McCaleb & Sarah "Sally" Hayes Coffey

McCaleb was a son of Jesse and Margaret "Peggy" Edmisten Coffey, born c1814 in North Carolina.  He married Sarah "Sally" Hayes about 1838 in probably Watauga Co., NC where they lived and died.

There were two Coffey men named McCaleb and were born just 11 years apart.  The older McCaleb was born in 1803 to Thomas and Sarah Fields Coffey.  As best as I can determine, he was always a resident of Caldwell Co. and served as a Commissioner in that county in 1868.  He and McCaleb, subject of this blog, were first cousins, once removed.  Their common ancestor was John and Jane Graves Coffey, a son of Edward.

McCaleb and Sally Hayes Coffey had four sons, three of which were killed during the Civil War:

Thomas Ninevah Coffey was the eldest, born in 1839.  He was one of the first to volunteer for service in the Confederate army and was with Co. E., 37th NC Infantry Regiment when he was killed at Chancellorsville.

John E. Coffey was the youngest, born in 1844, and also enlisted in the 37th.  He too was killed at Chancellorsville on the same day as his brother Thomas.

Jesse Finley was born c1842 and was the third born to McCaleb and Sally.  He enlisted in what became the 58th NC Infantry Regiment in 1862.  The unit was originally Palmer's Battalion of Partisan Rangers.  They were consolidated in Apr., 1865 with the 60th NC Infantry and became the 58th NC.  According to an article found at Footnote.com, "over 1000 men came from Cumberland Gap...and was assigned to guard Big Creek Cap."  Jesse died there on Mar. 7, 1863 but a cause of death was not given.  He is buried at DeLap Cemetery at La Follette in Campbell Co., TN.

The last son born to McCaleb and Sally was Cornelius Jones Coffey and the only one to live and raise a large family.  He was born on Apr. 22, 1840 served in Co. E, 37th NC Infantry Regiment.  He enlisted on Sep. 18, 1861 and was discharged in July, 1863.

Mar. 1918 Notice of Sale
C. J. Coffey Property

In 1866, Jones married his first cousin, Martha Jane Gragg, the daughter of James Burton and Nancy A. Coffey Gragg.  Nancy was a younger sister of McCaleb.  Martha was born in Caldwell Co. in 1843 and died in Shulls Mill, Watauga Co. in 1900.  Jones died there in 1917 and both are buried at White Springs Cemetery at Blowing Rock.

Jones - as I understand he was called - and Martha Jane had at least nine children; seven sons and two daughters.

Their first was Thomas Herndon Coffey, born 1867, died 1946 in Watauga Co.  His wife was Annie Marilda Pendley [sic], a daughter of William Patterson and Lou Ellen Moore Pendley.  Annie was born in 1873, Caldwell Co., and died at Blowing Rock in Watauga Co. in 1959.  Thomas and Annie were parents of at least two children, Ellen Pendley Coffey (1902-1975) and Thomas, Jr., (1905-1978),  They two are buried at White Springs.

Emma Irene was their second child, born Dec., 1868 and died in Apr., 1947.  She married John Alexander Gragg, a first cousin once removed, in Watauga Co. in 1887.  John was born to Johnson P. and Nancy Jane Cuthbertson Gragg in 1856 and died in 1925 in Watauga Co.  Both are buried at White Springs.  They were parents of at least two children, both daughters:  Mary E., born 1888 and Ila Mae, born 1891.

A third child was Simms Coffey, born c1871.  I received that information from Margaret Farley Coffey (decd), and together we searched for any record of this child without luck.  About the only fact that can be associated with the family is that he was not enumerated in the 1880 census with Jones and Martha.

Elbert, fourth child, was born in 1872 and died in 1900 at Kelsey in Watauga Co.  He Margaret Matilda Simms in 1892 at Watauga Co.  They had one son, John B., born in June, 1891, just a few months prior to Elbert's death.  I do not know where Elbert was buried.  Neither do I know if Margaret Simms remarried.  The family needs further study.

John Finley, born 1877 in Caldwell Co. was next born.  He married Frances C. Holloway, a daughter of Reede and Martha Andrews Holloway, in Watauga Co. in 1894.  I have one child born to them; John Stuart Coffey, born c1906.  John Finley died in Carolina Co., VA in 1953 and Frances in 1956 at Partlow, Spotsylvania Co., VA.  Both are buried at County Line Baptist Church Cemetery at Ruther Glen, Caroline Co.  John Stuart married a lady named Ruth in c1922 and had at least three children:  Edity, Conway and Ruth.

Walter Gwyn was next, born in 1878, probably in Watauga Co., and died there in 1945.  He is buried at White Springs.  He was wed to triple third cousin Julia Hayes, daughter of Wyatt and Mary Jane Coffey Hayes in Watauga Co. in 1896.  They had at least eight children:  William Harston; Lloyd Edgar; McDonald; Roberta; Wyatt; Cecil; Emma and Bulah.  More information on several of these children is available.  Julia was born in Watauga Co. in 1876 and died there in 1955.  She too is buried at White Springs.

Charles Burton was number seven.  He was born in Watauga Co. in 1882 and died in Hickory, Catawba Co. in 1960.  He married Amanda Louise Misemore in about 1916 or 17.  She was born in Tennessee in 1888 and died in Hickory in 1967.  They had at least two children; Wiley Monroe, 19188-1921 and, James Grady, 1922-1941. Charles and Amanda were buried at First Baptist Church Cemetery  in Hudson, Caldwell Co.  Their two sons are buried at Sardis Baptist Church Cemetery, also in Hudson.

We know the next child, Hattie, was born in Sep., 1833 at Watauga Co. and that she married Charles Stocks.  Nothing else is yet. known.

The last child was Rufus Monroe, born 1886 in Watauga Co., died there in 1965.  He married Emma Eliza Robbins in that county in 1906.  She was born in NC in 1886 and died there in 1952. Both are buried at White Springs.  Their children were Mabel, Howard, Helen, Edward, and Rhonda.  More information about the children and their descendants is available.

A letter to the editor appeared on page 2, column 2 of the Watauga Democrat of Thursday, March 14, 1895.  It was written by A. W. Beach [several Coffey ladies in Caldwell Co. had Beach husbands.  I do not know who A. W. was] discusses McCaleb's family.  In it he [presumed male] writes that he went to live with "uncle" Caleb and "aunt" Sally at the age of nine years in 1863.  He named their sons as Thomas N., Finley, John, and Jones.  Three sons were already deceased when he arrived and Jones was at home, disabled by a wound to a foot.  He thought that one of the sons had been brought back from the battle field and laid to rest somewhere along the Blue Ridge but, did not name the son nor a specific spot where the burial occurred.

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A double third cousin to Jesse and his brothers was Elbert Coffey, a son of William Coffey, Jr. and his wife Margaret Robbins.  Elbert was born at Buffalo Cove in Watauga Co., NC in 1837 and died "of disease" on May 15, 1863 at Big Creek Gap.  He too is buried at De Lap.

Aldridge & Coffey

In his 1915 A History of Watauga County, North Carolina, John Preston Arthur wrote about James Aldridge who appeared in Shulls Mill, Watauga Co. c1819 and shortly married [or took up with] Betsy Calloway, an attractive daughter of one Benjamin Calloway.  The chapter in which this story appears is entitled "Some Thrice-Told Tales," so use your best judgment in deciding the accuracy of the facts cited.

Arthur wrote that James was already married and had left a wife and five children in Virginia while he hunted in North Carolina.  James persuaded Betsy to marry him and a son, Harrison Aldridge was born Dec. 15, 1821.  Six more children followed:  Jane c1824; Tempe c1825; Ellen c1828; Emeline c1835; Benjamin c1837; and Waightstill c1842.

Sometime - and probably after the birth of Waightstill - the "real wife" of James appeared in the area of Foscoe at the home of Edward Moody seeking directions to the Aldridge home.  Before day break the next morning, James was at the Moody place to buy a bushel of wheat.  He is said to have told Moody that "the cat was out of the bag at last."

Sometime between 1834 and 1836 A "fur peddler of the name of Price" had spotted Aldridge in Watauga Co.  On his return to "Big Sandy" [Kentucky, where the "real wife" had apparently relocated from Virginia] he told what he had discovered, precipitating her travel "on a fine horse" to Watauga in search of James Aldridge.

To me, this story seems a "stretch."  Given the perils of the time, a wife abandoned for some 15 years would probably have remarried within a few years, believing that her first husband had been killed.

The tale of the "real wife" is attributed by Arthur to Levi Coffey who was probably Levi Lafayette Coffey, a son of Elisha and Anna Harmon Moody Coffey.  Levi was born in Burke Co., NC c1833 and in Watauga by 1859 when he married Temperance "Tempie" Calloway, born c1844 to James and Nicey Gragg Calloway.

Anna Harmon Moody was the daughter of Edward and Frances Carter Moody. Both Edward and Frances were natives of Virginia and may have known James Aldridge prior to coming to Watauga Co.

In a footnote to this chapter, Arthur wrote:  "In his genealogical tour through Ashe in 1828, Dr. Elisha Mitchell speaks of a hunter living on the head of the Watauga River with the children of his real wife, who was then residing on the Big Sandy in Kentucky, and his own children by another woman with whom he was then living as his wife.  If this refers to James Aldridge, then Betsy Calloway had two children by him after his first wife appeared in the scene, for both Ben and Waightstill were born after 1828."*

I have not found an Aldridge in the 1840 or 1860 Watauga county census.  The 1850 census for that county enumerates Elizabeth Caloway [sic] with five children in her household:  Ellen, Emeline, Benjamin and Waightstill and William.  Within three doors of her residence was that of Harrison Aldridge.  William was not listed by Arthur as one of James' and Betsy's children.

Harrison married Jincy Clark c1845,  She was born c1827 in NC.  Harrison died on Jan. 11, 1905** in Watauga Co.  Together they raised at least nine children, one being Harrison, Jr., born Jul., 1864.  He married Mary Etta Buchanan c1886 and their son, Samuel Anthony Aldridge (1893-1966) married Lora Destomonia Coffey (1888-1967), a daughter of Joseph Reubin and Martha Elizabeth Gragg Coffey.

James Aldridge (1853-1939), another son of Harrison and Jincy, married Sarah Gragg, daughter of Johnson and Nancy Cuthbertson Gragg.  Their son, Arthur Blaine Aldridge (1884-1947) married Rosa Lee Coffey (1886-1946), a daughter of Jesse Filmore and Martha Storie Coffey.

Samuel Columbus Aldridge (1862-1941), a third son of Harrison and Jincy, married Margaret Buchanan c1884.  Their son, Horatio Acuff Aldridge (1891-1971) married Byrd Elizabeth "Birdie" Coffey on Feb. 19, 1913 in Watauga Co.

So, how does Levi Coffey relate to the Coffey women who married into the Aldridge clan?

To all three he was a double second cousin, twice removed; a fourth cousin once removed and a fifth cousin once removed.  They all descend from Edward and Ann Powell Coffey through their son John and his son Reuben who married Sarah Scott.


*According to ages given in 1850, Benjamin was born c1837 and Waightstill in c1842.  Mitchell wrote:
"In the neighborhood is a hunter who has two women living with him; to one of them he owes and to the other he graciously discharged the duties of a husband; one has 3 children, and the other one and another at hand. 'Tis a region for these irregularities. The Leather Stocking of these regions, and whom we would have had as a pilot, but that he is in the woods, has a wife living on Sandy River in Kentucky, and the children of that wife, and another woman living with him here on the Watauga."  Earlier in his writings on this topic, he wrote that he was heading for the cabin of "Leather Stocking Aldridge."  Leather Stocking seems to be a common term used in the day to describe hunters and woodsmen.


**Arthur wrote that "Harrison, in memory of a faithful dog which saved his life from wild hogs, had that dear friend buried on a ridge above the home of his son, James A. Aldridge, and requested that the be buried there also.  His tombstone, surrounded by a substantial stone wall, records the fact that he joined the Baptist Church October 22, 1870, and died January 11, 1905."

Samuel Anthony & Lora Destimonia Coffey Aldridge

Lora, a daughter of Joseph Reubin and Martha Elizabeth Gragg Coffey, was born Mar. 3, 1888 in the state of North Carolina.  She died Jun. 12, 1967 in Lenoir, Caldwell Co., and was buried in the Hibriten Baptist Church Cemetery at Lenoir.

Samuel was born Feb. 22, 1893 in Watauga Co. to Harrison and Mary Etta Buchanan Aldridge.  He died Mar. 16, 1966 at Lower Creek in Caldwell Co.  Harrison was a son of Harrison, Sr., and Jincy Clark Aldridge.

He and Lora were married in 1915 in Caldwell Co.  He is buried at the Aldridge Family Cemetery in Watauga Co.

Together, he and Lora had at least eight children:

Howard Glenn, born Sep. 13, 1916 in Watauga Co., and died Jun. 6, 1995 in Catawba Co.

Murphy Lail, born 1918 in Watauga Co., and died 1997 in Caldwell Co.

Edith Flo, born Jan. 24, 1920 in Watauga Co., and died Dec. 11, 1995 in Newton, Catawba Co.  She married Roy Alvin Lowman, born Feb. 2, 1919 in Burke Co., and died May 6, 1982 in Catawba Co.

Audrey Claire, born Sep. 8, 1921

Darrell Claude, born Jul. 28, 1923

Gerald Guy, born Jan. 9, 1926 in Watauga Co., and died Jun. 5, 2005 in Morganton, Burke Co.

Lyle Byard, born Feb. 20, 1928

Ula Dade, born Aug. 14, 1931 in Watauga Co., and died May 25, 1997 in Catawba Co.  She married Billy Jackson Hewitt on Dec. 23, 1949 in York Co., SC and are the parents of several children.

Another of Harrison and Jincy's sons, James A., was born Feb. 1, 1853 in Caldwell Co., died Dec. 20, 1939 in North Carolina.  He married on Jun. 6, 1874 Sarah Gragg, a daughter of Johnson P. and Nancy Jane Cuthbertson Gragg.  James and Sarah's son, Arthur Blaine Aldridge, born Jun. 16, 1884, died Jun. 11, 1947, married Rosa Lee Coffey, a daughter of Jesse Filmore and Martha E. (Mattie) Story Coffey.  Both Arthur and Rosa Lee died and are buried in Tacoma, Pierce Co., WA.

Harrison and Jincy's daughter, Sarah Jane Aldridge married Baird Simeon Gragg, a son of Johnson P. and Nancy Jane Cuthbertson Gragg.

Please contact me at the above e-mail address to add to or to correct any of this information.