!?

According to several genealogies that I have seen, Thomas and Malinda were parents to at least eight children.  I have been unable to confirm the first two; America and Eugenia.

Their third child was Minerva who married Thomas Lobdell.  They had at least one child, Henry Lee, born Sep. 5, 1850 and died Aug. 23, 1852 in Brazoria Co.  Henry is buried at Sandy Point.

Their next child ws Aaron, born 1832, died 1912.  Aaron is said to have married Mary Summerville Smith on Mar. 28, 1860 in Galveston Co., TX.  I know of two children:  Julia Summerville Coffey, born Dec. 8, 1864.  She is said to have married a Mr. Ridgeway.  The second child was a daughter, Cassie Kyle.  Aaron died in 1912 and was buried at Pecan Grove Cemetery in McKinney, Collin Co., TX.**

Ellen came after Aaron.  She was born Jun. 17, 1835 in MS and died Apr. 1, 1866*** in Brazoria Co.  She is also buried at Sandy Point.  Ellen married a Mr. Tankersley, and may have been married more than once.

Ambrose, born c1838 and Henry, born Nov. 24, 1840 followed Ellen.  I have no information on Ambrose.  Henry died Nov. 9, 1857 in Brazoria Co. and is buried at Sandy Point.

The last child was Roxanna, born Oct. 28, 1842 in MS and died aug. 22, 1860 in Brazoria Co.  Given her age at time of death, she likely died in child birth.  Her husband was William Ward, born c1838 in AL.  Roxanna is buried at Sandy Point.

I would like to know more about these children and their descendants.  Please contact me at the above e-mail address to add to or correct any of this information.




*Dodd, Jordan, Mississippi Marriages 1826-1900
** Burial & Memorial Locator, Dept. of Vet. Affairs:  COFFEY, AARON      US ARMY  CONFEDERATE STATES DATE OF BIRTH:  1832 DATE OF DEATH: 1912 BURIED AT: PECAN GROVE CEMETERY MCKINNEY, TX 75069 (972) 542-2601
***An inventory of the Sandy Point cemetery can be found at http://files.usgwarchives.org/tx/brazoria/cemetery/sandypt.txt

Benjamin J. Coffey and Candis W. Coffey

Benjamin was born c1813 in Virginia and, married Candis W. Coffey, born c1814, on Jan. 28, 1836 in Nelson Co., VA. [Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850; Benjamin Coffey Candis W. Coffey 28 Jan 1836 Nelson] His parents are unknown.

Candis' father is also unknown; her mother was Nancy Coffey, daughter of William Coffey, Jr., and Mary (Polly) Rippetoe. William, Jr. comes from John Coffey and Jane Graves through their son William, Sr.

Another of William Sr. daughters is Jane who is thought to be the mother of Jordan Coffey who settled Coffeytown in Amherst Co., VA. She later married Benjamin Hawkins Fitzgerald.

Nancy apparently bore at least two other daughters out of wedlock: Sophia, born c1815 and Ann, birth date unknown.

Known children of Benjamin and Candis are:

Peter, born c1839
Susan, born c1842
Sarah A., born c1844, married A. N. North on 23 Oct. 1866 in Nelson Co. [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 16, Line 70]
Paulina M., born c1848, married J. J. Fonkhoutzer in Dec., 1880, Nelson Co. [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 46, Line 111]
George W., born 20 Jun 1858, died Aug. 26, 1937, Nelson Co.; married Mary E. Saunders Feb. 1, 1885 [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 58, Line 9]
Elizabeth (Betty), born c1857, married J. N. Adams Dec. 20, 1881. [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 48, Line 80]

Please contact me if you can identify the parents of Benjamin and/or the father of Candis.

Biography of Osborn N. Coffey

Osborn N. COFFEY, an old and respected citizen and an early settler of Lincoln County, Mo., was born in Casey County, Ky., February 4, 1807, and is the son of Jessee and Elizabeth (RIFFLE) COFFEY, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. Their ancestors were from Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. The father was an extensive dealer in hogs, which he used to drive to Richmond, Va., a distance of about five hundred miles. He was a colonel in the War of 1812, was for two terms a member in the State Legislature, and a member of the Constitutional Convention of Kentucky. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and lived to a good old age. They reared a large family of children, of whom Osborn N., is the second. While growing up, he had very poor opportunities for schooling, though he aided himself very much in that direction after attaining his growth. At the age of eighteen he began for himself, and soon after engaged as clerk in a store, where he remained two years. In 1829 he married Miss Jane L. BELL, a native of Lincoln County, Ky., and in their family were seven children who lived to be grown. One of the sons served in the Confederate Army and was twice severely wounded. In 1831 Mr. COFFEY moved to Missouri, and three years later to Lincoln County, where he opened a store in Louisville. At the same time he dealt in hogs and tobacco, but failing in this he purchased the place where he now lives, which consists of 363 acres of land. Both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and for many years he was a magistrate. He has done quite well, financially, though he has had many reverses and losses.

Source: Goodspeed Publishing Co., History of Lincoln County, Missouri, pub: Chicago, 1888

Osborn N. Coffey was a son of Osborn Coffey and Mary "Polly" Nightingale. Osborn was a grandson of John Coffey and Jane (Jean) Graves through the marriage of their son William to Elizabeth Osborne.

John Reid and Mary Ann Cross Coffey

John Reid Coffey was a son of Rice and Sarah Bradford Coffey. He was born March 27, 1814 in Wartrace, Bedford Co., TN, and died March 21, 1896 in (probably) Jackson Co., AL. His wife Mary Ann Cross was born Dec. 29, 1831, and died Sep. 6, 1887. They were married Aug. 21, 1849.

The Coffey Cousins' website contains at least two researcher submitted papers on John Reid and Mary Ann. Now, through the courtesy of Pamela Howell we have photographs of John and Mary.

The photographs can be viewed at: http://tinyurl.com/4lzld          [link no longer valid in 2014]

The photographs remain the property of Tammy Howell and should not be used in any other website, forum or service where a fee is charged to access them. Her permission should be asked for prior to using them on any other otherwise "free" website.

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Update July 25, 2014

Gen, John Reid Coffey

COFFEY, JOHN R, of Fackler, Jackson County, son of Rice and Sallie (Bradford) Coffey, was born at Wartrace, Bedford County, Tenn., March 27, 1814.

Rice Coffey* was born in Pennsylvania [sic] [Amherst Co., VA] in 1766. When a young man he removed to North Carolina and became a gunsmith. He married and again removed to Tennessee about 1801, and settled on a farm of a thousand acres of land which he bought of General Jackson, and on which his son, John R. Coffey, was born. He died in 1853, and his wife in 1840. He was a son of James Coffey, of early times, who raised a large family, all of the older sons of whom served as soldiers in the Revolutionary War. The Coffey family are Baptists.

John R. Coffey spent his early days on a farm attending the common old-field schools. When he was thirteen years of age he went to a high school at Shelbyville, Tenn., and remained there twelve months. After this, he came to Bellefonte without an acquaintance in the county or a dollar in his pocket, and became a clerk in a store. At the age of twenty-two, he established a mercantile business of his own in that village, and continued it until 1846. In 1840, he was elected Sheriff of Jackson County. At the breaking out of the Mexican War, he enlisted in the army in a company commanded by Capt. Richard W. Jones. He afterwards acted as lieutenant, lieutenant-colonel, and major-general in the militia; went to Mobile and organized the First Alabama Regiment and was elected its colonel, and as such, participated in the siege of Vera Cruz. After the war with Mexico, he became a general of the militia.  He had now returned to his farm and devoted his attention to its cultivation until 1853, when he moved to Stevenson and engaged in the mercantile business, which he prosecuted with considerable success until the beginning of the late war, when he again closed his store and returned to his farm of 4,000 acres, on the banks of the Tennessee River.

In 1861 he was elected a delegate to the convention which passed the ordinance of secession. He was bitterly opposed to that ordinance, but, being overpowered, he submitted with the best possible grace, and thereafter gave moral and substantial support to the Confederacy. (General Coffey's grandmother was a sister to Col. Ben, Cleveland, who commanded a regiment at the battle of King's Mountain.)

Mary Ann Cross Coffey

General Coffey was married January 21, 1849, to Miss Mary Ann Cross, daughter of Col. Chas. and  Eliza (Clark) Cross, of Jackson County. They were natives of North Carolina and came to Alabama about 1826. He was a soldier in the Indian wars, and was drowned in the Tennessee River about 1848. (His wife's great-grandfather, Col.Wm. Maclin, and her grandfather, Robert Clark, were in the Revolutiouary War; the latter was wounded in battle at Eutaw Springs, from which he died. Her grandfather, Maclin Cross, was in the battle at Nick-a-Jack, Indian Nation.)

General Coffey is the father of six children, of whom four grew to maturity, namely: Eliza, wife of Wm. J. Tally; Sallie B., wife of C. W. Brown, chief clerk in the office of the State Superintendent of Education; John B. and Clark Maclin. General Coffey's wife died September 6, 1887. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Masonic order. General Coffey is a man of commanding presence, being over six feet in height and having apparently the vim and energy of a youth. He is one of the best known men of the State and one of the most influential men in Northeastern Alabama.

[Both the General and Mary Ann are buried at the Cross Cemetery just a bit north of Scottsboro in Jackson Co., AL]

Source for this biography: Smith & De Land, Editors/Publishers, Northern Alabama: Historical and Biographical (N.p.: n.p., Alabama, 1888), Transcribed by Veneta McKinney at http://genealogytrails.com/ala/jackson/.  Other sources for information on the General and his family are:  TN, Davidson Co., Coffey Collection, file: "Biography of John R. Coffey," Coffey Family 324, Bio, John R. Coffey, 26 December 1894; Coffey Family History, Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville, TN and, Thomas McAdory Owen LL.D., Compiler, History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, 4 Volumes (Chicago, IL: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co., 1921), Vol. III, Page 368.

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Shelbyville, Tenn*
November 15, 1844

Dear Jefferson:**

I received your letter of the 16th of September and have read it with entertaining interest. Indeed, it is always a source of gratification to me to hear that my friends are doing well.

You request some information respecting the history of our ancestors. I have no written biography of the Coffee family and therefore can only relate to you such facts as have come within my own recollection and such as have reached me by tradition.

I remember to have seen my paternal grandfather. His name was John Coffee, and he was raised in one of the lower counties of Virginia and died in Albemarle. My grandmother's maiden name was Jane Graves, and my father's name was James Coffee.  He also was raised in the lower part of Essex and from thence to Albemarle, where your father Ambrose Coffee was born in the year 1762. From this county my father (James) removed to Amherst and here his children grew up to manhood. My mother's maiden name was Elizabeth Cleveland. My maternal grandfathers's name was Alexander Cleveland. He was a descendant of the English and was an own cousin of Oliver Cromwell, a gentleman who figured conspicuously in the sixteenth century. He was raised in Virginia and born in the year 1663 and died in 1775, at the age of 112 years.

My father was born in 1729 and died in 1786. His children were nine sons and two daughters. My brothers'names were John, Archelaus, James, Reuben, Ambrose, Eli, Joel and Lewis Coffee. They are all dead save Eli and Lewis, the first of whom resides in Missouri and the other in Kentucky.

I became acquainted with your maternal grandfather Jesse Moore about the close of the revolutionary war. He then lived in Burke County, N.C., where you were born. He was born in Virginia, and many of his descendants now live in Kentucky.

I am still living at the same place you last saw me, but cannot expect, in the course of nature to remain much longer.  I am now in my 80th year.

May God bless you.

Rice Coffee


* From Tennessee Library and Archives:

**Jefferson was Thomas Jefferson Coffey, born 1805, Burke Co., NC, died 1858 in Brazoria Co., TX.  He was the son of Ambrose and Mildred Moore Coffey, both of whom died in Pulaski Co., KY in early 1800s.