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Historical records matching William Hayes Coffey, Jr
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About William Hayes Coffey, Jr
William Coffey is the probable son of Benjamin Coffey (1747-1834) and his wife Mary Hayes (1742-?). He was likely born 1775-1778. In the late 1770s his family had moved with other Virginia families from Albemarle Co., VA into the upper Yadkin River Valley of what would become Caldwell Co., NC.
William married twice. His first wife was his first cousin Mary ("Polly") Coffey, daughter of his father's brother Thomas Coffey. Since the brothers lived directly across the Yadkin River from one another, William and Polly would have known each other from infancy. They were married on July 3, 1796. According to family genealogist Laurence H. Coffey, William and Polly settled "On Buffalo Creek about eight miles north east of the old [Thomas Coffey] home." ("Thomas Coffey and His Descendants" [Chattanooga, 1931], 80). There, according to L.H. Coffey, they raised three children: Austin (ca. 1799), Elijah (ca. 1808), and William Jr. (b. 1812). However, a fourth child (b. 1805-1810), presumably a daughter named Elizabeth, is listed in the household in 1810 and 1820.
Polly Coffey died ca. 1828, and on August 15, 1829 William married Margaret Robbins (b. ca. 1798), daughter of valley neighbors Reuben and Jane Turner Robbins. By Margaret, William had two more children: John Wilkerson (b. ca. 1831) and Nancy E. (b. 1832).
William Coffey died intestate ca. April 1847. On May 11 1847 his sons William Jr. and Austin were appointed administrators of the estate. According to L.H. Coffey, William was buried in the Hull Hill graveyard, resting place for many of the early Coffey settlers in the valley.
NOTE: the present location of this Hull Hill graveyard is uncertain. Laurence H. Coffey in "Thomas Coffey and His Descendants" (1931) wrote that the graveyard "became neglected and almost lost from notice to the present generation." He described its location as 1/2 mile east of the Thomas Coffey homestead.
- Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Oct 22 2016, 15:03:07 UTC
- Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Oct 23 2016, 3:49:09 UTC
William Coffey was the youngest of four children born to William Coffey Sr. and his first wife (and probable first cousin) Mary ("Polly") Coffey. He was born on the family farm in the upper Yadkin River Valley, commonly known as Happy Valley, in what was then Burke Co., later Caldwell Co., N.C. On Jan. 2, 1836 William married Margaret Robbins (1816-1882). He and Margaret owned a farm in the area of 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.
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's burial site is unknown but may be the so-called "Hull Hill graveyard" where Thomas Coffey and the first generations of his family were buried. Laurence H. Coffey in his "Thomas Coffey and His Descendants" (1931) located this cemetery one-half mile east of the old Thomas Coffey homestead. The cemetery fell into neglect by the early years of the last century and is now lost. Another possibility for the burial site of William and Margaret Robbins Coffey is a yet-to-be identified family cemetery on the former Robbins farm on Buffalo Creek in Happy Valley.
- Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Oct 22 2016, 15:03:07 UTC
- Residence: Caldwell county, Caldwell, North Carolina, United States - 1850
- Residence: Buffalo, Caldwell, North Carolina, United States - 1880
- Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Oct 23 2016, 3:15:21 UTC
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William Hayes Coffey, Jr's Timeline
| 1812 |
May 5, 1812
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1837 |
January 3, 1837
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1838 |
August 20, 1838
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1840 |
1840
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1842 |
February 26, 1842
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1844 |
July 27, 1844
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1846 |
April 28, 1846
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1849 |
August 22, 1849
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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| 1851 |
September 26, 1851
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Yadkin Valley, Caldwell County, North Carolina, United States
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