William Coffey Jr. was the youngest of four children born to William Coffey Sr. and his first wife Mary ("Polly") Coffey. His parents were first cousins, a common occurrence among close-knit and isolated mountain families. William's maternal and paternal grandfathers were brothers Benjamin and Thomas Coffey, who settled in the upper Yadkin River Valley in the late 1770s.
On Jan. 2, 1836 William married Margaret Robbins (1816-1882). He and Margaret owned a farm in lower Buffalo Creek. There they raised eleven children: Elbert (b. 1837), Elijah (b. 1838), Larkin (b. 1840), Bartlett (b. 1842), Cornelius (b. 1844), Elizabeth (b. 1846), Thomas (b. 1849), Mary (b. 1851), Sarah (b. 1853), William M. (b. 1855), and Margaret (b. 1858). All but Sarah lived to adulthood. Elbert and Larkin died in the Civil War. Cornelius, afflicted later in life with mental illness, died in a state asylum. In addition to his own children, William was guardian to his father's two children by his second wife: John Wilkerson (b. ca. 1831) and Nancy E. (b. 1832).
[NOTE: there has been much confusion occasioned by the multiplicity of certain names in the Coffey and related families. An example is William Coffey and his wife Margaret Robbins. There were in this line two William Coffeys, father and son, who married two Margaret Rob(b)ins, aunt and niece.]
To the Editor of the Lenoir Topic: Died at his home on Buffalo, in Caldwell county, May the 8th, 1893, William Coffey, aged 81 years and 8 days. His wife, Margaret, also departed this life April 26th, 1882, in the 66th year of her age. The Lord blessed them with a family of twelve children of which seven remain to mourn their loss. Brother and Sister Coffey joined the Baptist church in 1847; was soon ordained in the office of Deacon and Deaconess, which office they executed well. They both lived consistent christian lives. We were present at the funeral of Sister Coffey, and remember hearing Brother Coffey express his desire to be asleep in Jesus with his companion. Since that time his greatest delight has been in the worship and service of the house of the Lord, often expressing a strong desire to be freed from the temptations and perplexities of this life, and after an illness of about 6 months he fell asleep in the full triumphs of faith and was gathered to his loved ones that had gone before. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. M.C. and J.H.J.
[Lenoir Topic (Lenoir, N.C.), May 28, 1893.]
William Coffey died intestate and H.O. Steele, a distant cousin, was appointed administrator. The farm, which comprised a total of 675 acres, was sold to the Caldwell Land and Lumber Co. The proceeds of the sale were divided evenly among William's heirs.
William Coffey's burial site is a rustic family cemetery on a ridge above the family farm. It was abandoned and unremembered after the family sold the property following William's death in 1893. The cemetery was rediscovered in 2023 by Dennis Smith on what is now the State-owned Buffalo Cove Game Land. Though Margaret Coffey's marker is the only inscribed stone, William is undoubtedly buried next to his wife.
On Jan. 2, 1836 William married Margaret Robbins (1816-1882). He and Margaret owned a farm in lower Buffalo Creek. There they raised eleven children: Elbert (b. 1837), Elijah (b. 1838), Larkin (b. 1840), Bartlett (b. 1842), Cornelius (b. 1844), Elizabeth (b. 1846), Thomas (b. 1849), Mary (b. 1851), Sarah (b. 1853), William M. (b. 1855), and Margaret (b. 1858). All but Sarah lived to adulthood. Elbert and Larkin died in the Civil War. Cornelius, afflicted later in life with mental illness, died in a state asylum. In addition to his own children, William was guardian to his father's two children by his second wife: John Wilkerson (b. ca. 1831) and Nancy E. (b. 1832).
[NOTE: there has been much confusion occasioned by the multiplicity of certain names in the Coffey and related families. An example is William Coffey and his wife Margaret Robbins. There were in this line two William Coffeys, father and son, who married two Margaret Rob(b)ins, aunt and niece.]
To the Editor of the Lenoir Topic: Died at his home on Buffalo, in Caldwell county, May the 8th, 1893, William Coffey, aged 81 years and 8 days. His wife, Margaret, also departed this life April 26th, 1882, in the 66th year of her age. The Lord blessed them with a family of twelve children of which seven remain to mourn their loss. Brother and Sister Coffey joined the Baptist church in 1847; was soon ordained in the office of Deacon and Deaconess, which office they executed well. They both lived consistent christian lives. We were present at the funeral of Sister Coffey, and remember hearing Brother Coffey express his desire to be asleep in Jesus with his companion. Since that time his greatest delight has been in the worship and service of the house of the Lord, often expressing a strong desire to be freed from the temptations and perplexities of this life, and after an illness of about 6 months he fell asleep in the full triumphs of faith and was gathered to his loved ones that had gone before. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. M.C. and J.H.J.
[Lenoir Topic (Lenoir, N.C.), May 28, 1893.]
William Coffey died intestate and H.O. Steele, a distant cousin, was appointed administrator. The farm, which comprised a total of 675 acres, was sold to the Caldwell Land and Lumber Co. The proceeds of the sale were divided evenly among William's heirs.
William Coffey's burial site is a rustic family cemetery on a ridge above the family farm. It was abandoned and unremembered after the family sold the property following William's death in 1893. The cemetery was rediscovered in 2023 by Dennis Smith on what is now the State-owned Buffalo Cove Game Land. Though Margaret Coffey's marker is the only inscribed stone, William is undoubtedly buried next to his wife.
William Coffey Jr. was the youngest of four children born to William Coffey Sr. and his first wife Mary ("Polly") Coffey. His parents were first cousins, a common occurrence among close-knit and isolated mountain families. William's maternal and paternal grandfathers were brothers Benjamin and Thomas Coffey, who settled in the upper Yadkin River Valley in the late 1770s.
On Jan. 2, 1836 William married Margaret Robbins (1816-1882). He and Margaret owned a farm in lower Buffalo Creek. There they raised eleven children: Elbert (b. 1837), Elijah (b. 1838), Larkin (b. 1840), Bartlett (b. 1842), Cornelius (b. 1844), Elizabeth (b. 1846), Thomas (b. 1849), Mary (b. 1851), Sarah (b. 1853), William M. (b. 1855), and Margaret (b. 1858). All but Sarah lived to adulthood. Elbert and Larkin died in the Civil War. Cornelius, afflicted later in life with mental illness, died in a state asylum. In addition to his own children, William was guardian to his father's two children by his second wife: John Wilkerson (b. ca. 1831) and Nancy E. (b. 1832).
[NOTE: there has been much confusion occasioned by the multiplicity of certain names in the Coffey and related families. An example is William Coffey and his wife Margaret Robbins. There were in this line two William Coffeys, father and son, who married two Margaret Rob(b)ins, aunt and niece.]
To the Editor of the Lenoir Topic: Died at his home on Buffalo, in Caldwell county, May the 8th, 1893, William Coffey, aged 81 years and 8 days. His wife, Margaret, also departed this life April 26th, 1882, in the 66th year of her age. The Lord blessed them with a family of twelve children of which seven remain to mourn their loss. Brother and Sister Coffey joined the Baptist church in 1847; was soon ordained in the office of Deacon and Deaconess, which office they executed well. They both lived consistent christian lives. We were present at the funeral of Sister Coffey, and remember hearing Brother Coffey express his desire to be asleep in Jesus with his companion. Since that time his greatest delight has been in the worship and service of the house of the Lord, often expressing a strong desire to be freed from the temptations and perplexities of this life, and after an illness of about 6 months he fell asleep in the full triumphs of faith and was gathered to his loved ones that had gone before. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. M.C. and J.H.J.
[Lenoir Topic (Lenoir, N.C.), May 28, 1893.]
William Coffey died intestate and H.O. Steele, a distant cousin, was appointed administrator. The farm, which comprised a total of 675 acres, was sold to the Caldwell Land and Lumber Co. The proceeds of the sale were divided evenly among William's heirs.
William Coffey's burial site is a rustic family cemetery on a ridge above the family farm. It was abandoned and unremembered after the family sold the property following William's death in 1893. The cemetery was rediscovered in 2023 by Dennis Smith on what is now the State-owned Buffalo Cove Game Land. Though Margaret Coffey's marker is the only inscribed stone, William is undoubtedly buried next to his wife.
On Jan. 2, 1836 William married Margaret Robbins (1816-1882). He and Margaret owned a farm in lower Buffalo Creek. There they raised eleven children: Elbert (b. 1837), Elijah (b. 1838), Larkin (b. 1840), Bartlett (b. 1842), Cornelius (b. 1844), Elizabeth (b. 1846), Thomas (b. 1849), Mary (b. 1851), Sarah (b. 1853), William M. (b. 1855), and Margaret (b. 1858). All but Sarah lived to adulthood. Elbert and Larkin died in the Civil War. Cornelius, afflicted later in life with mental illness, died in a state asylum. In addition to his own children, William was guardian to his father's two children by his second wife: John Wilkerson (b. ca. 1831) and Nancy E. (b. 1832).
[NOTE: there has been much confusion occasioned by the multiplicity of certain names in the Coffey and related families. An example is William Coffey and his wife Margaret Robbins. There were in this line two William Coffeys, father and son, who married two Margaret Rob(b)ins, aunt and niece.]
To the Editor of the Lenoir Topic: Died at his home on Buffalo, in Caldwell county, May the 8th, 1893, William Coffey, aged 81 years and 8 days. His wife, Margaret, also departed this life April 26th, 1882, in the 66th year of her age. The Lord blessed them with a family of twelve children of which seven remain to mourn their loss. Brother and Sister Coffey joined the Baptist church in 1847; was soon ordained in the office of Deacon and Deaconess, which office they executed well. They both lived consistent christian lives. We were present at the funeral of Sister Coffey, and remember hearing Brother Coffey express his desire to be asleep in Jesus with his companion. Since that time his greatest delight has been in the worship and service of the house of the Lord, often expressing a strong desire to be freed from the temptations and perplexities of this life, and after an illness of about 6 months he fell asleep in the full triumphs of faith and was gathered to his loved ones that had gone before. Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord. M.C. and J.H.J.
[Lenoir Topic (Lenoir, N.C.), May 28, 1893.]
William Coffey died intestate and H.O. Steele, a distant cousin, was appointed administrator. The farm, which comprised a total of 675 acres, was sold to the Caldwell Land and Lumber Co. The proceeds of the sale were divided evenly among William's heirs.
William Coffey's burial site is a rustic family cemetery on a ridge above the family farm. It was abandoned and unremembered after the family sold the property following William's death in 1893. The cemetery was rediscovered in 2023 by Dennis Smith on what is now the State-owned Buffalo Cove Game Land. Though Margaret Coffey's marker is the only inscribed stone, William is undoubtedly buried next to his wife.
Gravesite Details
Grave apparently unmarked.
Family Members
Children
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PVT Elbert Coffey
1837–1863
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Elijah Coffey
1838–1891
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Larkin Coffey
1840–1864
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Bartlett Coffey
1842–1912
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Cornelius Coffey
1844–1906
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Elizabeth Coffey Robbins
1846–1919
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Thomas Coffey
1849–1901
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Mary Coffey Robbins
1851–1931
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Sarah Coffey
1853–1854
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William M. Coffey
1855–1932
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Margaret Coffey Coffey
1858–1930
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