David Franklin & Elizabeth Conner Coffey

 David was a son of Nathaniel and Sarah Meredith Coffey.  Nathaniel (Nathan) was a son of Joel and Martha Stepp/Step Coffey.  Joel is said to be a son of the oft-labeled "mysterious" Chesley and Jane Cleveland Coffey.

As described below, Nathan came to Pike Co., IL in 1829 with his parents and other siblings.  He married Elizabeth Conner there on Aug. 6, 1842  and in 1850 was elected Justice of the Peace for Pike Co.  The family farmed and raised children throughout the 1850s and early 1860s, but in June of 1862 David entered the Civil War on the side of the Union when he became commander of Co. B, 68th Ill Regt.  He was 45-years old.

The 68th was organized for 3-months service in June, 1862 and most of the men were from the northern part of the state.  During the second Battle of Manassas (Bull Run to us Rebels) he was detailed to "hospital service."  The record does not say if he was wounded, sick or had special talents needed in the hospital.  In any event, he died on Sep. 22, 1867 in Griggsville, Pike Co.

"David F. Coffey, deceased, one of the pioneers, was born in Simpson county, Ky., May 18, 1817, and was a son of Nathan Coffey, deceased, well known in this county, who brought his family here in 1829 and settled on sec. 3, Griggsville township, at the summit of the hill which was afterward christened "Coffey Hill," and is still called by that name.  He was the father of 13 children, of whom David F. was the 6th.  The latter was married in 1842 to Elizabeth Conner, daughter of Francis Conner, deceased, who came to Franklin Co., Ill., in 1832.  Mr. and Mrs. Coffey had 10 children, of whom 9 are living, - Sarah E., Nathan F., J. Hardin, Delitha M., Daniel F., Burton B., Thomas M., Mary J., and Grace L.  Mr. Coffey was Captain of Co. B, 68th Regt. Ill. Inf., in the Rebellion, but was detailed to hospital service during the second battle of Manassas.  He died Sept. 22, 1867, at the age of 50 years; had been a member of the Baptist Church for about twenty-seven years."¹

He and Elizabeth had nine children, all born in Pike Co.:

Sarah E., born c1843, Nathan F., born c1845; John Hardin, born Aug. 31, 1847, died Apr. 29, 1917 in Oklahoma; Delitha M., born c1849; Daniel Franklin, born Mar., 1851; Burton B., born c1853; Thomas M., born 1856; Mary J., born c1857; and Grace L., born c1861.  Grace died of pneumonia on May 19, 1914 in Kansas City, Kaw Twp., Jackson Co., MO.  She is buried at St. Joseph in Buchanan Co., MO.  She had been a teacher at the Garfield School in Jackson Co.  Delitha was also a school teacher in Griggsville in the 1880s.

John Hardin married Ellen Martin on Oct. 14, 1875 in West Grove, Davis Co., IA.  Ellen was born in 1855 - probably in IA - and died in OK in 1938.  Both are buried at Fairlawn Cemetery in Oklahoma City.

Daniel Franklin married Nancy Margaret "Maggie" Hill on Oct. 14, 1874 in Scott Co., IL.  Maggie was born in Mar. 1856 in IL.  This family moved around quite a bit.  In the 1880s they lived in Chambersburg, Pike Co.; in 1900 they lived in  Brunswick, Chanton Co., MO; 1910 in Dodge City, Ford Co., KS and in 1920 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO.  Their children were:  Russell J., born Feb., 1877, IL; Burton B., born Feb., 1880 in Chambersburg, Pike Co.; Elizabeth, born May, 1883 in IL; Florence, born Mar., 1888 in MO; Flossie, born Apr., 1891 in MO; Lola, born Jan., 1898 in MO and Marie, born Mar., 1899 in MO.

Thomas M., born 1856 in IL, married Lillian M. Hathaway on Jul. 5, 1883 in that state.  He was a Minister of the Gospel.  Sometime between their marriage and 1894 the family moved to Iowa where five of their six children were born:  Grace H., born Aug. 30, 1884; Allen, born May, 1886; Inez C., born Sep., 1888; Maud M., born Feb., 1890; Myrna M., born Feb., 1894.  Their last child was Paul I., and he was born Jan., 1899 in Union Co., South Dakota.  By 1910 they were in Alva, Crook Co., WY where they apparently remained, at least through the 1920 census.

Grace married Victor M. French (not the Little House on the Prairie character) on Oct. 2, 1907 in Crook Co.  Victor was born in Egan, Moody Co., SD and died in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD in Oct., 1967.  Grace died in Alva in 1917, apparently during, or right after the birth of their third child.  Victor later married Delia Foley, but I have not found a marriage record or list of their children.  His children with Grace, all born in Crook Co., were:  Russell E., born c1909; Celia M., born c1910 and Geraldine B., born c1917.  The two girls were enumerated with Grace's parents in 1920; Russel with his father.  Victor, Grace and Delia are buried at the Alma Cemetery in Crook Co.

Maud M., also school teacher (as was her sister Inez in 1910) married Leslie Browning Hopper on Feb. 17, 1913 in Crook Co.  I have not found them in any census.

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¹Charles C. Chapman & Co., Compilers/Publishers, History of Pike County Illinois;: Together With Sketches of its Cities, Villages and Townships, Educational, Religious, Civil, Military and Political History; Portraits of Prominet Persons and Biographies of Representative Citizens (Chicago, IL: Chas. C. Chapman & Co., 1880), Pages 515 & 516.

David F. Coffey 1817-1867 Pike Co., IL

From a History of Pike county, Illinois, pub. by Charles Chapman & Co., Chicago, 1880

"David F. Coffey, deceased, one of the pioneers, was born in Simpson county, Ky., May 18, 1817, and was a son of Nathan Coffey, deceased, well known in this county, who brought his family here in 1829 and settled on sec. 3, Griggsville township, at the summit of the hill which was afterward christined "Coffey Hill," and is still called by that name.  He was the father of 13 children, of whom David F. was the 6th.  The latter was married in 1842 to Elizabeth Conner, daughter of Francis Conner, deceased, who came to Franklin Co., Ill., in 1832.  Mr. and Mrs. Coffey had 10 children, of whom 9 are living, - Sarah E., Nathan F., J. Hardin, Delitha M., Daniel F., Burton B., Thomas M., Mary J. and Grace L.  Mr. Coffey was Captain of Co. B., 68th Regt. Ill. Inf., in the Rebellion, but was detailed to hospital service during the second battle of Manassas.  He died Sept. 22, 1867, at the age of 50 years; had been a member of the Baptist Church for about twenty-seven years."

I have unsourced information on three of the nine children who survived:  John Hardin Coffey, born Aug. 31, 1847, died Apr. 29, 1917,  was married on Oct. 14, 1875 in West Grove, Davis Co., IA to Ellen Martin.  Daniel Franklin Coffey married Nancy Margaret LNU in Mar., 1851 in Pike Co.  They were parents of at least seven children, born between 1877 and 1899.  Thomas M. married Lillian Mae Hathaway on Jul. 5, 1883 in IL and had at least six chilren, born between 1884 and 1899.

Please contact me if you can add to or correct any of the family information.

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Update Oct. 7, 2011 Victor Mahlon French and Grace Harding Coffey were married on Oct. 2, 1907* in Crook Co., WY.  Grace was a daughter of Thomas and Lillian Mae Hathaway Coffey.

Their children were:

Russell Elmore, born Jul. 23, 1908 in Alva, Crook Co., died Aug. 11, 1992 in Belle Fourche, Butte Co., SD. His wife was Dorothy, last name unknown. He is buried at Alva Cemetery in Crook Co.

Celia Mae, born Jan. 27, 1910 in Alva, died Jul. 26, 2006 in Gibbon, Buffalo Co., NE. She married Morton Lee Howard on Aug. 16, 1934. He was born Dec. 11, 1912 in Pierre, Hughes Co., SD and died in Nebraska on Jun. 17, 1982. Both are buried at Riverside Cemetery in Gibbon.

Geraldine Belle, born Jun. 26, 1917 in Alva, died May 9, 2009 in Rapid City, Pennington Co., SD. Her husband was Willard Beard to whom she was married on Dec. 22, 1940. Geraldine's remains were cremated and her ashes scattered in an unknown location.

After Grace's death in 1917, Victor was married to Delia Foley, born Mar. 7, 1900 in Cheyenne, Laramie Co., WY, died Sep., 1973 in Cheyenne. From Russell's obituary** we learn that they were the parents of two children: Naomi Jean, born May 9, 1927 in Alva, and Eleanor who married a Mr. Egan. Delia is also buried at Alva in Crook Co.

Naomi married Edwin Gibson Rounds, retired Major, USMC, born Jun. 20, 1920, died Mar. 31, 1985 in ND. Jean died on Jul. 2, 2011 in ND. Both she and Edwin are buried at Black Hills National Cemetery in Sturgis, Meade Co., SD.

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*Groom's Name: Victor M. French Groom's Birth Date: Groom's Birthplace: Groom's Age: Bride's Name: Grace H. Coffey Bride's Birth Date: 1884 Bride's Birthplace: Bride's Age: 23 Marriage Date: 02 Oct 1907 Marriage Place: , Crook, Wyoming Groom's Father's Name: Groom's Mother's Name: Bride's Father's Name: Bride's Mother's Name: Groom's Race: Groom's Marital Status: Groom's Previous Wife's Name: Bride's Race: Bride's Marital Status: Bride's Previous Husband's Name: Indexing Project (Batch) Number: M71134-1 System Origin: Wyoming-VR Source Film Number: 968135 Reference Number: 2:1VQRD96 [NB: Oct. 2 could be the license date and the marriage occured on Oct. 7 as given below by Debra Tower]

**Obituary from The Sundance Times, Sundance, Crook Co., WY
Russell E. French, 84, Belle Fourche, and former longtime Crook County resident, died Tuesday, Aug. 11 at Belle Fourche Long Term Health Care Center.  Survivors include his wife, Dorothy, Belle Fourche; two sons, Joe Russell, Crawley, LA, and ned Victor, Winnemucca, NV; two daughters, Marlys Grace, Lander, WY, and Lea Kathryn, Wasilla, Alaska; 10 grandchildren; four great grandchildren; numerous nieces and nephews; four sisters, Celia Howard, Gibbon, NE, Geraldine Beard, Edgemont, Elanor Egan, Maple Valley, WA, and Jean Rounds, Cheyenne.  Services were held Friday at Alva Community Church in Alva, WY with Elder Merlin O'Haver officating. Burial was in the Alva Cemetery.

Nathan Coffey (1788 KY - 1834 IL)

Nathan or, perhaps, Nathaniel Coffey was a son of Joel and Martha Stepp [var] Coffey. He was born Jan. 10, 1788 in Kentucky, and married Sarah (Sally) Meredith on Nov. 11, 1806 in Adair Co., KY. Sarah was the daughter of David and Hannah Cook Meredith.

Twelve of their 13 children were born in KY, the last there in Feb., 1829. Their last was born in IL in Jan., 1831. These dates indicate that the family left Adair Co. in about 1830 for IL, and arrived there before Jan., 1831. Nathan died in Pike Co., IL on Sep. 19, 1834. Sarah died there on Dec. 26, 1853.

Their children were:

Martha Bagby, born Jan. 8, 1808, and married Charles M. Benbook in Eadsville, Wayne Co., KY on Mar. 18, 1826.

Woodson Rickets, born Oct. 1, 1809.

Elizabeth Graham, born Apr. 27, 1811.

Meredith Washington, born Mar. 3, 1813, married Eliza Hutchinson on Jul. 24, 1836 in Pike Co., IL. They appeared in the 1840 census in Pike Co.

Joel Woodson, born Mar. 5, 1815.

Daniel Franklin, born Apr. 18, 1817, died Sep. 22, 1867. He married Elizabeth Conner, born c1820 in KY, on Aug. 6,1842 in Pike Co., IL. Daniel died Sep. 22, 1867 in Griggsville, Pike Co., IL. Their children were: Sarah E., born c1843; Nathan F., born c1845; J. Hardin, born c1847; Tabitha (Delitha?) M., born c1849; Daniel Franklin, Jr., born c1851, married Nancy M. [LNU] c1876 in IL. their children were Russell J., born c1877 and Burton B., born Feb. 1880. Burton B., born c1853; Thomas M., born Apr. 2, 1855, married Lillian May Hathaway on Jul, 5, 1883 in Pike Co., IL; Lillian was born c1862 in Griggsville, Pike Co.; Mary J., born c1857; Grace L., born c1861, died May 19, 1914 in Kaw, Jackson Co., MO. The family appears in the 1850 and 1860 in Griggsville, Pike Co. census.

Hannah Jane, born Mar. 19, 1819, married William Wells Apr. 12, 1835 in Pike Co. William was born c1815 in KY and apparently died before 1860. He was not present for the census that year. However, two of the children born to Hannah Jane were born after 1860, making it possible that William was away at war, returned before 1863 and died before the 1870 census. Their children were Haster M., born c1837; William, born c1843; John, born c1845; Hardin, born c1849; Jane, born c1851; Frances, born c1854; George, born c1863, and Nelly, born c1865. William is with the family in the 1850 Griggsville, Pike Co. census, but was absent in 1860 and 1870.

Kizia Catherine, born Jan. 9, 1821, married Archibald Campbell Mar. 9, 1840 in Pike Co. Archibald was born c1817 in KY. Their known children were as son, J. W., born c1843 and E. E., a daughter, born c1846. She and Archibald were in the 1850 Pike Co. census.

Thomas Chelton, born Dec. 18, 1822, married Rebecca J. Daigh, Jun. 11, 1848 in Pike Co. Rebecca was the daughter of James and Elizabeth Daigh. Thomas later married Helen L. Brower. They were in the 1850 Pike Co. census in the household with Rebecca's parents.

Eliza Emeline, born Mar. 10, 1825 in Simpson Co., KY, died Dec. 9, 1901 in Pike Co., IL. She married John Porter Nov. 28, 1850 in Pike Co. He died May 27, 1895 in Pike Co., and Eliza died there on Dec. 9, 1901. Their known children were: Emma, born Jan. 8, 1852; Sarah, born Oct. 6, 1856; Jane, born c1858; and John D., born Sep. 23, 1860. They appeared in the 1860 through 1880 Newburg Twp., Pike Co., IL census.

James Cleveland, born May 31, 1827.

Sarah Ann, born Feb. 4, 1829, married Charles Tomlinson Nov. 14, 1863 in Pike Co. Charles was born c1831 in New Jersey. They appeared in the 1870 Macon Co., MO census and in 1880 in Warrensburg, Johnson Co., MO. They had no known children.

Corrections and/or additions can be sent to me at the e-mail address below.