Coffin's N.C. to Hendricks County, IN

Question

Newbie here!  (please be gentle if I do something wrong!)

I'm looking at William Coffin (Coffin-1902) and comparing that to a Coffin database over on Rootsweb where there is a first wife for William with a son Joseph I. Coffin born about 1801.  This info isn't on the WikiTree.  his second wife and all other info appears to be there.

Joseph, his wife Elizabeth and 7 of 8 of their children are buried in Mill Creek Friends Cemetery in Hendricks County, IN

There are four other Coffin's in that cemetery:  

 

Rachel Osborn Coffin (Osborn-1404) 

her husband: Charles Coffin (Coffin-2014)

his second wife:  Mary Hale Coffin (Hale-3169)

and his daughter Etta Coffin Kennedy.   Who I 'believe' is probably Lavina E Coffin on the 1880 Census, age 20  ) According to the bio, Etta married Julius Kennedy who from reading his biography, I "believe" is the son of Joseph Oliver Kennedy (Kennedy-1189)  

 

 

On the 1850 census for Center Twnship, Hendricks County, IN, Joseph Coffin is listed immediately after Charles Coffin (Coffin-2014) so they were neighbors.  

 

Joseph was born 1800 and Charles 1815

 

Charles Coffin and Mary Hale Coffin's daughter Jessie M. Keeney (Coffin-2013) is my 2nd great grandmother.

 

We've never been able to pinpoint who Charles father is.  He was born in North Carolina and on the 1880 Census he indicated that both his parents were also born in NC.  

 

Mary Hale Coffin (hale-3169) brother Asa married Lydia Coffin who was Joseph's daughter (edited... just found the marriage entered in the Quaker records)

 

lots and lots of intertwining here...

 

There were several Coffin families in Hendricks County and they all came from Guilford County, NC.  so I figure that my Charles has to be a cousin nephew or other relation but just don't know where to start and was hoping someone might be able to help.

 

So basically, I'm hoping someone with Coffin's may have heard of my Charles, or has some additional information about any of the Coffins that went from Guilford, NC to Hendricks County, IN that might be able to help.  

 

Thank you!

 

Angela Keeney

Comments

Firstly, for a newbie you did an excellent job writing your question; including names and dates of not only your primary inquiry but those people surrounding your ancestor. A lot of times, those hints can be very illuminating to anyone searching for your ancestor. Often a neighbor or even someone who happens to sign a marriage license can be the name that unlocks the hint that you have been searching for for decades. Good job. I find this marriage license for Charles Coffin. Perhaps the original license has more information?

Name:	Charles Coffin
Gender:	Male
Spouse Name:	Rachel Osborn
Spouse Birth Place:	NC
Spouse Birth Year:	1817
Marriage Year:	1836
Marriage State:	IN
Number Pages:	1

 

---

Thank you Betty!  that's a great idea to get the original marriage certificates

Answer 1

If your Coffin ancestor was in Guilford, NC, odds are you will trace back to the Coffin family of Nantucket, MA.  They were one of the founding families of Nantucket.  I am traveling and don't have access to my resources, so can't search for you...  The Coffins of Nantucket are one of my ancestral lines.  And mine did go to Guilford.

Do you know when Charles died?  You should look for his obituary and try to obtain a copy of his death certificate. Both of those generally list the parents.

Try to gain access to some of the books on Nantucket. Several of them have extensive family trees in them.

Comments

Hi Darlene!  and thank you for your reply!  Unfortunately I cant find the exact date of his death. I've narrowed it down to between 1880 and 1885.  He was in the 1880 census and in the bio for his son in law mentions that he's passed on. But no obit or probate record.

The other interesting thing is that his wife is listed as the land owner and not him and he's not mentioned in the Friends minutes.  I'm confused about that.  There really isn't much to be found about him and I've been scouring the county records.  very confusing.  

I did make contact with someone who is related through one of his daughters and hope that might lead somewhere.

Thanks again Darlene!

---

If you can afford an autosomal DNA test, I recommend getting it done (on your parents and/or grandparents if they're still alive).  It will ultimately help you break down some of your 'brick walls'.

---

If you can afford an autosomal DNA test, I recommend getting it done (on your parents and/or grandparents if they're still alive).  It will ultimately help you break down some of your 'brick walls'.

Also, I would try, as mentioned, to obtain a copy of his death certificate.  I see that Hendricks county started tracking deaths in 1882.  So hopefully he didn't die before that.  Here's the link to their website with information:  http://www.co.hendricks.in.us/health_vital_records.html

Good luck!

---

Thank you Darlene.  I haven't been able to verify the death date so I think a trip to the court house is in order

Charles just hasn't shown up anywhere I've looked so far: land records, (his wife Mary owned the property), Quaker records, death or probate records.  

A trip to the court house seems to be in order :)

I've been considering doing the DNA test, just haven't decided on which company would be the best one to use.  Unfortunately my father and grandfather are already dead.