Ambrose Coffee, Irish Emigrant c1767

This Ambrose has often been confused with Ambrose Coffey, a son of the Rev. James and Elizabeth Cleveland Coffey.  James was the eldest son of John and Jane Graves Coffey.

A timeline produced by an unknown author, appeared in the March, 1993 issue of the Coffey Cousins' Newsletter, provided the following:

The subject Ambrose was an Irish emigrant who was sent to the Virginia Colony in c1767/68 to work for John Hough (Huff), probably in Loudon Co.

1775/76 Came to Kentucky to Herrodsburg.

1776      Kentucky Historical Society Register, Vol. 30, page 127:  "The tide of emmigration [sic] to the Madison portion of Fincastle was slow but perceptible.  Among the arrivals of 1776, who were to become permanent settlers were --- Ambrose Coffee ---"

1775/76 Was a soldier stationed at Fincastle Co. (now Kentucky) Virginia.  The specific site was most certainly Ft. Boonesboro.  By 1888 Fincastle became Ky. Co. & in 1780 it was divided into 3 counties - Jefferson, Lincoln & Fayette & became a state in 1792.  Ambrose lived in Herrodsburg.

1775/84 Lived in Boonesboro.

1779      10 Oct. Gave deposition regarding lad title at Ft. Boonesboro, Ky.

1780/83 Marriage.

1783      First child, Sarah, was born.  She married James Mcguire.

1785/87 Moved to Ruskes Settlement & stayed a year. or two.

1785       Second child, William was born.  He married Elizabeth Lacy.

1786       Signed petition for division of Lincoln Co., Ky into Mercer, Lincoln, and Madison counties.  Madison Co., Ky. was organized Aug.22, 1786.

1787       Third child, Ambrose Jr., was born.  He mar. 1st. Lucinda Day, 2nd Margaret Norman, a widow.

1789/91 Mill bought by Col. Holder.  Stayed two more yrs.

1791      Moved to Spencer Creek.

1792/1809 Moved to Slate Creek.

1793      Fourth Child, Ailsey, born.  She married Elijah Brown.

1795      Sept. 17, Daniel Williams & wife, Violet (Couch), of Clark Co., Ky. to Ambrose Coffey of same --- for ten pounds --- 20 acrs [sic] on Spencer's Creek, being part of Edward Williams' 400 acres pre-emptioned [sic] and adjoining same. (Daniel and Ambrose were Jim Sparks'* 3rd G-Grandfathers.)

17 Aug 1797     Fifth child, Rebecca Jane, born.  She mar. Wm. S. Lykins.

2 Jan 1799         Ambrose Coffee, deposed, at a spring near Joel Estill's fence, that "about 17 or 18" years ago, he, Ambrose Coffee had camped near this spelling. (1781/82)

1799     Sixth child, Elijah, born.  He mar. 1st Margaret Patrick 2nd Elizabeth Bowen.

1801     Seventh child, Raleigh, born.  He mar. Annis Anne Anderson.

1803     Eighth child, Jesse, Born.

21 Nov 1809  Kentucky Historical Society Register, Vol. 30, p136.  One of the most noted cases (of land disputes) was that of Green Clay vs. Henry Banta.... The depositions taken embrace the name of nearly all the early prominant [sic] settlers of the county.  The positions of the various localities named called into requisition the knowledge of such old hunters, fort builders and Indian scouts, including --- Ambrose Coffee...

1809     In his deposition in the Clay/Banta land dispute, Ambrose Coffee deposed that he first became acquainted with Muddy Creek in the year 1777 as he had come to Kentucky in 1776.  He claimed he had been sold to John Huff/Hough for passage money to America from over the "High Seas."  Ambrose Coffee was referred to as that "Irish Convict" from Ireland in other dispositions in the Clay/Banta dispute.

1810     Census of Montgomery County, Kentucky.

             363 Coffee, Ambrose  1M under 10  1 F 10-26 1 M 16-26  2 F 16-26 1 M over 45  1 F over 45

1820     Death in Montgomery County, Kentucky

Footnote 1:  The above Ambrose Coffee, is in no way to be confused with the Ambrose Coffee [sic] who came later to Kentucky from North Carolina.  They are two separate individuals and as far as cam [sic] be ascertained had no immediate relationship.  Our Ambrose Coffee, having come directly from Ireland to Kentucky [sic] spelled the mane [sic] Coffee, whereas the other often used Coffey/Coffy as the spelling.**

Footnote 2:  County changes in Kentucky during the 1700 and 1800's.

1772...Virginia Colony created Fincastle County which included all of Kentucky.

1774...James Harrod settled Harrodsburg.

1775...Boonesboro, Marison County settled.

1776...All of Kentucky designated as Kentucky County, VA.

1780---Kentucky County, VA. was divided into 3 counties--Fayette, Jefferson and Lincoln.

1790...There were nine counties---Mason..1789; Bourbon...1786; Woodford..1789; Fayette..1780; Madison..1786; Jefferson..1780; Mercer..1786; Nelson..1785; and Lincoln..1780

1792...Kentucky became a state.

* No idea who Jim Sparks is/was of date this timeline was created.  Punctuation, spacing, etc. is not consistent in the original.  Reproduced here as close to original as possible. I have made no effort to verify the accuracy of this information..

Through the magic of DNA, Edward researchers know this Ambrose was not related to Edward.

Edward Coffey (c1700-c1776)

Very little factual information is known of Edward Jr., a son of Edward and Ann Powell.  He is "said" to have been born c1701 in Essex Co., VA and, died in Albemarle Co., VA after 1774.  He married Grace Cleveland, a daughter of Alexander and Mildred Presley¹ Cleveland sometime between 1737 and 1740.

Marvin Coffey wrote in his ancestral work on James Blueford Coffey, a descendant of Edward and Ann, that he had found no proof of the children of Edward and Grace.  He speculated that Cleveland, Coffey, who married Elizabeth² is one of their sons.  Or, he might be the Cleveland Coffey who entered land in Burke Co., now Caldwell Co., on Zack's Fork, in the year 1778.

Marvin thought that Edward Jr. might be a twin of the better know John who married Jane Graves. John is thought to have been born between 1699 and 1700 followed soon thereafter by Edward Jr., with perhaps less than a year between the births.

No proof of the names of Edward and Grace's children has ever been found.³  Marvin, again speculating and, based on time and location, thought that Benjamin, born in VA in 1763 and on the Burke Co., NC census from 1790 to 1850 (Caldwell Co. in 1850) was the son.  He married Leah, born c1760 in VA.  A Leah Coffey who married Francis Hickman in Jefferson Co., TN in 1798 might be their daughter.

Other possible children were James, on the 1785 census in Botetourt Co, VA and William in Montgomery Co., VA from 1781 to 1785.  They could also have been the children of Peter and Susannah Coffey of Prince Edward Co., VA. The William found on tax lists in Buckingham Co., VA from 1783 to 1797 is likely to have been a son of Peter.

Jesse Cleveland Coffey found in Wilkes Co. up to about 1786 could be the same found later in Pendleton Co., SC in 1790 and 1800.  He was the father of Cleveland, Edward, Joel, Elijah, Elisha and John.4  

Jesse is found in the Pendleton District, South Carolina census of 1800.5 6  He married Nancy Alexander, probably before 1766.

I have been in recent contact with descendants of Jesse and Nancy.  Their ancestor was Jesse's son Joel who married Martha "Patsy" Cobb.  For the most part, descendants of Joel remained in Rabun Co., GA all of their lives.

Joel and Martha had at least four children, the first being John Coffee, who is often referred to by the title of Reverend.  He is buried as "Elder John Coffee." He married Lavinia Carter in that county on Dec. 31, 1833 and died c1835, likely in childbirth. and later married Martha Singleton on Feb. 4, 1837.  With Martha, they raised 11 children.  John died in 1886 and Martha in 1887.  Both are buried

at the Clayton Baptist Church Cemetery in Clayton, Rabun Co.

The second child of Joel and Martha was Mary Frances, born c1818 in SC, died 1873 in GA.  She married Silas B. Price on Mar. 19, 1835 in Rabun Co. and were parents of at least five: Nancy Elizabeth, Martha, William J., and John R.

William Rowland was third and his wife was Ruth M. West, born 1851.  They married on Aug. 25, 1879 in Habersham Co., GA.  William was born on Nov. 4, 1834 in Rabun Co., died in GA in 1909. Ruth died in 120.  Both are buried at Head of Tennessee Baptist Church Cemetery at Dillard in Rabun Co.  Their children were Mable, Georgia, John Benjamin; Franklin, James Clinton and William H.

Jesse Leonard was the last known child.  He was born on Oct. 10, 1828 in Rabun Co. and married first to Nancy O. Singleton on Sep. 2, 1845.  She was born c1828 in GA.  Their children were Terrel, Mary M., Jemima, John E., James Jefferson, Lucinda and Martha, all born between 1847 and 1860. These children remain a work in progress.  More is known of the children by his second wife, Arzelia P. Thomas, born 1839 in Rabun Co.

Those children were Sarah B. "Sally," born c1863, married James A. Canup on May 4, 1886 in Rabun Co.  Robert Douglas, born Dec, 1866, married Martha Hazeltine Bowen on Dec. 10, 1888 in Towns Co., GA.  Joseph T., born c1869, no other information.  Rachel L., born c1872, married W. Virgil Bowen, no other information.  Franklin Alexander, no further information; Naoma Callie, born c1875, married Anderson Eller on Apr. 8, 1900 in Rabun Co. and lastly, Genela F., born Jun., 1877, married Martin Baker on Aug. 25, 1895.

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Footnotes

¹ Some Cleveland researchers reject Mildred Presley as the wife of Alexander and name an anonymous "Mary" as the mother of his children.  My source for her name is the work of  Marvin Coffey whose source appears to be by tradition. I consulted The Genealogy of the Cleveland Families, Edmund James Cleveland, 1899 and Virginia Cleveland Ancestor Discovered, George A. Martin, National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Vol. 46, Sep., 1958. Cleveland's work appears to me to mix two different Cleveland families and, is the source of the Presly surname.  I have not made a study of the Cleveland line and have only those two references to go by.

² Elizabeth is suspected to be the daughter of a man named Benjamin Franklin of Albemarle Co.  He had a daughter named Elizabeth who is known to have married a Clifton or Cliff Coffey and to have lived in Albemarle Co.  Marvin believed that Cliff or Clifton was a nickname for Cleveland because Joel and Martha Stapp Coffey had a son named Cleveland and nicknamed Cliff.  According to Tim Peterman, Elizabeth Franklin Coffey was the mother of Grace Coffey who married Rutherford Coffey in Green Co., KY in 1801.

³ At least by any Edward Sr. researcher that I know.

4 According to Marvin Coffey.  Others name his wife as Nancy Alexander and children as Cleveland, Bathsheba, Edward, John, Joel, Nancy and Elisha. Some descendants continue to spell their name Coffey while others, up through about the middle of the 20th century began spelling their name Coffee.  It appears now that practice ended and descendants have once again accepted Coffey as the correct spelling.

5 Attenpt to reconcile family members: 3 under 10 males: Edward, Joel and Elisha; Male 16-25, Cleveland; Male 45, Jesse; Female under 10: Nancy; Female, 10-15, Unknown; Female, 45, Nancy.  John should be here, born between 1786 and 1822.

6 Some family researchers claim that Jesse was born c1855 in VA and died c1807 in the Pendleton Dist., SC.  Some write that his parents were Joel Coffee [sic], and Martha Seely, and that he married Nancy [lnu] and was the father of Joel, born c1799 in the Pendleton Dist., and married Martha "Patsy" Cobb.  Joel is said to have died Sep. 15, 1849 and is buried in the Old Kingwood Cemetery.  The only reference I have found thus far to any Kingwood cemetery, places it in Preston Co., WVa.

^{Sources used were Rabun County Marriage Records; Census records, and family histories of Karen Coffey Galanski and Victoria Isham.  Heavily relied on for early Edward and Ann Powell research is credited to Marvin Dale Coffey and his work, James Bluford Coffey, His Ancestors and Descendants in America, and Vol. II, privately printed in 1984, second printing in 1994.  See http://bit.ly/1zUm0Sn for more information about this book.}

Stephen & Catherine Jane Coffey Porter

"Stephen Porter, born 24 June 1819 in MO, died 24 Aug 1890 in OR. He was the son of David and Nancy (Culton) Porter. David Porter, born 8 Mar 1780 in Rockbridge Co, VA, and died on 16 July 1849 on the Oregon Trail '"days journey beyond Fort Hall (Idaho) towards Soda Springs." David Porter married first Mary Elizabeth Hopkins in Davidson Co, TN about 1806. She died at the birth of their only child, a son named James, born 10 Aug 1807. He married second Nancy Culton, born Rockbridge Co, VA 8 Apr 1784, and died Pike Co, IL on 8 Jan 1867. The parents of Nancy Culton were Alexander Culton and Rebecca Woods, married 2 May 1782 in Rockbridge Co, VA. David Porter was the son of William and Mary (Bowen) Porter of Rockbridge Co, VA. I descend from William and Mary (Bowen) Porter through David's brother John.

"In 1811, David and Nancy Porter joined a closely knit group of relatives and neighbors from TN in migrating to Lincoln Co, MO. These included Sittons, Gibsons, Wilsons, and other families who intermarried with the Porters. All were pioneers on the MO frontier a few miles northwest of St. Louis, near St. Charles. By 1819, David Porter began buying land near Big Creek southwest of Troy, MO. He established his home there for a while. In late 1835, he became dissatisfied with the area and moved to Pike Co, IL. In the spring of 1849, when he was 69 years old, accompanied by his son-in-law Samuel Sitton, he joined a wagon train to Oregon, where several of his married children had gone the previous year. He died of a stroke enroute. His son-in-law returned to his family in Pike Co, IL. It is presumed that David Porter was buried beside the trail."*

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David and Nancy Culton Porter had at least six children:

Rebecca, born c1809 in TN, married Samuel G. Sitton, born c1802 in Lincoln Co., MO, died c1878 in Pike Co., IL.  Their children were at least four:  Eleanor, David W., William P., and Amanda.  In 1850 the family was residing in Pike Co. and Rebecca's mother, Nancy Culton Porter, age 66, was residing with them.  Nancy died in Pike Co. in 1867*

William, born Dec. 14, 1812 in MO, died Mar. 30, 1899 in Marion Co., OR.  He married Sarah Coffey, daughter of Nebuzaradan and Elizabeth Easley Coffey.  Sarah was born May 1, 1820 in Simpson Co., KY and died in Marion Co. on Nov. 20, 1848.  William died Mar. 30, 1899 in Marion Co.  Both are buried in the Oregon Pioneer Cemetery at Aumsville in Marion Co.  Their children were at least four: William German; Elizabeth Nancy; John Hancock; and Sidney Reese.

Joseph Woods, born c1815 in MO, married Elizabeth Ann Howey on Aug. 14, 1838 in Pike Co., IL**  In 1850 the family was still in Pike Co. with children: James; Nancy A., Amanda, and Stephen W.

Stephen Porter

Stephen, born Jun. 24, 1819 in Troy, Lincoln Co., MO, died Aug. 24, 1890 at Downs Station, Marion Co., OR.  He married twice, first to Catherine Jane Coffey, middle daughter of Nebuzaradan and Elizabeth, on Sep. 1, 1844 in Pike Co.  Their children were Nancy Louisa, David A., and John Thomas.  Catherine died on Feb. 13, 1850 in Marion Co.  Stephen's second wife was Susan Gibson who he married on Aug. 15, 1851 in Marion Co.  Stephen and Susan are buried at the Miller Cemetery in Silverton in Marion Co.

Nancy, born Feb. 14, 1822, died Mar. 9, 1904 in Salem, Marion Co., married Horatio Nelson Viscount Holmes on Sep. 27, 1838 in Pike Co.*  He was born Jul. 24, 1813 in Wythe Co., VA and died in Salem on Mar. 26, 1885.

John, born Apr. 8, 1824 in Lincoln Co., MO, died May 27, 1895 in Pike Co., IL.  He married Eliza Emeline Coffey on Nov. 28, 1850 in Pike Co.  Eliza was a daughter of Nathaniel "Nathan" and Sarah "Sally" Meredith Coffey.  Nathan was a brother to Nebuzaradan.  Eliza and John were parents of Emma, Sarah, Jane and John David as well as one infant daughter who died at or shortly after birth in 1851, Pike Co.

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Oregon Trail

These families were early pioneers who reached Oregon over the Oregon Trail.  This Trail site may also be of interest to readers.

 

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*Mary E. Porter, Author/Compiler, A Family History: William Porter, Jr. of Rockbridge County, Virginia (1740-1804) and Five Generations of his Descendants (N.p.: M. E. Porter, 7 September 2007), Page 63.


**Illinois Marriages, 1763-1900. Family Tree Legends Records Collection (Online Database). Pearl Street Software, 2004-2005, Marriage Register, Vol. I, Page 46.