Lt. John Coffin

John Coffin born at Haverhill, Massachusetts 30 October 1647, the son of Tristram, and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin, was the first one of this large and well-known family to take up his residence at Martha's Vineyard. It will not be necessary to rehearse their ancestral history and their origin in Brixton, Devonshire, as numerous publications on the subject by genealogists of the family are available to students. John Coffin was a blacksmith and lived in Nantucket with his father until 1682 when he settled in Edgartown, and carried on his trade until his death. He married Deborah Austin, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Starbuck) Austin of Nantucket 1668. He became a considerable owner of real estate in the town and died 5 September 1711. His widow returned to Nantucket and died there in 1724. (1966 Addenda: John Coffin came to Edgartown from Nantucket. Information about the Coffins and related families may be found in Starbuck: History of Nantucket, and Gardiner: The Coffin Family.) John Coffin is buried at Tower Hill Cemetery in Edgartown, Massachusetts.

http://history.vineyard.net/coffin.htm

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https://www.nantuckethistoricalassociation.net/bgr/BGR-o/p95.htm#i2825

John Coffin, son of Tristam Coffin and Dionis Stevens. married Deborah Austin, daughter of Joseph Austin and Sarah Starbuck. John Coffin was born in 1647. They moved to the Vineyard in 1682. in 1682. He died on 5 July 1711 at Edgartown.

Family

Deborah Austin d. 4 Feb 1718

Children

1. Deborah Coffin+ d. 23 Sep 1760
2. Tristram Coffin+ d. 29 Jan 1763
3. Hannah Coffin+ d. 28 Jan 1768
4. Elisabeth Coffin
5. Lydia Coffin b. 1669
6. Peter (called Nope) Coffin+ b. 1671, d. 27 Aug 1749
7. John Coffin Jun. b. 1673
8. Love Coffin b. 1676
9. Enoch Coffin+ b. 1678
10. Samuel Coffin+ b. 1680, d. 22 Feb 1764

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John and Deborah had eleven children of whom nine grew to be adults. Four sons and three daughters were mentioned in his will dated 1 Sept 1711. In his will probated 17 April 1712, he leaves sheep on Nantucket, now in possession of son Peter, to wife Deborah. (It is wondered if son Peter lived in the house deeded to John by his father?) He also mentions sons, Samuel, Enoch and Tristram and daughters Hannah Gardner, Deborah Macy and Lydia Thaxter. Daughters Love and Elizabeth may have died young or as spinsters prior to 1711. John Jr. and Benjamin probably died young.

Children:

1.) Lydia, b. 1 June 1669; m. (l) Robert Logan before 1692; m. (2) Thomas Thaxter (int.) 26 Nov. 1696; (3) Richard Draper 14 Aug. 1713.

2.) Peter, b. 5 Aug. 1671; m. (l) Christian Condy (int.) 18 July 1695; (2) Hope Gardiner.

3.) John, b. 10 Feb. 1673.

4.) Love, b. 5 June 1676.

5.) Enoch, b. 1678.

6.) Samuel, m. Miriam Gardiner. [Elaine Rebori <ERebori@att.net> writes: "Samuel 'King Sam' Coffin was married to Miriam Gardiner in 1705. Samuel died on Nantucket. Their son William Coffin left Nantucket for New Garden, North Carolina.]

7.) Benjamin, b. 28 Aug. 1683.

8.) Hannah, m. Benjamin Gardiner.

9.) Deborah m. Thomas Macy 18 June 1708.

10.) Tristram, m. Mary Bunker.

11.) Elizabeth.

John Coffin was a blacksmith in Edgartown, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

http://4dtraveler.net/2011/11/07/coffin-family-john-and-son-samuel-...

John Coffin and Deborah Austin:

John Coffin, Lieutenant, was born on 13 Oct 1647 in Haverhill, Essex, Massachusetts; died on 5 Sep 1711 in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard; buried in Tower Hill Burying Ground, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

John Coffin married Deborah Austin in 1668 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They had the following children:

Hannah Coffin,

Tristram Coffin II,

Deborah Coffin,

Elizabeth Coffin,

Lydia Coffin (b. 6 Jan 1669),

Peter Coffin (b. 5 Oct 1671),

John Coffin (b. 10 Feb 1673),

Love Coffin (b. 23 Apr 1676),

Enoch Coffin (b. 1678),

Samuel “King Sam” Coffin (b. 12 Dec 1680),

Benjamin Coffin (b. 28 Aug 1683).

BIRTH: John was the 8th of 9 children in his family.

HOME: In 1677, Tristram Coffin gave his son, John, an interest in Nantucket. While at Nantucket, John lived on his father’s lot. Housing lots of the original settlers were approximately 1000 feet on a side (roughly 25 acres), but often quite irregular shaped properties. Tristram’s lot was bordered on the north side by Capum Harbor, now a landlocked pond. After Tristram died, John moved to Martha’s Vinyard, where he lived the rest of his life. {D1}

His move from Nantucket to Edgartown, on Martha’s Vinyard, occurred ca. 1682-83.

DEATH: John died 5 September 1711 at Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard

BURIAL: John Coffin was buried at Tower Hill Burying Ground. Directions: Take Katama Road south out of Edgartown. Stay on Katama Rd. at the first fork (Herring Creek Rd goes off to the right), and take the first sand road to the left (east toward Katama Bay) after the fork. Follow it for 0.2 miles and you will be at Tower Hill Cemetery.

Tristram’s son, John, our second generation ancestor was born 30 October 1647 in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He was the seventh of nine children born to Tristram and Dionis. John Coffin was the progenitor of most of the Martha’s Vineyard Coffins. He was about 13 years old when his family moved from the mainland to the town of Sherborn on Nantucket. In 1668, a young man of 21 years, he married at Nantucket, Deborah Austin, daughter of Joseph and Sarah (Starbuck) Austin of Nantucket. On Nantucket John was a blacksmith and held a few minor offices. In Tristram’s will, he gave John “… his new dwelling house, with all other houses adjoining unto it etc” to be John’s property to be his immediately upon the decease of Tristram and wife, Dionis. We learn, however, that John removed to Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, a year after his father died and two years before his mother died. That was in 1682 when John was 36 years old. Martha’s Vineyard was then a part of New York.

It is believed that Thomas Mayhew asked John to come to Martha’s Vineyard as there was a need for a blacksmith. Mayhew reportedly sold John 8 acres for $1.00 fronting on Edgartown Harbor and running back in a wide swath to Peases’ Point Way. This lot was purchased from Thomas Paine’s estate. Paine, Governor Thomas Mayhew’s stepson and son-in-law, was lost at sea in 1657, along with Thomas Mayhew, Jr., on a voyage to England.

John built his first home on that property in 1682, a one story structure 24′ X 32′ with a shed roof and faced the harbor. The original portion of the house is buried by much enlargement and modification. It was on this property that he had his blacksmith shop. The blacksmithing trade must have been very profitable for John Coffin became the owner of much real estate on Martha’s Vineyard. In the 1700′s, the house was owned by various craftsmen, tailors and coopers among them. Today the address is 55 South Water Street. Looking East from this property today, one sees the Yacht Club, Town Dock, Chappy Ferry, and Chappaquiddick Island.

1. John and Deborah’s second house on Martha’s Vineyard was built in 1703. Today the address for this house is 22 North Water Street, Edgartown. The house was occupied by John’s descendants for many generations until it was taken over by the North Water Street Corporation in 1946 to preserve it. It, like the Desire Coffin house, is now maintained by the Preservation Society and is occupied by antique and decorator’s shops.

Among the many who have lived in the house was the famed Dr. Daniel Fisher. He married Grace C. Coffin, John’s great-great-granddaughter in 1829 soon after coming to the Island. Her dowry, it is said, was her weight in silver. We don’t know how much she weighed, but no doubt enough to help Dr. Fisher begin his many business enterprises. Dr Fisher built his own sidewalk from the front door to the corner of Main Street so he wouldn’t get muddy shoes. The house sat much closer to the street, then a mere cart path, and when it was widened, the house was moved back and it appears that the rear addition was turned 90 degrees and reattached. There are eight other Coffin homes on the Walking Tour of Martha’s Vineyard which were built and owned by John’s descendants. [The greatly renovated John Coffin & descendants house at 22 North Water Street, Edgartown, Martha's Vinyard. The original house is encased within the much expanded home seen here.]

2. John and Deborah had eleven children of whom nine grew to be adults. Four sons and three daughters were mentioned in his will dated 1 Sept 1711. In his will probated 17 April 1712, he leaves sheep on Nantucket, now in possession of son Peter, to wife Deborah. (It is wondered if son Peter lived in the house deeded to John by his father?) He also mentions sons, Samuel, Enoch and Tristram and daughters Hannah Gardner, Deborah Macy and Lydia Thaxter. Daughters Love and Elizabeth may have died young or as spinsters prior to 1711. John Jr. and Benjamin probably died young.

After John died 5 September 1711 at Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard, Deborah returned to Nantucket where she died 4 February 1718. The will of Deborah Coffin (wife of John ) dated 13 March 1717/18 probated 13 May 1718 names son Tristram who received land in New Hampshire and was executor; and daughters Hannah Gardner and Deborah Macy.

John and Deborah were the parents of our third generation ancestor, Samuel, “King Sam”. In 1706, Samuel Coffin, and his wife Miriam (Gardner) joined the Society of Friends. Two years later his parents (John and Deborah) joined. His sister Deborah joined in 1711 and Samuel’s brother Tristram and wife Mary (Bunker) joined the Friends in 1715. This was in the very early days of the Quaker movement on Nantucket, for it was in 1700 that Tristram’s daughter, Mary (Coffin) Starbuck, sister to John, had become a Quaker.

[Manuscript deed of sale (November 14, 1685) of Nashowamoiasuk, now Neck Point of the Edgartown Great Pond, by "Mr. Harrie, Indian of Nantucket" to John Coffin for six pounds.]

DOCUMENTS:

1. Nantucket Lands and Land Owners Vol. 2, Bulletin No.1., by Henry Barnard Worth, Published by the Nantucket Historical Assn., 1901.

2. Epitaph and Icon : A Field Guide to the Old Burying Grounds of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vinyard and Nantucket by Diana Hume George and Malcolm A. Nelson.

3. The Coffin Family by Louis Coffin, 1962, Nantucket Historical Society, Nantucket, Massachusetts.

4. Nantucket Lands and Land Owners Vol. 2, Bulletin No.1., by Henry Barnard Worth, Published by the Nantucket Historical Assn., 1901.

Deborah AUSTIN, died on 4 Feb 1724 in Nantucket, MA; buried in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

BIRTH: Deborah was the 4th of 5 children born to Joseph Austin and Sarah Starbuck.

MARRIAGE: Deborah produced 11 children during her long marriage to John Coffin.

Samuel Coffin and Miriam Gardner

Samuel “King Sam” Coffin was born on 12 Dec 1680 in Nantucket, Massachusetts; died on 22 Feb 1764 in Nantucket, Massachusetts, at age 83 years.

Samuel Coffin married Miriam Gardiner in 1705 in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They had the following children:

Parnell Coffin,

Sarah Coffin,

Libni Coffin,

John Coffin (b. 1708),

Deborah Coffin (b. 1708),

David Coffin (b. 1718),

William Coffin (b. 4 Nov 1720),

Miriam Coffin (b. 1723),

Mary Coffin (b. 1724),

Priscilla Coffin (b. 1730).

NAME: Samuel was referred to as “King Sam”.

BIRTH: He was the 6th of 11 children in his family.

EVENTS: According to one source, Samuel was “known as ‘King Sam’ because he was short and feisty, and was compared to a crowing Bantam rooster trying to be king of the yard. He was a Quaker. [Contributed by Elaine Coffin Rebori]

John and Deborah were the parents of our third generation ancestor, Samuel, “King Sam”. In 1706, Samuel Coffin, and his wife Miriam (Gardner) joined the Society of Friends. Two years later his parents (John and Deborah) joined. His sister Deborah joined in 1711 and Samuel’s brother Tristram and wife Mary (Bunker) joined the Friends in 1715. This was in the very early days of the Quaker movement on Nantucket, for it was in 1700 that Tristram’s daughter, Mary (Coffin) Starbuck, sister to John, had become a Quaker.

DEATH: The Friends (Quaker) records give 1763 as the date of his death.

Will of Samuel Coffin, probated March, 1764. Estate given to children John, William, David, Deborah Starbuck, Miriam Pinkham, Mary Barnard, Priscilla Coleman and the heirs of a deceased daughter, Sarah Pinkham.

DOCUMENTS:

1. Coffin Family by Louis Coffin, 1962, Nantucket Historical Society, Nantucket, Massachusetts., p. 266.

Miriam Gardiner was born on 14 JUL 1685 at Nantucket, Massachusetts. Died: 17 SEP 1750 at Nantucket Island, Massachusetts

References

• http://4dtraveler.net/2011/11/07/coffin-family-john-and-son-samuel-...
• https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Coffin-166

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22511478/john-coffin