Third Generation

9. Chesley Coffey was born (date unknown).

I have no basis in fact for this union of Chesley and Jane, or for their children and their descendants. This lineage is based on the findings of several researchers, including Marvin Coffey, census records, etc.

E-mail from Tim Peterman, Sep. 22, 2004:

Regarding Chesley Coffey:

I have recently been re-evaluating some of the conclusions that I made years ago. When I was on vacation in late August, I went to the KY state archives, visited Russell Co., KY, then went to Jackson Co., AL. I found a few things I had never seen before.

With regard to Chesley. I don't think he is a based born son of Anister's for two reasons:

1. If he were, unless incest was involved, Anister's base born sons would NOT have the Coffey y-chromosome & descendants of the Chesley group would NOT match those of the Edward Coffey/ Ann Powell family.

2. Based born individuals were more likely to be shunned & we're more inclined to just leave the country. Instead, if the Chesley tradition is correct, he married Jane Cleveland, a respectable local family that the Coffeys were already intermarrying with.

Inasmuch as some descendants of the Chesley Coffey group have already matched the Edward Coffey group, reason #1 stands as proof that Chesley was NOT the illegitimate son of Ansiter; reason #2 is not proof, but merely a consideration that would make be doubt this if we didn't have DNA evidence.

Assuming for a moment that Chesley really existed, we must ask what we really know about him. The most important point is that he had sons born in the early to mid 1740s. This pushes his birthdate well before 1725, possibly back toward 1715. I have considered the following as a possibility:

1. Ann (Powell) Coffey was of child bearing age when Edward died -she COULD have been expecting. If Edward didn't know this, this would explain why he wasn't in the will.

2. Chesley could have been a son born in 1716 that escaped the probate records of either Edward or Ann. He may have been taken care of so well that, when his mother died, he didn't contest her will.

What evidence do we have that Chesley Coffey, Sr. was an actual person? Very little. Eliza Porter, a descendant of Joel Coffey (d. 1789), left her often cited note in which she stated that Joel was the son of Chesley Coffey. But this could be the biggest red herring that has been misleading Coffey genealogists for decades.

The only Chesley Coffey to leave records was Chesley "Jr." (1755-1818). He was one of the last of the brothers to die. Eliza may have been under the mistaken impression that Joel's father was also named Chesley.

There is simply no evidence that Chesley Sr. and Jane Cleveland were the parents of Salathiel, Chesley "Jr.", Nebuzaradan, and Nathan. They may have been, but proof is thus far lacking. Based on geographical association and the usage of an unusual pool of given names, I made a "preponderance" claim back in 1981 that the 5 Coffeys were brothers. I will say today that they probably were, but there could have been more; plus if someone finds proof that pulls one of the "5" from the list, by establishing real parents, I will go along with that.

I think it is important in this DNA study that we get real patrilineal descendants of Nathan, Nebuzaraden, Chesley "Jr." and Joel tested to see if they also match Edward/ Ann Powell. We might be in for a surprise.

Another possibility that we can NOT overlook is Edward Coffey Jr.; who married Grace Cleveland. Has anybody ever found evidence of his children? There are a couple of possibilities to consider:

1. Edward could have had a first wife, perhaps a Miss Chesley who left no records. They could have had a son, Chesley Coffey. She died & he married (2) Grace Cleveland. It would seem mighty strange for a father & son to marry sisters -not impossible, just unusual.

2. Edward was Chesley. Let's say that Eliza Porter correctly remembered that Joel's mother was a Cleveland, but inadvertently changed Edward's name to Chesley, perhaps because she heard so many stories about her "Uncle Chesley".

Edward and Grace could have had children born beginning ca, 1734 down until Grace was ca. 45-50, which would have been 1761-66 (right about the time Chesley's family stopped growing. The only thing that would have prevented them from having children during this time would be the untimely death of either Edward or Grace. Edward is known to have been in Albemarle Co., VA as late as 1774.

Marvin Coffey suspected that Cleveland Coffey of Albemarle Co., VA was a son of Edward. This Cleveland is reported to have been married to Elizabeth. This Elizabeth was most likely the daughter of a man named Benjamin Franklin of Albemarle Co., VA. He had a daughter, named Elizabeth, who is known to have married a Clifton or Cliff Coffey & lived in Albemarle. Cliff was a nickname for Cleveland (at least Joel/ Martha Stapp's son Cleveland was nicknamed Cliff). Most remarkably, this Elizabeth (Franklin) Coffey was the mother of Grace Coffey, who married Rutherford Coffey in 1801 in Green Co., KY - notice the connection!!!

Edward's presumed son, Cleveland, was apparently the 6th brother of Joel, Salathiel, Chesley, Nebuzaradan, and Nathan. Rutherford's beloved wife, Grace, was probably named after presumed her grandmother, Grace (Cleveland) Coffey.

Think about it for a minute. We probably need to modify our ancestor charts to show Edward Coffey Jr. and Grace Cleveland as the parents of Nathan and Salathiel...

Tim

Second e-mail, same date:

A couple more observations:

1. I noticed in the Adair Co., KY tax lists that Martin Coffey seemed to be listed adjacent to Elizabeth Coffey. This Elizabeth was apparently the Elizabeth (Franklin) Coffey, who was the mother of Gracie (wife of Rutherford). Anyhow, I am now beginning to wonder if Martin Coffey was the eldest son of Cleveland Coffey and Elizabeth (Franklin) Coffey??

We know that Gracie was born after March, 1780 (since she was under 21 when she married. This places the earliest limit on Elizabeth's birth at ca. 1730-35, perhaps a few years later - she was well within range to have been the mother of Martin (b 1762). Oddly, the 1810 POA recorded in Adair Co., KY was signed by Rutherford Coffey and Martin Gryder. I wonder if the original was signed by Rutherford Coffey and Martin Coffey - since there was a Martin Gryder in the area (born ca. 1790), the clerk could have made a transcription error...

2. Of the 5 presumed Coffey brothers, we have good proof on the children of Joel and Nebuzaradan. These are based on wills. I'm not sure about the proof, off hand, for the children of Chesley [Jr] -perhaps there was a will in Maury Co., TN. I thought there was strong evidence for the children of Nathan Coffey, but have yet to find it. He was identified as the father on marriage bonds/ consents for some of his younger daughters -but I can't find any will or Family Bible record for Nathan. The best I've found is an abstract of a 1910 newspaper article, which told the story of his then 88 year old grandson, Milton Coffey. Yet, the DAR continues to support the link from Nathan to daughter, Mary, so there must be some proof in their files.

When we get to Salathiel, there simply is no evidence of who his children were. I used to think that Newton, Eli, and Gracie (previously called Graney) were his children. A habit seems to have developed -after I made this suggestion in the late 1970s- of assigning miscellaneous Coffeys in Adair/ Russell to Salathiel. If anyone has evidence regarding any children of Salathiel, I would like to see it.

We can pull Gracie from this list. We have fairly strong evidence that she was really the daughter of Cleveland (or Clifton) Coffey and Elizabeth (Franklin) Coffey of Albemarle Co., VA.

I still think that Eli and Newton were brothers, although I have no proof. Oddly, and I hope this point doesn't get drowned in a sea of text, Eli's full name was Eliazar Coffey. This can be seen in the early tax lists of Adair Co., KY, plus a deed that refers to the land of Elizazar Coffey (Adair Co., KY deed book B-461).

Salathiel Coffey's wife was Elizabeth Gore. This is supposedly proven by the case file of a lawsuit in 1793 (or thereabouts), in which she was identified as wife (or widow) of Pierce Noland, and formerly wife of Salathiel Coffey. The lawsuit was against her brother, who was a Gore. I am trying to get the case file to see what it really says. Interestingly, Elizabeth had a brother named Eliazar Gore -this is not proof that she was the mother of our Eli(azar) Coffey, but it's enough to make you wonder. The fact that both Newton and Eli(azar) named sons, Salathiel, is another indication that Salathiel/ Elizabeth Gore were their parents.

TimJane Cleveland was born (date unknown).

Marvin Coffey believed that Jane may have been a daughter of Alexander Cleveland, Sr. Her birth year was around 1725 making her about the right age to marry and bear children, and would have fit in the birth year range of Alexander's other children.

Chesley Coffey and Jane Cleveland had the following children: