James was a son of John C. and Nancy Jane Godby [sic] Coffey, and was born in Aug., 1855 in KY, probably in Lincoln Co. He and his parents were there on Aug. 18, 1860 when the county census was enumerated.
John was born in Jamestown, Russell Co. in 1828 and married Nancy Jane on Jun. 10, 1850 in Liberty, Casey Co., KY.¹ By 1860 the family had moved to Lincoln Co. and in 1870 they were in Bloomington, McLean Co., IL. By 1880 they had again relocated, this time to Wichita in Sedgwick Co., KS where in 1884 John was a Justice of the Peace². By 1896 John was either a railroad or real estate agent; that part of the census for his family is difficult to decipher. John died before 1900 because Nancy appeared in the census for that year as a widow.
James moved with his family to Bloomington in 1870 but by c1883 he had married Olive Bell "Ollie" Davidson and they relocated to Iola in Allen Co., KS where they opened a furniture store. They continued operate there until about 1920 when they moved to Wichita. They continued the furniture business there until James died in 1929. He is buried at the Old Mission Cemetery in Wichita. Ollie and her son Lynn continued in the furniture business until Lynn died in 1933. Ollie died in 1943 and both are buried at Old Mission.
Lynn was the middle son. He was born in Allen Co. in Apr., 1887 and married late in life (c1930) to Mrs. Edith Moore - perhaps a widow or divorcee, I do not know. She brought Paul Moore, a 20-year old son to the marriage. Edith was born c1890 in Indiana.
The eldest son was Roam Jerome, born Jan. 5, 1884 in Wichita, died Oct. 3, 1961 in Houston, Harris Co., TX. His wife was Leah Johnson, born c1889 in KY, to whom he was married sometime before 1918. He named her as his next of kin when he registered for the WW1 draft in Tulsa, OK on Sep. 12 of that year. In 1920 the couple was in Oklahoma City where Roam managed a phonograph store. By 1930 they had moved to Houston, Harris Co., TX where he worked in real estate. Leah apparently died before Apr. 27, 1942, when Jerome was required to register for the WW2 draft. He named Miss Ruth Johnson as someone who would always know his address. Roam died at St. Luke's Hospital of bronchopneumonia and was buried at Brookside Memorial Park in Houston. I have not found a death record for Leah. Apparently, they had no children.
Don was the youngest son born to James and Ollie. He was born in Allen Co., KS in Sep., 1889 and died in Wichita in 1948. He married c1906 to a lady by the name of Ida. O. She was born c1890 in KS and died in Wichita in 1955. They had at least two children: Eugene, born c1917 and Mildred, born c1919, both in KS. Like his brother Roam, Don apparently chose not to become involved in the furniture business. In 1920 he was employed as a laborer and in 1930 he drove a milk truck. Both he and Ida are buried at Old Mission.
¹Kentucky Marriages, 1785-1979, 1839-1960, (FamilySearch.org)
²1885 and 1895 Kansas state census
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