Sarah Deliah Coffey (1864-1897)

Sarah Deli[l]ah was the daughter of James Wilson and Louisa T. Norman Coffey. She was born Feb. 11, 1864 in Morgan Co., IN and died on Jun. 7, 1897 in Svenson, Clatsop Co., OR. She was 33 years old.

Sarah was apparently an accomplished concert violinist, who did not make time to marry. She did bear at least three children, however.

Her first known child was Virgil Benjamin (Bert Snyder) Coffey, born c1891 in Washington Co., IA. Virgil was apparently given up for adoption and was renamed Bert Snyder.

The second and third child were twins: James Norman and Clarence, born Sep. 20, 1896 in Iowa.

Sarah's father, James Wilson was born May 10, 1882 in Pulaski Co., KY, married Louisa, born Jun. 23, 1826 in TN, on Dec. 11, 1842 in Morgan Co., IN. He died Jul 15, 1889 in Wellman, Lime Creek Twp., in Washington Co., IA. Louisa died Dec. 24, 1912 in Warrrenton, Clatsop Co., OR.

Their other children were:

Lemuel Lewis Moses, born Mar 6, 1844, died May 23, 1936

Unnamed, born c1845/46

John Taylor, born May 1847, died Jun. 6, 1926, married Sarah Adeline (Sofie) Gates on Jun. 12, 1880 in Wahkiakum Co., WA. Both died in Svenson, Clatsop Co., OR in the late 1920s.

Benjamin Franklin, born Jan. 28, 1850, died Sep. 28, 1928.

James Norman, born Sep. 30, 1853, died 1934, married Laura Ellen Hays in Lime Creek Twp., Washington Co., IA on Sep 27, 1877. James died in 1934 in Solano Co., CA; Laura on Sep. 19, 1902 in Clatsop Co.

Joseph Lone, born May 19, 1856 in Lime Creek Twp., died Aug. 21, 1927 in West Chester, Washington Co., IA. He married Susanah Wellman on Oct. 3, 1876. She was born May 13, 1850 in Indiana and died Apr. 14, 1919 in West Chester.

Victor Hugo, born May 30, 1858 in Morgan Co., IN, died Apr. 25, 1953 in Astoria, Clatsop Co. He married Anna Mary Brandt, born Aug. 7, 1862 in Mercer Co., NJ, and died Jun. 7, 1941 in Clatsop Co., on Dec. 18, 1881 in Washington Co., IA

Paschal Davis, born Apr. 23, 1861 in Morgan Co., IN, died Nov. 7, 1900 in Washington Co., IA

The last child was also unnamed and was born and died c1866.

It is unlikely that the father(s) of her three children will ever be identified. However, it would be satisfying to learn of the descendants of those children. I would also be interested in learning more about Sarah's professional life.

Coffey Deeds in Iowa

The following e-mail was received on Nov. 8, 2007:

I am a collector of old paper items and I have been sorting through several boxes of items from the 1800's.

I found five deeds from Iowa with a host of Coffey names on them.

Davis Coffey
Louisa T.Coffey
J.L. & Susan Coffey
J.N. & Laura E. Coffey
John T & Sarah A.
V. H. & Anna

One is from 1898, the other four are 1899.

For more information please contact Richard Martin at always_smiling_30539@yahoo.com

I'm back!

The 2007 Coffey Cousins' Convention is over. This year it was hosted in Dubuque, IA by Darlene Clark. For the most part the weather cooperated, and although a bit breezy, the rain that had hit the midwest so hard moved on through and by Friday the sky was clear and the sun was shining.

The photo of the clock tower shows a part of downtown Dubuque, an area rich in history. Unlike many older cities along the Mississippi - and probably in other areas as well - much of the downtown area has been preserved and restored. There is much to do here in terms of sightseeing.

More later...