Name:

Misc. Notes

Memo for further examination: Tim Peterman, in looking at tax lists for Adair County, Kentucky, found references to the name “Eliazar” Coffey. There is some evidence that this is our “Eli” Coffey.

NEWTON ELI COFFEY AND

MARTHA LOUISE (VERMILLION) COFFEY

THE EARLY DAYS IN RUSSELL COUNTY, KENTUCKY

By Fred Coffey

I recently spent an afternoon in the Clayton Library in Houston, reading their files on Russell County, Kentucky. There were many references to the families of Newton and Martha in the court records, and they shed light on their early lives. Following is a discussion of what we know about their early years in Russell County, Kentucky.

RUSSELL COUNTY: Newton's obituary later in these notes says he was born in Barton County, KY. I can't even find such a county in Kentucky. However the census shows his parents living in Adair County in 1810 and 1820. Russell County was formed from Adair (and others) in about 1826. In 1830 and later years the census and numerous other records find the family in Russell County. Therefore I think there is no doubt that both Newton and Martha were born in Adair/Russell County, Kentucky.

Russell County is in the south-central part of the state. Tax records show that the Coffey family lived on Greesy Creek, which is a tributary of the Cumberland River which runs through the county. A description of the county says that the "…topography is hilly, with fertile, level bottom land along the Cumberland River and… Greasy Creek." It is a good bet that the Coffey family had some of this rich bottom-land. (Note: Much of this part of the Cumberland River and tributaries was flooded to create Lake Cumberland in 1952, so it is also a good bet that the family land is now under water.)

THE FAMILY BACKGROUND:

Newton was the son of Eli Coffey and Mary Coffey. "Coffey" was also Mary's maiden name – she and Eli were believed to be first cousins. They had 12 children, and Newton was number 10. Because of the early death of Eli, Newton's brother Willis (who was 19 when Newton was born) is very important to his life, and also to the lives of Newton's younger siblings, Mary Ann and Reuben.

Be aware that "Polly" is a common nickname for "Mary". In census and court records Newton's mother is variously referred to as either Mary or Polly, and sometimes both ways in the same document. Similarly Newton's baby sister "Mary Ann" is never called that in the records – she is "Polly Ann".

Martha's parents were Robert Vermillion and Nancy (McGlasson) Vermillion. Also mentioned in Russell County records is her grandfather, Birch Vermillion.

LAND OWNERSHIP AND FAMILY WEALTH: Eli Coffey (father of Newton) and Robert Vermillion (father of Martha) are found in the tax books for Russell County for years from 1826 until their deaths. Scanning down the tax valuations for the county, it is apparent that Eli is in the top 5%. By the standards of the county and the times he is a wealthy man. In 1833 (the year of his death) he had 155 acres of land on Greesy Creek, with a valuation of $1694.25.

Martha's father Robert Vermillion is also in the 1833 tax list. He has 102 acres on the Crocus (creek?), with a valuation of $366.

Also on the list is Martha's grandfather, Birch Vermillion, with a valuation of $100.

SLAVERY: Family tradition says that Newton and Martha left Kentucky in about 1846, at least in part because of his opposition to slavery. It was, however, very much a part of his childhood. Reading the court records one finds a large slave population in Russell County, and finds the Coffey family is quite involved:

The 1820 census (just before Newton was born) shows his father Eli owning 2 slaves - a male and a female, each under age 14. The 1826 tax books also show Eli with 2 slaves. The 1830 census shows he has three – a male and female in the 10-24 age, and a male under 10. Possibly the same two slaves as in 1820 and 1826, plus a child of theirs? And the 1833 tax records, just before his death, shows he has 7 blacks.

The inventory of Eli's estate after his death in 1833 (when Newton would have been age 10) shows only one slave. I believe (discussed below) that he transferred much of his land and slaves to his son Willis, perhaps just prior to his death.

The 1840 census shows Eli's widow Mary owning no slaves, but shows Willis (living next door) has 7. Also, based on ages, those 7 do not include the two that the family owned in 1820.

By 1850 Willis is down to two slaves – perhaps reflecting that he now has a small army of children (eight between the ages of 5 and 18) to do the hard work? Curiously, those two slaves are an 18-year-old female who is blind, and a 1 year old female.

Also by 1850 Polly (Mary), who is age 76, apparently felt a need to have servants to help her in her old age. Her slaves are a female age 76, a female age 50, a female age 17, and a male age 14.

Sometime after 1850 Willis moved his family to DeKalb County, Missouri. The 1860 census shows him living there with his wife and his three remaining youngest children. He still has one slave, a 7-year-old male.

Martha Vermillion's father Robert did not own slaves – although that may be in part because he could not afford them. He was certainly touched by slavery. In 1834 the Russell County Court ordered him (and 3 other men) to assist in appraising the value of the slaves in the estate of one James J. Hays.

FAMILY TRIVIA:

According to Russell County Court Records, Eli Coffey purchased a heifer from the Estate of Elsy Knight for $3.00 on 20 July 1829.

THE DEATH OF ELI COFFEY: On 18 July 1833, Eli Coffey (the father of Newton) died. Eli would have been age 58, and son Newton would have been age 10. Eli's Will, written in November of 1832 (see notes with Eli) gave everything to his wife Polly. He expressed a desire that when each of his sons came of age he be given "one horse, bridle & saddle". Eli's son Willis was appointed Executor.

I really don't think this will fully covers the estate situation: It would have been common then for a man to try to make sure that his sons were set up before his death. I think he transferred much of his assets to his oldest son Willis (age 29), and that he set up some sort of "trust" for his other children.

The evidence: Within a couple of years after Eli's death, his wife's tax valuation is much reduced, and that of Willis has become quite substantial. And Willis is thereafter very active in managing the family affairs, and he and his family dwell in very close proximity to Mary and her remaining children. Willis may have become the de-facto head of the family?

Although my understanding of Kentucky law in the 1830's is very weak, it appears that the death of Eli made all his children below a certain age "infant orphans", and the County Court assumed certain responsibilities to make sure they were not cheated out of their rights. And this law covered Newton (age 10), Polly Ann (age 6) and Reuben (age 3).

The Court set up a "guardian bond" for these three children in the amount of $2000 (a very substantial sum at the time), with Mary and Willis bound to report regularly on disbursements and to turn over the property to the children when the children reached age 21. Mary was appointed guardian.

In 1848 only Reuben (then age 18) remained under guardianship. At that time Willis was named his official guardian. (My guess is that perhaps Reuben was to move to Willis' farm and start working for him?)

A few of these "regular reports" on the guardianships are in the court records. In 1838 Mary reported that she had received no disbursements from the childrens' estate rights. In 1848 she reported that she had received $35 for the benefit of Polly Ann, and nothing for Reuben. In 1849 Mary reported that Polly Ann was of age and acting for herself. At the same time Willis reported that he held "about $135 or $136" for the benefit of Reuben. (Newton would have been "of age" in 1847 – one wonders what he got, and whether he got the horse and saddle promised in his father's will?)

LITERACY: As a side note of interest, we see that Eli's will is signed "Eli X Coffey Mark", and the first guardian bond is signed "Mary X Coffey Mark". It thus appears that neither Eli nor Mary (Polly) could read or write. However son Willis is able to sign the guardian bond document himself, so one would presume that Eli and Mary made sure their children were educated.

THE ESTATE INVENTORY OF ELI COFFEY:

Apparently when Eli died the court required a careful inventory of his estate. That inventory covered a long list of items, ranging in value from "Negro Woman, Betty, $125" down to "Basket $0.12".

The inventory showed a very diverse collection of livestock. He had 11 cattle (broken down as 4 cows, 3 calves, 2 steers, 2 oxen), 4 horses, 50 hogs, 16 sheep, 49 geese, and 6 beehives. Values ranged from $30 for his best bay horse down to an average value of $0.20 per goose. I would also expect that the farm had dogs, cats and chickens – with no economic value or a value too small to bother reporting.

The most valuable furniture was a clock worth $17. I'm betting it was a Grandfather clock. His wagon was worth $90, and his stills & tubs (presumably for making whiskey?) were worth $54.

What are these things worth in today's money? A rough consumer price correction from 1833 to 2004 would be to multiply the numbers by 17.5.

That would make a 20-cent goose in 1833 worth $3.50 today. (Reality check: The University of Minnesota Extension Service reports that in 2004 goslings go for $2-$3 each, and that a live adult goose ready for market for the Christmas holiday season might sell for $4.50 to $7.50. Given that "live goose" is now very much a specialty food item, the inflation index adjusted price of $3.50/bird for a flock average doesn't really seem too far off!)

MARTHA'S GRANDFATHER:

In addition to the mention in the tax lists above, we find another passing reference to Martha's grandfather, Birch Vermillion, in the Court Records:

On 11 April 1834 (Birch would have been age 66) we find that he made two purchases at the Estate Sale of James J. Hayes. He bought one auger for $0.25, and one trowel for $1.12.

THE FAMILY CROWD: The 1840 census shows that the families of Willis and Mary are living next to each other, and that there are an incredible 30 people living in the two households!

Willis and his wife have three sons and four daughters, all under the age of 15. And they have 7 slaves. That's 16 people.

Mary has 5 sons still living at home. Ages fit Reuben, Newton, William and (any two of Stanton, Nathaniel and Salathiel). There are 9 females in the house – far too many and of the wrong ages to be only Mary's daughters. However that is easily explained: Three of Mary's sons living at home are of marriageable age, and the total almost certainly includes their wives and daughters that are now living in Mary's household.

MARRIAGE: On 13 April 1843 Newton Eli Coffey married Martha Louise Vermillion. Newton would have been age 18, and Martha would have been 15. It's not known if Newton and Martha then also lived with Mary for a while, but it's quite possible.

The marriage abstract says they were married by "N. J. Coffey". This was almost certainly Newton's brother, Nathaniel Jackson Coffey, who was a Baptist Minister. The desire to serve in the ministry ran in the family?

THE ESTATE OF ROBERT VERMILLION: In early 1846 Martha's father, Robert, died. There was also an appraisal of this estate – and as would be expected it was much less extensive than that of Eli Coffey.

A particular curiosity in the Vermillion appraisal is the category of "Provisions set apart for the Widow". This includes 12 months bacon, 50 pounds of lard worth $3.00, the growing crop of wheat worth $3.00, one half barrel of corn, four hogs worth $5.50, one bed and furniture worth $8.00, one cowhide worth $1.00, and several small items worth less than a dollar.

There was also a sale of some of the property of Robert Vermillion, deceased, reported in the court records. Many of the buyers were family, with Robert's widow Nancy and his son George buying several items. And one active buyer was Robert's son-in-law Newton Coffey. Newton bought a sythe blade ($0.75), a bedstead ($10.00), a mare ($20.00), tobacco ($0.25), and a hide ($0.62).

THE MOVE TO ILLINOIS: Perhaps the death of Martha's father was a final factor in their decision to leave Kentucky, because 1846 is also the year Newton and Martha and their two young children packed up and moved to Illinois.

Census data and other family histories show that Martha's brothers, Burch and James Vermillion, had previously moved to Illinois with their families in about 1840 or 1841. They ended in Sangamon County. It is likely that Newton and Martha were moving to be near them.

1850 CENSUS, ILLINOIS, SANGAMON CO.

We next find Newton and Martha at their new home in Illinois, per the 1850 census. (Note they are indexed under the name "Coffer", and the census spells the name "Coffee".) The records include Newton (Age 29 - Farmer), Martha (age 23), and sons Benj. & Wm. (Ages 5 and 2). All are shown as born in Kentucky, except Wm., who was born in Illinois. Most interestingly, the census boxes labeled "Cannot read or write" are checked for Newton and Martha. Could it be that he was a budding minister, but unable to read? Maybe, but I'm more inclined to believe a census error.

WORKING FOR PETER CARTWRIGHT: About 1856 Newton became an ordained minister. His obituary (see below) reports that he worked for Peter Cartwright – a backwoods preacher and an outspoken opponent of slavery. For insight into Newton, following is some background on Mr. Cartwright. ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA offered the following:

"CARTWRIGHT, PETER (1785-1872), the best known of the early 19th-century Methodist circuit riders traveling by horse over the Cumberland River valley in Kentucky. Famous for outspoken sermons defending Methodism against all other creeds, he moved to Sangamon County in Illinois (1824) in protest of the South's slavery policy. He served several terms in the Illinois general assembly. His 'Autobiography' (1856) is the leading source for material on the western circuit rider's life."

http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/bio/peter.html contains the complete autobiography of Peter Cartwright, In summary, it reports “This circuit-riding Methodist minister opposed Abraham Lincoln in his campaign for the United States Congress in 1846. Cartwright moved westward to Illinois after a childhood in Kentucky and served two terms in the Illinois State Legislature. There, despite his religious orientation, he remained an opponent of reform movements. Unlike Lincoln, another Kentucky youth, Cartwright did not advocate education and refinement. Rather, he remained an advocate of the fire and brimstone religion of camp meetings, shorn of the message of progress and civilization that became the core of the Whig political ideology. In the campaign of 1846 Cartwright attacked Lincoln on the question of his religious beliefs, in response to persistent rumors that Lincoln was a deist or unbeliever. Running strongly in a predominantly Whig district, Lincoln deftly parried Cartwright's blunt attack. In a handbill he admitted that he was not a church member, but claimed he had "never denied the truth of the Scriptures." Cartwright's charges failed to derail a successful campaign, and Lincoln was elected to the House of Representatives.”

I did look at Peter Cartwright’s autobiography on line, and did an electronic search for “Coffey”, “Newton”, and “Vermillion” in the hope that Newton or his family would merit some reference, but with no success. (I also tried a search for “Coffee”, but that search only proved that Peter drank the beverage on at least 12 occasions!)

1860 CENSUS, ILLINOIS, SHELBY CO:

The census taker says his name is Newton Coffee, age 37, and a farmer with no real estate and personal estate worth $300. Martha is 33. Living at home are Benjamin age 14, William age 11, Birch age 8, and Nancy age 8 months. Benjamin was born in Kentucky, the rest of the kids in Illinois. The three boys have been attending school.

1870 CENSUS, ILLINOIS, CHRISTIAN CO: Newton is 48, a farmer, with real estate worth $5200 and other estate worth $1800. Living at home are Benj 24, William 21, Birch 20, Clorance (Cleveland Laurance) 3, Nancy 10, and Kisiah 4. Only Nancy has attended school in the past year. Note the boxes “cannot read” and “cannot write” are NOT checked for Newton and Martha, suggesting the info in the 1850 census was wrong. Newton and Benjamin were born in Kentucky, everybody else in Illinois. (I don’t think this is right for Martha.)

1880 CENSUS, ILLINOIS, CHRISTIAN CO., STONINGTON: Newton is 57 and a farmer, Martha is 54. Both were born in Kentucky, and they claimed both their parents were born in Virginia. Living with them are three children, Robert 17, Kizzie 14, and Cleveland 12. (Kizzie was a revelation -- I thought Kiziah was a male name, but she is female! This actually is consistent with other information saying they had three daughters. Based on this I changed Kiziah's gender in my records.) Also living with them is William Vermillion, age 67, the brother of Martha.

FINAL DAYS: In early 1890 Newton and Martha left Illinois to move to Iowa with their sons, William and Benjamin. However Newton died while on the train to Iowa, age 67. Martha survived until 1904, when she died in Wayne County, Iowa, at the age of 76.

MEMORIES:

In 1968 my cousin Karen Smith interviewed our grandmother, Gertrude (Robinson) Coffey, and the discussion turned to Newton Eli. While Gertrude would never have met Newton Eli, she would have known his wife Martha (her husband’s grandmother) very well, and thus she would have heard the family stories nearly first hand:

Gertrude: “(Laughing) Well, (here is) one thing… (this) was father's grandfather's scarf, that the women of the church where he had preached crocheted it and gave to him. It was a great long scarf, that he would have worn on horseback, he would have wrapped it around his head and neck. He worked with (Peter) Cartwright and stood with him and Abe Lincoln. Yes. He worked with both of them. At one time he had the Association at that place, meeting at his house. Of course they wasn't as big as they are nowadays. But he didn't do bad…”

(Fred's Interpretation: She is talking about my Great-great-grandfather Newton Eli Coffey (1823-1890). He worked with a famous trail-riding evangelist, Peter Cartwright. Given the discussion about the scarf Newton apparently actually rode with Peter. Cartwright ran against Abe Lincoln for office, and I really don't think Peter and Abe were friends! However it’s quite probable that Newton Eli did work to support Abe Lincoln at least by the time Abe ran for president. I think the "Association" is the "Rehoboth Association", a Baptist group. I am told that this scarf was later given to the museum in Leon, Iowa, by Gertrude's eldest son Carl.)

REHOBOTH ASSOCIATION:

I did a bit on online searching, and found that a Rehoboth Baptist Association was still active in the part of central Illinois where Newton preached. I sent a note (to “Rehoboth@swetland.net”) asking what they could tell me about Newton and the Association, and got the following reply:

“In response to your research I have discovered the following: Newton Coffey pastored several bivocational churches (where the pastor preaches on Sunday and farms during the week) in the Rehoboth Association.

Bethany Baptist, 4 miles west of Oconee, IL 1871-1874.

Bethel Baptist, vicinity of Macon Co., IL, 1877, closed.

East Fork Baptist, rural Coffeen, IL, 1882-1884 (memo this one at least is still active)

Little Flock Baptist, 1869, 1871-1872, 1875-1878, closed.

Providence Baptist Church 1870-1874 rural Stonington, IL.

The purpose of the Baptist Association in general is to band together for evangelism, encouragement and doing greater work together than we can do alone. I can’t find anything written about the scope of the work in the 1800’s. This area is still rural and its rural agricultural nature at that point of history made church life focal to rural folk. Many churches closed, pastors were bi-vocational, and changed churches annually at times.

Good luck on your historical research. Joe Lawson, Director of Missions, Rehoboth Baptist Association”

POSTSCRIPT ON SLAVERY:

As noted earlier, Newton Eli supposedly left Kentucky in 1846 at least in part because of his opposition to slavery. This is consistent with his association with Cartwright, who earlier also moved from Kentucky to Illinois for primarily the same reason. (In his autobiography Peter explained his departure “I had seen with painful emotions the increase of a disposition to justify slavery... (to) justify the traffic and ownership of human beings... My daughters... might marry into slave families. This I did not desire.”)

While I have no evidence about Coffey family feelings, I would suspect that this also represented a significant break with Newton’s family. Kentucky was a border state, and feelings about slavery certainly ran strong on both sides. We know that Newton’s mother still held slaves at least as late as 1850, and know that his brother Willis had a slave in 1860.

Further, I have recently corresponded with a Kevin Coffey from Nashville, TN, who is a descendent of another of Newton Eli’s brothers, Stanton. Kevin (who would be a 4th Cousin) points out that Stanton appears to have named one of his sons “Stonewall Jackson Coffey” (who appears to have later changed his name to “Thomas Jackson Coffey”), and that “Stonewall” in turn had son named “Robert E. Lee Coffey”. Thus there appears to be little doubt where the sympathies of the Kentucky family lay. And meanwhile we have Newton Eli in Illinois, supporting anti-slavery people like Cartwright and Lincoln and, as an ordained minister, presumably preaching the message from his pulpit. Family harmony must have been sorely stressed!

NEWTON COFFEY'S OBITUARY:

"Reverend N. Coffey, one of the pioneer Baptist ministers of the Rehoboth Association, was born in Barton County (I don't believe this is correct), Ky., May 2, 1823 and died Jan. 13, 1890, aged 67 years, 8 months, 11 days. He unitied with the Baptist Church at the age of 15 years and lived a very devoted and Christian life.

He was licensed early in his Christian life to preach, and for the last 34 years has been an ordained minister. He has been an efficient worker and wise counsel.

He moved to Illinois in 1846, has had his home in Sangamon, Shelby and Christian Counties. He lived near Stonington, in Christian County at the time of his death.

About the year 1841, Newton Coffey and Marthy L. Vermillion were married. They had eleven children.

Rev. Newton Coffey worked for Peter Cartwright, the great Methodist backwoods preacher for many years, but finally he moved to Shelby County, Illinois. There he preached on Sundays and farmed on week days."

MARTHA VERMILLION'S OBITUARY:

"Martha Vermillion was born in Russell County, Kentucky, on May 4th, 1827, and died March 27, 1904 at her son-in-laws, John Williams, at Big Springs, Wayne County, Iowa, at the age of 76 years, 10 months and 23 days.

She was united in marriage to Rev. Newton Coffey, April 13th, 1843 in Russell County, Ky. To this union were born 13 children, 10 sons and 3 daughters, five of which survive, one daughter and seven sons preceded the mother to the Spirit Land, all dying in infancy except two. Reverend Newton Coffey, husband of the deceased, died on the train, after traveling a distance of ten miles on his way to this county on Jan. 14, 1890. Sister Coffey accepted Christ as her savior and united with the Pilot Baptist Church in the State of Illinois in September of 1854 and was a faithful servant of God until the Master said "Come up higher." She requested her children to cease their efforts to restore her to health, for she would rather go home and be at rest. She had been in feeble health for about ten years."

Name: Newton Eli COFFEY

NEWTON ELI COFFEY AND

1850 CENSUS, ILLINOIS, SANGAMON CO.