William Preston "Press" Buchanan

William Preston "Press" Buchanan was born in Tennessee - probably Giles Co. -  in about 1844 to Charles Clayton and Mary Abernathy Tarpley Buchanan.  "Press" was the third child and second son of their eight children consisting of five sons and three daughters, most of which were born in Mississippi.

Charles Clayton Buchanan was a son of Robert and Elizabeth Ezell Buchanan. A brother to Charles was Kensington who had a son named Chesley.  Chesley was the father of William Kensington Buchanan who married Kate Hawkins  in 1895, and raised a family in Nevada Co., AR.

Press served in the Civil War with Co. H, 33d Arkansas Infantry,  In 1868 he married Miss Helen Buchanan of Clark Co., AR.  Helen's surname could be completely coincidental, or perhaps she was some cousin kin to Press.  I have not discovered the link.  She was 16 years old on their wedding day; he was 24.

I find no record of Press acquiring land in Nevada or Hempstead counties in SW Arkansas.  Two of his brothers, Tilmon D. and Charles Clayton, Jr. both patented small plats, Press is said to have acquired large amounts of timbered acreage.  Along the way he established large lumber companies throughout SW Arkansas and NW Louisiana.  

The largest of his companies was the Bodcaw Lumber Company.  Originally incorporated in Miller Co., AR in 1889, the largest of their mill was in Stamps, Lafayette Co., AR.  A tram at that mill eventually became the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad that brought lumber down to the Mississippi in the Vidalia, La.,/Natches, MS area.

All of these interests were under the leadership of William.

Press and Helen had five children:

Mary L., born c1872, married J. A. Billingsley in 1894, Nevada Co., AR.
William Thad, born 1874 in Prescott
Joseph Pledger, born 1876, married Lillie Elba Morrow in Nevada Co. on Dec. 20, 1908
Esther, born c1879 and Hattie M., born c1891.  No further information.

William Thad was born Aug., 29, 1874 in Prescott, Missouri Twp., Nevada Co., and died there on Feb. 8, 1938.  He married Ocia Bell Coffee in Nevada Co. on Dec. 20, 1906.  Ocia was born Sep. 25, 1882 in Hempstead Co. and died in Houston, Harris Co., TX on Nov. 5, 1959.*

From the Prescott Daily News, Nevada Co., AR, February 11, 1938.

"Prescott lost one of its real pioneers when Thad Buchanan died here last Tuesday.  Mr. Buchanan was the son of W. P. (Press) Buchanan who came to Prescott in the fall of 1873 to work on the Cairo & Fulton Railroad. This railroad was built through here in July, 1873.

"Thad Buchanan was the first child born in Prescott, and his father's house is the oldest residence of the city.  It is located on West Third Street, between Hazel and Walnut next to the home of Mrs. George Kizer and is now occupied by John Smith."

Ocia was a daughter of John Fielding¹ ² and Frances "Fannie" Thompson Coffee.  John was the eldest son of  Lilburn Jackson and Sarah Hannah Taylor Coffee and, was also brother to my great-grandfather, James M. Coffee.

Children born to William and Ocia were:

Floyd Fields, born Sep. 29, 1908, died Jan. 30, 1966 in Houston, Harris Co., TX.  Floyd married Florence Biggs in Nevada Co. on Oct. 19, 1929.  She was a daughter of Henry and Carrie Biggs, born Dec. 21, 1907 in AR, died in Prescott on May 2, 1974. Floyd was buried at San Jacinto Memorial Park in Houston.  Florence was returned home to Prescott and buried there at Pleasant Hill Cemetery.

Ota Albert, born Mar. 29, 1910 in Nevada Co., died in Nacogdoches Co., TX on Dec. 12, 2001.  He married Claudia Irene Woodward on Aug. 5, 1933 in Nevada Co.  Claudia was born on Mar. 23, 1914 in AR and died in Nacoghoches on Nov 26, 2005.  Both are buried there at Sunset Memorial Park.

Clyde Curtis, born Nov. 11, 1914 in AR, died Jan. 8, 1991 in Nevada Co.  He married Margaret L. "Petty" Barnard, a daughter of William and Anne Barnard, on July 20, 1940. She was born Jun. 7, 1918 in Prescott and died there on Aug. 27, 2003.  Both are buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Prescott.

John Preston, born c1914, died before 1930 in Prescott.  He was buried at the Old Smyrna Cemetery in Prescott.

Edmond Lewis, born 1922 in Nevada Co., married Imogene Clark on Jun. 30, 1932 in Nevada Co.  Nothing else known.

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*My wife and I were married that same year, one day after her death.

¹I was fortunate in that I was able to interview Myrl Eunice Crank Coffee, the widow of Ernest Vernon Coffee, a grandson of John Fielding.  I met her in her home in 1989.  She told me that John's middle name was Fielding.  However, Ocia named her first son Floyd Fields Buchanan, which gives me reason to believe Murl - using the vernacular of today - "misremembered."

²John's birth year is questionable.  In 1850 he was 4 years old, meaning he was born between 1845 and 1846.  In 1860 he was 18 years old, meaning he was work between 1842 and 1843.  In 1880 he was 43 years old, meaning he was born between 1846 and 1847.  In 1900 he gave Dec., 1842 as his birth date.

James Coffey, bc1862

The James Coffey I am searching for was born c1862 in Hancock Co., TN.  His father may have been William Coffey, born c1831 in TN to Caswell and Annie Jordan Coffey. I do not yet know who William married and I do not know all of his children.

James is said by some researchers to have been married at least four times.  By one he was the father of Tilmon, born c1883 in TN, died Nov. 27, 1970 in Claiborne Co., TN.

Tilmon married twice.  His took his first wife Bealey Ferguson, c1904.  She was born Jun. 4, 1890 in TN, died July 21, 1989 in Hancock Co.  Following Tilmon's death in 1970, Bealey married Tilmon's brother Matthew with whom she had at least one child, a daughter named Laura.  I find this difficult to believe because Bealey would have been close to 80 years old when Tilmon died.

If Tilmon did not die until 1970, then he and Bealey must have divorced because Tilmon married Susan Parker c1918.  If there was a divorce then Bealey could have married Matthew early in the century and been the mother of several more children.*

The marriage by Tilmon to Susan produced at least four children:

Stella, born Jul., 1918; Clester or Cluster, born 1919; Ethel M., born c1925 and Joseph, born Feb., 1927.

His obituary, which appeared in the Claiborne Progress on Nov. 26, 1970 related that he was survived by half-brothers Clint Barnard, Kyle Coffey, Meb Coffey, Ott Coffey and Nan Coffey, all half-siblings.  I does not mention living or deceased full siblings.  He was also survived by children Lonnie, Floyd, Cluster, Joe, Lloyd, Carson, Lee, Harrison, Pearl, Ethel, Bertha and Adra.

So, from this we know that one of James' marriages - probably the second - was to Nancy Barnard with whom he had at least one child Hamilton, born Apr. 2, 1870, died Dec. 30, 1953.  In fact, Hamilton's death certificate from Middleboro, Bell Co., KY, tells us that his parents were James and Nancy.  It also appears that Nancy was not born Barnard but was previously married to one with whom she had Clint.

I cannot find  the first wife of James.  She would, as I calculate, have been the mother of Tilmon, Matthew, Charles H. "Charlie", William Caswell and Laura.  Charles married Emily Dalton on Jun 16, 1906 in Grainger Co. and they had at least two children:  Dovie, born c1907 and Herman, born c1909, both in Grainger Co.

The 1951 obituary for William Caswell tells us that he had one brother, Tilmon and two half-sisters, Cordy and Nan Coffey, and half-brothers Kyle, Albert, and Arthur Coffey, Clint Barnard, Milburn, Mat, and Hamilton Coffey.

Coffey-Wolfe Marriage License

The TN State Archives tells us that a James Coffey married Mattie Wolfe in Grainger Co. on Aug. 13, 1898.  The 1900 census found this family in Hancock Co.  Mattie and John had been married for two years.  Mattie was 21 and James was 40.  They had two children: Charley, born Jun., 1888 and Laura, born Feb., 1892, neither of which was Mattie's.  The only child she had until then was lost at birth.

The 1920 enumeration for Hancock Co. reports that Mattie and James had been married 13 years and that she was the mother of four, three living.  Children were Nan, age 6, Rena, age 3 and Elbert, age 1 year, 6 mos.

So, we have a Nan that could be the half-sister from William Caswell's obituary.  Was Elbert really Albert? Was Charles H. really Charles Hamilton?

Charles Coffey-Emily Dalton Marriage License

The problem with Charles H. and Hamilton being the same person arises when we remember that Charles "Charlie" married Emily Dalton in 1906.  This does not eliminate the possibility that Emily died and he then re-married.  They did appear together in the 1910 and 1920 census.  In the latter enumeration they had children Dovie, age 13, Herman, age 10, Lillard, age 10, Louie (?), age 8 and Ruby, age 4 mos.

The problem is compounded when we learn that Hamilton married Sarah Purkey c1900, and had two children, John and Viola.  Sarah apparently died because Hamilton then married Louisa Howerton and they had at least one child, Martha born June, 1919.

The last wife of James' may be Margaret, who we find in the 1910 Grainger Co. census, a 52 year old widow with daughters Vernie, age 21, Bettie, age 19, and Oma, age 17.  Next door was Charles and Emily Dalton Coffey with their children, Dovie and Herman.  Margaret and Charles were also neighbors in the 1920 Grainger Co. census.  The same three daughters were in the home with Margaret and were joined by Stella Shockley, Margaret's eight year old granddaughter.  Charlie and Emily's children were Dovie, Herman, Lillard, Louis (?) and Ruby.

So, was Margaret really Mattie [Margaret Martha?] and, was she James' last wife, or was she one somewhere in between the others?  Were the 1910-20 women with Margaret her daughters or, one of his other wives?

I will send a free Edward Coffey Project DVD to the first** researcher who can satisfactorily sort this out for me while also providing sources to backup their conclusions.

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*I can imagine how reunions went if both families showed up!
**You do not have to be the first to submit information; just the first with the most accurate information that can be substantiated.  If your information is substantial, with photos, etc., then contact me before sending anything via e-mail.  Of course, I will be the judge of what is satisfactory. This offer ends at midnight, Sep. 30,2010.

William Thad & Ocia Bell Coffee Buchanan

William Preston (Pres) Buchanan constructed and operated the Louisiana & Arkansas Railway in 1898.  William had been a timberman and owned the Bodcaw Lumber Company whose primary office was at Stamps, AR.  He was also a large land owner in southwest Arkansas and northwest Louisiana.

William, a son of Charles Clayton and Mary Abernathy Tarpley Buchanan, was born in Tennessee in 1844.  It's not clear when he came into the lower part of Arkansas or, when he married Helen, whose maiden name may also have be en Buchanan*, but it was likely sometime in the late 1860s, early 1870s.

Their known children were:

Mary L., born c1871 in Arkansas.  She married J. A. Billingsley on Oct. 7, 1894 in Nevada Co., AR.

William Thad, born Aug. 29, 1874 in Arkansas, married Ocia Bell Coffee on Dec. 20, 1906** in Nevada Co.  Ocia was born Sep. 25, 1882 in Hempstead Co., and died Dec. 6, 1959 in Nevada Co.  She and Thad are buried at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Prescott, Nevada Co.

His obituary from the Prescott Daily News, Nevada Co., AR, February 11, 1938:

Prescott lost one of its real pioneers when Thad Buchanan died here last Tuesday.  Mr. Buchanan was the son of W. P. (Press) Buchanan who came to Prescott in the fall of 1873 to work on the Cairo & Fulton Railroad. This railroad was built through here in July, 1873.

Thad Buchanan was the first child born in Prescott, and his father's house is the oldest residence of the city.  It is located on West Third Stret, between Hazel and Walnut next to the home of Mrs. George Kizer and is now occupied by John Smith.

 Their known children were:

Floyd Fields, born 1908, married Florence (LNU)

Ota Albert, born Mar. 29, 1910, married Claudy Woodard

Clyde Curtis, born Nov. 11, 1914, died Jan. 8, 1991 in Nevada Co.  He married Margaret L. (Peggy) Barnard, born Jan. 7, 1918 in Prescott, died Aug. 27, 2003 in Prescott.

John Preston, born c1915, died before 1930

Edmond Louis, born c1923

 Joe Pledger, born Dec. 24, 1876, died Oct. 8, 1961.  He married Lillie (LNU), born Oct. 3, 1888 in Arkansas, died Oct. 14, 1972 in Prescott.

Esther, born c1879.

Please contact me if you can share any information about these families.



*BUCHANAN, WILLIAM PRESTON--born 11-2-1833 in TN; married Miss Helen Buchanan; had 9 children; died 10-27-1928; buried at Old Smyrna Cem; marker has death date of 10-24-1928 (Obituary Index, Nevada News; 12-20-1928)

 **William Thad may have been previously married.  There is a marriage record for a W. T. Buchanan to Kate Hawkins in Nevada Co., dated Mar. 3, 1895.