Name:             Edward COFFEY Jr.

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Birth:               bef 16 Jul 1700 Essex Co., VA

Death:              aft 1774           Albermarle Co., VA (probably)

Father:             Edward COFFEY (1650-~1716)

Mother:            Ann POWELL (1683-)

 

Misc. Notes

    Edward COFFEY (1650-1670 - abt 14 Feb 1716) & Ann POWELL (1683-1685 - )

        Edward Jr. COFFEY* (bef 16 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)

 

                *Nathan COFFEY (1760 - 1823) & Mary Ann SAUNDERS (1770 - )

                    **Mary "Polly" COFFEY** (7 Dec 1785 - 10 Mar 1872) & Eli COFFEY (8 May 1775 - 18 Jul 1833)

 

                        Newton Eli COFFEY (2 May 1823 - 13 Jan 1890) & Martha Louise VERMILLION (1827 - 1904)

                            William COFFEY (27 Oct 1848 - 16 Mar 1896) & Malcena BARBRE (1855 - 1920)

                                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)

 

              * Salathial and Nathan were brothers, therefore ** Eli and Mary were first cousins.

 

It is not clear that Edward COFFEY Jr. is the father of Chesley COFFEY. See the extensive discussion by Tim Peterman in the notes that go with Chesley COFFEY. Tim argues that this Edward COFFEY, who married Grace CLEVELAND, cannot be the father of Chesley, because Grace would be too young -- unless Edward was married to someone else before he married Grace. However there are a number of Ancestry.com sites that show exactly that situation. They show that Edward was first married to an ÒUnknown MARTINÓ. I have taken the scenario from these sites as one plausible scenario, which clearly remains unproven.

 

Data is taken from a site at http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:ah11347&id=I4724

It seems consistent with Tim PetermanÕs analysis.

 

Following is a note from Bonnie Culey, editor of the Coffey Cousins Clearing House, about the possibility that Edward had a middle name ÒJoshuaÓ (dated 11/30/03): One of the scenario that I often hear is that Edward had a first wife -- probably a ??? Chesley are the parents of Chesley Coffey. I do believe that you will find when consulting better genealogist than I am that it would be highly unlikely for Edward to have a middle name.  Check with Tim also but we have no middle names for any Coffee/Coffey until the mid 1700s or often later.  It was not common practice for people to use them at that time.  They would have "nic-names" some times or shortened names.  Please check with Tim and see what he says.  Marvin Coffey was the one who corrected me when I was still a novice with the newsletter.  I often find people on the web who want to add the middle name of Esther to Ann Powell just because she had a daughter listed in documents as Annister.  Some make her name Ann Esther but we have never found it that way in any document.

 

Hope I am not being hard nosed but we are having a problem with the web and things being published there that can't be proved.

 

I have heard the ? Martin idea too but have never hear of any proof.  I think Marvin Coffey was looking for a Martin family that lived in the area of the Coffeys at the appropriate time for a marriage.  If I remember correctly he didn't find one but I am not sure of this information.  It might be worth looking into.

 

NOTES FROM MARVIN D. COFFEY:

(Extracted from "James Bluford Coffey, His Ancestors and Descendants in America", by Marvid D. Coffey)

(These notes reflect great uncertainty, may be useful to direct some future research.)

 

"We know very little about (Edward Jr.) and his wife Grace Cleveland. Edward sold his share of the land in Essex county (inherited from his father, see notes with father) to his brother John in 1737 and apparently moved to Orange county where he witnessed a deed in 1740. The Cleveland family lived in Orange county at that time, so this is probably where he met and married Grace. We do not know when this marriage tok place, but Grace Cleveland is mentioned in some Orange county records in 1734, so it would have been after this time and probably also after 1737. There is also a brief mention of Edward in Caroline county records in 1745, but it is not known if he lived there. On January 20, 1751, he bought 150 acres in Anson county North Carolina on Jones Creek on the south side of the Pee Dee River. A year and a half later on August 15, 1752 he sold it and apparently moved back to orange county Virginia. He is listed there on the 1749 list of tithables and again in 1754. The family musst have soon moved over to Fredericksville Parish in Albemarle county, as Edward is mentioned a number of times in these records from 1769 to 1774. Most of these relate to payments to Edward for care which he provided for Alexander Cleveland, evidently his father-in-law.

 

"As to the children of Edward and Grace we have no information. However, I believe there are some otherwise-unaccounted-for Coffeys who could well be their children. (See Marvin's book for a rather lengthy discussion of Edward's possible children.)

 

DNA PROJECT:

(by Fred Coffey). I am disappointed by the lack of a paper trail showing clear descent from Edward Coffey Sr. through Edward Coffey Jr. However, in cooperation with the Coffey Cousins Clearinghouse, I (Fred Coffey) have participated in a Y-DNA testing project. These tests show I have a "66 out of 67" marker match to a Luther Coffey, who traces his ancestry back to Edward Coffey by an entirely different path. This degree of match suggests a 99.9% probability that Luther and I have a common ancestor.

 

Since our respective Òpaper trailsÓ show that the Most Recent Common Ancestor (MRCA) cannot have been more recent than about 8 generations ago, it suggests an 85% probability that the MRCA is either Edward, or within 4 generations prior to Edward. When combined with other information, I believe this suggests there is almost no doubt that we are indeed descended from Edward Coffey Sr. However the exact ÒpathÓ remains uncertain.

Visit the following for the most recent update:

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

 

Spouses

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1:                    Unknown MARTIN

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2:                    Grace CLEVELAND

Birth:               1 Sep 1716       Gloucester Co., VA

Father:             Alexander CLEVELAND (1687-1771)

Mother:            Mary ÒMillieÓ PRESLEY (1675-1770)

Marriage:         1738

 

CHILDREN:

Edward COFFEY Jr. (Feb -  Jul 1700 - aft 1774) & Unknown MARTIN

    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 - )

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Fred Coffey, 2604 University Blvd., Houston, TX 77005, 713-592-9076,  FredCoffey@AOL.COM