Jesse and Fannie (Coffey) Walker

The following is a continuation of the Families of Kimble County [Texas] blog.

Jesse and Fannie (Coffey) Walker
by Mary Ellen Walker Thornton

In 1896, Jess Allen Walker, son of Seth B. and Sarah Walker, decided to quit working on the Schreiner Ranch and purchase his own land. Born Jan. 31, 1869, Jess had made numerous trail drives to Dodge City, St. Joseph and Chicago. Interviewed in 1941 by J. Evetts Haley, author of Charles Schreiner General Merchandise, Jess stated: "The hardest day's work I ever did in my life was quit working for the Schreiners." With their backing, he bought a section of land in the White Bluff Community in Kimble County. On Sep. 1, 1897, he married Fannie Josephine Coffey, a descendant of the first permanent white settler in Concho Co. The Coffey ancestry has been traced for ten generations and has been published in several historical papers. The late Dr. D. D. Tidwell of Waco was particularly instrumental in collecting the Coffey family history.

Fannie was the daughter of John Wright Coffey and Mary Brown Coffey and the granddaughter of Richard Coffey and Sarah Greathouse Coffey who came to Parker County from Georgia in 1855 and settled in Concho Co. in 1862. John Wright Coffey and his family also owned land and lived in the White Bluff Community.

Two children Hattie Adline (b. April 7, 1905) and John William (b. June 17, 1909) were born to Jess and Fannie while they lived at White Bluff.

Fannie's Bible contains the following information: "Fannie Walker and Jess Walker were baptized June 7, 1908 by Bro. P. D. Swift and were both sanctified and joined the Congregational Methodist Church under Br. J. W. Taylor's preaching, Sept. 20, 1909."

The Walkers sold their land at White Bluff and purchased land near London. Two more children, Radie May (b. Mar 27, 1913) and Charlie George (b. Nov. 8, 1916) were born. Fannie died Nov. 12, 1920 and is buried in the Little Saline Cemetery. Jess later married Ethel Ford Parker, a widow with four children. Jess died June 17, 1953 and Ethel was killed in a train accident near San Angelo in 1958. Both are buried at Little Saline.

Hattie married Robert Lee Dodd Sept. 9, 1923 and they lived in Kimble Co. until she died in Sept. 1947. Robert died in 1975 and they are both buried in Saline Cemetery. They had no children.

John married Minnie Elizabeth Jacoby in Junction on Nov. 25, 1932. They lived near Junction for several years before moving to Hext and later near London, where Minnie still lives. [as of Sept. 1996] John died Dec. 4, 1970 and is also buried at Saline. They had one son, Charles William (Cracker) who with his wife, Elleen, live in Bossier City, LA. Cracker has four children living in or near Austin.

Charley, the youngest son of Jess and Fannie, married Augusta Leigh Hull at the First Presbyterian Church, Kerrville, on Oct. 9, 1938. Augusta is the daughter of Melvin Custer Hull and Mary Matilda Apelt Hull, who were Kimble Co. residents. Charley and Augusta purchased the Jess Walker homeplace near London and lived there until they moved to Fredericksburg in Sept., 1962. They have 3 children: Mary Ellen (b. Mar. 9, 1942), George Allen (b. Oct. 21, 1947), and John Lee (b. Sept. 6, 1953). Mary Ellen married Dr. Joe Frank Thornton & they had 1 son, Robert, & live in Houston. George married Pamela Pratt Walker & they have 1 daughter, Elizabeth & live in Colorado City. Dr. John Walker D.D.S. married Regina Brown and lives in Houston. Charley & Augusta still live in Fredericksburg. Radie the youngest daughter of Jesse & Fannie Walker, married Jack Ryan. Jack is dead & is buried in California. They have 1 son, Jack Dalton, who with his wife, Linda & 2 children live in Santa Ana, CA. Radie is in a hursing home in Santa Ana.

Patterson Vance Coffey

I previously wrote a short item about Patterson Vance Coffey, born c1845 in North Carolina. He married Nancy Martisha Estes on Dec. 24, 1868 in Caldwell Co., NC. Since then I have completed a bit more research and offer the following:

Patterson and Nancy had at least five children:

- Dr. Robert Calvin Coffey, born Oct. 20, 1869, died Nov. 9, 1953. He married Clarissa Ellen Coffey, a daughter of Drury Dobbins and Harriet Elizabeth Collett Coffey on Aug. 9,1893, probably in Caldwell Co., NC. Clarissa's father was born Apr. 23, 1838 in Burke Co., NC, and died 1913 in Caldwell Co. Her mother was born Nov. 25, 1840, probably in Caldwell Co., and died Jan. 12, 1921 in that county. They were married Aug. 25, 1859 in Caldwell Co. Clarissa's siblings were Finley Hezekiah Coffey, born Apr. 20, 1861, died Aug. 4, 1943, and Daniel Silvester, born May 20, 1866.

Robert Calvin and Clarissa (see 1910-1920 Multnomah Co., and 1930 Clackamas Co. OR census) had at least three children, and perhaps four.

Their oldest son, who also became a physician, was Jay Russell Coffey (see 1920-1930 Multnomah Co., OR census) born May 31, 1896 in Idaho, died May, 1985 in Warrenton, Clatsop Co., OR. He married Josephine Richardson about 1915 in Oregon. Josephine was born about 1897 in Texas. Their children were Jay Russell, Jr., born May 31, 1915, died June, 1978; Thomas R., born about 1917, and John F., born about 1919. Jay R., Sr. registered for the draft on Jul. 5, 1917 in Multnomah Co. He was 22 years old at the time and gave his birth date as Jun. 24, 1894 in Moscow, ID. At that time he was married with two children, and was a self-employed farmer and stock raiser on Sauvis Island and Vancouver.

Robert and Clarissa's second child was Wilson Bryan Coffey (see 1930 Clackamas Co., OR census), born about 1898, died Sep. 1, 1959. He married Marjorie Campbell who was born about 1900 in Washington. They had at least two children, both born in Oregon: Joan C., born about 1925 and Mary E., born about 1927. In 1930 Wilson was the business manager for a hospital in Clackamas Co.

The third child was Robert Mayo Coffey, born Dec. 18, 1906, died Sep. 12, 1972. In 1930 he was still in the household with his parents, and no additional information has been found.

The fourth child is said to have also been a son, Herbert Spencer Coffey. However, I have found no birth or death date, and nothing to show to whom he was married.

The second child of Patterson and Nancy was James Alexander Coffey, born July 4, 1872, probably in Caldwell Co. He married Josephine Andrews. No other information has been found.

Other children of Patterson and Nancy were: Rosella, born about 1879, married Harry E. Powell; Vanda, born about 1888, and Ada. I have no additional information on these children.

Please contact me if you have additional or corrected information.

Family History Archives

Have you checked out the Brigham Young University on-line Family History Archives?

I did a quick search and found three fully reproduced books that contain references to some Coffey families available for download:

The Hawk Family by E. L. (Ellis Leroy) Hawk, Nov. 15, 2000. A description of the book reads: Ellis Leroy Hawk, Jr. was born 24 March 1926 in Seymour, Indiana. His parents were Ellis Leroy Hawk (b. 1898) and Edna Linke (b. 1901). Chapter XXVII begins with Edward Coffey and Ann Powell and continues through Chapter XXX with Calvin Coffey and Josephine Simmonds. Chapter XXXI covers Thomas Powell and Mary Place. There is one page of photographs of the Calvin Coffey family.

The well-known Laurence H. Coffey book Thomas Coffey and his Descendants is also available for download.

The third book is titled Wolfe and Hickman of East Tennessee by David B. Trimble, © 2004, Austin, Texas. The index contains references to a number of Coffey families.

There were no results when I searched for Coffee.

Click on the title link to visit the archives.

Families of Kimble County [Texas]

The following appeared in the Coffey Cousins' newsletter of Sep. 1996. It was presented by the editor Bonnie Culley from information received from Frederica Burt Wyatt of Junction, TX when she (Bonnie) visited the Junction Museum in June, 1996. At the time, the contact address for Frederica was PO Box 271, Junction, TX 76849.


John Wright Coffey by Lilburn Walker and Johnnye Walker Brown

John Wright Coffey, son of Richard Coffey and Sarah Greathouse, was born June 21, 1856 in Granbury, Hood Co. He went to Concho Co. as a small child where his father established the Rich Coffey Ranch where John grew to manhood.

On Dec. 31, 1874, he married Mary Adeline Brown. Mary was born Jan. 30, 1858 to Albert Burlison and Sarah Upton Brown.

John and Mary's children were: Fannie Josephine, born Feb. 28, 1876 in Concho Co., died Nov. 12, 1920, married Jesse Allen Walker; Samuel Albert, born Nov. 9, 1878 in Concho Co., died Dec. 27, 1950, married Alice Van; Lillie Belle, born Jul. 15, 1881 in Concho Co., died Dec. 28, 1965 in Menard Co., married George Nathan Walker; Sarah Susan, born June 16, 1884 in Concho Co., died March 29, 1945, married Dee H. Whetstone; twins - Walter Lee, born Aug. 17, 1890 in Kimble Co., died Oct. 21, 1931, married Anna Terry; Charles Richard, born Aug. 17, 1890 in Kimble Co., died July 13, 1959, married Belle Thurman; Jesse born Aug. 11, 1897, died Mar. 6, 1936, married Nola Taylor.

In 1886 John and Mary Coffey brought their family from Concho Co. to Kimble Co. where they settled on a ranch on Little Devil's River. He was a life-long member of the Masonic Lodge. Mary Coffey died Dec. 19, 1919. She is buried in Noxville Cemetery.

While a great portion of John Coffey's life had been spent in the cattle business, in the years before his death he stocked his rance with goats and was considered one of the region's most substantial citizens. He was a consistent believer in progress and was always to be in the forfront [sic] of every movement for the betterment of his community. He believed in good schools and roads, and it was one of his cherished ambitions to see his community be connected with Junction, the county seat by a highway. He saw the realization of that hope in the last five years before his death.

He was known as "Uncle John" to hosts of friends. He also was known as "Colonel" Coffey to many, although he never saw service as a soldier.

John Coffey married Libbie Rush of London, TX on Nov. 30, 1933. He died Aug. 21, 1934 at his ranch in Kimble County. He is buried in the Noxville Cemetery.

[See http://www.rootsweb.com/~txrunnel/submitted/bio-coffey.htm for additional information on Rich Coffey]

Sarah Ellen Coffee (1869-1952)

Sarah Ellen Coffee was sister to my grandfather, Albert Lilburn Coffee. They were children of James M. and Mary Elizabeth Bowman Coffee.

Sarah was born Sep. 19, 1869 in Texas (probably Bowie Co.; was there in 1880 census) and died Nov. 15, 1952 in South San Gabriel, Los Angeles Co., CA. She was 83 years old and buried in the Rose HIll Cemetery in San Gabriel, Los Angeles Co.

There were two men in Sarah's life. Her first husband was P. B. Hill who she married on Mar. 21, 1886 in Hempstead Co., AR. My research has found only one child from this marriage. He was James Walter Hill born Jan. 3, 1888 in Arkansas and died in Jan. 1972 in Los Angeles. James married Lillian May Brazzil c1908 in Arkansas and vanished into history until I found his death record. Descendants of Sarah's second marriage have told me that there were three children born to James and Lillian: Hazel who married a Mr. Billmeyer, or a Mr. Bill Meyer; Marydale who married Dave Charrell; and David who married but spouse's name is unknown.

A death record for P. B. Hill has not been found. However, he must have died shortly after James was born, because Sarah married her second husband, the oft married Johnathan K. Polk Sutton on Apr. 13, 1890 in Hempstead Co., AR. Mr. Sutton had been married three times prior to his marriage to Sarah: 1) Mary Elizabeth Sisco in 1868; 2) Susan Bearden in 1874; 3) Duclsey Guillams in 1888. Sarah had just turned 20 while Johnathan was 43 at the time of their marriage.

The Sutton marriage produced three children, all daughters: Mamie, born Dec. 1890; Lillian Ann, born Jun. 6, 1894; and Violet M., born Sep. 21, 1899.

Second marriage sources mentioned above have told me that Mamie married Raymond Stewart and had at least one child, a daughter named Pauline who married a Mr. Moreland.

Lillian married Harry Richard Basher, an English emigrant from Gunwallace, Cornwall, on Nov. 15, 1920. They had only one child, a daughter Dorothy Ellen Basher. Lillian also raised a son, Guy Geoffery Basher, child of Harry by his first wife who had died c1920 in Bakersfield, Kern Co., CA. Guy passed away on Dec. 11, 1988. When Harry registered for the WW1 draft on Jun. 5, 1917, he claimed English citizenship, and was employed by Kern Four Oil Co. as a driller.

Violet married Walter Allen Ballew in 1919. Walter was born on Apr. 26, 1894 in St. Louis Co., MO, and died Sep. 10, 1975 in Ellijay, Gilmer Co., GA. Violet died Jul. 30, 1979 in Ellijay. Both are buried in the Pleasant Gap Seventh-day Adventist Cemetery in Ellijay.

Violet and Walter had only one child, a son named Daniel Alvin Ballew. Unfortunately, I have not found any additional information on Daniel except that he may have lived in Hot Springs, AR.

By 1920 Sarah was a widow and residing in Little Rock, Pulaski Co., AR. She continue to live in that city through 1930, but moved to the west coast before 1940, and died there in 1952.

I am very anxious to locate descendants of Sarah. Please contact me if you have any clues.

Abram Tyree and Lula Edna Coffee Hardy

Abram Tyree Hardy was born Jul. 17, 1870 in Columbus, Lowndes Co., MS to William W. and Sarah Frances Marshall Hardy. He married Lula Edna Coffee, daughter of Lilburn Warren and Margaret Goode Coffee on Jun. 7, 1899 in Colorado, Mitchell Co., TX. Lula was born Nov. 19, 1878 in Kyle, Hays Co., TX. Abram died Apr. 13, 1906 in Big Spring, Howard Co., TX and Lula died Feb. 16, 1945 in Big Spring. Both are buried in the Mount Olive Cemetery at Big Spring.

Abram and Lula had two children: Zou Margaret, born Apr. 28, 1900, died 1958, and William Tyree Hardy, born Jan. 26, 1903, died Sep. 13, 1985.

Zou Margaret married Robert M. Parks, son of James Robert and Rosa Ann Cardwell Parks Jun. 27, 1929. Robert was born Aug. 10, 1901 in Big Spring, and died there in 1957. At the time of his death Robert was only 55 yrs. old and a Conductor for the Texas and Pacific Railway. He was described as a "jovial man with a likeable personality..." Zou and Robert did not have children. Both are buried in the Trinity Memorial Park at Big Spring.

William Tyree married Alice Dawes on Jun. 2, 1932. Alice had been previously married in 1928 to a Mr. Tate Fry. There are no known children from that union. Together William and Alice had two children: Tyree Dawes, born Sep. 3, 1934, died Oct. 14, 1995, and Sarah Lu Hardy, born Jun. 11, 1943. Although both children married, neither of them produced children. William died Sep. 13, 1985 in Tom Green Co., TX, and Alice died Dec. 23, 1991 in Sonora, Sutton Co. Both are buried in Sonora.

Lula was my first cousin, twice removed. Her father and my great-grandfather James M. Coffee were brothers.

Corrections and additions can be sent to me here.

Joe F. Coffee

Amarillo, TX is the home of The Coffee Memorial Blood Center, named for James Robert Coffee, MD. Dr. Coffee was the son of Joe F. Coffee, one of the founding members of The (originally named) Potter County Memorial Blood Center.

The Texas Birth Index (1903-1997) reports that James Roberts Coffee was born Sep. 15, 1927, son of Joe F. Coffee and Alleen Kuykendall.

Anyone with additional information on this family is invited to contact me

Samuel Buffington & Elizabeth Tisdale Coffee

Samuel Buffington Coffee was a son of John Trousdale and Harriet Weir Coffee. Samuel was born March 21, 1856 in Missouri, and died October 1, 1900 in Chadron, Dawes Co., NE. His grave is found in the Greenwood Cemetery in that city.



Elizabeth was born in Texas on September 17, 1865, and died August 1, 1938 in Chadron. I do not know when or where they were married.

Their children were:

- Harry Buffington, born March 16, 1890, died 1972. The Political Graveyard reports that Harry was born in Sioux Co., NE, and served in the US Army during WW1. He was first elected to the US House of Representatives in January, 1935 where he served until an unsuccessful run for the US Senate in 1943.

Rexford Tisdale, born February 27, 1892, died October 25, 1982. He married Ermine Carmean on June 15, 1918. She was born November 17, 1894 in Missouri, and died January 1, 1993 in Chadron. I have found only one child for this couple: Mary, born 1918.

Guy Hyman (Chick), born Dec. 7, 1893, died unknown, married Ila Florence Conn on October 12, 1915 in Pine Ridge, Shannon Co., SD. I have found no additional information.

Edna, born December, 1895, died unknown. I have no additional information.

Anyone with additional information on this family is invited to contact me

Loy Grady Coffee 1917-1944

Loy Grady COFFEE

[Loy Grady Coffee was my father's younger brother, and the last son of Albert Lilburn and Ora Elizabeth Braley Coffee. He married Martha Easely of Harlingen, TX in Mar., 1943, but had no descendants.]


First Generation

1. Loy Grady COFFEE was born on July 27, 1917 in De Ann, Hempstead Co., AR. He enlisted in the military on December 9, 1941 He served in the military between 1941 and 1944 in United States Army Air Corps.1,2 He died on December 30, 1944 in Hays, Ellis Co., KS. He was buried in January 1945 in City Cemetery, Minden, Webster Parish, LA. News clipping from undated source, but probably from the Signal Tribune:

Headline:

Grady Coffee Is Attending Large Bombing School

Minden Boy Is In Second Class of U. S. Army's "Hell From Heaven Men"

Midland Army Flying School, Texas - Among the "Hell from Heaven Men" making up the second class at this world's greatest bombardier training school is Aviation Cadet Loy G. Coffee, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert L. Coffee of Minden, Louisiana. At the completion of his course Cadet Coffee will become a commissioned officer in the United States army.

Formerly a student at Louisiana State university, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Cadet Coffee had previously received R. O. T. C. and national guard training, and while in civilian life he was actively interested in golf.

Training

At this huge new training school for America's bombardiers, young men learn the secrets and operation of our country's most devastating weapon of offense, the famed U. S. bombsight. The bombardier cadets divide their time between groundschool classrooms, spacious training hangars, and the swift-flying AT'LL's, specially designed bombadier training planes.

When they have the theory down pat, when they understand the why-and-wherefore of bombs and bombsights, the cadets crawl into the glass-enclosed nose compartments of their planes, spend day and night sending 100-pound practice bombs streaking toward targets that surround this bombardier college in an eighty mile circle.

Their course completed, these "Hell from Heaven Men" are good; are in fact, the best. That's why they've been dubbed "the most dangerous men in the world."

From the Webster Review (The Signal Tribune), Minden, Webster Parish, LA, January 2, 1945, page 1:

Headline:

Captain L. Grady Coffee Killed in Plane Crash

Body Will Be Returned With Military Escort For Funeral Service In Minden

Captain Loy Grady Coffee, 27, army air forces, was one of the ten servicemen killed when a plane exploded in mid-air and crashed at Walker Field, Hays, Kansas, Saturday, December 30. Only three of the crew were reported to have bailed out, and one is not expected to live.

Son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Coffee, Captain Coffee was born and reared in Minden. He was a graduate of Minden high school where he was a football star, and attended L. S. U.. He volunteered for service on December 8, 1941, just six months before receiving his law degree. His initial training was received at Maxwell Field, Alabama, and he was commissioned a second lieutenant after completing training at the bombadier school, Midland, Texas. After graduation he remained at the school to serve as an instruction. From there he went to San Angelo and on to Harlingen. He was commissioned a first lieutenant at Gowen Field, Boise, Idaho, which was his last station before reporting to Walker Field as bombardier instructor. Soon after his arrival there, he was assigned other duties and promoted to the rank of captain.

He married the former Miss Martha Easley of Harlingen, Texas, in March, 1943. She has been with him since their marriage and will arrive in Minden sometime today accompanying the remains, which are being shipped with military escort.

Funeral arrangements have not been completed, but services are expected to be held at the First Baptist church, of which the deceased was a member, sometime following the arrival of Harry D. Coffee.

Besides his wife and parents, he is survived by four brothers, Frank H. Coffee, Minden; Dr. James Coffee, Baton Rouge; Harry D. Coffee, U. S. Coast Guard, now serving overseas; and Carl Coffee, Hope, Arkansas; and three sisters, Mrs. S. B. Samuel and Mrs. Gus Howell, both of Minden; and Miss Ruby Coffee, Shreveport.

The following is a summary of the accident report prepared by an Investigating Committee shortly after the accident:

Capt. Coffee was an Instructor Bombardier on a B-29 Flying Fortress. The B-29 took off at 9:15am and climbed to an altitude of 25,000 ft. At about 10:20am the No. 3 engine backfired and caught fire. An extinguisher was activated and the fire seemed to go out, but shortly flared up again, this time burning fiercely. Another extinguisher was activated but was not effective. The investigation determined that the fire had caused fuel lines to rupture and fuel was flowing uncontrolled into the engine.

The engine exploded causing the plane to lose its left wing and part of the fuselage. Part of the tail section was destroyed as the planed cartwheeled to earth. Crew members lost their oxygen equipment in the spin and were incapacitated to such as extent while bouncing around the inside of the plane that jumping was a "physical impossibility."

The pilot, 1st Lt Rufus C. Anderson, had previously alerted the crew to jump. Capt. Coffee, the navigator and the radio operator proceeded toward the door leading into the forward bombay. Capt. Coffee was being assisted into the leg straps of his parachute by the radio operator. The report of a survivor indicated that Capt. Coffee was later seen lying unconscious on the bombbay doors, and that he had probably been knocked unconscious. He had a deep gash on the top rear of his head. He later fell free of the plane, and his body was found intact and unburned.

Loy Grady COFFEE and Martha EASELY were married in March 1943 in Harlingen, Cameron Co., TX. Martha EASELY was born in Harlingen, Cameron Co., TX.

Sources

1. The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars, The Men and Women in World War II from Webster Parish (After WW2). Capt. Grady L. Coffee, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Coffee, Minden, husband of Martha Easley, graduate of LSU. Entered Army AC, 1941, trained in Midland AAF, Boise, Idaho and Walker Field, Kan. Served in Amer. Theater. Killed in B-29 Crash in Walker Field Kansas.
2. National Archives and Records Administration. U.S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946 [database online]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2005. Original data: Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, 1938-1946 [Archival Database]; World War II Army Enlistment Records; Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, Record Group 64; National Archives at College Park, College Park, MD. Name: Loy G Coffee Birth Year: 1917 Race: White, citizen Enlistment Date: 9 Dec 1941 Branch: Air Corps Branch Code: Air Corps Grade: Aviation Cadet Grade Code: Aviation Cadet Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six months, subject to the discretion of the President or otherwise according to law Component: Army of the United States - includes the following: Voluntary enlistments effective December 8, 1941 and thereafter; One year enlistments of National Guardsman whose State enlistment expires while in the Federal Service; Officers appointed in the Army of Source: Enlisted Man, Regular Army, within 3 months of Discharge or former WAAC Auxiliary Education: 4 years of college Civil Occupation: Actor (Motion picture actor. ) or Director, Motion Picture (Motion picture director.) or Entertainer Marital Status: Single, without dependents Height: 72 Weight: 151.

Salathiel (Sail) Coffey

Salathiel Coffey was born in Russell county, Kentucky, April 20, 1812. His father, Eli, was born in North Carolina, May 8, 1775, moved to Kentucky when a young man and there died July 18, 1833. He was a boot and shoe maker by trade and spent most of his early life in the shoe shop, but after going to Kentucky turned his attention to farming and distilling. His wife bore the maiden name of Mary Coffey. She was born in North Carolina, September 7, 1782, and died in Kentucky about 1873. She born him twelve children, the fifth of whom, Salathiel, was reared in Kentucky on the home farm and in his father's distillery. In 1855 Salathiel came to Texas and in 1857 settled on the farm where he now resides. He is an extensive farmer and a large land-owner; although he came to Texas poor and has dug what he has out of the ground. August 20, 1835, he married Miss Nancy Danbar [Dunbar] of Kentucky. She bore him nine children - Willis S., Jesse P., Lettie, Mary A., William S., Harriet, Milton, Zachariah T. and Nancy J. Mrs. Coffey died November 14, 1853, and May 10, 1854 Mr. Coffey married Mrs. Mary A. (Ballew) McFarlan [McFarland] of Kentucky. To this union have been born three children - Margaret E., Josie C., and Sterling P. The family are members of the Baptist church.1

Salathiel Coffey was the son of Eli and Mary (Polly) Coffey. Mary was the daughter of Nathan and Mary Saunders Coffey. She and Eli were first cousins because Nathan and Salathiel, the father of Eli, were brothers.

In addition to Salathiel (Sale), Eli and Mary were parents of at least 11 additional children: Mariah, born Jan. 17, 1803; Willis, born May 2, 1804 married Lotty, last name unknown; Elizabeth, born Aug. 14, 1807, married Jacob Wolford; Nancy, born Oct. 14, 1809; Serene (or, Serena), born Aug. 9, 1814; Nathaniel J., born Jan. 30, 1817; Stanton P., born Dec. 4, 1819; William S., born Jul. 10, 1821; Newton Eli, born May 2, 1827, died Jan. 13, 1890, married Martha Louise Vermillion; Mary Ann, born c1828; and Reuben, born c1830.

This family moved to Sangamon, then Shelby and finally to Christian Co., IL.

Salathiel (Sale) and his families can be found in the 1850 Russell Co., KY census. From 1860 until 1880 they are in Collin Co., TX.

Please e-mail me if you can add to or correct any of this information.



1 Biographical Souvenir of the State of Texas Illustrated, Fannin County TXGen Web (The TXGenWeb Project) online [http://www.rootsweb.com/~txfannin/s.html], accessed Feb. 2005

Calvin Allen Coffey (c1839-c1907)

Calvin was a son of James and Sarah Jane (Sally) Fielding Coffey. He was born 1839 in Grainger Co., and died in Indiana in 1907.

During the Civil War he was a member of the 59th Regiment of Tennessee Infantry, and was captured at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. He was paroled on July 10, but reenlisted in the CSA after returning to Grainger Co.

Calvin was well educated, and after the war became a school teacher in Bartholomew County, Indiana. After teaching for several years he began farming, and married Josephine Simmonds, daughter of Wesley Simmons and Margaret Pearson, on April 25, 1869. Josephine was born c1852 in Indiana, and died Mar. 5, 1918 at Webster's home in Texas.

The marriage produced five children: Cora, born c1870, became a school teacher, and married Frank Linke; Walter, born c1876, became a professor in Animal Husbandry at the University of Illinois and was later Dean at University of Minnesota at St. Paul; Webster*, born c1880, grew cotton in Texas and became wealthy when oil was discovered on his property; Joel, born c1885, died Nov., 1951, was a professor of Animal Husbandry at Ohio State University; Margaret was a nurse in Indianapolis.

Source: Hawk, E. L. (Ellis Leroy), compiler, The Hawk Family

Update Jun 21, 2014

*Webster Victor Coffey, born Dec. 29, 1879 in Bartholomew Co., IN, married Syble Lourine Sammons, born Sep. 11, 1919.  They had one child, a son named Walter Joe, born Apr. 29, 1920.

Walter Joe was struck by lightning while plowing in his field on Jun. 30, 1964 in Victoria, Victoria Co., TX.  He was DOA at Citizens Memorial Hospital in Victoria at age 44 years.  He was buried on Jul. 2, 1964 at Crescent Valley Cemetery in Victoria.  Syble is not known to have remarried and died on Jul. 13, 2003.  She is also buried at Crescent Valley Cemetery.

Lilburn Warren Coffee - An adventurer

Lilburn Warren Coffee was the youngest son of Lilburn C. and Sarah Hannah Taylor Coffee.

Lib, as he was known to his family, left his father's home in southwest Arkansas sometime before the census in October of 1870. He was born in Sep.1850, and was therefore around 18 or 19 years old when he left Hempstead Co.

He rambled around Texas for several years before landing in Hayes Co. In 1870 he worked for Ezekiel Nance as a farm laborer. In October 1876 he married Margaret Goode, a 21-year old Texas beauty, born May 7, 1855. The couple stayed in Hayes Co. until around 1880 when they moved to Big Spring in Howard Co., Texas. Their first child, a daughter Lula Edna, was born in Hayes County on Nov. 19, 1878. Nine more children, four boys and five girls followed, were all born in Howard Co. between 1880 and 1898. During his lifetime he ranched more than 150,000 acres, and raised cattle, horses and pack mules for the army.

The first child born in Big Spring was a boy, born Jul. 22, 1880, and died Aug. 24, 1880. The others were:

Walter Douglas, born Jul. 25, 1882, died Oct. 29, 1947
Jerry, born Mar. 17, 1884, died Jun. 4, 1959
Rubye, born March 11, 1886, died March 24, 1972
Margaret, born Mar. 20, 1888, died Apr. 25, 1983
Lilburn, Jr., born Oct. 18, 1892, died Nov. 3, 1948
Nellie, born Jun. 12, 1894, died Mar. 20, 1909
Lolis, born Jun. 7, 1896, died Jul. 29, 1985
Lillian Lee, born Jun. 19, 1898, died Dec. 15, 1985

My research has uncovered only one living male descendant of Lilburn Warren Coffee, and he is the grandson of Jerry whose marriage to Martha Elizabeth Olive in 1914 produced Jerry, Jr. Jerry, Jr. married first to Helen Lorayne Donnis which produced a son, Jerry Earl Coffee, born in 1947. Jerry Sr.'s only other son, Leslie James Coffee was killed in 1944 while flying for the US Army Air Force.

Walter Douglas married Sarah Ruth Moore in 1926. That union produced at least two sons, Robert Lee, born 1926, died 1930, and Walter Douglas, Jr., born 1927, died 1985. Although he was married at least once, I have been unable to confirm any children that he might have fathered.

There are no photographs of Lilburn Warren Coffee known to exist.

James M. Coffee - A question mark!

James M. Coffee was my great-grandfather. He was born in TN in 1846 or 1847 and moved to Hempstead Co., AR with his parents by 1849. He grew up in that county, and left very few records; not even a marriage record.

James was the second of six children born to Lilburn C. and Sarah Hannah Taylor Coffee. He was married in about 1867 to Mary Elizabeth Bowman. Mary was the daughter of Joseph T. Bowman, one of the signers of the original Texas Declaration of Independence. Joseph was the son of another famous Texan, Jesse B. Bowman, an Alamo defenders who died there on Mar. 6, 1836 when the fortress fell to Santa Anna's forces. Both father and son were members of the Texas Army of the Republic.

A few surviving letters from Mary to her family revealed little about the marriage. In one she asked her brothers about the cost of goods in their part of the country (Texas?), and complained about the cost of a setting of eggs and gingham in her area. She also complained about the reconstruction forces that occupied the so far unidentified area of the south (Arkansas?) in which she and James lived.

She and James were the parents of two children: Sarah Ellen, born Sep. 19, 1869 - died Nov. 15, 1952, and my grandfather, Albert Lilburn, born Jan. 22, 1873, died Mar. 26, 1960.

I know from census records that the family was in Wood Co., TX in 1870. However, sometime after that James disappeared, and there are no indications of the cause. He may have died, or simply abandoned or divorced his family.

I did find a James M. Coffee in the 1880 Kaufman Co., TX census who was of the correct age, and was born in TN. With him was a new wife and two daughters. Sometime later this James M. signed an agreement with a Mr. Bishop of Kaufmann Co. to share crops in return for a place to live. However, this family soon disappeared from the county, never again to be found.

In about 1879 Mary Elizabeth Bowman Coffee married William Watson, with whom she had two additional children, both daughters: Lillie Wes, born Feb. 10, 1880, died Jul. 11, 1959, and Mary Elizabeth, born Aug. 28, 1883, died Feb. 20, 1942.

The May 1880 census for Bowie Co., TX shows the Watsons residing there with the two Coffee children, and Lillie, age 3 months. Living nearby is the Finis E. Ames family, the wife being Mary E. Coffee, sister to James M. Coffee. Bowie Co. courthouses have been burned a few times, and there are few old surviving records which might tell me more about these families.

The story that I have pieced together from descendants of Lillie, who married a Courtney and left descendants in Sequoyah Co., OK, reveals that Mary Elizabeth Bowman Coffee Watson died at or shortly after the birth of her second child in 1883. It was at this time that Mr. Watson returned the Coffee children to their aunt Mary Coffee Ames, and left TX for northwest AR, taking his two natural children with him.

It is said by some of my older cousins who knew our grandfather that he often told them he and his sister Ellen were raised by "a mean aunt." At some point the Ames family returned to Hempstead Co., AR with the Coffee children in tow. The Ames remained there and are buried in a now abandoned cemetery not far from present day downtown Hope.

Sarah Ellen Coffee married twice. Her first marriage was to P. B. Hill on Mar. 21, 1886 in Hempstead Co. Together they had one son, James Walter Hill, born Jan. 3, 1888, died Jan., 1972. Mr. Hill died shortly thereafter, and Sarah Ellen married Johnathan K. Polk Sutton, born Sep. 1846 in TN, died Dec. 5, 1910 in AR. This union produced three children, all daughters: Mamie, born Dec., 1890; Lillian Ann, born Jun. 6, 1894, died Dec. 18, 1964, and Violet M., born Sep. 21, 1899, died Jul. 30, 1979.

Many of this family ventured west to California and some of their descendants reside there today.

Albert Lilburn Coffee married three times. His first marriage was to Della Lenore King, born 1876 to George T. and Mary Elizabeth Woods King, died 1898 in Hempstead Co., AR. This marriage produced two children: Ora West, born Apr. 30, 1894, died May 25, 1969, and Carl Glenn, born Jan. 11, 1896, died Aug. 28, 1950.

His second wife was on Mar. 6, 1899 to Ida Lee Timberlake, born c1873 to Hugh B. and Alice B. McClumery Timberlake. Ida died in about 1902, but gave birth to two children during her short marriage. Her first child was John Timberlake, born Mar. 5, 1900, died Mar. 7, 1928, and Ruby McElvy, born Aug. 8, 1902, died Jan. 5, 1985.

Ora Elizabeth Braley was the third wife of Albert Lilburn Coffee. She was born Jan. 14, 1884 and died Mar. 7, 1984, at the age of 100 years. She was my grandmother, and the only one of his three wives to be born in LA; the other two were natives of Hempstead Co., AR.

WWII Enlistment Records - US Army

Ancestry.com, a "for fee" genealogical research site, has begun to add the nearly 8.3 million enlistment records for men and women who enlisted in the US Army during WW2.

I did a quick check for the Coffey surname and found these:

US Army WWII Enlistment Records

Name - Birth Year - Native State - Enlistment Date - State - Enlistment State

Alfred Coffey 1925 Texas 23 Jun 1943 Texas Texas
Andrew J Coffey Jr 1919 Texas 27 Mar 1941 Texas Texas
Beauford C Coffey 1917 Texas 12 Mar 1942 Texas Texas
Carl W Coffey 1913 Oklahoma 24 Mar 1944 Texas Oklahoma
Carroll W Coffey 1927 Texas 2 Feb 1946 Texas California
Charley R Coffey 1923 Texas 23 Aug 1944 Texas Texas
Covis W Coffey Jr 1919 Texas 29 Jan 1942 Texas Texas
Earner C Coffey 1920 Texas 25 Nov 1940 Texas Texas
Eugene Coffey 1912 Texas 18 Feb 1942 Texas Texas
Frank D Coffey 1928 Texas 1 Mar 1946 Texas Texas
Fred A Coffey 1921 Oklahoma 11 May 1943 Texas Texas
Garland W Coffey 1920 Texas 3 Dec 1941 Texas Texas
Horace M Coffey Jr 1915 North Carolina 1 Aug 1942 Texas Texas
J E Coffey 1921 Oklahoma 20 Jul 1942 Texas Texas
James H Coffey 1915 Texas 11 Mar 1942 Texas Texas
James L Coffey 1918 Texas 14 Nov 1942 Texas Texas
James O Coffey 1922 Texas 6 Nov 1942 Texas California
Jesse L Coffey 1913 Texas 18 Jun 1942 Texas Texas
Joe A Coffey 1918 Texas 20 Mar 1941 Texas Texas
John M Coffey 1902 Texas 10 Jul 1942 Texas Texas
John S Coffey Jr 1911 Texas 17 Jan 1941 Texas Texas
Joseph M Coffey 1909 Illinois 16 Jan 1941 Texas Texas
Joseph P Coffey 1917 3 Apr 1942 Texas Texas
Kendall L Coffey 1926 Texas 27 Jan 1946 Texas
Knox Coffey 1900 Texas 22 Jul 1942 Texas Texas
Leroy F Coffey 1922 Texas 25 Jan 1944 Texas Texas
Louis G Coffey 1918 Texas 30 Jul 1941 Texas Texas
Lowell W Coffey 1918 Texas 9 Jun 1942 Texas Texas
Lucy F Coffey 1906 Texas 3 Apr 1943 Texas Texas
Malcolm A Coffey 1913 Virginia 11 Jun 1942 Texas Texas
Malvin S Coffey 1916 Texas 30 Nov 1942 Texas Texas
Malvin S Coffey 1916 Texas 10 Nov 1941 Texas Texas
Mary F Coffey 1902 Texas 17 Jul 1944 Texas Texas
Paul Coffey 1907 Texas 19 Sep 1942 Texas Texas
Robert N Coffey 1923 Indiana 3 May 1941 Texas Texas
Romey J Coffey Jr 1917 Texas 3 Feb 1942 Texas Texas
Rufus T Coffey 1917 Texas 20 Nov 1942 Texas Texas
Thaddeus E Coffey Jr 1922 Texas 8 Dec 1944 Texas Texas
Thomas Coffey 1906 Texas 23 Feb 1942 Texas Texas
Vernon G Coffey 1921 Texas 26 Jul 1942 Texas Texas
Walter J Coffey 1920 Texas 19 Oct 1944 Texas Texas
Weldon H Coffey 1920 Texas 25 Nov 1940 Texas Texas
William D Coffey 1921 Texas 25 Nov 1940 Texas Texas
William H Coffey Jr 1925 Texas 28 Jul 1943 Texas Texas
William M Coffey 1918 Texas 25 Nov 1940 Texas Texas
William R Coffey 1921 Texas 1 Nov 1942 Texas Texas
Woodrow Coffey 1919 Kentucky 6 Aug 1942 Texas Kentucky

Contact me for additional information about this database.

Coffee surnames to follow at a later date.

Wm. Lafayette Stewart and Lucia Edna Coffee

William Lafayette Stewart was born Aug. 28, 1876 in San Augustine Co., TX to Isaac Richard and Sarah Payne Nations Stewart. He was married to Lucia Edna Coffee, daughter of John Fielding and Fannie Thompson Coffee, on Oct. 22, 1896 in Hope, Hempstead Co., AR.

William was an ordained Baptist minister, and took his ministry from Hope to Nolan Co., TX in 1920, and Erath Co., in 1930. He died in the Texas state hospital at Wichita Falls in Aug., 1962 of bronchial pneumonia and heart disease. He is buried in the Oak Dale Cemetery at Stephenville in Erath Co.

William's obituary shows that he was "...survived by two children, Mrs. Francis Maddox of Gordon and Willie Stewart of Stephenville. Other survivors include two brothers, George Stewart of Hannibal and Richard Stewart of Floydada; and four sisters, Mrs. John Sikes, Stephenville; Mrs. Ida Fuller and Mrs. Mary E. Rodgers, both of Houston, and Mrs. Vida Knox of Glen Dale, California. All were present for the last rites except Mrs. Knox who was unable to get here."

Lucia was born Oct. 22, 1877 in Hope and died Aug. 4, 1957 in Erath Co., and is also buried in the Oak Dale Cemetery.

Together they had three children:

• Sarah Frances, born Jan. 29, 1898, and died Mar. 28, 1986 in Erath Co. She married Emmett C. Maddox in about 1920, and they were the parents of four children: Allen Carl, born c1922; Clyde, born c1923; George W., born c1927, and Robert Francis, born c1929.
  
• Edna Ellen, born Nov. 23, 1899, died Jul. 26, 1901, buried West End Cemetery, Stephenville.
• William Ellery (Willie), born Jul. 29, 1901, died Nov. 18, 1976. His obituary appeared in The Stephenville Empire Tribune on Nov. 21, 1976, and indicates that he was survived by one sister, Frances Maddox of Gordon, and two aunts, Mrs. Iris Stewart and Mrs. Bonnie Sikes of Stephenville. Willie apparently never married. He was buried in the East Memorial Cemetery at Stephenville.

Family tales indicate that William Lafayette's father, Isaac was a very mean and cruel man. An article which appeared in The Arkansas Gazette on Sunday, Dec. 19, 1920 adds credibility to those tales.

In that article, it was reported that Isaac, age 65, shot and killed his son-in-law, Eli M. Caudle, age 46, on Dec. 18 of that year. Up until a few weeks before the killing, Eli and Isaac were in the grocery business together in Stamps, Lafayette Co., AR. Eli had filed charges against Isaac alleging slander. Isaac was overheard saying that Eli would not live long enough to testify against him.

On the day of the murder, Isaac waited on the sidewalk near his home for Eli to pass by on his way home for dinner. Without warning, Isaac shot Eli with a ".38 caliber Winchester rifle." The first shot sent Eli to his knees, then in "rapid succession, Stewart fired three more times, each shot taking effect. One shot struck Caudle above the heart. Caudle was unarmed."

Following the shooting, and before he could be captured and arrested, Isaac returned to his home where he "drank a quantity of carbolic acid, and died within a few minutes."

Eli's wife was Mary Elizabeth (Lizzie) Stewart, sister to Wm. Lafayette. I have been unable to find her, or her children after 1920 when they appeared in the Lafayette Co., AR census. William's obituary indicates that she remarried and was living in Houston, TX at the time of her brother's death.

I would appreciate hearing from anyone descended from, or researching any of these families.

Louis Edwin Coffee (1875-1947)

Louis Edwin Coffee was born Aug. 17, 1875 in Hempstead Co., AR. He was the first child of John Fielding and Fannie Thompson Coffee. Louis died July 14, 1947 at the Patton State Hospital in San Bernardino Co., CA, and was buried on July 18, 1947 at the Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles Co., CA.

Following other relatives who moved there, Louis relocated from Arkansas to Erath Co., TX in 1900. He resided in that county near his sister, Lucia Edna (Mrs Wm. Lafayette Stewart) and her family for awhile before moving on to Harris Co., TX in 1910 where he worked on the railroad.

He did not marry until he was nearly 40 years old. Although a marriage record has not been found, he and Lula Belle Nichols were likely married in Thurber, Erath Co. about 1914. Their first child, Orval Preston Coffee was born there on Aug. 7, 1915.

In 1920 they were in Eastland Co., TX where Louis worked for an oil company. It is not yet clear if they moved to Eastland before or after their second child, Everette M. (Jack) Coffee was born in 1918.

The family has been difficult to keep up with. They apparently moved from Texas to California before 1930. The census for that year found them in Los Angeles Co., but not married to each other. Louis was employed by the county engineering department in the street maintenance division. He reported in the census that he was a "construction laborer in concrete."

In the census that year, Louis also reported himself as a "widower." He and Lula had divorced by then, and probably before 1924 when she is thought to have given birth to a daughter by her second husband, Floyd Henry Cook.

Lula may have given birth to a daughter, Betty Floydada (Toots) Cook. The 1930 LA Co. census shows her with Mr. Cook, age 38,a 6-yr old daughter, and the two Coffee children. In the census, Mr. Cook indicated that he married first at age 23, so it is likely that Betty was his child by a previous wife. It may also be a good bet that he did not marry at age 15. Lula later divorced Mr. Cook and subsequently married a Mr. Pennington. However, I have not found any substantive information.

Orval died in Crescent City, Del Norte Co., CA on Jan. 24, 1989. His obituary, which appeared in The Curry Coastal Pilot, published in Brookings Co., OR, a town about 25 miles north of Crescent City, reported that his body was cremated. He was survived by his brother, Everett of Anaheim, CA, and two nieces, Donna Yarkovsky of Ocala, FL, and Christine Tyler of Olathe, CO.

Everette died Jan. 19, 2004 at age 86 in Anaheim. His small obituary indicated that he left a wife, Virginia, daughters Deborah Kerns, and Marsha Bugg, and a son Kyle Follars.

Louis is buried in Inglewood Park Cemetery, Pleasant View section, lot 136. Other names in the plot with him are Cook and Pennington.

Louis was my first cousin, twice removed. Anyone related to, or knowing more about him is invited to contact me.

James Norman Coffey (1853-1934)

James Norman Coffey was born Sep. 30, 1853 in Morgan Co., IN, and died in Vallejo, Solano Co., CA in 1934. He and his family can be found in the 1880 Washington Co., IA census, and the 1900 Clatsop Co., OR census. He has not been found in the 1930 census, and he is not listed in the CA death index. In 1910 he was enumerated in the Clatsop Co., OR census as a widower. In 1920 he was living in the household with his son Emond in Multnomah Co., OR.

He married Laura Ellen Hays on Sep. 27, 1877 in Lime Creek, Washington Co., IA. Laura was born Jun. 22, 1862 in Texas. According to some researchers, they had seven children: Benjamin Franklin, Hannah (Lida), Louisa H., Ernest Garfield; Lemuel Louis (Lem), Henry Harrison, and Emond Willard. Laura died Sep. 19, 2002 in Svenson, Clatsop Co., OR.

In 1900 Laura told the census taker that she was the mother of five children, and that five were living. The five children listed in 1900 were Hannah, Ernest, Lemuel, Henry and Emond. It is therefore questionable whether Benjamin and Louisa are her children.

James was the son of James Wilson and Louisa T. Norman Coffey.

Photo courtesy Dorothy Louise Crawford, Union City, CA, a descendant of Lewis Moses Coffey

John Coffee Hays

HAYS, JOHN COFFEE (1817-1883). John Coffee (Jack) Hays, Texas Ranger extraordinary and Mexican War officer, son of Harmon and Elizabeth (Cage) Hays, was born at Little Cedar Lick, Wilson County, Tennessee, on January 28, 1817. His father, of Scots-Irish descent, fought with Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston in the War of 1812. Hays became the prototypical Texas Ranger officer, and he and his cohorts-John S. (Rip) Ford, Ben McCulloch, and Samuel H. Walker-established the ranger tradition. Hays joined the Texas Rangers in the formative years of their role as citizen soldiers. His rangers gained a reputation as mounted troops with revolvers and individually styled uniforms, who marched and fought with a noticeable lack of military discipline. This rough-and-ready image of an irregular force left its imprint on the chronicles of ranger history.

Read the remaining story of "Devil Jack" by clicking on the title link.

Andrew Jackson Coffee

Andrew Jackson Coffee, Captain of Company I, First Regiment, O. N. G., is a native son of the Golden State, born in Oakland, January 13, 1861. His ancestors were among the early settlers of Virginia, and the immediate descendants engaged in planting. Joshua Coffee was an officer in the Revolutionary war, and General John Coffee was a distinguished soldier in the war of 1812; he was General Jackson's most trusted friend and lieutenant, and was selected to make the right attack upon the British, which resulted in that memorable hand-to-hand combat on the night of December 23, 1814, when the Tennesseeans used their hunting-knives in place of bayonets. Colonel Andrew Jackson Coffee, the father of our subject, was born near Nashville, Tennessee, August 20, 1819. In 1837 he was appointed a cadet at West Point, but afterward resigned to become a civil engineer. In 1846 he was appointed Paymaster in the army, and served through the war with Mexico to the battle of Buena Vista, in which he won the rank of Major with the brevet of Lieutenant-Colonel for gallant and meritorious conduct. After the battle, as a mark of especial confidence and appreciation he was selected to carry dispatches to President Polk. Thus at the early age of twenty-nine years he had attained distinction in his country's service. He retained his position in the army, serving in Texas and Louisiana until 1853, when he was assigned to duty on the Pacific coast with headquarters at San Francisco. In July of 1859 he resigned his position, and retired to civil life. He was one of a syndicate to acquire almost the whole of the present site of Oakland, but misfortunes came, and he lost his property. he was married April 3, 1839, to Miss Elizabeth A. Hutchings, of Huntsville, Alabama. Captain A. J. Coffee is the youngest of the family of five children born of this union. He was educated in the public schools of Oakland, and San Francisco, at Urban Academy, and Heald's Business College of San Francisco, California. He then took up the study of electricity, and in 1876 he accepted a position as salesman and assistant electrician with the Electrical Construction & Maintenance Company of San Francisco. he continued his duties and the following year he entered the employ of the American District Telegraph Company of San Francisco; in the fall of that year he put up the first telephone in San Francisco. He was also connected with the Belle Telephone Company and the Golden Stock Telegraph Company until October, 1880, when he came to Portland, as superintendent of the Portland Telephone, Telegraph and Electric Light Company; he remained with this corporation until 1883 when he became electrician for the United States Electric Light and power Company, which was merged into the Willamette Falls Electric Company. In 1884 Captain Coffee was appointed city electrician of Portland, oregon, and has charge of all the electric works of the city.

He was married in San Francisco in 1882, to Miss Edith Hinton, who died in July, 1889, leaving one son, Luen H. He was married a secod time in Portland, October, 1890, to Miss Ella L. Muffley, of California, and to this union one child has been born, Lenore.

The military education of the Captain began in San Francisco, in 1877, during the Chinese riots; he joined Company B, Volunteer Citizens' Safety Committee, and was actively engaged in supressing the Mail Dock riot and other disturbances about the city. After peace was restored, a military company was organized, knows as Company F., Second Infantry Regiment, O. N. G., he was mustered in April 3, 1878, and was an active member until leaving the city. In 1882, he with two others organized Company "G," First Regiment O. N. G. of Portland, Oregon and which soon proved the banner company by meritorious service in the threatened riots of 1885. In 1887 he was elected Captain of Company I, formerly known as the High School Cadets; this company was organized by some of the older pupils, and attracting attention by their enthusiam, they received encouragement and assistance from Professor Warren, who drilled them to a degree of excellence and perfection not (now) attained. After the resignation of Captain Warren, Captain Coffee was elected to the same position by the unanimous voice of the company; through the personal efforts of Captain Warren this company was admitted as Company I, First Regiment; they have always been noted for their zeal and energy, and are one of the best drilled companies of the Regiment. In 1890 Captain Coffee, assisted by George P. Frank, Police Commissioner, instituted a system of company drill in the police force of the city, and have acquired so high a degree of proficienty that their exhibitions are highly commended, and their skill in maneuvers would do credit to any company of the National Guards.

Hines, H. K. An illustrated history of the state of Oregon : containing a history of Oregon from the earliest period of its discovery to the present time, together with glimpses of its auspicious future, illustrations and full-page portraits of some of its eminent men and biographical mention of many of its pioneers and prominent citizens of to-day
Chicago: Lewis Pub. Co., 1893, 1329 pgs.

[O. N. G. = Oregon National Guard]
[I recall that John Coffey Hayes, the former Texas Ranger, was also involved in purchasing property, and establishing what is known today as Oakland, CA (jkc)]

The Moore-Coffey House, Buda, Hays Co., TX

The Handbook of Texas Online reports that Buda is located along I-35, a few miles south of Austin, in Hays Co. The town was established in 1881 with the donation of land to the Great Northern Railroad by Cornelia Trimble.

This sketch of the Moore-Coffey home was created by Kent McMillian and appeared in an article by Barbara Younts in the Hays County Free Press in Nov., 1994.

The article describes the house as being built by Buda merchant, G. A. Moore in about 1926. He later sold it to the Carl Coffey family.