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About Ishmael Coffee
http://boston1775.blogspot.com/2008/04/in-matters-of-felix-cuff-and...
Rachana Rathi reported on two genealogists seeking information about Ishmael Coffee, a soldier of “Mulatto complexion” from Medway. His name appears on the military rolls of that town, but he’s best documented through two court cases.
Massachusetts towns had the obligation to support their poor inhabitants, which meant that selectmen spent a fair amount of time arguing that other towns were responsible for certain individuals. In 1810, Medway and Natick went to court over who had to support Coffee’s daughter Roba Vickons. She had married a white man from Natick in 1789, and that transfered responsibility for her from her native town of Medway. Natick contended that that marriage was illegal because she was a mulatto. The court ruled that under Massachusetts law she wasn’t, since her father wasn’t classified as Negro. The Globe article notes evidence that he had some Native American ancestry as well as African.
In 1819, Coffee himself required town assistance. (This was more than forty years after he’d appeared on the Medway military rolls.) In this case pitting Needham against Medway, the crucial question was whether Coffee’s marriage to a white woman was legal. Because he wasn’t labeled as white, they hadn’t been allowed to marry in Massachusetts, so they married in Rhode Island.
https://uuneedham.org/northern-reparations-2/
And another: Clarke lists “free negroes” and Native Americans living in our town in the early 1800’s; we already feel confident that at least one, Boston Fude, was a formerly enslaved person. Though these “free negroes” have not been the current focus of our research, I’m sure they have stories to uncover and tell. For example, one 18th-century couple, the formerly enslaved mixed-race Jupiter Coffee and his wife, the white Needhamite Deborah Alden, had their own son Ishmael Coffee’s interracial marriage to Hannah Gay of Medway challenged in court nearly fifty years after their wedding in Rhode Island. There are, it seems, Coffee family descendants still living today. There are more stories to tell, and possible relationships to build.
Medway Historical Society: http://medwayhistoricalsociety.org/pr-2008April.htm
Born in Needham in 1741, Ishmael Coffee moved to Medway in the 1760s. When he first arrived he was “warned out of town”. This common practice was used by towns to reduce their liability should newcomers stay in town, fall on hard times and become financially dependent on the town. Many newcomers, like Coffee, remained in their new town despite the warning.
In 1768, Coffee married Hannah Gay, a white woman from Wrentham. They remained in Medway for the rest of their lives and raised their 17 children, not all of home survived to adulthood.
As the years passed, the burden of poverty and a large family took a toll on the Coffee family. They increasingly became more dependent on the town of Medway. During the difficult financial times it became necessary for the town of Medway to try to recoup the cost of their care. In 1819, Medway sued the town of Needham claiming that was his legal place of settlement. Needham, countered however, saying that the marriage was invalid as interracial marriages were illegal in Massachusetts.
Surprisingly the judge decided in favor of Medway. Ishmael Coffee and his wife were actually married in Rhode Island where interracial marriages were “not unlawful”. The judge demonstrated, that based on precedent, it was necessary and important to uphold the laws of other governments.
By carefully searching through town record books and original cash books from the early 1800s, Pierre-Louis was able to determine that Ishmael Coffee and his wife died sometime after 1821. That means that Coffee lived a long life, surviving at least to age 80. More than sixty of those years were spent in Medway.
Fran Donovan, in the Early Medway Settlers & Land Records, explains that “when our streets were named in 1869, one of the most sensible choices was to name Coffee Street in his honor, as he was a responsible citizen, and served with distinction in the Revolutionary War.” Today, the Ishmael Coffee Estates are also named in his honor.
References
- The American Decisions: Containing All the Cases of General Value ..., Volume 8. Page 131. GoogleBooks
- https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Coffee-200 cites
- Reference: Medway Historical Society “COFFEE DESCENDANTS RETURN TO MEDWAY”
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6K-499 : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee, 14 Mar 1741; citing NEEDHAM,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 901,846.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Marriages, 1695-1910," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FCC5-J8Z : 4 December 2014), Ishmael Coffee and Hannah Gay, 16 Jul 1768; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.)
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-4S9 : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Roba Coffee, 17 Oct 1768; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-7VJ : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Frederick Coffee, 01 Oct 1771; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-7QX : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Sabra Coffee, 18 Nov 1774; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-W48 : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Zadock Coffee, 19 Jun 1775; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-H6J : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Hannah Coffee, 28 Feb 1777; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-QQV : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Ishmael Coffee, 28 Feb 1777; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-QYT : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Mina Coffee, 01 Feb 1779; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-486 : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Joseph Coffee, 09 Nov 1780; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-4XG : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Sarah Coffee, 25 Jul 1782; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-C98 : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Nathan Coffee, 26 Apr 1784; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-WTR : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Ichobad Coffee, 20 Feb 1786; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-4YN : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Rachel Coffee, 22 Jan 1787; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ67-SVY : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Eunice Coffee, 28 Mar 1789; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-S8J : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Rufus Coffee, 28 Mar 1789; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-Q2D : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for Seavers Rockwood Coffee, 13 Oct 1791; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ "Massachusetts Births and Christenings, 1639-1915," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VQ6W-32B : 10 February 2018), Ishmael Coffee in entry for John Rockwood Coffee, 21 Sep 1793; citing MEDWAY,NORFOLK,MASSACHUSETTS, ; FHL microfilm 0873753 IT 3.
- ↑ [(Vital records of Medway, Massachusetts, to the year 1850 (Volume 2) page 16)]
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medway,_Massachusetts
- https://www.fold3.com/page/630155381-ishmael-coffee
- https://www.fold3.com/image/17373003
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Ishmael Coffee's Timeline
| 1741 |
March 14, 1741
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Needham, Norfolk County, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Colonial America
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| 1760 |
1760
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| 1768 |
October 17, 1768
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Medway, Norfolk County, MA, United States
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| 1821 |
1821
Age 79
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Medway, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States
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