Nicholas Coffin (1561 - 1613)

Born 1 Nov 1561 in Brixton, Devon, England

Husband of Joan (Avent) Coffin — married 1583 in Brixton, Devon, England

Descendants

Died 8 Oct 1613 at age 51 in Butlers, Brixton, Devon, England

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UNKNOWN/DISPUTED PARENTAGE

Nicolas has been detached from Peter Coffyn and Mary/Marie Boscawen. It has been clearly demonstrated that it is very unlikely that they were his parents:

"In the 100 plus years since Mr. Amory's proposal [that Nicholas Coffin was the son of Peter Coffyn], there has not been (as far as I know) one shred of evidence found to support it. On the other hand, we have the distance problem, the timing problem, and the fact that no children show up for Peter and Mary in parish registers, visitations, or his will. Most of what I have written above is probably known to veteran Coffin researchers. But I hope it is useful to newcomers to see the origin of the Boscawen conjecture and the total lack of evidence in support of it."^[1]

From the "Coffin Family Newsletter" of August 1994 comes the following article which also places doubt on the ancestry of Nicholas:

"A PEDIGREE FOR TRISTRAM

In the time of King Henry VII, the first Tudor King of England there lived in the manor of Northam, two or three miles from Bideford and just five miles northeast of Portledge, John Coffin. John was the 2nd son of William Coffin of Alwington and his wife Margaret, daughter of Thomas Gifford and was born somewhere around 1440-1460. John Coffin of Northam had a son Richard born about 1480.

Richard Coffin moved to the parish of Plympton St. Mary, in southern Devonshire where in 1523 he paid a subsidy of 4/. He probably occupied some of the property owned by the family of Portledge. In an inquisition post mortem 18th February 2 & 3 Philip & Mary (18 Feb. 1555/56) Richard Coffin, grandson of Richard who was brother of John of Northam, held property in Plympton, adjacent to Brixton as well as in Holbeton, five miles from Brixton. We have not discovered how long this property had been among the Coffin estates. John Coffin, son and heir of Richard Coffin of Portledge and nephew of John of Northam, married, about 1500, Elizabeth, daughter and co-heiress of Philip Hingston. She may have brought the property in Plympton and Holbeton. We have no record of the death of Richard unless he is the Richard who had a will recorded in Stokenham, nearly 20 miles from Plympton. Richard had younger brothers John and Walter and a son John Coffin, born about 1525.

John Coffin, son of Richard lived in Brixton but also paid a subsidy in Plympton St. Mary. The administration of the estate of John Coffin was recorded in 1589. John had a son Nicholas born about 1550 in Brixton.

Nicholas Coffin lived at Butlers in the parish of Brixton and had a son Peter who became the father of Tristram Coffin who emigrated to New England in 1642 with his mother, his two sisters, and his children.

The above is a pedigree which has not been, and perhaps never can be proved, so please do not enter it into your pedigree! With more data now available it is more realistic than Amory's discredited theory of Peter and Mary (Boscawen) Coffin as parents of Nicholas. The above-proposed pedigree needs much more research but advances a theory which we believe comes closer to the presently known facts than any other we have seen or considered. It accounts for most of the known Coffins in the Brixton area a few generations before Nicholas. We have no proof of the connection between Brixton and Portledge and there were probably many more Coffins in the Brixton area than we have found. And there are certainly more in the Portledge line. We currently have no information about whether John Coffin of Northam had a son Richard or any other children. We have more confidence, but again no proof, that the father of Nicholas was John and his grandfather Richard. Do be on the look-out for any data that will relate to this and might contribute toward proving or disproving the theory. There are several records for the period which we have so far not had an opportunity to study. Hopefully, some worthwhile information is in one of them."

Unfortunately, the Coffin Family Newsletter ceased to exist, and the Coffin Family Association fell apart with the death of David P. Coffin about 2005, and I have not found that anyone else has delved into the family history of the early Coffyn family of Devon. Another excuse to go to England to do research!

Biography

Above date of death is actually the date he was buried.

Will

In the name of God, Amen the twelveth day of september in the eleaventh yeere of the Raigne of our Sovraigne Lord James... Anno Dni 1613 I Nicholas Coffyn of Buttlers wth in the pysh of Brixton in the countye of Devon Husbandman beinge weake of bodye but pfect in minde thankes bee therefore given to Allmightie God do make this my last Will and Testamt...

Itm I give and bequeath to Ann Meader the Daughtr of Eliner Meader five shillings

Itm I give and bequeath to Peter Coffyn my eldest Sonne my greatest brasse pann and my minde is that my Wief shall have the use thereof during her lief

Itm I give & bequeath to Tristram Coffyn my Sonnes Sonne one yearling Bollock

Itm I give & Bequeath to Johun Coffyn my Sonnes Daughtr one sheepe

Itm I give and bequeath to every of my God-children twelve pence apeece

Itm I give & bequeath to Johan Coffyn my Wief one bay nag wch we use to call Rowse

Itm I give bequeath will and devise unto Nicholas Coffyn my Sonne All such right term of yeares intrest and demand as I myself my Executors or Assignes now have or here after may or ought to have of & in one tenemt with his appttennce sett lying and being in Plimton Earle in the Countye of Devon aforesaid wherein one Thomas Spurwell there now dwelleth to githr three closes or pcells of land therunto belonging whereof the first is Called or knowen by the name of Fortie Acres the second Wallford als Woodpke and the third the Meadow belowe the waie all wch recited prmisses I have and hold of and by the demise & grante of Willm Moulton of Plimpton Earle aforesaide Gent....

And in consideracon hereof My Will and intent is that my said Son Nicholas Coffyn shall within one whole yeere after my decease well & truely content and paie unto my Daughtr Ann Coffyn thirteene pounds sixe shillings and eight pence of lawfull money of England... And likewise the said Nicholas my Sonne shall after my decease paie unto my Sonne John Coffyn eight shillings yeerely during there naturall lives or as long as they two shall live togither.

The residue of all my goods and chattles moveable and unmoveable as well quickstuffe & corne as implemts of household & all other goods of what quality soever the same bee not before by these presents given nor bequeathed I give & bequeathe to the foresaid Nicholas Coffyn & John Coffyn my Sonnes whome I make & ordaine to be my joynt Executors of this my last Will & Testamt Provided allwaies that my Wief shall have the bed steed bedd & bedd clothes thereunto belonging wherein I do usually lie one brasse pann & one brass crock to use the same duringe her lief and after her decease the same shall remaine to my said Executors And I do hereby appointe & entreat my well beloved Friends Bartholomew Clevanger & Nicholas Edwards to bee the over-seeres of this my last Will & Testamt...

Proved on 3 November 1613.

Possible Forebears

COFFIN CONNECTIONS IN ENGLAND PRIOR TO TRlSTRAM'S GRANDFATHER
(information scanned from copy of page 82. Publication name?)

No conclusive proof has been found to trace the ancestry of Tristram Coffin (1609-1681) beyond his grandfather Nicholas, except that the descendants of Nathaniel, his grandson through James can positively go back from Nathaniel and his wife Damaris (Gayer) more than fifty generations to the Saxon Viking Cerdic born over 1,500 years ago. However, all who can prove descent from Tristram have two probable lines leading back from him respectively four hundred and five hundred years, each supported by reasonable evidence.

The Coffins of Portledge, Devonshire in the parish of Alwington near Bideford, 45 miles North of Plymouth and Brixton, Tristram's nearby village, have resided at Portledge Manor at least since A. D. 1254 and even earlier according to a boundary deed seen by the Rev. John Prince who wrote his treatise on “Worthies of Devon” about 1690. It was written in Saxon, says Prince, "about the time of the Conquest" by the Abbot of Tavistock, granting certain lands to Richard Coffin. Tavistock is 15 miles directly north of Plymouth and 30 miles South of Portledge.

The unquestioned antiquity of the Family is further indicated by the appearance of the name in Domesday Book, compiled for tax purposes by order of William the Conqueror in 1006. No evidence has been found that a Coffin accompanied William from Normandy twenty years earlier, but many Normans had settled in England under Edward the Confessor, who was King until six months before the Conquest and were later granted lands taken from the conquered Saxons. The Chateau of Courtitout near Falaise, Norman birthplace of William, was indeed once owned by a Doctor Coffin, but not until after the French Revolution over seven hundred years later.

The Portledge connection is fully treated in Allen Coffin's history and is accepted by the family in England (now Pine-Coffin) as shown by the greeting sent to the 1959 Nantucket Reunion by Lt. Col. E. C. Pine-Coffin from Portledge Manor, now owned by the British Government and operated as a resort hotel.

A second probable connection has been advocated by Thomas Coffin Amory of Boston, who visited Devonshire and Cornwall after the 1881 Reunion. ln his article published in the Boston Evening Transcript Dec. 20, 1886, he voices the opinion that the Peter Coffin who married Marie Boscawen, daughter of Philipa Carminowe, was the grandfather of Tristram.

Extracts from the lengthy article follow:

"Mrs. Peter Coffin - born 1551

Nicholas, her son - born 1568

Peter, whose widow died here in Boston 1663 - born 1584

Tristram - born 1609

Nicholas, Peter and Tristram were all eldest sons with sufficient means to Justify the prudence of their assuming the obligations of matrimony."

His closing words are:
"Mary Boscowen was the mother of Tristram's grandfather Nicholas, which better judges than myself still believe, and shall until stronger reasons than any yet urged can be found against it. T.C.A."

With reference to Tristram's birth date being 1609 (as later proved) and not 1605, the article says:
"In various memoirs of the Coffins the date of Tristram's birth is set down as 1605. Chase, in his History of Haverhill stated it more probable that Nicholas his grandfather was the son of Peter, whose wife was Mary Boscawen."

The English marriage law was 14 years for males, 12 years for females. Tristram's own oldest son was born a month after his twenty-first birthday and one of his grandchildren was born when her father was 19 years old.

THE CARMINOWE FAMILY (Page 83. Publication name?)

Roger Carminowe held a Knight's fee A. D. l173 and was a witness l220

Robert Carminowe was a witness l235, l256 and 1263

Roger Carminowe married Sara Hornicote, daughter and co-heir of Gervas de Tintagel or de Homicote. Henry II granted the whole County of Cornwall to Henry Fitzcount who granted Tintagel (the traditional birthplace of King Arthur) and Hornicote to Gervas, who left them in 1208 to Robert Tintagel. King John, who had confirmed all the Fitzcount grants in fee in 12l5-16, in l220 ordered their resumption into the King's hands, except the lands of Robert de Tintagel. According to tradition Tristran (or Tristram) and Isolde were buried at Tintagel.

Sir Roger Carminowe married Joanna -- He was a Crusader.

Sir John Carminowe married Joanna Glyn dr of Sir John Glyn."When Sir John married the daughter and heir of Sir John Glyn, her family estates were added to the already great possessions of the Corminowes, who at one time or another seem to have held more manors in Cornwall than any other three Cornish families."

Sir Walter Carminowe married Alice Tinten, daughter of Stephen Tinten.

Sir William Carminowe married Margaret Kelley. He was Sheriff of Devon 1391 and M. P. for Cornwall 1407

At the famous suit in which Scrape, Grosvenor, and Carminowe all claimed the same shield, the Court of six Knights found Carminowe to descend from this lineage since King Arthur, and could bear the Shield Entire. The suit was brought in 1389, lasted four years and the verdict in favor of Scrope was confirmed on appeal to the King.

Walter Carminowe married Jane Resprin.

John Carminowe married Philippa Trenwith. By this marriage became the most famous resident of Cornwall, for his wealth.

Nicholas Carminowe married Catherine Wolvedon.

Philippa Carminowe married Hugh Boscawen. She owned the village of Plympton, Devon, a few hundred yards from Tristram Coffin's farm at Butlers (now Butlass) in Plympton Erle which her daughter carried to Peter Coffin. (TCA in Life of Adm. Sir lsaac Coffin).

Mary Boscawen married Peter Coffin, Gent. She was baptized at Penkivel near Falmouth Jan. 20, 1552. She had a brother Nicholas.

The marriage of Peter Coffin to Marie Bascawen of Falmouth in Cornwall, forty miles west of Plymouth, Devon, on the English Coast, carries the line back to Roger Carminowe as above, if this Peter was the father of Nicholas, father of Peter and grandfather of Tristram.

The date on Marie Boscawen's tomb here illustrated which is in the little chapel of Penkivel near Falmouth, corresponds reasonably with the probable births of Tristram's father and grandfather, and there is a striking series of coincidences in the names of Marie's Coffin husband, Peter, her mother Philippa, her brother Nicholas and grandfather Nicholas when compared with our Tristram's father Peter, his grandfather Nicholas and his grandfather's brother Philip (he had no sisters).

Sources

1. ↑ Howard Swain, [http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/COFFIN/2002-09/1031421426 "The Boscawan Conjecture, Part 2 of 2" (posted Sept. 7, 2002).

See also:

• Archdeaconry of Totnes (Exeter), 1613.
• Pg. 149 Vol 24, N.E. H.G. Reg.
• Early Settlers of N.E. by Hinchman p. 33-36, 309
• Americana Vol 21 p. 290
• Barney Genealogical Record, Nantucket Historical Association. Person ID I11290.
• Coffin Lineage: A Family Living History Worksheet from Richard Coffyn (c1280-??) to Sallie Coffin (1773-1850)

[1] Legutki-1

• Coffin, Louis, The Coffin Family, Published by Nantucket Association, 1962, page 92 https://archive.org/details/coffinfamilywith00coff/page/92/mode/1up