Isaiah Coe

ISAIAH COE was born in March 1787 in Surry County, NC. He first appears on record there October 30, 1809, when Isaiah Coe, Jr. conveys to Elizabeth Coe, (his mother) tract where she now lives including the dwelling and the field on the other side of the creek, called William Coe's field. Witnesses were Isaiah Stewart, William Glenn, and John Coe, Jr.

Before 1811 he moved to Wilson County, TN, where his brothers John, Jr., and William were living. On August 9, 1817, he was back in Surry County where he appears on record when he and his uncle Isaiah Coe reached an agreement in an unspecified matter: Isaiah Coe, Jr. His guardian, his uncle Isaiah Coe made his settlement on 08-9-1817. His name appears in the 1820 tax list of Surry County, NC, as a 29-year-old male. He later returned to Wilson County, TN.

On November 22, 1828, he was named in Wilson County as an executor of the will of James Rather. The will named Patsey (Rather) Coe as his wife. His mother-in-law, Lizey Rather, served as co-executor of the will.

He is listed in the 1830 census of Wilson County as a male between 40~50, with a wife 30~40, three boys and six girls. He is listed in the 1840 census of the county as a male 50~60, with a wife 40~50, a male 20~30, a male 5~10, a male 0~5, a female 10~15, two females 5~10, and a female 0~5. The 1850 census of Wilson County lists him as a 63-year-old farmer, born in North Carolina, with a wife and six children. Seventeen-year-old grandson William Compton was also living in his home. Isaiah was the legal guardian of Compton, having petitioned for his custody April 17, 1835. On March 11, 1837, Isaiah petitioned the court of Wilson County for the right to sell some land which belonged to Compton. Isaiah and John C. Lash sued William Coe and William Sweatt and his wife in 1833 in Wilson County over the estate of Elizabeth Coe.

He served as a sergeant during the War of 1812, first with Captain Philip Fisher's Company, 42nd Regiment, Wilson County Militia, and then with Captain James A. Black's and Roulstan's Companies, 3rd Regiment, Tennessee Militia. He enlisted with the latter company in Wilson County, November 13, 1814, and was discharged, May 13, 1815. In a letter from the men of 42nd Regiment . . . "who labor under great difficulty from the distance that we have to attend our Ridgmental Muster which is at least fourteen miles from our Company muster ground, and the Ridgmental Muster Ground of the 7th Ridgment is but eight miles from our company muster grounds . . . [with] a public road . . . and there is no direct road to the muster ground of the 42nd Ridgment. Therefore if you would attach us to the 7th Ridgment you would lay us under such Obligations as would not Soon be forgotten."

He died in Wilson County during March 1875. On December 8, 1877, a sale was held at his residence, at which the articles of his estate were sold. The total raised from the sale amounted to $227.37. An inventory of his belongings was recorded in Wilson County, March 4, 1878. A farmer, he owned land in Wilson County's 8th Civil District.

His will, made November 28, 1867, was probated April 12, 1875. Debtors to the estate were Parmelia A. Edwards, $6.00; John Baker, $33.00; and G.L. Dodson, $102.25. His executor sold from the estate a two-year-old mule for $45.00, a small yearling cow for $15.00, and Isaiah Coe's interest in a suckling pig for $1.00.

He married August 1, 1811, in Wilson County, TN, Patsey Rather, daughter of James and Elizabeth (Rowton) Rather; (2) Elizabeth, who died in November 1877.