Peyton S. Coker (1801 - 1872)

Born 31 Aug 1801 in Oconee, South Carolina, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy (McInnis) Coker — married 1825 in South Carolina, United States

Husband of Cynthia (Hall) Coker — married 26 Dec 1827 in Washington, Alabama, United States

Descendants

Died 11 Jun 1872 at age 70 in Vimville, Lauderdale, Mississippi, USA

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Kathy Lamm [send private message]

Biography

Peyton S. "Preacher" Coker was born in 1801 in Oconee County, South Carolina, the son of Thomas Jackson Coker (1767–1840) and Margaret Jones (1766–1851). He died in 1872. ^[1]

Peyton married first Nancy McInnis (1805–1827) on 16 Dec 1825 in Oconee County, South Carolina and their children were:

1. James Coker, Sr. (1826–1884)
2. Nancy Coker (1827- )

Peyton married second Cynthia Hall (1809–1887) on 26 Dec 1827 in Washington County, Alabama, Their children were:

1. Levi Coker (1829–1862)
2. Margaret Evalina (Coker) Gilbert (1831-1856)
3. Eliza I. Coker (1833–1889)
4. Martha H. (Coker) Gilbert (1835– )
5. Darlington Coker (1837–1921)
6. Narcissa (Coker) McInnis (1839–1867)
7. William Gladney Coker (1841– )
8. Jones Gerald Coker (1843–1886)
9. John Thomas Coker (1845–1923)
10. Mary Ann Catherine (Coker) Maggard (1846-1937)
11. Charles W. Coker (1848-1867)
12. Laura Emaline Coker (1850–1851)
13. Lucy Angeline (Coker) McInnis (1852–1940)

Peyton moved to Washington County, Alabama then settled in Vimville, 5 miles east of present day Meridian, where he established the Coker Chapel Methodist Church in Vimville, Mississippi. Tradition is that he was descended from an English knight and called Sir Peyton Coker, although his father Robert Thomas Coker was born in Virginia.

Peyton passed away in 1872 in Vimville, Lauderdale County, MIssissippi and was buried in the Coker Chapel Cemetery which he had established.

Notes

1. From newspaper clipping (source unclear) entitled "English Knight, 1812 war hero help settle Vimville" by Nan Fairley, April 19, 1987 at https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/coker-article/407063:

"The son of an English Knight, Sir Peyton Coker, and a War of 1812 hero, James Madison Brewster, were among the first white settlers in southeast Lauderdale County near Vimville. The two left a legacy that remains strong today. Vimville’s roots reflect strong connection to Sir Coker and Mr. Brewster, with many descendants of both still living throughout East Central Mississippi and West Alabama.

Both men lived with the area’s first settlers, the Choctaws, before establishing their own homesteads near the present location of Vimville off Mississippi 19 East. Family ties to the pioneers remain strong, with hundreds of Coker and Brewster descendants populating the region, according to Jim Dawson, director of the Lauderdale County Department of Archives and History. Also, Coker’s Chapel Methodist Church, established on land donated by Sir Peyton Coker, is a continuing reminder of that pioneer’s influence.

Both settlers, and those to follow, probably came into the area over an important route known as the Tennessee Trace, which roughly followed Old Highway 19 through Vimville. At Vimville, the Trace intersected with another vital path established by the Choctaws, the Tuscahoma Trail. This trail led to the Tombighee River near Mt. Sterling, Alabama, in present Choctaw County. The Tennessee Trace, which followed ridges from Nashville to Mobile, was an important trade and travel route that contributed greatly to the settlement of Lauderdale County, Mr. Dawson said. For instance, the trails led Sir Coker and Mr. Brewster into an area previously occupied only by Indians. As traffic grew, Vimville developed in the crossing of these two roads and Whynot developed along the Tuscahoma Trail.

Sir Coker, the son of an English knight who lived in South Carolina, arrived in the area around 1833 from Washington County, Alabama, and first lived among the Choctaws along Buckatunna Creek [tributary to the Chickasawhay River]. He would eventually play a role in preparing the Choctaws for their exodus to western lands along the Trail of Tears following the signing of the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek. His first land purchase of 40 acres was recorded in the Lauderdale County deed book in April 1843. The 40 acres lies along Buckatunna Creek to the right of Mississippi 19 East on the road to Hebron Baptist Church, Mr. Dawson said. Later, Sir Coker acquired additional land for himself and his children and helped establish Coker’s Chapel Methodist Church on land he donated….photo of gravestone: “Margaret Coker 1766-1851 In Whose Memory This Plot of Ground Was Dedicated To the Glory of God By Her Son Peyton Coker”….

By 1857, the first post office was established. Although residents applied for the name Vineville because of the prolific vines growing along Buckatunna Creek, postal officials mistakenly dubbed the community Vimville. The name stuck and the area continued to attract settlers. Vimville, Mr. Dawson said, was primarily a farming community closely linked to settlements in Old Whynot and Alamucha.

2. From Chapter Two, General History of Whynot in Whynot, Volume I, Publication 81 by Jim Dawson, Lauderdale County Department of Archives & History, Inc., Meridian, Mississippi: "Other early settlers had no land registered in their names. One was Sir Peyton Coker, who was in the area by 1833 just west of Old Whynot. He came from Washington County, Alabama, where he had married Cynthia Hall, second daughter of Margaret Agnew and Darling Hall, on December 26, 1827. Margaret Agnew was the daughter of George Agnew, an early settler in old Marion. Darling Hall and Margaret Agnew married on 4/29/1809 in Maury County, Tenn. James Madison Brewster also came to Old Whynot from Alabama. Others living on the ridges in the area included the Spinks, Brewsters, Thompsons, Pringles, Clarkes, Robinsons, Smiths and others. In the southeast corner of Township 5, Range 18E, in 1836, the following people owned land: Thomas Dunbar, James McRae, Dempsey Blanks, John McInnis, Wyatt Adams and Martha Lapp. This was in the Hurricane Creek area. Some of these people came through Washington County, Alabama, which at the time included part of present-day Choctaw County, Alabama, as well as Wayne County, Mississippi. Some came from Hinds County, Mississippi, while others came from Tennessee through Greene and Sumter Counties, Alabama. There is a fine line when one attempts to set a boundary line on the Whynot area in regard to Vimville on the west, Alamucha to the north, and Snell (in Clarke County) on the south. Present day Whynot is bound on the north by the upper section of the area just north of the Whynot Loop, near the Joe Long Hill, on the east by the Alabama state line, on the west at about Old Whynot and on the south by the Clarke County, Mississippi, line, more or less."

3. From Chapter Eight, Churches of Whynot in Whynot, Volume I, Publication 81 by Jim Dawson, Lauderdale County Department of Archives & History, Inc., Meridian, Mississippi: "The Methodist Church for the area residents was the Pleasant Grove Methodist Church. There are no church minutes and/or records for this church. The Sir Peyton Coker family attended services at the church. One of his daughters was married in this church. The church, which was on the Buckatunney Creek at the location of an Old Choctaw Indian site, also served as a school house and was fairly close to the James Brewster residence. The church was about three miles east of present-day Cokers Chapel Methodist Church. It was at times referred to as the Brewster Church near the Brewsters (Bruisters). Legend has it that two of the cornerstones from the Pleasant Grove Methodist Church were placed under the first Cokers Chapel Methodist Church with a date of 1840. If this is true, then the Pleasant Grove Church commenced in 1840 with Sir Peyton Coker and possibly James Brewster as charter members. Sir Peyton Coker's first land and possible home was 40 acres along the Buckatunny Creek at Vimville. The land was in the area where one traveling east would turn off Highway 19E toward the Hebron Baptist Church. Later, he would live on the site where the old vacant Brewster home now stands in the heart of Vimville. A descendent recently told the writer that when Peyton Coker built a new home that the old log cabin was rolled back to a spot on Peyton Coker's original 40 acres. It stands to reason that he rolled the log cabin to his new homesite then later rolled it back to its original location. The rolling of homes to a new location was done frequently in the old days. Sir Peyton Coker donated the land for the Cokers Chapel Methodist Church about 1880. This is when Cokers Chapel Methodist Church came into being and when the Pleasant Grove Methodist Church began to die. Apparently, some members of the Pleasant Grove church left to attend the new church. The remaining members built Whynot Methodist Church where the present-day Mt. Horeb Baptist Church stands. The cemetery at Coker's Chapel is thought to be older than the church."

Sources

1. ↑ Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 9 September 2021), memorial page for Peyton Coker (31 Aug 1801–11 Jun 1872), Find A Grave: Memorial #29944074, citing Coker Chapel Cemetery, Lauderdale County, Mississippi, USA; maintained by LoRetta Hughes (contributor 46865226), headstone, portrait and newspaper article photos.

• Fairley, Nan. "English Knight, 1812 war hero help settle Vimville" by Nan Fairley, April 19, 1987 at https://www.ancientfaces.com/photo/coker-article/407063

• Dawson, Jim 1992. Chapter Two, General History of Whynot in Whynot, Volume I, Publication 81, Lauderdale County Department of Archives & History, Inc., Meridian, Mississippi. http://www.lauderdalecountymsarchives.org/uploads/2/6/2/1/2621480/81.pdf

• Dawson, Jim 1992. Chapter Eight, Churches of Whynot in Whynot, Volume I, Publication 81, Lauderdale County Department of Archives & History, Inc., Meridian, Mississippi. http://www.lauderdalecountymsarchives.org/uploads/2/6/2/1/2621480/81.pdf

• "United States Census, 1830," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHP9-LQB : 24 August 2017), Peyton Coker, Washington, Alabama, United States; citing 245, NARA microfilm publication M19, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 3; FHL microfilm 2,330.

• "United States Census, 1840," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRL-F9N : 7 September 2017), Peyton Coker, Lauderdale, Mississippi, United States; citing p. 43, NARA microfilm publication M704, (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 216; FHL microfilm 14,841.

• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6G6-9PX : 14 December 2017), Peyton Coker, 1860.

• "United States Census, 1870," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFSD-BZ3 : 12 April 2016), Peyton Coker, Mississippi, United States; citing p. 106, family 837, NARA microfilm publication M593 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.); FHL microfilm 552,234.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Willis Wells for creating WikiTree profile Coker-594 through the import of Wells Family Tree-2.ged on Dec 13, 2013. Click to the Changes page for the details of edits by Willis and others.