Name:

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. (“Williamite Confiscation” 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 “claims” 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 “James Bluford Coffey His Ancestors and Descendants in America”, written in 1984 by Marvin D. Coffey:

“Anyone 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 “John Coffin or Scoffin.” 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 “s” 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.”

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

(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 I’ve shown above as “Anstes Cofey”, and whom I interpret as a daughter. Others think it is “Austin”, and a son. My vote is clearly on the “daughter Anstes” side.

The date is transcribed above as “14th day of Febry 1715/16”. It would have been “1715” 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 “1716”.

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 “of age”, 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. Coffey’s book:

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Ancient Origins of The Coffey Family

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'Coffé'(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.

There are presently 16 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://members.aol.com/FredCoffey/CousinsDNA,htm

There are many reasons the number of y-lines can be large, including adoptions, illegitimate children, etc. We know at least 5 of these lines originated in Ireland, several in America, and many "unknown".

Almost all of these 16 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?

See notes with her father, she is mentioned in his will with name “Coffee”.

NOTES FROM MARVIN COFFEY'S BOOK:

“After 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 Ann’s will, made October 30, 1744 in St. Ann’s Parish, Essex county she leaves all her possessions to the two “Dooling” boys and her daughter Annisters (Ann) Coffey and Annister’s 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 Ann’s 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 18^th 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. You can find more detail, and more current information, at:

http://members.aol.com/FredCoffey/CoffeyChenaultConnections.htm

I owe particular thanks to Bonnie Culley, Jack Coffee, and John Chenault for helping me with the research documented in the above link.

WHO IS ANSTES?

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 letter-by-letter analysis, and reaches the conclusion that it is "Anstes".

Anstes was once thought to have married a Chenault. However we will offer evidence below that is was her sister Annister who so married. The bottom line, then, is that we really don't know what happened to Anstes after Edward's will was written.

ANNISTER'S BABY:

Annister, the daughter of Edward and Ann, 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 270-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 (see below) 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 matches (those are common, and usually do not mean anything unless there is other supporting information). But one of the 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!

Now, Alexander Cleveland had several sons, and one of them was named "Micajah". Further, our James Coffey named one of his sons "Micajah" – that does not sound like a random coincidence. (The tested Cleveland descendant was actually also descended from this Micajah Cleveland.) (Today's trivia - the common nickname for "Micajah" was "Cage".)

We're awaiting a more definitive DNA test, but I'm ready to bet that the "Cleveland DNA" match will be sustained!

Now, how did our Annister Coffey meet Micajah Cleveland? After all, the Cleveland's lived in Orange County, and the Coffey's in Essex County, and that's 60-70 miles by horseback!

Having no real evidence, I can still speculate: Annister's sister Elizabeth married Micajah's brother John on 20 Apr 1734, and the families probably got together for the wedding. And that would work well for the birth of baby James in early 1735?

For what it's worth, there was at least one more marriage: Annister's brother Edward Jr. later (in about 1737-8) married Micajah's sister Grace. (Edward Jr. is probably MY ancestor, but possibly not through Grace. It's complicated and unclear – see notes with Edward Jr. and with his probable son Chesley.)

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.

Inventory of Edward Coffey

Ancient Origins of The Coffey Family

WHO IS ANSTES?