Update Jan. 17, 2015. Some changes are highlighted, others are not.
William was born Jan. 28, 1830 to the union of
Calvin and Elizabeth Fine Coffey. Calvin was a son of Nathan and Elizabeth Gilbreath Coffey. Nathan is in the Chesley Coffey, Jr. line.
Priscilla Howard, born 1826 in Mount Pleasant, Maury Co., TN, married William Fine on Dec. 24, 1850* in Maury Co. William died Aug. 24, 1864 in Mount Pleasant, and Priscilla on Aug. 17, 1899 in Farmersville, Collin Co., TX. William is said to have been the victim of an ambush before leaving Tennessee**. He is buried in the Howard Cemetery in Maury Co. Priscilla is thought to be buried in the IOOF cemetery in Farmersville.
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| Photo Courtesy of Melonie Masih |
She and William were the parents of at least six children:
Calvin Jefferson, born in Maury Co. on Aug. 27, 1851, died Dec. 19, 1906 in Farmersville and was buried at the IOOF in Farmersville. His wife was Frances Hinton. They were married c1876. They had two children but, only one survived to the 1900 census. She was Sallie Bell, born in Oct., 1881 at Maury Co.
Equilla Howard, born Oct. 2, 1856 in Maury Co., died Jul. 30, 1920 in Farmersville. He married Margaret (Maggie) Elizabeth Scott - date unknown - who was born Jul. 27, 1857 in Mount Pleasant, Maury Co., TN, daughter of William Scott and a Miss Walker. Maggie died in McKinney, Collin Co. on Mar. 16, 1937. The only census record that I can find for them is dated Jan. 22, 1920, just a few months before Equilla died. Equilla is buried in the IOOF Cemetery in Farmersville; Maggie is also buried there, Collin Co. They had at least three children: Tennee, female, born c1877; Hattie D., born c1879 and Herchel Alexander, born 1888.
Isaac Fountain, born Aug. 10, 1857 in Maury Co., TN and died Nov. 26, 1927 in Farmersville. He married Martha Asia Wilcoxson on Jan. 8, 1880 in Collin Co. Martha was born Jan. 27, 1858 in Tennessee and died Apr. 2, 1947 in Collin Co. Together they had at least five children: Ada, born Apr. 1881; Will T., born May, 1883; Dessie, born May, 1887; Emer, born Sep., 1889; and Emmet, born c1894. Emmet married Eva Carver, and had at least one child, a son named Gordon Phillips Coffey, born c1923. Isaac and Martha are buried in the IOOF cemetery at Farmersville.
William Daniel, born May 8, 1860 in Mount Pleasant, married Mary Alice Wilcoxson, likely a sister to Martha who married Isaac, on Aug. 20, 1882 in Farmersville, Collin Co. Mary Alice was born Jul. 15, 1865 in Farmersville, and died Apr. 3, 1954 in Victoria, Victoria Co., TX. They were the parents of nine children:
Webb Granville., born May. 28, 1883, died Apr. 19, 1929 in an automobile accident in Wharton, Wharton Co., TX. Webb's death certificate indicates that he was married at the time of death. He is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria.*
Lottie Viola, born Jun. 22, 1886 in Farmersville, died Oct. 8, 1966 in Victoria Co.. Lottie married Dave Byrd Yeary on Jan. 16, 1907 in Collin Co. Lottie died of acute myocardial failure and is buried in Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria.
Clara Gertrude, born Feb. 6, 1888, died of sarcomatosis on Jul. 24, 1950 in Victoria Co. She married Herbert Edgar Evans on Jun. 2, 1906 in Farmersville. Clara is buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria.
Pearl Drusilla, born Oct. 26, 1892 in Farmersville, and died there on Nov. 26,1893
Stella Eudora, born Jun. 29, 1896 at Farmersville, died Jun. 28, 1994 in San Bernardino, San Bernardino Co., CA. She was returned to Victoria, TX for burial in the Evergreen Cemetery. She was married to a Mr. Skinner but I have found no information for him.
Thadius Elmo, born Apr. 19, 1900, married Ruth Crawford and had at least one child, a daughter named Eleanor, born c1922. Thadius died in MS in Mar., 1967 and was returned to Mission Valley in Victoria Co., TX for burial in the Mission Valley Community cemetery. Nothing is yet know of Ruth. They had at least three children:; Thad, Jr., Eleanor and William Stark.
Mary Prucilla or Pricilla, born Jul. 19, 1903, died May 20, 1998 at Goliad in Goliad Co., TX and buried at Memory Gardens in Victoria, Victoria Co. She married a Mr. Jacobs but nothing yet known of him.
Jack Daniel, born Oct. 17, 1906 in Collin Co. He married Dorothy Heinke c1929. Dorothy was the daughter of Arthur and Maggie Wilden Heinke. She was born Sep. 7, 1908 in Victoria, and died of Uremia on Sep 19, 1953. She is buried in Catholic Cemetery No. 3 in Victoria along with Jack who died in Oct., 1984. They were parents of at least three: Jack Arthur, 1931-2005; Carolyne Sue, 1935-?; and James Ross, born 1936. Jack Arthur married Patricia Ann Everton and they had at least three children: Deborah Sue, Daniel Ross and Michael Harold.
Franklin Penn, born Feb., 1862, married Mollie Brewer in 1884 in Farmersville. Mollie was born in Apr., 1866 in Alabama. They had at least six children: Clovie, born Mar., 1886; Roy F., born Jan., 1888, married Mary Jones; Mamie, born Feb., 1891; Raymond, born Mar., 1896; William H., born c1903; and Mary Frances, born c April, 1910. Frank died in 1956 in Fort Worth and was buried at Vernon in Wilbarger Co., TX. Mollie died in 1945 in Vernon. Both she and Frank are buried at Eastview cemetery in Vernon.
Please send additions and/or corrections welcomed.
Update Mar. 14, 2012
According to his death certificate, Webb Granville Coffey's given name was Webb. I have seen other genealogies that report his call name was "Wibb" or "Wibbie."
His wife, Katherine Agnes Hartsell was the daughter of James Joseph and Henrietta Whitmarsh Hartsell, already married emigrants from England in 1871. The couple seems to have first settled in MS because I find them in 1880 living in Yalobusha Co., MS. Four of their six known [to me] children were born in MS; the last two in TX. In addition to Katherine, there was W. J., born c1875; Charlotte H., born May 1878; Lily, born Feb., 1891. Texas born children were John Joseph, born Jan., 1893 and Walter J., born Aug., 1894.
Katherine's death certificate reports she was born Oct. 25, 1885 in Jackson, Hinds Co., MS and, died May 13, 1964 in Victoria. She is buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Victoria. Until Apr. 11, 1930 Katherine was still a widow residing in Victoria. Sometime after that she married a Mr. Holland who also preceded her in death. I hope to find out who Mr. Holland was from the soon-to-be-released 1940 census.
James Joseph Hartsell died in Victoria, Victoria Co., TX on Aug. 22, 1941 and is buried at Farmersville in Collin Co., TX. I have not found a death record or burial site for Henrietta. According to his death certificate, James was born in London on Nov. 24, 1849 and was a retired horticulturist at the time of death.
Katherine's son, Lawrence Granville Coffey, born Nov. 19, 1905, was married to Issetta [sic] Marie Hadley and were the parents of at least three children: Beverly, Sandra and Robert Lawrence. I have not found any information pertaining to her daughter, Ruth Agnes Coffey.
William Daniel and Mary Alice Wilcoxson Coffey had at least two additional children: James Ross, born Dec. 11, 1894 in Collin Co., died unmarried on Oct. 16, 1970 in Travis Co., TX. and Edith, born c1904 in Collin Co.
Thadius Elmo and wife Ruth Crawford had at least two additional children: Thad, Jr., born 1921 and William Start, born 1929.
This family are descendants of the mythical Chesley Coffey.
* Update May 5, 2015: The informant on his death certificate was his brother Thadius, who apparently gave the name Webb to authorities. Of course, dialect could have been at play here. The news item announcing his death names him "Webb." His headstone reads "Wibb," Melonie Williams-Masihm whose grandmother was Webb/Wibb's sister, writes today that the family Bible names him Wibb and that his daughter Ruth, told others at a Coffey family reunion "a number of years ago" that his name was Wibb.
This would be a good time to find a birth certificate.
*Elmer C. Gilbreath, compiler, Coffee - Gilbreath - Turnbow Families (Oklahoma City, OK: (Reprint) Gene Brewington from microfilm in LDS Library, Salt Lake City, UT, Orig. Pub. 1958)
[This source gives bride's name as Driscilla Homan. It is likely incorrect. William is known to have had only one wife, Priscilla Howard]
**Howard Cemetery, Enterprise, Maury County Tennessee, online [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~maury/cemetery/HowardCem/Coffey01.htm],
COFFEY, William F., 28 Jan 1830 - Killed 24 Aug 1864. " by Major Howell and Sam Morrow two "local self styled Federals", Mason. (Co. B, 48th Term., C. S. A., married Priscilla Howard on 24 Dec 1850, She was the daughter of Willoughby & Frances [Cochran] Howard). Pricilla removed with her family of six or so children to Collin County, Texas where she lived there with her family until her death in 1899. Photo & info by Wayne Austin 4/10/04.
