Under Construction

This research project is meant to untangle confusion about Coffman families of early Tennessee - with a focus on those with connections to McMinn County in southeast Tennessee.

See also Nichols - Narramore Connections in Early Tennessee and future research on the aligned Blankenship families.

Key Dates in History

Few areas of the American Colonies churned more than the area that would become eastern Tennessee. As a result, no dates referring to McMinn County prior to 1819 or to the state of Tennessee prior to 1796 are accurate.

Tennessee dates:

• 1663 - King Charles II granted the Charter of Carolina for land south of the British Colony of Virginia and north of Spanish Florida - including most/all of what is now North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, along with northernmost Florida.
• 1772-1776: the Watauga Association was an extra-legal but self-governing area of settlers from Virginia in what is now northeast Tennessee.
• 1776 to 1784: after the Watauga Association couldn't get recognition from Virginia, they formed the Washington District which was briefly recognized by North Carolina and later ceded to the federal government. The district created Washington (1777), Sullivan (1779), Greene (1783), and Davidson (1783) counties - and stretched west to the Mississippi River.
• 1784 to 1788 - Washington, Sullivan and Greene County form the breakaway, unrecognized state of Franklin in what is now northeast Tennessee. They created new counties Caswell, Sevier, Wayne, and Wilkes in 1785 - then Blount in 1786.
• 1789-1790 - North Carolina ratifies the US Constitution and cedes its western land claims to the Federal government as the Southwest Territory.
• 1790 to 1796 - Southwest Territory is independent of North Carolina.
• 1796 - Southwest Territory is admitted to the United States as the state of Tennessee.

McMinn County dates:

• 1796: When the Southwest Territory became the state of Tennessee, it comprised ten counties in the northeast and four non-adjacent north-central counties. Most of the state (including all of southeast Tennessee) was still considered Indian lands.
• 1801-1815: the Cherokee Reserve in southeast Tennessee theoretically became part of Blount County.
• 1815-1819: the area that would become McMinn County shifted among Blount, Roane, and Rhea counties.
• 1819: McMinn County created from parts of Roane and Rhea counties.
• 1833-1858: McMinn County borders changed frequently and significantly, gaining and losing territory to Hamilton, Rhea, Bradley, Monroe, and Polk counties.
  • 1836: Bradley County created out of McMinn.
  • 1839: Polk Country created out of Bradley and McMinn.
• 1867-1951: Minor changes were made to adjoining county borders multiple times.

Early Coffman Families

Coffman/Turner

John Coffman (abt.1796-abt.1850) married Elizabeth (Turner) Coffman (abt.1793-aft.1860) and had a number of children.