Parkie M. Coffey (1913-1939)

Parkie was born on Jan. 23, 1913 in Adair Co., KY to Andrew Jackson "Andy" Coffey and Malinda Ann Wheat.  She was married to Bulon Grider on May 11, 1935[1], and at age 22 was somewhat late in the life of a young woman from Appalachia. Bulon was 26, born Jun. 23, 1908, a son of Hector Owen and Serena Josephine Bryant Grider.

Their first child, Nadean was born Jul. 9, 1935 in Montpelier and died 29 Oct 1999.  She was buried at the Hale Family cemetery.  Her husband was Travis Hale but neither a census record nor a  marriage record has yet been found. At least four children, all daughters, were born to this union: Beverly, Barbara, Pamela and Kathy.

Obituary from memorial site:

Nadean Hale, 64, Russell Springs, died Friday, October 29, 1999 at Russell County Hospital.  She was born in Russell County July 9, 1935 to the late Parkie Coffey Grider and the late Bulon Grider.  She was a homemaker and a member of French Valley United Methodist Church. She was preceded in death by three sisters, Shelby Jean Grider, Lacona Grider and Leona Grider. She is survived by her husband Travis Hale; four daughters, Beverly Jo Hale, Russell Springs, Barbara Coffey and her husband Joe, Jamestown, Pamela Mann and her husband Billy, Russell Springs and Kathy Hale, Russell Springs; one brother, Orvis Grider, Columbia, Kentucky; six grandchildren; and two great grandchildren. Services were held Monday, November 1, 1999, 10:00 a.m. at Bernard Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Brian Janes and Rev. Tommy Sexton officiating. Burial was in Hale Cemetery. Special music was provided by Wilma Coffey and Steve Stapp. Pallbearers were Mike Bradshaw, Darrell Robertson, Charles Edwards, Ronnie Hudson, David Hare and Ronnie Coffey. Bernard Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.

The tragedy in the life of Parkie and Bulon began circa Jan., 1937 when their daughter Annie Josephine was born.  The child died of acute bronchitis some four months later on May 27, 1937 in Montpelier.  She was laid to rest at Haynes Cemetery on 28 May 1937.  The Find A Grave memorial for Annie [No. 58330111] names her as a half-sibling to Bulon and Parkie's other children.  But, her death certificate names that couple as her mother and father.

Annie Josephine Grider 

Death Certificate

The tragedy continued with the death of Parkie on 27 Nov. 1939 of endocarditis and septicemia following the birth of twin daughters, Lacona and Leonna on Oct. 15, 1939.  Lacona died the day following her mother's death.  Leonna lived a bit longer before death overcame her on Dec. 8.

Parkie May Coffey Grider

Death Certificate

All were buried at Haynes Cemetery.

Bulon has not been found in the 1940 census.  He enlisted in the US Army at Louisville, KY on Jan. 19, 1943.

Bulon lived until Mar. 16, 1956 when he died as a result of malnutrition and dehydration caused by a brain tumor.  He was also buried at Haynes.  It is not known if her ever remarried. His death certificate reported that he was a widower at the time of death. The informant was his daughter Nadean, using surname Grider. Perhaps she married after his death.

Bulon Grider

Death Certificate

A death certificate has not been found for the other children.  Oddly, the daughter Annie and Shelby appear to have the same birth and death dates. Perhaps they too were twins.

Corrections and/or additions welcomed!

[1]"Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9398-QB5C-H?cc=1804888&wc=QD3Q-W78%3A1589734243 : 17 May 2018), 004544018 > image 150 of 1197; Madison County Courthouse, Richmond.

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.

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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.

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*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.

William Perry Coffey (1857-1926)

Update, May 1, 2012

Victor Lee Coffey and his wife Margaret were in the restaurant business for a number of years in Denver, CO.  In 1947 they sold the restaurant and retired.  They continued to dabble in buying and selling property and water stock through the early to mid-1950's.

On their income tax returns for those years, Victor and Margaret claimed the profits from those sales as Capital Gain income.  The IRS ruled that the property had been held for sale as a matter of "ordinary course of trade" and required the couple to pay taxes on the profit at Ordinary Income rates.

The couple filed a refund claim, which was refused and they followed up with a suit against the U.S. Government, which they also lost.*

In paragraph 9 of the document found at Justia we find the maiden name of Victor's wife when we learn that her brother, Thomas Nevin, a Denver attorney, had originated the suit as party to sale of the property in question.

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*333 F.2d 945: Victor Lee Coffey, Sr., and Margaret H. Coffey, Appellants, v. United States of America, Appellee United States Court of Appears Tenth Circuit.

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I have previously written about William Perry here, and later, his daughter, Rose Etta.

He continues to puzzle me however.  There is a headstone for him and his wife, Mary Ellen Wemple Coffey at Ocean View Cemetery, Eureka, Humboldt Co., CA.  On it, William's birth year is 1857 and his death year is 1926.

William has not been found in any census after 1900 when he and Mary Ellen were found in Coffeyville, Montgomery Co., KS.  In 1910, while still in Montgomery Co., Mary Ellen reported that she was a widow and the head of the household.  By the 1920 census she was in Eureka and again reported on the record that she was a widow and the head of household.

So, what happened to William?  Did he die in Kansas or Missouri and later reburied in CA?  Perhaps the stone is a memorial!?  It does appear to be a relatively new stone with only very slight weathering appearing in the photo.

Somewhat of another mystery in this family - at least to me - is the son Victor Lee "Dick" Coffey.  He was born in Indian Territory, Rogers Co., OK in 1893 and, is said to have married a lady by the name of Jessie Mable Roberts sometime before 1917.  On June 5 of that year he registered for the draft in Humboldt Co. and reported that he was married with two children.

In Jan., 1920 he was still in Eureka but living with his mother.  His son, Gail*, born Aug. 3, 1915 in Humboldt Co., was living with his grandmother Martha Robertson in Humboldt Co.  The child's father was born in KS and the mother in CA.

In 1930, Victor was in Denver, CO with his wife Margaret.  The couple had been married for nine years.  This wife was born in CO and her parents in "Free Ireland."  In fact, Victor's father was reported as having been born in "Free Ireland."  Correct Victor Coffey or, census error?  There was a child in the family, Victor Lee, Jr., born in 1922, Saline Co., KS.

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*Others have reported this child as female, but it was enumerated as "male" and "grandson" in the census.  He is also thought to have died in Humboldt Co. in 1927.

Eddie Walton Coffey

Eddie was the son of James William and Lillian Gertrude Robertson Coffey.  He was born Oct. 30, 1927 in Augusta Co., VA and died on Dec. 20, 1990 at Staunton, Augusta Co.

Obituary, The Staunton News Leader, Staunton, VA, 21 Dec. 1990

Eddie Walton Coffey, 63, of Route 1 Box 159, Mt. Solon, died Thursday  morning (December 20, 1990) in King's Daughters' Hospital.

He was born October 30, 1927 in Augusta County, a son of the late  James William and Lillian Gertrude Robertson Coffey Sr.

He served with the U.S. Navy during World War II and was a member of  Clemmer-McGuffin Post No. 13, American Legion. Mr. Coffey was retired  from Staunton Frozen Foods, Inc. and was a former baseball player with  the Staunton Presidents Team and had been an umpire in the Valley Baseball  League. He was a member of Spring Hill Presbyterian Church. He was also a  retired farmer and member of the American Angus Association.

Surviving are his wife, Jane Mohler Coffey; two sons, Thomas Webster  "Tink" Coffey, Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Russell Mohler Coffey, Mt. Solon;  a daughter, Jan Ellen Lee Coffey, at home; three brothers, James W. Coffey Jr.,  Weyers Cave, Robert L. Coffey, West Augusta, and John C. Coffey, Cheyenne,  Wyo.; and 5 grandchildren, Amanda Laine Coffey, Thomas Drew Coffey, Alice  Margaret Coffey, Jordan Margaret Peters and Matthew Russell Coffey.

A funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday in the Hamrick Funeral  Home, conducted by the Rev. Herbert T. Lewis. Burial will be in Thornrose  Cemetery.

Active pallbearers will be Greg Lam, Wilson F. Vellines, Jr., Randal  M. Stover, Chad Barnett, William A. Simmons and H. Eugene Harman.    Honorary pallbearers will be, Hunter Baber, Leo Argenbright, Paul J.  Kivlighan, Russell W. Miller, Raymond E. Miller, Joseph Viglione, J.  Rawley Collins, Carlton D.  Newlen, Wesley T. Rhodecap and Douglas  Livesay.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home this evening  from 7 to 8 p.m. and at other times at the residence.

It is suggested that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be  made to the Mt. Solon branch of the Bridgewater Rescue Squad, Mt. Solon,  Virginia 22843.

This morning I had an e-mail from the daughter of Roger A. Norton asking if this Eddie was the same one who served with her father aboard the amphibious assault ship, the USS Kersarge during WW2.  Unfortunately, I have no way to determine that except to ask for reader input.  If you are related to or know the family of Eddie Walton Coffey and whether or not he did serve on the Kersarge, please let me know so I can forward the information to Roger Norton's daughter.

Webster Gilbert "Webb" Coffey

In all of the census pages that I have read, this family's surname was spelled Coffee.  However, on the few headstones that I have found, the name was spelled Coffey.

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Webster "Webb" Gilbert Coffey was a son of Dr. Edmond Aurelius and Diannah Bagby Coffey.  He was born Jun. 20, 1840 in Gwintett Co., GA and married Louise E. Tidmore c1865 in Alabama.  Louise was born Jan. 22, 1845 in that state and died in Etowah Co., AL on Feb. 25, 1935.

Louise was the daughter of Adam and Elizabeth Tidmore, both born in South Carolina who homesteaded in Etowah Co. in 1842.

Webb died Feb. 2, 1911 and Louise died Feb. 5, 1935.  She and Webb are buried at Union Baptist Cemetery No. 3 in Ballplay, Etowah Co.

Webb was a member of Co. J, Alabama 55th Inf. Regiment, CSA during the Civil War.  He enlisted in that unit but a date has not been found.

I have found 13 children for this couple:

James Henry, born Oct., 1866, married Malvern (?) M., c1883 in AL.  Two children found:  Fannie, born Jun., 1883 and Emma, born Aug., 1897.

John Adams, born Apr. 30, 1868, died Dec. 10, 1948 in Dallas, TX.  He married Frances Lougenia Robertson, born Apr. 2, 1868, died Sep. 29, 1906 in Denton, TX.  One child found:  Albert Lee, born Aug. 23, 1903, died Jun. 26, 1964.  John and Frances are buried at Belew Cemetery in Aubrey, Denton Co., TX while Albert is buried at Waco Memorial Park in McClennan Co., TX.

William Thomas, born Dec. 27, 1869, died Oct. 9, 1957.  He married Martha C. c1892.  Their children were Leo Thomas, born Jul., 1892, married Minnie A. and had at least two children: Fannie B., born c1915 and Gertrude, born c1918.  Birty [sic] B., born Jul., 1897; Myrtie B., born c1903, married Robert Nail; Sarah Eveline, born Jan. 26, 1905, died Jul. 26, 1912, buried at Union Baptist No. 3; Cadella (?), a daughter, born c1909 and Majorie, born c1915.

Anna Elizabeth, born 1871; Webster Gernagin (?), born 1873

Edmond Columbus, born Aug 13, 1874, died Jan. 30, 1966 in Dallas, TX.  He married Pearl and had at least two daughters, Alice T., born c1908 and Inez, born c1909, both born in TX.  Edmund is buried at Laurel Land cemetery in Dallas.

Buddy J., born c1876; Fannie L., born c1877; Martha Jane, born c1879; Nancy Victoria, born c1881

Jesse L., born c1882, married Laura, b1905 and had at least three children:  Myrtle, born c1906; Jesse C., born c1908 and Mary Lou, born c1910.

And, finally Mary Evergreen, born 1884 and Grover Cleveland "Cleve", born May 15, 1886, died Mar. 10, 1953.  Cleve is buried at Union No. 3 as well.

Corrections and additions welcomed.

Clavis Coffey Obituary

Clavis was the son of Cassius Curl and Ina Coomer Coffey. He is one of the descendants of the mysterious Chesley Coffey for whom nothing has yet been found. He goes back to Chesley through Andrew Jackson "Jack" Coffey, Zidner Coffey, Ananias Coffey, and Nebuzaraden Coffey.

Clavis Coffey age 83 years a resident of Summit Manor Health & Rehab in Columbia, KY formerly of the Gradyville Community passed away Friday, June 5, 2009 at 10:15pmCT, at Summit Manor, Columbia, KY

The Funeral service will be Monday, June 8, 2009 at 11:00amCT at Stotts-Phelps-McQueary Funeral Home, 210 Greensburg ST, Columbia, KY, with Bro. Bobby Withers and Bro. Ronnie Dooley the officiating clergy. Interment will be in the Jones Chapel Cemetery, Jones Chapel RD, Columbia, KY. The family request visiting after 4:30pmCT on Sunday, May 7, 2009, at Stotts-Phelps-McQueary Funeral Home.

He was born June 17, 1925, the son of the late Cassius and Ina Coomer Coffey of Adair Co. KY.

Survived by his wife Beatrice Corbin Coffey of Columbia, KY, and the following:
Two daughters: Patsy Robertson of Columbia, KY; and Nancy Cundiff of Columbia, KY

One sister: Pearl Bennett of Columbia, KY

Two grandchildren: Bryan Robertson and Sonya Washam

Four great grandchildren: Shelby Robertson, Colby Robertson, Brooklynn Robertson and Miller Allen Washam

And a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends
He was preceded in death by these brothers and sisters: Earl Coffey, Ural Coffey, Elroy Coffey, Garon Coffey, Joe Coffey, Raymond Coffey, Avis Coffey, Margie Corbin and Charity Edwards.

Mr. Coffey was a member of the Jones Chapel United Methodist Church and a farmer and was retired from the maintenance department of the Adair County Board of Education.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of a donation to the Jones Chapel Building Fund and may be left at the funeral home.

Stotts-Phelps-McQueary Funeral Home in charge of funeral arrangements.