Name: Edward
COFFEY
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 1650-1670 Ireland?
Death: abt
14 Feb 1716 Essex
Co., VA
Edward COFFEY (1650-1670 - abt 14 Feb 1716) & Ann
POWELL (1683-1685 - Oct-Dec 1744)
Edward COFFEY Jr.* (Feb
- Jul 1700 - aft 1774) &
Unknown MARTIN
Chesley COFFEY (Bet 1720-1730 - aft 1760) & Jane CLEVELAND (1725 -
aft 1760)
Salathial COFFEY (abt 1753 - 1784) & Elizabeth NEWTON (1758 - )
Eli COFFEY (8 May 1775 - 18 Jul 1833) & Mary "Polly"
COFFEY (7 Dec 1785 - 10 Mar 1872)
Newton Eli COFFEY (2 May 1823 - 13 Jan 1890) & Martha Louise
VERMILLION (1827 - 1904)
Newton COFFEY (23 Sep 1875 - 26 May 1969) & Adelia Gertrude ROBINSON
(1878 - 1973)
Leo Newton COFFEY (22 Jul 1901 - 26 Oct 1998) & Elsie Maureen WALKER
(1903 - 1983)
Leo Frederick COFFEY (8 Jan 1942 - ) & Carol Lee LEHMAN (24 Jan 1943
- )
Misc. Notes
(Note: You will see
many spelling variations on the name "Coffey" below. The participants
were mostly illiterate, and therefore the name would be spelled however it
sounded to the writer of the documents.)
Edward
Coffey, Planter:
The
first record of Edward Coffey in VA appears in the will of Edward Mosely, dated
6 Jan 1699, in which he gives to his "servant Ed. Coffe one heifer of 2
yrs. old." This will was proved on 16 Apr 1700 in Essex County, and on 10
Sep of the same year, Edward Coffey received a judgment from the Mosely estate
for his freedom, corn, & clothes. Edward COFFEY and Anne POWELL were
married in 1700 in Essex Co., VA. (The Index to Marriages of Old
Rappahannock and Essex Counties, Virginia, page 58, cites their record of
marriage is contained in Book D&W 10, page 75.)
Edward
Coffey was probably transported to America during the "Williamite
Confiscation", by Edward Mosely. (ÒWilliamite ConfiscationÓ refers to land
lost by Irish landholders when William of Orange deposed James II in about
1690. This is part of the beginning of the troubles in Northern Ireland which
persist to this day.)
Edward
Coffey is a witness to Thomas Powell's wlll of Sittingbourne Parish, Essex Co.,
Va. in which Thomas bequeathed 1 shilling to his daughter Ann Coffey (Edward's
wife).
Edward
Coffey was a tobacco planter, and had land on branches of Occupacia Creek in
Essex County, VA. (Ask Google to show you "Occupacia Road" which
parallels the creek in Virginia – the creek is a tributary of the
Rappahannock River and intersects Route 17 about 12 miles northwest of
Tappahannock, VA. It is about 50 miles south of Washington DC. Note also that
"Occupacia" is also referred to as Occupatia, Occupation, etc.)
LAND
TRANSACTIONS:
(Source:
R. Stanley Harsh, a genealogist for the Chenault Family)
In
1704 the Quit Rent Roll did not list Edward Coffee. This is a fairly reliable
indicator that he owned no land on that date.
On
7 Feb 1706/7 Edward Coffey of St. Anne's Parish, Essex Co., bought 118 acres on
branches of Occupation Swamp from Mr. Augustine Smith and wife Susanna for 4720
lbs of tobacco, with apparently half down. The last was part of 2358 acres
granted Smith by patent 2 May 1705.
On
10 Nov 1714 Edward and Ann Coffee, planter, sold this same 118 acres on
Occupation Creek to John Barbee for 5000 pounds tobacco
On
16 Jul 1716 John and Edward Coffee (the oldest sons of Edward Sr.) of St. Ann's
Parish bought a plantation of 200 acres from John Mosely, son and executor of
Edward Mosely. The plantation included houses, buildings, barns, tobacco sheds,
gardens, etc. The land was on the east side of Occupation Creek, a small branch
of Gilsons Creek, a part of a parcel commonly called Mosely's Quarter. They
paid 8000 lbs. tobacco.
Explanation
of above land transaction:
Edward
Sr. apparently purchased the plantation from John Mosely sometime prior to the
above deed, making payment of 8000 pounds tobacco (probably in 1714/15, and
partly covered by the tobacco he received for the 1714 land sale). For some
reason the deed to the purchased plantation apparently did not get recorded
prior to Edward's death. This land was then bequeathed in Edward's will of 14
Feb 1715/6 to his two sons John and Edward, with 1/3 to wife Ann. After his
death the deed was finally recorded, vesting title in his two sons.
This
land deal is part of the logic that perhaps John and Edward Jr. were minors
under age 16 when their father's will was written on 14 Feb 1715/6, but over
the age of 16 (and of legal age) when the land transaction was recorded on 16
Jul 1716. Thus they may have been twins, born after February, but before July ,
in 1700?
WHO
WAS EDWARD'S FATHER? One will find many ÒclaimsÓ that the father of Edward is
known, and that his name was John. Let us start by explaining why this is
invalid: The following is taken from ÒJames Bluford Coffey His Ancestors and
Descendants in AmericaÓ, written in 1984 by Marvin D. Coffey:
ÒAnyone
who has been associated with the Coffey family history for some time will tell
you that the first known Coffey to come to America was John Coffee who came to
Elizabeth City county, Virginia in 1637 as an indentured servant, the patentee
being Nicholas Hill. However, Greer made a mistake in copying his name from
Virginia land patents, a mistake that was picked up by Nugent when she compiled
her books on these land patents. She records his name as ÒJohn Coffin or
Scoffin.Ó In order to rectify the discrepancy I went to the original records
and found that Nugent has made a correct copy; the name is given as Coffin at
first and then at the end the name is repeated but appears to have an old style
ÒsÓ in front of it so as to make it Scoffin. At any rate, it is not Coffee or
Coffey. It may be the Greer assumed Coffin was meant to be Coffee. However,
Coffin is an entirely separate name, dating from early times, and perhaps more
common than the name Coffey in America.Ó
WILL
OF EDWARD COFFEY:
Essex
County, Virginia Records
Deeds
& Wills No. 14, Page 669
IN
THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. I Edward Coffey being in bedd of sickness but in perfett
sense & emmbrey thanks bee to God; I Edward Cofey do bequeath this to bee
my Last Will & Testament, -
I
leave all my Land to my two Suns John Cofey and Edward Cofey Equall to be
divided at Sixten Ears of age if the mother of them be ded otherwayes att
Eighten Years of Ages.
I
also give one Cowe & her increase to my daughter Marther Cofey att ye Ears
of Sixten or at her mothers deth allso one Cowe yerlen to my Sun John Coffey
& her increase
All
the tenebles Stock & Bock I give to my wife Ann Cofey till her deth but if
she marys then every one of my Children to have their parts as they come of
age, and after ye Deces of my wife all tenables to be Equall devided between my
Six children John, Edward Cofey, Marther Cofey, Ann Cofey, Anstes Cofey,
Elisabeth Cofey.
As
witness my hand & Seall this 14th day of Febry 1715/16
Samel.
Edmondson
Themety
(mark) Selemon
Edward
(his mark) Coffey
_files/image002.png)
(Edward
signed with a "mark", the strange M-like figure. One guess is that
this mark was chosen because he had a vested interest in the plantation "_M_oseley's Quarter", or maybe it
went back to when he was a servant of Mosely?)
At
a court held for Essex County on "Tuesday ye 20th day of Novr 1716s"
the above "last Will and Testament of Edward Coffey deed, was presented
& proved by the oath of Ann Coffey his wife & Exex. therin named &
also by ye oaths of Samuel Edmondson and Timothy Seleven the evidences thereto
& is ordered to be recorded & is recorded."
(This,
and other associated documents, show wife Ann signs with a mark "A".)
OBSERVATIONS (by Fred
Coffey): I have seen a copy of
Edward's will, and it is very difficult to read (quill pens and fancy writing
can do that). One issue is the name IÕve shown above as ÒAnstes CofeyÓ, and
whom I interpret as a daughter. Others think it is ÒAustinÓ, and a son. My vote
is clearly on the Òdaughter AnstesÓ side.
The
date is transcribed above as Ò14th day of Febry 1715/16Ó. It would have been
Ò1715Ó as originally written, but when the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in
1752 the start of the new year was moved forward from March 1, to January 1,
and in the new calendar it would be Ò1716Ó.
Another
issue of the will relates to sons John and Edward. The will implies they were
minors (under age 16) when the will was written on February 14, 1716. But there
was a land transaction on July 16 that implied John and Edward were Òof ageÓ,
and that Edward was then dead (even though the will was not proved until
November 20, 1716). Marvin D. Coffey (see above) interprets this as possibly
meaning that John and Edward were twins, who reached age 16 between 14 Feb 1716
and 16 Jul 1716. This leads to the conclusion that they were born in 1700,
suggesting that Edward and Ann were married circa 1699-1700.
The inventory of Edward's
estate was published 4 Dec 1716, and sworn by wife Ann (her mark
"A"). It was approved and recorded 18 Dec 1716.
Note one pound (£) contains
20 shillings (s), and one shilling contains 12 pence (p) Also these were
probably colonial currency, rather than British Sterling:
Inventory of Edward Coffey
|
£ |
s |
d |
|
12 head of cattle |
15 |
- |
- |
|
18 head of hogs |
8 |
9 |
- |
|
1 featherbed
covering & bed stead |
3 |
10 |
- |
|
2 old beds and
cover |
2 |
- |
- |
|
2 chests and some
remnants of goods |
1 |
7 |
- |
|
2 coats and 2 __
and a pair of ___ |
2 |
- |
- |
|
2 pots and 1 yard
of goods |
- |
12 |
- |
|
25 pounds of pewter |
1 |
5 |
- |
|
23 1/2 of old
pewter |
- |
12 |
- |
|
A parcel of
earthenware |
- |
4 |
6 |
|
1 box iron and
heaters |
- |
3 |
- |
|
1 frying pan and
skillet |
- |
6 |
- |
|
1 lot of iron
wedges |
- |
5 |
- |
|
53 pounds of nails |
- |
13 |
3 |
|
1 saddle and bridle |
- |
7 |
- |
|
1 iron ___ |
- |
3 |
- |
|
A parcel of old
iron |
- |
4 |
- |
|
___ and buttons,
pins and needles |
- |
5 |
- |
|
1 tub and 2 ___ |
- |
10 |
- |
|
3 bushels and a
peck of beans & wheat |
- |
8 |
- |
|
2 old barrels and 2
old sifters |
- |
3 |
- |
|
Some bowls &
___ and table leaf |
- |
5 |
- |
|
A pole saw &
carving knife and 6 bottles |
- |
4 |
- |
|
1 old tub and pail |
- |
5 |
- |
|
1 ____ |
- |
3 |
- |
|
1 horse and mare |
6 |
- |
- |
|
1 saddle tree &
2 forms and 2 old bags |
- |
5 |
- |
|
TOTAL |
45 |
10 |
9 |
Following
is taken from Marvin D. CoffeyÕs book:
----------------------------------------------------------------
by Marvin D. Coffey
In
considering this subject it should be understood that we do not know the
specific origin of our Coffey line. However, all of those coming to America
seem to have originated in Ireland. The name Coffey is an English rendering of
the Irish Cobhthaigh or Cobhthach, which means "victorious" . As is
true with many other Irish names it was in earlier times given as O'Coffey and
O'Cobhthaigh, meaning "of the family of" or "descendant
of". The name Cobhthaigh is Gaelic, originating from Celtic bands that
roared over much of Europe in the 3rd and 4th centuries, B.C. and invaded
Ireland sometime later. The Cobhthaigh line is traced back to Cobhthaigh's
grandfather Olliol Flann Beag, King, of Munster (about 240 A.D.), and from
there to the brothers Ithe and Bile, relatives of Milesius, King of Spain. In
803 A.D. Fergus Mos O'Cobhthaigh brought the leaders of the 3 most powerful
warring clans of Eire, the O'Briens, O'Niels, and McCarthys, together at Tara,
the ancient capitol of Eire, where a peace treaty was signed. For his diplomacy
and respect for law and order he was made supreme judge of Eire, a position
which has been hereditarily held by the family for seven generations.
Members
of this family seem to have settled in various parts of Ireland, but there were
3 main septs. The best known was O'Cowhey, O'Cowhig, or O'Coffey of Fuin
Cleena, chief of Triocha Meona, now the barony of West Barryroe, Corca Laoighe
(Cork county)in Munster. These once powerful chiefs had seven castles along the
coast and ruins of them still exist.
A
second group was Ui Maine (counties Galway and Roscommon in Connaught.) They
lost their lands and influence in the Cromwellian and Williamite confiscation's
of the 17th century. The Irish Civil War of 1641 is credited with being the
cause of the Comnonwealth confiscation's in Ireland. Because of their devotion
to faith, King, and country the estates of the Irish Papist" landed gentry
were almost wholesale confiscated to make room for the Cromwellian settlement.
In 1649 Cromwell became Commander-in-Chief of all English forces in Ireland and
soon conquered most of the country. There followed a great deal of
redistribution of the land. In 1675 12 1/2 million acres were redistributed,
nearly 81 million acres passing into the hands of English and Scottish
settlers. During the Williamite confiscation's, 1688-1702, 1,060,792 acres and
much personal possessions were forfeited by Irishmen loyal to King James the
Second. About one-fourth of these were eventually returned to their former
owners (by the Treaty of Limerick), but most went to personal friends of King
William the Third. Another consequence of the Commonwealth confiscation of
Ireland was the suppression of prefixes like O'. Some families later returned
to this use but the Coffeys did not.
Some
of the Coffeys transplanted or otherwise removed from their lands included in
1653-54: Thomas Coffie, Balligiffe, county Westmeath; Edward Coffy, Ballinkeny,
county Westmeath; Murtagh Coffy, Rogerstown, county Westmeath; and Daniel
Coffey, Province of Connaught. Others, date and locality not given, were: Teige
Coffie, and Hugh and Owen Coffy.
The
third Coffey family was that of county Westmeath in Leinster, a celebrated
bardic family. In ancient Ireland the bards ranked next to royalty. They
preserved the folklore, handing it down from generation to generation by word
of mouth. A bardic Coffey family also lived in Connaught.
There
are genealogical charts listing descendants from Ithe through over 90
generations down to an Edward Coffey in America in the 1800s. However, we do
not know at which point our line branched from this genealogy. It is quite
possible the ancestor went from Ireland to England for sometime before coming to
America. The later (nineteenth century) Coffeys who came to America from Dublin
were probably of the Munster sept (largely from county Cork.)
If
one wishes to trace their origins further than the above a good source is
O'Hart's Irish Pedigrees and The Annals of the Four Masters by O'Clery, et al.
After listing the generations from Adam to Noah as given in the Bible, and that
Noah's son Japhet was given Europe and most of Asia as an inheritance, O'Hart
mentions some descendants of Japhet that settled and developed the Scythian
nation. Ireland was invaded by a series of sythian groups in very early times
but the most prominent were the Melesians. They seem to be descended from
Japhet's son Magog (as were the earlier groups) but through the latter's son
Baoth and several generations of descendants who spent some time in Phoenicia,
Egypt, and Crete before one Brigus conquered large areas around the
Mediterranean, including what is now Spain. He had 2 sons, Ithe and Bile. The
latter was King of these conquered countries and his son Milesius succeeded
him. Milesius was quite an adventurer. He went to Scythia where he became a
general and married the King's daughter. Because he was so popular the King
became jealous of him and ensuing events led to Milesius slaying the King. He
then went to Egypt where the Pharaoh made him his general and gave him a
daughter, Scota, in marriage, Milesius now being a widower. At length he took
leave and returned to Spain. Some years later he sent his uncle Ithe along with
the latter's son Lughaidh to Ireland. Ithe was subsequently killed by the
ruling group there. Lughaidh and some of the men escaped to bring word back to
Milesius who then dispatched his sons and many men to conquer the Island.
Milesius' son Heremon eventually became the sole ruler of Ireland and his
brother's sons received large land inheritances. He also gave a part of Munster
to Lughaidh.
The
Milesians ruled Ireland for 2,885 years down to their submission to the Crown
of England in the person of Henry the Second. The Heremonian nobility includes
all the Kings of Scotland down to the Stuarts and the Kings and Queens of
England from Henry the Second down to the present time.
From
Ithe's son Luighaidh O'Hart gives the descendants down to Cobthach Fionn, a
name meaning "Fairhaired Victor." Cobthach is synonymous with
Cobhthaigh. His son was O'Cobhthaigh and as mentioned earlier, local dialects
were anglicized to O'Coffey, O'Cowhig, Cowhey, Caughey, Coffey, Coffy, and
Coffee. The name O'Coffey exists at least from as early as 1213 A.D. when
Ainmire O'Coffey died. He was an "abbot of the Church of Derry, an
ecclesiastic of noble birth, distinguished for piety, charity, wisdom and other
virtues." He was also a near kinsman of Erlile, number 104 on the
Nicholson line.
A
list of the principle or well-known families in Ireland from the llth to the
beginning of the 17th century included O'Coffey, chief in Westmeath, O'Coffey
in Galway and O'CoffŽ'(location not mentioned). In 1960 there were listed as
being 4,250 Coffeys in Ireland.
Since
Ireland was invaded by many groups over the centuries, the O'Coffey line as
well as others must have been well mixed. Goiner, another descendant of Japhet,
is thought by most scholars to be the ancestor of the Cimmerians who in turn
were the source of, among others, the Gaelic and Celtic peoples, some of whom
settled Ireland. It should be mentioned that the terms Gaelic and Celtic have
come to be almost synonymous in terms of origin.
There
is another source that suggests that the name which means "fairhaired
victor" (Cobthach Fionn) must have come from a Norserax, during the Norse
invasion in the 9th and 10th centuries), who stayed around and married a native
Irish girl. This does make more sense as one would not expect a line from Spain
or Southern Europe to produce someone who was "fairhaired" and we
know that the Norsemen did remain in Ireland for several centuries and
intermarried with the Celts and others who were already there. However, I know
of no other records indicating this to be the case and it would seem that the
name Cobthach (or Cobhthaigh) Fionn was used before the Norsemen came.
A DNA FOOTNOTE:
By
Fred Coffey
The
"Coffey Surname Project" uses DNA from the "y" chromosome
(y-DNA) to help analyze family relationships between males with the
Coffee/Coffey surname. This chromosome is passed down only from father to son,
and it mutates only rarely.
At
this writing (2011) there are 24 Coffey "y-lines" identified. We
define these as tested groups or individuals who have the Coffey surname but
who have a y-DNA profile different from all others, OR those who have known
Coffey-connected y-DNA, but different surnames. You can learn more at
http://www.coffey.ws/FamilyTree/DNA/
There
are many reasons the number of y-lines can be large, including adoptions,
illegitimate children, etc. We know at least 7 of these lines originated in
Ireland, several in America, and many "unknown".
Almost
all of these 24 are in "Haplogroup R1", which is the most common
among European ancestors, including UK and Ireland. Only one tested person is
group "I", which is rare, but is most common in Scandanavia. That
could be evidence of a "Viking" connection linked to the Norse
invasions 1000 years ago, as discussed in the previous section?
Marriage: abt
1700 Rappahannock
Co., VA
--------------------------------------------------
Spouse: Ann
POWELL
--------------------------------------------------
Birth: 1683-1685 Essex
Co., VA
Death: Oct-Dec
1744
Father: Thomas
POWELL (1630-1701)
Mother: Mary
PLACE (1645-1710)
Other spouses: Robert
DUNLIN
Misc. Notes
See
notes with her father, she is mentioned in his will with name ÒCoffeeÓ.
NOTES FROM MARVIN COFFEY'S BOOK:
ÒAfter
her husband Edward Coffey died in 1716 she married Robert Dooling (or Dulin),
the ceremony occuring before March 19, 1717. They had two children, William,
born about 1720 and Thomas, born about 1725. In AnnÕs will, made October 30,
1744 in St. AnnÕs Parish, Essex county she leaves all her possessions to the
two ÒDoolingÓ boys and her daughter Annisters (Ann) Coffey and AnnisterÕs son,
James Coffey. It would seem, from the language of the will, than Annister was
living with her mother. We know of no marriage of Annisters and unless she did
marry some unknown Coffey the likelihood exists that her son James was
illegitimate. From the date of birth of AnnÕs last child it would appear she
was probably born about 1685, or a few years earlier."
WILL OF ANN (COFFEE) DULIN:
"In
the name of God Amen. I, Ann Duling of the County of Essex in the Parish of St
Ann's being very sick but of disposing memory do make this my last will and
testament in manner and form following, viz.,
Item.
I give and bequeath to my daughter Annisters Coffe one feather bed and
furniture which I now have in the house and one brown heifer and also one
spotted heifer unto her son James Coffe, also one dish and two basins unto my
daughter Annisters Coffe, also half the corn that is made on my plantation this
year and one pot and one frying pan and one water pail, also one chest, my
least chest, and five head of hogs.
Item.
I give and bequeath to my son Thomas Duling one feather bed and furniture which
he now has in his possession and one gray horse and one cow and yearling, all
the remainder of my estate to be equally divided amongst all my children herein
not bequeathed and I do appoint my son William Duling and my daughter Annisters
Coffe, executor and executrix of this my last will and testament whereof I have
here unto set my hand and seal the thirtyth day of October in the year of our
Lord Christ seventeen hundred and forty four.
Ann
A (mark) Duling
Test.
William Taylor, William Dobson"
"At
a court held for Essex County at Tappas on the 18th day of December
Anno Dom: 1744 this last will and testament of Ann Duling deceased was
presented in Court by Annister Coffe the executrix and William Duling the
executor therein named, who made oath thereto and being also proved by the
oaths of both the witnesses thereto was admitted to record and is truly
recorded. Test John Lee D Ct Cur"
(On
this same date Annister Coffee and William Duling acknowledged a bond, subject
to an appraisal of their mother Ann Duling's estate. Annister signed with her
mark "A", but her half-brother William was apparently able to sign
his own name.)
EDWARD AND ANN COFFEY:
MORE ABOUT THEIR FAMILY
(by Fred Coffey)
Usually
I focus my search and reporting of biographical information on my ancestors,
but in the case of this family I became quite involved in finding and
organizing information on collateral lines of their other children. Some of it
is quite interesting, and I will summarize it here as "family
background":
(I
include this discussion in the section on Ann (Powell) (Coffey) Dulin, because
most of the events discussed below occurred after the death of Edward.)
This
is still an evolving endeavor, and whenever I discover anything new I tend to
write a ÒPaperÓ on the topic. You can find more detail, and more current
information, at:
http://www.coffey.ws/FamilyTree/
Scroll down to the bottom of the home page, and you will find links to a
number of my documents.
I owe particular thanks to Bonnie Culley, Jack Coffee, and John Chenault
for helping me with the research documented in the above link.
As briefly mentioned
earlier, Edward's will is difficult to read, and many researchers have had
special trouble with the name of one of the children. It is variously read as
"Austin", a male child, or "Anstes" or "Austis",
a female child.
The above link offers a
paper with a letter-by-letter analysis, and reaches the conclusion that it is
"Anstes".
We donÕt know for sure
what happened to Anstes after EdwardÕs will was written, but thereÕs an
interesting theory offered by the Chenault family. You can visit their home
page, and then link to their ÒFamily HistoryÓ, at the following:
HereÕs what they have to
say: ÒIt is now believed that Stephen (II) Chenault, son of the immigrant Estienne
Cheneau, born about 1702, married twice and had five sons, four from his first
marriage, born between 1720-30, and one from his second marriage, born
1749. Although the identity of the mother of the first four sons is not
clearly known, many researchers believe she was Anstes Coffey and that she died
in the 1730-1740 timeframe. Subsequently, Stephen apparently married
Anstes' sister Anniester, who lived with her mother until the death of her
mother in 1744. She is noted in public records in conjunction with
administration of her mother's will and then is found in the Merchant account
books of King and Queen County, VA, in the mid-1700's as "Anniester Chinault."
ANNISTER'S BABY:
We do know a lot about Annister,
the daughter of Edward and Ann. She had a base born (illegitimate) baby in
about 1735, and named him "James Coffey". Annister was indicted by a
Grand Jury in Essex County, Virginia, on November 17, 1736 for having this
child.
I have been told by
another researcher that Ann, the mother of Annister, apparently agreed in court
to take responsibility for raising this child. I speculate that she may have
done this to avoid family embarrassment about the father, who we will show had
other family links to the Coffey family?
THE 275-YEAR-OLD
PATERNITY TEST:
So who WAS the father of
Annister's baby, James? Modern technology has probably now solved this
"cold case":
Baby James had a male
line of descendants, and we were able to get a y-DNA test from two of his
sixth-great (G6) grandsons. (See more info on the Coffey Surname DNA Project in
the above link.)
Our first thought was
that James' father might be a "Chenault", since Annister later
married a Stephen Chenault. We actually found a G4 grandson of Stephen and
Annister, who had a y-DNA test, but there was no match to James. So James'
father was almost certainly NOT a Chenault.
So we looked for random
DNA matches (those are common, and usually do not mean anything unless there is
other supporting information). But one of the low level matches was named
"Cleveland". There had been 2 (maybe 3) marriages of Edward and Ann's
children to the children of Alexander Cleveland (1687-1771), and a little
checking showed the person tested was indeed a G8 grandson of Alexander! But
additional test upgrades soon ruled out ÒClevelandÓ – it just wasnÕt a
good enough match.
But then we were pointed
to a 1738/9 court record which read ÒIt is ordered that the Churchwardens of
St. Anns Parish do bind James Coffy a bastard child to James Samuel as the Law
Directs.Ó
This time, DNA testing
on descendants of this ÒSamuelÓ family left no doubt: The father of James was
definitely someone in that Samuel family. Yes, it could be a brother or son of
the James Samuel (born 14 Jun 1690, died 16 May 1759) named in the court case,
but James SamuelÕs name in the court record, plus the sonÕs name of ÒJamesÓ,
leaves little doubt. Case solved!
ANNISTER'S HUSBAND:
The will of her mother, Ann, suggests that Annister
continued to live with her mother Ann (Coffey) Dulin until Ann died in 1744.
Annister was a beneficiary and executrix of her mother's will. Also Annister's
son James, then about age 9, was remembered in his grandmother's will with a
gift of "one spotted heifer".
By no later than 1749, Annister had apparently married
Stephen Chenault II, and had at least one more child. I have been corresponding
with Reverend John Chenault, from Frankfort, KY, who believes he is descended
from William Chenault, born to Annister and Stephen in 1749.
The Chenault's and the Coffey's lived near each other
at Occupatia Creek in Essex County. The primary evidence (see above link for
full details) was that "Annister Chenault" settled an account with a
merchant, Ninian Boog (agent for a Liverpool, England firm of Buchanan and
Hamiltion), on August 7, 1749, involving tobacco from Occupatia..
(The transaction itself was interesting. The account
was settled with one hogshead of tobacco "at Occupatia" weighing 994
pounds. Of this, 769 pounds were needed to settle an outstanding account
balance of 4£, 6s, 7p., for sundries the Chenault family had charged with this
merchant during the previous year. Annister took her "change" for the
remaining 225 pounds of tobacco in the form of £2 s3 in cash plus 2 shillings
worth of brown sugar.)
Annister's son James would be age 14 at the time of
this transaction, and was presumably still living with his mother and
stepfather. He probably helped to harvest and process the tobacco.
JAMES COFFEE OF SURRY COUNTY:
Now, I became very interested in James, the son of
Annister, almost by accident. It turns out that James moved to Surry County,
North Carolina, where he became a Constable. And there he would have made the
acquaintance of one Robert Walker, Esq., a Justice on the County Court. Robert
is my G5 grandfather on my mother's side, and the Surry County Court Minutes
have many, many references to both James and Robert (plus several other
ancestors and collateral relatives on my Walker side).
James and Robert lived in an interesting place, at an
interesting time - during the American Revolution. The above link will tell you
much more about James Coffee.
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Children
Edward COFFEY (1650-1670 - abt 14 Feb
1716) & Ann POWELL (1683-1685 - Oct-Dec 1744)
John COFFEY (abt 1700 -
1774) & Jane/Jean GRAVES (1711 - 1776)
James COFFEY (4 Jul 1729 - 1786) & Elizabeth CLEVELAND (Feb
1726/1727 - 1827)
William COFFEY (1731 - )
John
COFFEY (1733 - )
Edmund COFFEY (1735 - )
Winifred COFFEY (abt 1739 - )
Thomas COFFEY (1742 - )
Reuben COFFEY (1744 - )
Benjamin COFFEY (1747 - 4 Jan 1834) & Mary ÒPollyÓ HAYES
Elizabeth COFFEY (1749 - )
Edward COFFEY Jr.* (Feb -
Jul 1700 - aft 1774) & Unknown
Chesley COFFEY (Bet 1720-1730 - aft
1760) & Jane CLEVELAND (1725 - aft 1760)
Edward COFFEY Jr.* (Feb
- Jul 1700 - aft 1774) & Grace
CLEVELAND (1 Sep 1716 - )
Cleveland COFFEY (abt 1740 - )
William COFFEY (abt 1745 - )
Isaac COFFEY (abt 1750 - )
Jesse COFFEY (abt 1755 - 1810)
Benjamin COFFEY (1763 - )
James COFFEY (abt 1765 - )
Martha (Patsy) COFFEY (abt
1702 - abt 1772)
Annister COFFEY* (abt 1708 -
) & James SAMUEL (14 Jun 1690 - 16 May 1759)
James COFFEY (abt 1735 - )
Annister COFFEY* (abt 1708 -
) & Jr Stephen CHENAULT (abt 1702 - )
William CHENAULT (1749 - )
Anstes COFFEY (abt 1710 - )
& (Stephen CHENAULT???)
Elizabeth COFFEY (abt 1714 -
1770) & John CLEVELAND (31 Jul 1714 - 1 Nov 1778)
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Please
report corrections or additions to...
Fred
Coffey, 2604 University Blvd., Houston, TX 77005
713-592-9076 FredCoffey@AOL.COM