William Perry Coffey (1857-1926)

Part IV

William's first wife, Jane Helen Wemple passed away sometime between Jun 15, 1880 and Jul. 7, 1882.  She was present in the household at the 1880 census and on that date in 1882 [date unproven], William married her sister, Mary Ellen.

Mary Ellen had been previously married to John J. Roark on Oct. 8, 1876 in Howell Co., MO1 In 1880 she was living with her father but Mr. Roark was not in the household and, there were no Roark children in the family. William and wife Jane were enumerated in an adjacent household.

The children born to William and Mary Ellen were as follows:

Vital Record Amendment to Birth
Record for Allene Margruette Coffey (Hart)

Samuel Wemple, born Mar. 25,1883 in Howell Co., died Dec. 28, 1951 in Santa Cruz Co., CA.  His spouse was Etta M. Fritz. [marriage date unknown]  One child was born to this union.  She was Allene Marguerette Coffey, born Nov. 10, 1912 in Phoenix, Maricopa Co., AZ.  Her name is obscured on the face of the document.  However, an Amendment to Vital Record was found in which personal affidavits by her aunt, Rosa L. Daugherty and cousin, Donald E. Doris in March, 1959, and a Baptism and Confirmation certificate by the Latter Day Saints Church, James W. Challis, Mission President, dated May, 1954 confirms her name and birth date.2  This same document shows the Registrant's name as "Allene Margruette Coffey (Hart)"

Etta may have died at the birth of Allene because in 1930 Sam appeared in the census for Pittsburg, Contra Costa, CA with wife Audrey B., a stepson named Howard Minkler, age 16, born in Oregon and Allene, daughter, age 17, born in Arizona.3  A bit of luck caused me to stumble upon the grave of Martha Jane "Mattie" Miller4 at Find A Grave.  An obituary and bio on that site told me that she had been previously married to Frank Ransome Minkler.  I believe there is an error in the bio however.  She was likely Frank's first wife, and not his first.  I also discovered that in addition to Howard, Audrey and Frank had a daughter named Audrey, born c1916. She does not appear in the 1930 census with Samuel and Audrey.

Frank Ransome Minkler and Audrey last appeared together as a family in the 1920 census for Eureka, Humboldt Co., CA.

Samuel Coffey died on Dec. 28, 1951 in Santa Cruz Co., CA.  Neither Etta, Audrey nor his burial site is known.

Lula, second child born to William and Mary Ellen, arrived in West Plains on Oct. 16, 1884.  She married George Washington Roberts there on May 22, 1905.  George was born in Caney, Montgomery Co., KS on Dec. 22, 1884 and died in Eureka Humboldt Co., CA on Oct. 20, 1948.  Lula died there on Feb. 11,1955.  Both she and George are thought to have been buried at Ocean View Cemetery in Eureka.  They likely had more children but I know of only three:  Georgia Ellen; Frank Andrew and Gladys Louise.

Minnie followed Lula on Dec. 5, 1887 in West Plains but died there the following August and was buried there, site not known.

The family moved south from Missouri into Arkansas for awhile.  It was there in Newport, Jackson Co. that the fourth child, Rose Etta was born on Jan. 14, 1889.  The family moved on from there into OK where Rose is said to have married Clarence Elwood Woods on Aug. 6, 1911 in Nowata Co. [no marriage record found]  In 1920 she and Clarence were found in Drumright, Creek Co., OK and 1930 in Tulsa, Tulsa Co., OK.  Some genealogies report that Rose was first married to James Cook but, I have found no evidence of that.  She and Woods were divorced and, in the 1940 census, Rose was enumerated as a divorced woman with seven children residing in Eureka, Humboldt Co., CA.  That record shows that she was living in Sand Springs, OK in 1935 and in 1940 worked as a sales lady.  Mr. Woods has not been located in that census and is said to have died in Los Angeles in Mar., 1948.

Their children were:

Elmer Clarence, born Jun 3, 1912 in Coffeyville, Montgomery Co., KS, died there in Apr., 1915. [no locations or confirmed sources]

Glen Walter, work Aug. 9, 1914 in Coffeyville, married Jun. 8, 1940 to Obabel Ingerbretsen.  [no locations or confirmed sources]

Grace Margaret, born Aug. 27, 1916 in Drumright, Creek Co., OK.; married Ethridge Strickland on Sep. 1, 2939 and died on Feb. 20, 1987.  [no locations or confirmed sources]

Bruce Howard, born Sep. 30, 1919 in Bristow, Creek Co., OK; married Twila Schadawitz in 1943.  [no locations or confirmed sources]

Lula Ellen "Bunny," born Jul. 7, 1922 in Bristow; married Howard Divinie on Sep. 12, 1946. [no locations or confirmed sources]

Donald Woodrow, born Jun. 9, 1924 in Bristow, married Margaret Hansen in 1947.  [no locations or confirmed sources]

Elizabeth Ruth, born Sep 1, 1926 in Bristow, married Thurman Lanning on Dec. 20, 1952.  I am unsure of the marriage date.  Thurman had been previously married to Irene Alice Kasza in 1942.  She died in Los Angeles, CA on Aug. 19, 1952 and was buried at Glendale, Los Angeles Co. in the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in that city.  Thurman died on Jul. 18, 2007 in Springfield, Lane Co., OR; Ruth died earlier on Jul. 27, 2002.  Both are buried at Springfield Memorial Gardens, in Springfield, Lane Co., OR.  Both Thurman and Ruth were Coffey Cousins.

There were two other children born to Clarence and Rose Etta; a son Bernard Vernon, born Jul. 18, 1929 in Bristow and a daughter, Barbara, born c1933 in OK.  [no locations or confirmed sources]

Questions, additions, corrections welcomed!

  Jack

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Sources:

1"Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V28N-KST : accessed 06 Aug 2013), John J. Roark and Mary E. Wimple, 1876.

2Arizona Dept. of Health Services at http://tinyurl.com/qxwqb47

3"United States Census, 1930," index and images,  FamilySearch  (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/XCXP-69X : accessed 05 Sep 2014), Sam W Coffey, Pittsburg, Contra Costa, California, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0019, sheet 15A, family 383, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 114.

⁴http://tinyurl.com/qbu22fk

Other sources from which info has been extracted include the documents "Descendants of William Perry Coffey" submitted by Judy Shinn Coffey in Feb., 2006 and, the document "Descendants of William E. Coffey" by Shirley Dawson in July, 2005. Shirley noted that the family surname was spelled Coffey from Edward.  However, beginning with William E. forward, the family has been spelled Coffee. For photographs, see Parts I and II.  

William Perry Coffey (1857-1926)

Part III


I have written previously about William Perry; once on Feb. 7, 2006 (Part I) and again on Dec. 20, 2010 (Part II).  Please read those blogs first to gain some context.  This blog will deal mostly with his child with Jane Helen Wemple and his nine children with her sister, Mary Ellen Wemple.  A photo of this family can be view in the 2006 blog.

This blog will deal mainly with the one child that he fathered with Jane Helen and, the nine that he fathered with her sister, Mary Ellen.  Jane and Mary were daughters of Myndert Veeder Wemple and Sarah C. Dakin, natives of New York.

To recap a bit, William Perry and Jane Helen were married on Jun. 9, 1878 in Howell Co., MO.¹  One child, a daughter named Nora N., was born to this union.  Jane died on Jan. 11, 1923 in West Plains, Howell Co. and was buried there at Howell Valley Cemetery.²

Nora disappeared after her birth but may have appeared in the 1890 census, had it survived.  She married George Ernest West, a Canadian from Nova Scotia in about 1902, and lived for awhile in West Plains.  Sometime between 1906 and 1909 the family moved to Sterling, Logan Co., CO.  Between 1912 and 1915 they moved to Fort Collins in Larimer Co., CO.

Nora and George had seven children, six of which survived to marry and have descendants of their own:

Harold Virgil was their first born on Apr. 30, 1903 in Howell Co.  He died on May 10, 1909 in Sterling and was buried there at Sunset Memorial Gardens.

William Norman, born Nov. 3, 1904 in Howell Co. and died Nov. 28, 1995 at South Gate in Los Angeles Co., CA and was buried at Rose Hills in Whittier.  He married Ethel Mildred Hector in Los Angeles on Oct. 3, 1929.³  She was the daughter of George and Mary Agnes Anlauf Hector, born Jun. 19, 1907 in Ventura Co., CA and died Jun. 26, 1975 at South Gate and was also buried at Rose Hills.

Mason Alfred, born Jan. 3, 1906 in Howell Co., died Sep. 17, 1989 at Rialto in San Bernardino Co., CA.  His wife was Hilda Irene Shay - marriage date not found - who was born in Sandy Lake, Mercer Co., PA on Oct. 7, 1905 and died on Nov. 7, 1976 in San Dimas, Los Angeles Co.  She was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Covina, Los Angeles Co..  Having served as a Private First Class in the US Army during WW2,  he is buried at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside Co., CA.

Maurice Samuel, born Apr. 1, 1909 in Sterling, married Veronica Marguerite Trank in c1935.  She was born in Loomis, Phelps Co., NE in 1913 and died Mar. 28, 2007 in Las Vegas, Clark Co., NV.  Maurice died on Jul. 5, 2002 in Las Vegas.  His remains were cremated and inurnment at the Desert View Memorial Park in Victorville, San Bernardino Co.4  Veronica died on Mar. 28, 2007 and was buried at Sunset Hills Memorial Park in Apple Valley, San Bernardino Co.

The only daughter born to George and Nora was Marjorie Marie on Mar. 21, 1911 in Sterling.  She married Chester Arthur Hector, brother to Ethel Mildred Hector who married Marjorie's brother William, on Dec. 11, 19345 in Los Angeles Co.  Marjorie died on Sep. 16, 1987 in Vancouver, Clark Co., WA and was buried there at Park Hill Cemetery. Chester, born on May 3, 1905 in Santa Paula, Ventura Co., CA, died on Sep. 16, 1987 in Vancouver and was also buried at Park Hill.

Marvin Woodrow, born Dec. 17, 1912 in Sterling, married Dorothy Grace Heaman on May 7, 1938.6
Marvin died on Jun. 3, 2001 in San Bernardino Co. and was buried at Green Acres Memorial Park & Mortuary in Bloomington, San Bernardino.  Dorothy appears to be the daughter of Albert and Elizabeth Rogers Heaman.  Other than that, I have found no other information about her.

Finally, the last child was Lowell Vernon, born Dec. 20, 1915 at Fort Collins in Larimer Co., CO.  He married Edna Gale Gilmore in Los Angeles Co. on May 22, 19377 and died on Apr. 10, 1998 in Ojala, Ventura Co., CA.  Edna was born c1916 in OK. His remains were cremated and ashes scattered at sea.  Like Dorothy above, I have no other information about Edna.

The children of William and Mary Ellen numbered nine and I will write more about them over the next few days.

  Jack

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Sources:

¹"Missouri Marriages, 1750-1920", index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V28N-C3M : accessed 06 Aug 2013), W. T. Coffee and Jane H. Wimple, 1878.

²See Find A Grave memorial no. 55891203. 

³"California County Marriages, 1850-1952", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8NT-C61 : accessed 04 Sep 2014), William Norman West and Ethel Mildred Hector, 03 Oct 1929; citing p. 58, Los Angeles, California, United States; FHL microfilm 2074766.

4He also shares a marker with his wife at Sunset Hills Memorial Park & Mortuary at Apple Valley in San Bernardino Co.

5"California County Marriages, 1850-1952", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8JN-G7B : accessed 04 Sep 2014), Chester Arthur Hector and Marjorie Marie West, 11 Dec 1934; citing p. 178, Los Angeles, California, United States; FHL microfilm 2113658.

6"California County Marriages, 1850-1952", index and images, FamilySearch https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8VQ-8Y1 : accessed 04 Sep 2014), Marvin Woodrow West and Dorothy Grace Heaman, 07 May 1938; citing p. 34, Los Angeles, California, United States; FHL microfilm 2114220.

7"California County Marriages, 1850-1952", index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K8JB-ZR3 : accessed 04 Sep 2014), Lowell Veron West and Edna Gale Gilmore, 22 May 1937; citing p. 123, Los Angeles, California, United States; FHL microfilm 2114022.

See also the 1880 census for Howell Twp., Howell Co., MO and, the 1910 census for Sterling, Logan Co., CO; 1920 census for LaPorte, Larimer Co., CO; 1930 and 1940 census for Los Angeles Co.

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.

Rose Etta Coffey

Rose Etta Coffey was the daughter of William Perry and Mary Ellen Wemple Roark Coffey. She was born Jan. 14, 1899 in Newport, Jackson Co., AR, and married Clarence Elwood Woods on Aug. 6, 1911 in Nowata Co., OK. Clarence was born Oct. 21, 1890 in Jaqua, CO, and died Mar. 2, 1948 in Los Angeles Co., CA.

There were at least 9 children born to Clarence and Rose Etta:

- Elmer Clarence, born Jun. 3, 1912, died Apr. 15, 1915
- Glen Walter, born Aug. 9, 1914
- Grace Margaret, born Aug. 27, 1916, died Feb. 20, 1987
- Bruce Howard, born Dec. 30, 1919
- Lula Ellen, born Jul. 7, 1922, died Oct. 20, 1977
- Donald Woodrow, born Jun. 9, 1924
- Elizabeth Ruth, born Sep. 1, 1926
- Bernard Vernon, born Jul. 18, 1929
- Barbara Rose, born Mar. 29, 1933

Rose Etta is said to have also married James Cook, but I have no information. She died Sep. 6, 1961 in Eureka, Humboldt Co., CA.