Spottswood Dandridge & Martha Jane Whiteside Gilbert

I find Spottswood most often referred to by his initials S. D. or, as Dandridge.  He did appear in some census records as Spottswood.  He was born Apr. 15, 1841 in Amherst Co., VA and married Martha Jane Whiteside there on Nov. 5, 1863.  Martha was born Nov. 18, 1841, probably in Amherst Co., and died there on Dec. 10, 1891.  Both are buried at Oronoco, Amherst Co. in the Church of the Brethren Cemetery.

There were at least 11 children born to their union, three of which married into the Jordan Coffey* family.  All of their children were born in Amherst Co.

The first child I have for them is Pency, born Jan. 12, 1865, died Mar. 31, 1893 in Amherst Co.  She married Edward Jackson Henson on Jul. 11, 1886 and had at least five children in the seven years before she died.  She is also buried at Oronoco.

Nancy was next, born c1867.  No further information.

Ginetta, born c1868, married C. M. Bradley on Oct. 29, 1896 in Amherst Co.  No further information.

Charles Dandridge, the fourth child and first son, was born Oct. 10, 1869 and died Jan. 31, 1954 in Amherst Co.  He married Lutie Virginia Coffey on Oct. 16, 1895 in Amherst Co.  I know of one child; Gracie M., born Jul. 1898.  Lutie was the daughter of John Jack Coffey, Jr. and, his wife Patricia F. "Patra" Tyler.  John Jack, Sr. was a son of Jordan and Elizabeth Rippetoe Coffey of "Coffeytown" in Amherst Co.

Mary Jane was born Feb. 20, 1871 and died Nov. 18, 1914.  She married Edmund F. "Ned" Coffey on Jun. 16, 1894 in Amherst Co.  Ned was a son of James and Sophia Coffey Coffey.  James was a son of William "Billy" Coffey and his wife Sally Crawford.  Billy was also a son of Jordan and Elizabeth.  Sophia was a daughter of Schylar Coffey**, another son of Jordan and his wife Betsey Hamilton.

Lucy Catherine was born in Sep., 1872 and married Leslie Austin Robertson, a son of James A. and Mary D. Robertson on Jun. 1, 1898 in Amherst Co.  They had at least one child, a daughter Mary E., born May, 1899 in Nelson Co., VA.

Willis, the second son, was born May, 1874 and married Bessie M. Inge on May 25, 1903 in Buena Vista, VA.  No further information.

The next two children, also sons, were Henry, born Jul., 1876 and Eddie, born c1878.  No further information.

Ruth Davis was child number 10, born Sep., 1879.  "Ruthie" married William Luther Green on Jan. 13, 1904 in Rockbridge Co., VA.  No further information.

Bertha Lillian was the last child and was the third to marry a Coffey.  She was born c1886 and married Irvin C. Coffey, born Sep., 1878 in Amherst Co.  He was the son of William Henry "Cripple Henry" Coffey and his wife, Virginia F. "Jenny" Lawman.  William Henry was a son of John Jack, Sr. and his wife Betsey Duff.

I continue to work on this family as time allows.  Drop an e-mail or add a comment to amend any of this information.

---

Update:  Something didn't look right so I went back over census records for this family:

1870 children: Pensie, age 6; Nancy, age 4; and Harry, 8 mos.

1880 children: Pencie, age 14; Nancy, age 13; Genetta, age 12; Charles, age 11; Marie (Mary), age 10; Lucie, age 8; Willis, age 7; Henry, age 4; Eddie, age 2; and Ruth, 8 mos.

1900 children: Lucie, age 17; Willis, age 26 and Henry, age 24.

So, Lucy in 1880 married in 1898.  Who is the 17 yr-old Lucie in 1900?  Ruth married in 1904.  Why isn't she in the family home in 1900?

Harry, age 8 mos., in 1870 apparently did not survive to 1880 and, Eddie, age 2, apparently did not survive until 1900.

There was a child, Bertha, born in Oct., 1885.  That would have put six years between her birth and that of Ruth in 1879 and leaves room for the second Lucie who, according to 1900 census was born in Sep., 1882.

---

*DNA testing has shown that Jordan was not a Coffey but was a child of (probably) Jane Coffey, and an unknown Taliaferro (Toliver) male.  Jane was a daughter of William and Elizabeth Osborne Coffey.
**Schylar, Nelson and Henry F. may not have been natural sons of Jordan.  Some believe they were more or less orphans taken in by Jordan and Betsey.  They are the only children of Jordan for which no specific listing of their parents has been found.

Thomas Reed Crawford of Amherst Co., VA

Update 12/03/2009:  The bottom photo was taken c1902 and shows Tom Crawford and his wife, Mary Frances "Fannie" Ogden.  The top photo is Tom Crawford in his later years.

The child between the couple is Van who married Estelle Crist.  Children behind Tom and Fannie are, l-r: Thomas Powell, who married Alma Gertrude Coffey; Lawrence and Houston.  Houston married Hallie Coffey, daughter of Arthur and Jenny Davis Coffey.  Lawrence is believed to have never married.

The older children, l-r, are: Massie, wife of "Fed" Coffey; Walter who married Beatrice Coffey; Christina who married a Wright; Ora who married Hugh Nelson Coffey; Zack Coffey and his wife, Catherine.

---

I believe this is the Thomas Reed Crawford family of Amherst Co., VA.  Several of their childred married into the Coffey family.

Thomas married Mary Frances Ogden c1873 and subsequently fathered at least 10 children.

The problem with the photo being of this Crawford family is, not withstanding how young the [apparent] wife appears, the age difference between the four younger children and the six older children. 

My files show that Thomas Reed was born Jan. 20, 1847 in Virginia and died Feb. 5, 1926 in Amherst Co.  Mary Frances Ogden, a daughter of Zachariah Ogden, Jr. and his wife Mary Elizabeth White, was born Feb., 1860 in Amherst Co.  Thomas was a son of Mansfield and Catherine [maiden name unknown] Crawford.

Their children were:

Mary Katherine, born c1874, married Zachariah Coffey c1897.  Zach was the son of Frederick and Catherine H. Ogden Coffey.

Christianna, born Oct., 1874.  No other information.

Susie Massie, born Apr. 6, 1876 in Amherst Co., and died there on Dec. 8, 1938.  Susie married Frederick "Fed" Coffey, Jr.   He was a brother to Zach who married Mary Katherine.

Walter J., born Oct. 5, 1878 in Amherst Co., died in VA on Jul. 13, 1943.  He married Beatrice Coffey on Jan. 13, 1909.  Beatrice was a daughter of George Washington and Sarah Frances Coffey Coffey. 

George was born Sep. 16, 1853 to Reuben Wetzel and Sarah Jane Wood Coffey.  He died May 31, 1928 in Amherst Co.  Sarah Frances was born Sep. 2, 1856 to William "Billy" and Sarah G. (Ann?) Crawford Coffey.  Reuben and "Billy" were distant cousins, and "Billy" was a son of Jordan and Elizabeth Rippetoe Coffey, founders of "Coffeytown" in Amherst Co.

Ora Wills, born Jul. 28, 1881 in Amherst Co., died there on Dec. 20, 1976.  She married Hugh Nelson Coffey, a son of Harden and Elizabeth "Bettie" Crawford.  Hugh was born Jul. 4, 1876 in Amherst Co. and died there on Dec. 20, 1957.

Thomas Powell, born Jul. 12, 1884 in VA, married c1907 to Alma Gertrude Coffey, born May, 1890 to Arthur and Virginia Ann "Jenny" Davis Coffey.

John Houston, born Nov. 14, 1886 in Alto, Amherst Co., died Mar. 28, 1973 in VA.  He married Hallie Pearl Coffey, born Feb. 21, 1892 in Amherst Co., died Oct. 2, 1973.  Hallie Pearl was sister to Alma Gertrude.

Lawrence DeWitt, born Aug. 28, 1890 in Alto.  No other information.

Lucy, born May, 1893 in Amherst Co., married John E. Cash c1915.

Van Talmage, born Jun, 6, 1898 in Amherst Co., married Estelle Crist c1923.

Please contact me if you can confirm that the photo is this family.  It would be extremely helpful if you can also assign names to the children.

Macedonia Church, Coffeytown, VA

Macedonia Church @ Coffeytown

This photo of the Macedonia Church was taken recently by Joe Malloy, a trustee of the church.  It was forwarded to me by John Taylor, whom I have mentioned many times in this blog.

If you attended last year's Coffey Cousins' Reunion and made the trip with us to Coffeytown, you'll be certain to recognize the scene.

Some of us ate lunch on the rear deck while others ate under the trees to the right in the photo.  Others of us ate lunch along side the mountain stream that flows in front of the church.  On the other side of the stream, and directly across from the church is "Fiddler's Green," the old homeplace of Daniel Rufus Coffey, a descendant of Jordan Coffey, founder of Coffeytown.

This photo is just too beautiful not to share!

Leonard Carlyle & Mary Elsie Coffey Coffey

Leonard, born May 13, 1903 in Virginia, was a son of Arthur & Virginia Ann (Jenny) Davis Coffey.  He died in Virginia on Aug. 23, 1959.  He was married to  Mary Elsie Coffey, a distant cousin, both descending from William and Elizabeth Osborne Coffey.

Elsie was the daughter of Hiter Webster & Mary Fannie (Mamie) Higginbotham Coffey.  She was born Sep. 5, 1913 in Amherst Co., and died on Nov. 6, 2002 in Vesuvius, Rockbridge Co., VA. 

I do not have their exact marriage date, but it was after 1930.  That year, Elsie was age 16 and still living with her parents in the Pedlar District of Amherst Co.  Leonard, age 26, was still living with his parents in the same area.

This is the last known photo of Elsie before she died in 2002.  Both she and Leonard are buried in the Green Hill Cemetery at Buena Vista, VA.

These families were natives of Coffeytown in Amherst Co.

Please contact me to add to or to correct any of this information.

Coffeytown Weather

This site is essentially a weather station for Coffeytown.  But, the background is a series of rotating photographs of the area.  Give it a look!  I think you'll like it.

Click here to visit!

Downloads

I have placed download links to the two Coffeytown files prepared by John Taylor.   Either or both can be downloaded by clicking on the links.  Note that the PDF files will not be viewable on this site, but will download directly to your computer.

Look to the right and down a bit to find the links.

Both links worked when I placed them there, but feel free to contact me at the above e-mail address should something not go as expected.

Cold Mountain Cabbage

John Taylor has provided a chapter from his new undertaking, Cold Mountain Cabbage, a more up-to-date history of the Coffey families in Coffeytown, VA.

The file is PDF and can be downloaded by clicking on the title link.  It is also in landscape mode, so set your printer appropriately if you want to preserve it on paper.  The file size is a tad over 2mb.

If you are currently using the free version of Adobe PDF viewer, I suggest dumping that hog.  I use the free PDF-XChange Viewer by Tracker Software Products.  There are too many good features in PDF-XChange to list here, however one feature that I like is the ability to add notes to a file.

One Story of "Coffeytown" in Amherst County, Virginia 1827-Present

Back By Popular Demand

One Story of "Coffeytown" in Amherst County, Virginia
1827-Present

by John Taylor, Decd

This file is the complete handout prepared and presented to those who made the trip to Coffeytown in Amherst Co., VA during the 2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion.  It is a PDF file and can be downloaded and printed in full color on your home or office printer.  You can also take it to Office Depot, Staples or Kinko's, for example, and have it printed and bound.  The complete file is approximately 2.6 megabytes.

Macedonia Methodist Church

This attachment is an article published in the Discover Amherst County, dated July 21, 1988.  It was written by Anne Connolly Taylor, an Amherst New Era-Progress staff writer.  The photographer was Karla Faulconer.

You can find more up-to-date photos of this Coffeytown church in earlier blogs by clicking on the keyword "Coffeytown" at the bottom of this one.

The photo is a shot of the congregation at Macedonia taken in the 1930s, photographer unknown.

 

Article and photo courtesy John Taylor 

Coffeytown Christmas Described

This article appeared in the Lexington, VA The Weekender on Dec. 21, 1991, and was authored by Deborah Sensabaugh.

If you saw and remember The Homecoming: A Christmas Story, the 1971 pilot for The Waltons, you will be able to picture in your mind the Christmas scenery as well as the lifestyle described by the folks in this article.

                Page 1                                     Page 2

Earl Hamner, Jr. creator of The Waltons, grew up in Schuyler, VA, just about 50 miles or so as "the crow flies" from Coffeytown.





Article courtesy John Taylor

Benjamin J. Coffey and Candis W. Coffey

Benjamin was born c1813 in Virginia and, married Candis W. Coffey, born c1814, on Jan. 28, 1836 in Nelson Co., VA. [Early American Marriages: Virginia to 1850; Benjamin Coffey Candis W. Coffey 28 Jan 1836 Nelson] His parents are unknown.

Candis' father is also unknown; her mother was Nancy Coffey, daughter of William Coffey, Jr., and Mary (Polly) Rippetoe. William, Jr. comes from John Coffey and Jane Graves through their son William, Sr.

Another of William Sr. daughters is Jane who is thought to be the mother of Jordan Coffey who settled Coffeytown in Amherst Co., VA. She later married Benjamin Hawkins Fitzgerald.

Nancy apparently bore at least two other daughters out of wedlock: Sophia, born c1815 and Ann, birth date unknown.

Known children of Benjamin and Candis are:

Peter, born c1839
Susan, born c1842
Sarah A., born c1844, married A. N. North on 23 Oct. 1866 in Nelson Co. [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 16, Line 70]
Paulina M., born c1848, married J. J. Fonkhoutzer in Dec., 1880, Nelson Co. [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 46, Line 111]
George W., born 20 Jun 1858, died Aug. 26, 1937, Nelson Co.; married Mary E. Saunders Feb. 1, 1885 [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 58, Line 9]
Elizabeth (Betty), born c1857, married J. N. Adams Dec. 20, 1881. [Nelson Co. Book 2, Page 48, Line 80]

Please contact me if you can identify the parents of Benjamin and/or the father of Candis.

William Lewis and Martha Cropp Coffey

William and Martha Cropp Coffey, whose headstones can be view by clicking on the title link, have been identified.

William (Willie) is the son of John Robey and Mamie W. Womack Coffey. John, Mamie, William and Martha are buried at Green Hill Cemetery in Buena Vista, Rockbridge Co., VA.

For those of you have been to Coffeytown and have seen the Coffeytown stone, Willie was the creator.

The following was sent to me by John Taylor:

"Willie painted the rock you photographed which says ”Coffeytown”. It’s the second rock to say that. The house next to the church – the green one – was Charles E Coffey’s house and has been sold out of the family. In his sideyard (away from the church) is a huge bolder, It originally had the word “Coffeytown” painted on it, but the locals ticked off the new owner of the property, so he stripped the paint off the rock. Then “Willie” had a boulder brought in and he painted it with the “Coffeytown” word!

Willie’s son Pike presently lives on the hill to the right of the [new] rock as you see it from the main road."

Jacob Morris Coffey 1880-1922 [Updated]

Jacob Morris Coffey was a son of Alfred and Martha Ann Bradley Coffey in the Edmond Coffey line. Jacob was born Mar. 15, 1880 in Nelson Co., VA and died May 23, 1922 in Rockbridge Co., VA. He married Mary Jane Lotts Mar. 26, 1902 in Virginia. She was born Aug. 26, 1882.

Their children were Samuel David, born c1903; Ella Cornelia, born c1905; Florence Dell, born c1906; James Alfred, born May 8, 1908; Saylor Marshall, born Mar. 3, 1910; Lottie Mae, born c1912; Roy Martin, born Jul. 19, 1914, died Nov. 25, 1972; Salathial Coolie, born Sep. 15, 1916, died Aug. 23, 1924; John Henry, born Feb. 2, 1920, died May 26, 1990; and Mary Stuart, born c1922.

The photo is of descendants of Jacob and Mary who attended the Coffey Cousins' Reunion in Raphine. Left to right in the back is: Berman "Cotton" Coffey, Judy Ferguson, Clara May Coffey Johnston (d/o Bonnie Burjois, seated right front). Left front is Betty Coffey Funkhouser.



This is an interior shot of the Macedonia Church ceiling in Coffeytown, and was taken by Bonnie Burjois. The Church was established in 1896, and is now under the protection of the Macedonia Community Association in Coffeytown. All of the interior wood is from Chestnut trees.

2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion Photographs

I have completed the upload of the photos taken at the 2008 Coffey Cousins' reunion.

All of them were taken by either myself, or Joe Culley. Joe is credited with most of the shots of the group preparing to leave for Coffeytown, Slaton's stream and falls as well as all of the flora. The remainder are mostly by me and include photos in the conference room, dining room, Coffeytown, etc.

Please contact me at the above e-mail address should you find yourself in the photos, and I have failed to identify you, or have you incorrectly identified.

Click on the title link to view the shots.

The 2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion Is History

If you missed the 26th annual Coffey Cousins' Reunion, held at Raphine, VA this year, then you missed one of the better gatherings! There were 62 of us who shared dinner on Saturday night, and more than 50 who made the trip to Coffeytown.

The weather was especially ordered by local Coffey families! It could not have been better. There was one short shower - just enough to settle the pollen (sort of!) - but we were all in the meeting room and hardly noticed.


The caterer delivered delicious lunches and cold drinks to us at Coffeytown. We had planned to have lunch inside the church but, the weather was so great everyone found a reasonably comfortably spot outside to "dine."

This countryside is some of the most beautiful that I have ever seen. Wild flowers thrive here, and wildlife is everywhere to be seen. I can understand why these hearty ancestors chose to settle here. Roads are steep and winding, and I'm certain they are in much better condition now than they ever were in those early years. It must have been mild torture for animals as well as man to have made gardens, or traveled to nearby towns. But, both man and beast were compensated for their labors; man by the sheer beauty of the site and for the beasts by the abundant availability of browse.

More photos will be available later on the Coffey Cousins' website





The 2009 Reunion is being planned by Danny Coffey and his wife Glenda, and will be held in Jamestown, Russell Co., KY from May 1-3.

Start planning now to attend. Many of your ancestors came from Russell Co. and well as the surrounding Wayne and Rockcastle counties. If you missed Virginia, you don't want to miss this one!

On the Road

Coffey Cousins from all around the country are preparing to leave for the 26th CC Reunion to be held at at Raphine, Virginia May 2-4, 2007.

This will probably be the last blog before I leave. If all goes well, we will spend the weekend there with all of the 60+ Coffey Cousins that have made reservations.

When I spoke to the Days Inn hotel manager yesterday (Friday) he told me there were eight rooms left in the 30-room block that had been set aside for us. He indicated that the weekend we will be there is going to be a busy one for them, and he needed to take some of the rooms. I agreed to let them have five, holding three for late arrivals.

If you plan to attend the reunion and have not yet made your room reservations, I suggest you do it today.

If you plan to attend the dinner on Saturday night, then be sure and contact me (e-mail address above) with your menu choice before 6PM central time Tuesday night. I am about to close out the menu and turn it over to the caterer. Do not send a check, but hold it until you see me at the reunion.

I'll see you there!

Coffeytown and 2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion

For readers who plan to attend the 2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion, and are wondering what Coffeytown is all about, click on the Coffeytown "search also" label below. That will bring up all previous blog entries for that area, and provide a pretty good review of the area and the families that lived there.

Please contact me with any questions you might have about the reunion or the area and I'll see if I can find the answer. My e-mail address is above.

Coffey Cousins' 2008 Reunion Update

• If you are a subscriber to the Coffey Cousins' printed newsletter you will have read that the tour to Coffeytown will leave the hotel on Friday morning.  That is an error.  The trip to Coffeytown is on Saturday morning, time to be announced.
• I have contacted a caterer and am making arrangements for the banquet and box lunches.  The hotel does not provide breakfast, but the caterer tells me that a truck stop very near the hotel serves a great breakfast.  Locals often go there for their meals.
• If you have been holding off on submitting your menu choices, please fill it out and mail it to me.  I will need an accurate head count very soon.
• Everyone is encouraged to bring a small and inexpensive item to be used as a door prize.  Whatever you bring should not cost more than a couple of bucks.

Alfred and Martha Ann Bradley Coffey

Martha Ann Bradley, born Jun., 1847, was the third of at least 12 children born to William Franklin and Elizabeth Wood Bradley. when her mother died, her father married Mary (Polly) Phillips and fathered another nine children before he died in 1913.

Large families were then the norm for Martha Ann. She married Alfred Coffey on Feb. 12, 1863 in Augusta Co., VA. Before Alfred (born May, 1844, a son of Garland** and Nancy Coffey Coffey) died in 1918 she had given birth to 14 children. By 1910 however, only nine of those were still living. She died in Rockbridge Co., VA on Apr. 10, 1923.

The lack of an 1890 census prevents me from identifying all 16 of the children. The 14 that I do have are as follows:

Amanda J., born c1864, married J. N. Maston on Apr. 26, 1882 in Nelson Co., VA.

Sarah Elizabeth (Sally), born Jan. 22, 1865 in Nelson Co., married 1) William F. Allen, born c1863, on Aug. 28, 1884 in Nelson Co. I have no children for them. She married 2) Jacob Higgonbotham Benson on Nov. 24, 1897 in Rockbridge Co., VA. Jacob was born Apr. 15, 1878 in Rockbridge Co. to Preston C. and Sarah Ann (Sallie) Lucas Benson. he died on Jan. 25, 1949 in Rockbridge Co. Their children were: William, born Dec., 1888; Cornelia, born Dec. 1898 and Jacob Stuart, no info. Sarah died Dec. 19, 1906 in Rockbridge Co.

Eliza Ann, born c1868 in Nelson Co., married Charles M. Jarvis on Nov. 14, 1889 in Rockbridge Co. Their children were: F. M., a daughter, born Mar., 1891; Howard W., born Feb., 1893; Lula M., born Apr. 1895, and Leonard R., born Dec. 1899.

Henry Moses seemed to have had supreme bad luck with wives. He was married at least four times. His first wife was Julie C. Hymen to whom he was married on Nov. 14, 1889. I have found no children for this union. His second wife was Eva Ramsey who he married on Oct. 26, 1898. They had at least two children: Katie L., born May 1900 and, David H., born c1903. His third wife was Alice Ward who he married on Jan. 9, 1904. Their children were Etta R., born c1908 and, Martha C., born c1912. His fourth and final wife was Mary L. (Mollie) (LNU), who he married c1915. This union produced at least seven children: Maxie D., born around Feb. 1916; Georgie L., a daughter, born around Feb., 1919; Robert, born c1921; Hasford [?], born c1922; Voit [?], born c1923; Elizabeth, born c1925; and Henry Moses, Jr., born around May 1927.

Mary Frances (Molly), was born Apr. 6, 1872 in Nelson Co. She married Henry Jackson Benson on Mar. 23, 1893 in Rockbridge Co. He was born Jan. 1, 1869 in Rockbridge Co. to Preston C. and Sarah Ann (Sallie) Lucas Benson. Henry died Apr. 23, 1948 in Rockbridge Co. Mary Frances died in Virginia in 1949. Their children were: Mary J., born Jan., 1895; John H., born Aug., 1896; James A., born Oct., 1897; Nellie B., born Sep., 1899; Ollie C., a daughter, born c1905; William J., born c1908; and Lizzie, born c1914.

Rose Ann, born c1873. No info.

Salathiel Alford (Lath), born c1876. He is thought to have first married Eva Phylena Conner, born Mar. 15, 1881 in Hopkins Co., TX. I have no children for them. His second wife was Ollie Bell Allen, born c1884 in Virginia. Their children were Charlie D., born c1905; Louella (or Lavella) D. (Dolly), born c1909; Jennings Salathiel, born Oct. 5, 1915 and Jerimy [sic], born c1916.

Martha Beveridge, born c1879 in Nelson Co., married Robert Lee Benson, brother to Henry Jackson who married Mary Frances, on Oct. 4, 1893 in Rockbridge Co. No further info.

Jacob Morris, born Mar. 23, 1880 in Nelson Co., died May 23, 1922 in Rockbridge Co. He married Mary Jane Lotts on Mar. 26, 1902. She was born Aug. 26, 1882 and died May 26, 1929. They had at least 10 children: Samuel David, born c1903; Ella Cornelia, born c1905; Florence Dell, born c1906; James Alfred, born c1908; Saylor Marshall, born c1910; Lottie Mae, born c1912; Roy Martin, born c1915; Salathial Coolie, born c1916; John Henry, born c1920; and Mary Sturat, born c1922.

Lacy, a son, born Sep. 1884. The only place that I have found him was in the 1900 census residing in the household with his brother Henry.

Joseph R., born May 20, 1885. No further info.

Saylor Marshall, born Jul. 11, 1886, died Dec. 3, 1987. He married Celestial Coffey, the daughter of John Coffey and Annie Mariah Ogden. John ws the son of Schylar and Elizabeth (Betsy) Hamilton Coffey. Schylar is thought to be the son of Jordon and Elizabeth (Betsy) Rippetoe Coffey, founders of "Coffeytown" in Amherst Co., VA. Celestial was born c1887 in Virginia and died Aug. 9, 1961 in Roanoke Co., VA. Their children were: Emory, born Jul. 19, 1907; Wilford, born Nov. 8, 1909; Moda [?], a son, born Apr. 18, 1912; Novell Millard, born Nov. 26, 1914; William Stanley, born Mar. 24, 1917; Nettie Mildred, born May 19, 1920; Louis Alixe [?], born May 21, 1923; and Saylor Marshall, Jr., born Jul. 1, 1925, died May 4, 1992.

Rutherford Grover, born c1887 in Rockbridge Co., married Delilah Shover on May 14, 1913 in Rockbridge Co. No further info.

Ida Belle, born Apr. 1890, died Jan., 1980. She married William Hillman (or, Hileman) Blackwell. They had at least one child, a daughter, Florence Alberta born Apr. 15, 1912, died aug. 14, 1998. Ida was also married to Morris Rowe, but the other of marriage is unknown and I know of no children born to that union.

More information is available for those who need it. Write to me at the following e-mail address to add or correct any information.



**Garland Coffey was a son of William and Elizabeth (Betsy) Giles Coffey. Nancy was his double first cousin, a daughter of Reuben G. and Nancy Giles Coffey. Betsy and Nancy were sisters and, Reuben and William were brothers.

2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion

Here it is!

The 2008 Coffey Cousins' Reunion will be held May 2-4, 2008 at Raphine in Rockbridge Co., VA. Headquarters for the event will be the Days Inn* at Raphine. Thirty rooms have been set aside and include smoking as well as non-smoking rooms. Cost per day for each room is $64.95 plus tax. Please contact the Days Inn reservations desk at 540-377-2604.

Be sure to let the clerk know that you are attending the Coffey Cousins' Reunion.

Because this area of VA is rife with Coffey descendants, and many likely to attend from NC as well, we recommend that you make and confirm reservations early to assure a room. The hotel has only 80 rooms and we are the first to book for that time of the year.

You must make reservations prior to Apr. 15, 2008.

We are currently working on a menu with the hotel restaurant for the Saturday night group dinner and meeting. At the moment we anticipate the price of each meal to be around $15.00 plus tax. We are also planning a convoy of private automobiles to Coffeytown where we will be given an overview of area settlers. There are no restaurants local to Coffeytown so we are making arrangements for sack lunches and drinks to be prepared by the hotel restaurant. We anticipate the lunch to be sandwich style with chips, drinks, etc. and the cost to be about $8.00 plus tax.

Additional details will appear here as they are finalized.

*For those of you who might have read the earlier announcement of the meeting at The Natual Bridge Inn, I can only say that the hotel was apparently sold during our negotiations with them. We had a contract but it was incorrect (dates, number of rooms, etc). We were promised a revised contract but it never arrived. Our contact person there has not returned calls.