Dr. Erval Richard Coffey

Dr. Erval R. Coffey*

Erval Richard Coffey, second son of Dr. Richard Nightingale and Mae A. Gano Coffey, was born Dec. 31, 1896 in Jackson Co., MO.

Dr. Richard Coffey was a son of Dr. William A. and Elizabeth Hill Coffey of Madison Co., KY.  Dr. William Coffey was a son of Dr. Rev. Richard Nightingale and Margaret Catherine McCormick Coffey, originally of Amherst Co., VA then of Lincoln and Madison Counties in KY and finally of Platte Co., MO.

This family descends from Edward and Ann Powell Coffey through John and Jane Graves Coffey, Willian and Elizabeth Osborne Coffey and Osborn and Mary "Polly" Nightingale Coffey who settled in Casey Co., KY.

Erval was a graduate of the University of Kansas where he was active in sports.  After graduation he began a career in the US Public Health Service, eventually becoming Assistant Surgeon General.  He served overseas and was once appointed to Thailand under the Foreign Economic Assistance Act.  He had been Regional Director of the PHS in Washington DC prior to his appointment.

According to an article rife with typographical errors, and which appeared in the Memphis World on Dec. 26, 1950, Erval married Catherine Ann Borchdt [sic] of Chicago and were the parents of three daughters and a son.  In a later undated article found here, [clicking this link will download a PDF] Dr. Coffey eventually accepted an appointment at the regional office of the PHS in New York City.  Upon retirement he accepted an appointment as Health Officer for the city of Greenwich, CT.  He died in April, 1968 in Pinellas Co., FL.

Very little information has been found for Dr. and Mrs. Coffey, probably due to their travel and overseas work.  After he registered for the draft in 1917 he entered the US Army.  I found one source1 that reports him serving at Camp Funston in one of the Divisional Cantonment Training Camps at Fort Riley, Riley Co., KS.  Prior to that he resided at #7 Jackson Bldg in Lawrence, KS, which I presume was a dorm on the University of Kansas campus.  The Cantonment camps were among the first places in the US where the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic began.

The last time I found him in a census record was 1910 while he was still living with his parents in Barber Co., MO.

His draft registration card described him as being tall with medium build, brown eyes and light brown hair.

He and his wife were found on a List of first class In-Bound Passengers at San Francisco, arriving on the SS President Cleveland from Yokohama, Japan on Mar. 6, 1953.  Dr. Coffey was then 56 years old and Catherine was age 52.  Catherine listed her place of birth as Illinois.

I have not yet found Catherine's birth date, which from the passenger list I estimated to be 1901.  I am still searching for a record of their marriage, Catharine's death date and where they are buried.  Her maiden name as printed in the Memphis paper is also suspect.

Erval's older brother, Dr. George McDowell Coffey continued his family's medical service tradition as a dentist.  He married Helen Marjorie Miller and died in Grant Co., KS in 1969.

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Update:  July 5, 2011
Jack Coffee,

Good morning. I am the first grandson of Dr. & Mrs. Erval Richard Coffee as described in your blog. 

Just wanted you to know that I am hosting a small family reunion of their direct descendants at a gathering in Old Town Alexandria, VA in late October. We are expecting: the two surviving daughters (Germaine Sava and Beverly Burns); most of their children/grandchildren; and, the children/grandchildren of their deceased children (Richard Coffee, Bargara Vogt). We're expecting about 30+ folks from the DC/Maryland/VA area, New Jersey, California, North Carolina, Norway and Thailand.

Just wanted to pass the news to you. 

RICHARD A HESS
1338 UNION ST, #6, SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94109
CELL: +1 808 292 9086

GOOGLE VOICE: +1 202 596 6314
SKYPE: +1 415 644 5233; ID: hessrick
hessrick@gmail.com
http://www.google.com/profiles/hessrick

I received the following e-mail today:






1The Graduate Magazine [Univ of KS], Oct., 1917, Vol. XVI, Page 217
*Photo credit National Library of Medicine

Jesse and Elizabeth Riffe Coffey

Jesse Coffey, born May 26, 1784 to Osborn and Mary (Polly) Nightingale Coffey, married Elizabeth Riffe Feb. 16, 1805 in Pulaski Co., KY. He died Jul., 1850 in Casey Co., KY. Elizabeth, who some researchers have named Tabitha, was born Jul. 3, 1758 in Lincoln Co., KY, and died Sep. 29, 1842 in Casey Co.

Jesse is also said to have fathered a daughter named Sally, and two sons, C.R., and Jesse, Jr. Their mother is unknown to me.

Jesse was a Colonel in the War of 1812, a state senator in 1834, and a member of the delegation that wrote the Kentucky state constitution in June 1850, a month before he died .

"Probably the most prominent of the early settlers was Colonel Jesse Coffey, a soldier of the War of 1812, who fought in the Battle of Thames in Canada, in which the famous Indian chieftain, Tecumseh, was slain, as was also the noted pioneer Kentuckian, Colonel William Whitley, who founded Whitley's Station near Crab Orchard."

"Colonel Coffey owned a large boundary of good land in and around Middleburg and it was he who built the old watermill, so long a landmark in the little town, on the site occupied by the modern water-power mill now owned and operated by Mr. L. F. Young. Colonel Coffey's mansion, built at about the same time as the old water-mill, stood on the hill just behind the home now owned by Mr. J. W. Short, and was the scene of the famous wedding of Polly Coffey as related in Peter B. Riffe's History of Casey County."

Jesse and Elizabeth's first child was Osborn N. Coffey, born Feb. 4, 1807 in Casey Co. He married Jane L. Bell on Sep. 4, 1829 in Lincoln Co. They were parents of at least seven children:

William, born KY c1832
Grizzell (Grace?), born KY c1834, married John F.
Gillum
Jane, born MO c1837
Jesse, born MO, c1839
Bettie Lee, born
MO, Apr. 30, 1841, died MO Aug. 15, 1911
Ann Robb, born MO, c1846
Finley
L., born MO, c1849

One source had this information about Osborn:

Osborn N. COFFEY, an old and respected citizen and an early settler of Lincoln County, Mo., was born in Casey County, Ky., February 4, 1807, and is the son of Jessee and Elizabeth (RIFFLE) [sic] COFFEY, both of whom were natives of Kentucky. Their ancestors were from Virginia and Pennsylvania, respectively. The father was an extensive dealer in hogs, which he used to drive to Richmond, Va., a distance of about five hundred miles. He was a colonel in the War of 1812, was for two terms a member in the State Legislature, and a member of the Constitutional Convention of Kentucky. Both were members of the Missionary Baptist Church, and lived to a good old age. They reared a large family of children, of whom Osborn N., is the second. While growing up, he had very poor opportunities for schooling, though he aided himself very much in that direction after attaining his growth. At the age of eighteen he began for himself, and soon after engaged as clerk in a store, where he remained two years. In 1829 he married Miss Jane L. BELL, a native of Lincoln County, Ky., and in their family were seven children who lived to be grown. One of the sons served in the Confederate Army and was twice severely wounded. In 1831 Mr. COFFEY moved to Missouri, and three years later to Lincoln County, where he opened a store in Louisville. At the same time he dealt in hogs and tobacco, but failing in this he purchased the place where he now lives, which consists of 363 acres of land. Both he and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church, and for many years he was a magistrate. He has done quite well, financially, though he has had many reverses and losses.




Sources:

W. M. Watkins, editor, The Men, Women, Events, Institutions & Lore of Casey County, Kentucky (Louisville, KY : 236 pgs: Standard Print Co., 1939)

History of Lincoln County, Missouri (Chicago: Goodspeed Publishing Co., 1888)

Osborn and Mary (Polly) Nightingale Coffey

I've found reports on the internet by researchers who claim that many of the children of Osborn and Mary were born in Casey Co., KY. If birthdates found are accurate, all nine of their children were born between 1764 and 1796. Casey Co. was not formed until 1806, and then from Lincoln Co.

According to Kentucky historical marker, the county was named "For Colonel William Casey, early Ky. pioneer and great-grandfather of Samuel L. Clemens, "Mark Twain." Casey born in Va. Came to Ky. in 1779. Built Casey's Station on the Dix River in 1791. Member of Convention, 1799, to frame second Ky. Constitution. Trustee, town of Columbia, 1802. 1813, Presidential elector. Lived Adair Co., died, 1816. County formed from Lincoln."

Elizabeth, Osborn's (variously spelled) daughter was born c1764 and married Christopher Riffe in what was to be Casey Co. on May 9, 1806.

Another state historical marker provides this:

"Christopher Riffe accompanied Col. William Casey (Great-Grandfather of Mark Twain) to Kentucky in 1784. Riffe lived at Bryan's Station, Boonesborough, Logan's Station and Carpenter's Station. He bought 800 acres of land from the Grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. Riffe became the first white settler of Casey County in 1793. He was the first State Representative from Casey County, served seven terms. He fought in the Battle of the Thames (in which Tecumseh was killed) in the Kentucky Sixth Regiment. He was Lieutenant-General of the Kentucky State Militia."

Some Christopher and Elizabeth researchers believe that their children were Peter Bim Riffe and Lehannah Riffe.