Chesley Shelton Coffey Revisited

My first blog about Chesley Shelton Coffey can be read by clicking on the title link.

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Hardly any information has been found to document the ancestry of Chesley Shelton Coffey.

One source* describes him as a son of Joel Coffey and his wife Sarah Mackey.  It is difficult finding this particular Joel in the US census record.  He is believed to have been born in TN in 1789 and married Sarah Mackey in Maury Co., TN on Apr. 9, 1818.1

This Joel - a son of Chesley and Margaret Baldwin Coffey - made the trek from Cooper Co., MO to the Oregon Territory c1850, and after he reached age 60. He was in Vancouver [Oregon Territory, now in Clark Co., WA] as early as 1855.  Sarah died in Cooper Co., MO,  Joel Died Dec. 10, 1855 and was buried at Fern Prairie Cemetery in Camas, Clark Co., WA.  Joel and Sarah are said to have had at least eight children, including Chesley Shelton, particulars unknown.

Headstone Chesley S. Coffey

I have often wondered if their Chesley Shelton was the same Chesley born in Maury Co., TN in 1816 and died in Fayette, Jefferson Co., MS in 1869.  That Chesley married Miss. Mississippi Davis of Oct. 20, 1850 in Jefferson Co.  Their children were:

Chesley Shelton, Jr.; no particulars
Charles Clark, born c1853, married Olive S. Bullen and had children Anna and Sidney.
Jane Elizabeth, born Jan. 28, 1859, died Jul. 8, 1860, buried Jefferson Co.
John Mott, born Oct. 31, 1861, died Sep. 9, 1915, buried Jefferson Co.
Edgar Nathan, born May 14, 1869, died Nov. 28, 1922

Edgar married Carrie Watkins (or, Watson?) Campbell, born in MS on Jun. 24, 1869, died Nov. 18, 1955.   He was in the US Army when I found the family in the 1910 census; he reported his occupation as Lt., US Army.

Their children, with the exception of one, were born in MS.  The names are as copied from the 1910 Jackson, Hinds Co., MS census record:

Edgar N., Jr., born c1890
Mamie, born, born c1892
Chesley S., III, born c1893
Ruth, born c1898
Robert (William), born c1899
Carroll E., born c1908 in IA

The only child that I have searched for to date is Ruth.  She married Lew Morris c19223 and in 1930 resided in Spokane, Spokane Co., WA with her husband and one child, Robert, born c1828 in WA.  Lew was a native of Washington but his parents were born in Oregon.

With the family that year was Carrie, Ruth's mother.  She was age 60, a widow and worked as a dressmaker.

Carrie, Edgar Nathan and his younger brother, Chesley III are buried at Fort George Wright in Spokane.  I am told that this is now part of Fairchild AFB.

Chesley III was also a military man, having entered the US Navy prior to WW1.  He died Oct. 1, 1918 and I have found no information yet about where he died or otherwise indicates he perished as a result of military action.  His marker is inscribed "Gunners Mate 2CL."  The family is in cemetery section 2, site 15.

Caroline's parents were Robert W. and Anna Cordelia Girault.  Anna was first married to James Davenport c1857 in MS, then married Robert Wickham Campbell on 28 Feb. 1860 at Port Gibson, Claiborne Co., MS.  Robert was first married to Nannie P. Burch of MS on Jan. 22, 1852.  She was born in Jefferson Co. in 1836 and died there in 1858.

There are several instances of Campbell-Wickham unions in Richmond and in Powhatan Co., VA.  The Watkins name appears among the first settlers of VA after Jamestown.  Some of the later generations moved into the MS Territory prior to the Civil War.  Robert and probably also Caroline are descended from those Virginia families that came into that territory.

Corrections and/or additions welcomed!

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Request for Leave of Absence

May 25, 2011:  The original of this document is privately owned by and available for purchase from Shawn Harrington.  Anyone wishing to purchase the document can contact him at harrington.shawn@gmail.com.  I understand that it will soon be placed for sale on E-bay.

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*Dr. Marvin Coffey book, James Bluford Coffey his Ancestors and Descendants in America

1 Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002. Nashville, TN, USA: Tennessee State Library and Archives. Microfilm.  Name: Joel Coffee Spouse: Sarah Mackey Marriage Date: 9 Apr 1818 Marriage County: Maury Marriage State: Tennessee:

2 Lewis, Wm. Terrell, Genealogy of the Lewis family in America (Louisville, KY: Courier-Journal Job. Print Co., 1893), Page 122: Sarah Mackey, daughter of Wm. L. Mackey, was born in Rutherford county, N. C., in 1795. She married Joel Coffey, had three children, and died in Missouri. The names of her children are as follows: William; Chesley and Derrindia.

3 The Crescent of Gamma Phi Beta, (Univ. of Idaho Chapter) Vol. 21, No. 1, edited by Lindsey Barbee, pub. Geo. Banta, Mehasha, WI, Jan., 1921, p75, "Engagements: Ruth Coffey, ex-'22 to Lew Morris, Sigma Nu."

George Holland & Samantha Ann Ridgeway Coffey

George was born in July, 1841 to Cleveland and Malinda Coffey Coffey.  Malinda and Cleveland were second cousins, he a son of Jesse and Margaret Edmisten Coffey; Malinda a daughter of George and Margaret Rucker Coffey.

It appears that George was married at least twice, perhaps three times.  He was found in Washington Co., VA in 1870 with wife Rebecca A. V., born c1844 in that state.  There were two children in the home:  John F. M., born c1868 and Charles S., born c1874.  Both were born in TN.

Samantha Ridgeway Coffey

The 1880 census for Richwoods, Sharp Co., AR finds him with wife Samantha Ann Ridgeway.  Samantha was born in Aug., 1851, Henry Co., TN and died in 1943, Lawrence Co., AR.  She is buried at Walnut Ridge in Campbell Twp., Lawrence Co.  Her headstone provides us with only birth and death year.

In addition to George H. and Samantha A. Coffee [sic], in the household at the time of the census was: John F. Coffee, age 11, born TN; Charles F. Coffee, age 6, born TN; Cora D., age 3, born MO, and Millie L. A., age 1, also born in MO.  Thomas Hardy, a third child born to George and Samantha was born Feb. 25, 1881 in MO.

I have seen some genealogies that give Thomas the middle name of Harry. However, his WW1 draft registration, which he completed on Sep. 12, 1918 in Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO, was signed by him as Thomas Hardy Coffey.

There are a few genealogies available that list the child Flora R., born in 1876 to George and a wife named Rebecca Bowman.  If she was the child of George Holland Coffey she must have been born from circumstances we are not familiar with, because George was still living with Samantha in 1880, Sharp Co., AR and there is not a child named Flora in the household.

Another - or perhaps the same - George H. Coffey in Lawrence Co., AR married Sarah E. Barnett.  They were in the 1900 Portia, Lawrence Co. census; George born Jul., 1840 and Sarah born Aug., 1860 in MO.  Their children were Myrtle, born c1897 and Jesse Dewey, born c1898.  Also in the household was Eula Barnett, enumerated as a step-daughter.

I have no idea when George Holland died.  Samantha lived until 1943 when she died and was buried at Walnut Ridge.  In 1920 and 1930 she resided with her daughter Willie, who married Lewis E. Watkins in 1903.

Did George and Samantha divorce?

Lane-Coffey Headstone

Samantha's oldest child by George Holland Coffey was Cora Duffle Coffey, born Jan. 14, 1878 in MO, died Nov. 2, 1946 in Walnut Ridge.   Cora married William R. Lane on Dec. 31, 1895 in Lawrence Co., AR.  He was born Aug. 18, 1863 in Lawrence Co. and died there on Aug. 12, 1925.  Both he and Cora are buried at Walnut Ridge in the Lawrence Memorial Park Cemetery.  Her headstone reads Duffle C. Lane.

Willie Lea Ann was her second child, born c1879 in MO.  She married Watkins on Dec. 29, 1903 and their children were:  Alma Pauline, born c1906 in MO; William P., born c1912 in AR; Jessie R., a daughter, born c1914 in AR and Bonnie Kathlene, born c1919 in AR.

Samantha's last know child was Thomas - mentioned above.  His first wife was Carrie Belle Lafferty who he probably married c1900 in MO.  He has been difficult to find in census records.

With Carrie, Thomas fathered at least four children:  Mabel, born Oct. 15, 1902 in MO, died Sep. 23, 1979 in Lake City, Columbia Co., FL; Manuella, born Jul. 5, 1904 in TX, died Jan.11, 1970 in Kansas City, MO; Glenn, born c1906 in TX; and Marguerite, born Mar 6, 1908 in MO.

Thomas was married second to Mary Anita Singleton, or Templeton.  They were married on July 30, 1915 in Jackson Co., MO.  He died on Jan. 23, 1952 in Santa Clara Co., CA.

The marriage license application for Thomas and Mary reads in part, "desiring to procure a license to marry Mrs. Maria Templeton of Walnut Ridge, County of Lawrence, and State of Arkansas...," and the license was signed by "Marrie Templeton."  However, typewritten in the top left margin of the license is "Cor. Name by Aff. B 50964 Book B 4530-Page 605-Apr 7-52."  She was a "Mrs." as given in the application, so perhaps her maiden name was Singleton.

The only census record that I have thus far found for Thomas was the 1910 Fishing River Twp, Clay Co., MO record of his family with Carrie.

Please contact me if you have info to share on this family.