Homer Ernest Coffey was a son of Adolphus and Susan H. Miller Coffey. He was born in Oct., 1863 in Illinois and died May 21, 1941 in Los Angeles, CA. Somewhere between Illinois and California he married Ina Sproul, a daughter of Henry and Melissa Jane Grainger Sproul. The marriage probably occurred in California because their first child was born there.
Adolphus was a native of North Carolina where he was born Sep. 16, 1836 to Larkin and Catherine H. Wilson Coffey. Adolphus married Susan H. Miller on Sep. 16, 1860 in Owen Co., IN. Susan was born on Jan. 26, 1838 in New York and died in Owen Co. on Oct. 10, 1873. They were the parents of five children. Adolphus was married a second time to Susan F. Stoneman on Mar. 12, 1874 and fathered three additional children.
Homer was the second of the five children born to Adolphus and Susan. In 1880 he was a resident in the Owen Co., IN household of his cousin Asbury Coffey. By 1900 he and Ina had been married for 11 years, and resided in Ventura Co., CA where Homer worked as a carpenter. By 1910 they had moved to Los Angeles where Homer continued to work as a carpenter, and by 1920 the family was living in Orange Co. where Homer went to work in the oil fields. Ina died on Dec. 7 of that year in Placentia, Orange Co. and was buried on Dec. 9, 1920 in Loma Vista Cemetery at Fullerton.
Homer had apparently retired by 1930 because he did not provide an occupation in the census taken in April of that year. He died on May 21, 1941 in Los Angeles and was buried on May 24, 1941 in Loma Vista.
There were eight children born to the union of Homer and Ina:
- Walter Floyd, born Oct. 27, 1889 in Santa Paula, Ventura Co., and died in San Francisco on May. 20, 1947. He was buried in the Golden Gate National Cemetery at San Bruno in San Mateo Co. Walter married Bernice Alameda Holbert who was born Jul. 6, 1898 in Terre Haute, Vigo Co., IN. She died on Nov. 23, 1958 in San Francisco and was also buried at Golden Gate.
In 1930 he and Bernice resided in Orange Co. where he worked as a warehouseman for an oil company. By 1936 they had relocated to Los Angeles where Walter worked as a carpenter.
Their children were: Walter Keith, born Jun. 14, 1929, died Feb. 22, 1978; Mary Ellen - no dates; and Robert Sidney, born Jul. 17, 1936, died Aug. 21, 1961.
- Fred Everett, born Mar., 1891, died Apr. 21, 1947. He apparently remained a bachelor for sometime. He was employed in the motion picture business in Santa Monica in 1920.
- Harley Adolphus, born Apr. 12, 1893 in Santa Paula, and died Jun. 14, 1973 in Medina Co., OH. He married a Hungarian born lady by the name of Christine. She emigrated to the US in 1900 and was naturalized in 1917. In 1928 they resided in Los Angeles. According to voter rolls, they remained in Los Angeles as a couple until about 1937 or 1938. From 1938 until about 1945 they resided at different addresses in Los Angeles Co. By 1946 however, they were again living as man and wife in Los Angeles Co. I believe they had only one child, a daughter named Evelyn J., born c1921. When Harley registered for the WW1 draft in Orange Co. on Jun. 5, 1917, he described himself as being of medium height with slender build, blue eyes and light colored hair.
- Leonard O., born Jul., 1895. By 1930 Leonard was a prisoner in the state penal farm at Angola, Louisiana.
- Agnes R., born Aug. 26, 1898. Agnes married George Walter Bowen, born Dec., 1898 in Louisiana to Samuel and Victoria A. Bowen. George was an oil field hand in 1920 Orange Co. By 1930 the family resided in Huntington Beach, Orange Co. where George worked as an oil field draftsman. I know of one child, a daughter Beverley Agnes, born Oct. 12, 1925 in Los Angeles Co. Prior to her marriage Agnes was a stenographer in Fullerton, Orange Co.
- Avis, born Jul. 6, 1901. In 1922 she was also a stenographer in Fullerton.
- Donald Keith, born Jul. 6, 1904, died Apr. 23, 1984 in Ventural Co. He married Ora P. c1928 in California. Their children were Donald Homer, born Jun. 28, 1928 and, Edith Lorraine, born Oct. 6, 1929.
Additions and/or corrections can be sent to me at the above e-mail address.
