Nancy Elizabeth Coffey was born on May 23, 1861 in Rash, Jackson Co., AL and died there on May 16, 1918. She was born to the union of Rice Abner Coffey and his first wife, Mary Ann Coffey. She and Rice were first cousins as well as double-fourth cousins. She was the daughter of Benjamin B. & Mary Elizabeth Roach Coffey while Rice was the son of Alexander Hamilton and Nancy E. Weatherly Coffey. Benjamin and Alexander were brothers as well as double-third cousins. These families go back to Edward through Rice and Sarah Bradford Coffey, Rev. James Coffey and wife Elizabeth Cleveland to Edward's son John and his wife, Jane Graves.Nancy Elizabeth married John Clinton Jacobs in Stevenson, Jackson Co., AL on Nov. 1, 1883. [1] He was born on Apr. 22, 1855 in Beech Grove, Maury Co., TN and died in Scottsboro, Jackson Co., AL on Jun. 30, 1938.[2]
Their first child, a daughter, was Bennie Coffey Jacobs, born in TN in 1884, died in Scottsboro on Oct. 17, 1899 at the age of 15 years. She is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Scottsboro.
Elmer Pruitt was born in Coffey Co., TN in 1887 and died in Bridgeport, Jackson Co. in 1970. He was involved with the Gunter Stove Works in Bridgeport for many years. His wife was Lena Geneva Givan or Givens, born c1890 in Missouri. They were parents of nine children: Geneva, Bettie, Elmer, Jr., Sallie Belle, Rice Abner, Henry Grady, Lethia Ring, Nathan Bedford Forrest and Mary Jane. Elmer, Sr. died in Bridgeport in 1970, Lena in Marion Co., TN in 1977. Both are buried at Cumberland View Cemetery in Marion Co. Lena appears in the 1910 Finley Twp., Christian Co., MO census with her parents and a large number of siblings. The handwriting is small and blurred making it difficult to determine what exactly the surname is: Givan, Givans, Given or Givens.
Annie Theodosia "Dosia" was born in 1890, Coffee Co., TN, and married Mitchell Luther Harris of Cumberland Co., NC in Scottsboro on Mar. 14, 1910. He died in Scottsboro in 1960, she in 1974. She is buried at Cedar Hill Cemetery in Scottsboro and he is probably there as well. Their children were John Clinton, Roderick Edward, Dr. Elmer Jacobs; Dr. Ruth; Mitchell Luther, Jr.; and an unnamed son who was born and died in Feb. 1928 at Autauga Co., AL.
Henry Woodfin Grady was born in 1892, Maury Co., TN. He married Sarah Louise Wilson in 1913, McMinn Co., TN. Sarah was born there in 1893 and died in Scottsboro in 1988. They too are probably buried at Cedar Hill but I have not found them there. I know of a couple of children: Nancy Elizabeth, born 1915 and John Clinton, born 1918, both in Scottsboro.
Rice Abner was born in TN in 1894 and died in Scottsboro in 1980. He married Jewell Riggs, born 1898 in GA, died 1952 in Scottsboro. Jewell was living with her paternal grandparents in Haralson Co., GA in 1900. I have not located her parents. I have not found the marriage record for Rice and Jewell and do not know of any children.
Veda Pearl was born in AL in 1896 and married Claude Evans Spivey of Rhea Co., TN in Dec., 1917 at Scottsboro. They had at least two children, Carolyn, born 1918 and Lunita Jacobs, born 1925, both in Scottsboro. Carolyn married William Bethel Wilson on Jun. 26, 1941 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL. Their engagement was announced in the Tuscaloosa News on Jun. 15, 1941.[3]
Miss Spivey Is Engaged to Wed Mr. William Wilson
Mr. and Mrs. Philo Dayton Benham announce the engagement of their niece, Carolyn Spivey of Scottsboro, Alabama to William Bethel Wilson of this city.
The wedding will take place on the evening of June 26 at 7 o'clock in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Benham and Tuscaloosa relatives will attend the nuptial vows.
The bride-elect is the grand-daughter of the late John Clinton Jacobs, widely-known banker of North Alabama, and of Mrs. George Wesley Spivey of Dayton, Tenn. [sic]. She was graduated from Penn Hall Preparatory School in Chambersbury, Penn., and attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia where she was affiliated with the Kappa Delta sorority.
The bridegroom-to-be, known and admired in this city as Bill Wilson, is the son of Dr. and Mrs. John W. Wilson of Audubon Place and a nephew of Owen Meredith and of Commander J. E. Meredith (U.S. Navy) of Mobile.
Mrs. Wilson was graduated from the Tuscaloosa High School where he was a member of the S.E.A. fraternity. At the University of Alabama he was affiliated with the Kappa Alpha fraternity and other social organizations.Philo Dayton Benham was the husband of Veda's sister, Fletcher Pitts Jacobs. Fletcher was born in Jackson Co. in 1899 and died in Scottsboro in 1962. Philo was born - according to the marriage record - in Delaware in 1895. He and Fletcher married in Jackson Co. in 1929 and, he died in 1960. Both are buried at Cedar Hill. I know of no children for them.[*]
The last known child of John and Nancy was Lunita, born in 1902. She married Robert Martin Lane in Scottsboro in 1927 and had at lest two children; Robert Martin and Frances Fletcher. Nothing more is known of this family.
[*] Jerry Dickinson wrote in a Jan. 18, 2013 e-mail that "Fletcher Jacobs and Philo Dayton Benham did have at least one child - Nancy Benham b. 29 Jan 1933 in Alabama d. 9 Mar 1967 - Fulton, Georgia. Married a Steenhuis. Found her SSN/1940 census/some ship passenger list. She is buried in Cedar Hill Cemetery."
[1] "Alabama Marriages, 1816-1957", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FQNJ-B2H : accessed 26 Nov 2012), J. C. Jacobs and N. Elizabeth Coffey, 01 Nov 1883.
[2] Information about John Clinton Jacobs was originally found at a website (Jacobs Family History) owned by Mary Ellen Harris. There was an abundance of info about the family, including photos of all of the children of John and Nancy. The site appears to be off line now; at least at the link I first found.
[3]The Tuscaloosa News
The photos were found on the Former Jacobs Family History website, no longer on-line with the same web address.
