| Home Surname List Name Index Sources Email Us | Second Generation3. John Coffey was born between 1699 and 1700 in Essex Co., VA. He signed a will on 31 March 1774 in Albemarle Co., VA.18 Will of John Coffey. Albemarle County Virginia. In the name of God, Amen. This thirty-first day of March & in the year of our Lord One thousand Seven hundred & seventy-four I John Coffey of Albemarle County & Parish of St. Anne's in the Colony of Virginia, yeoman, being weak in body but of perfect mind & memory, thanks be given unto God; Therefore calling unto mind the mortality of my body & knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die, do make & ordain this my last will & testament. That is to say, principally & first of all I give & recommend by soul unto Almighty God who gave it, & my body I recommend to earth to be buried in a decent manner at ye discretion of my executors, nothing doubting but at the General Resurrection I shall receive the same by the Almighty power of God. As touching such worldly estate as it hath pleased God to bless me with in this life I give & devise & dispose of the same in the following manner & form: Imprimis, I order that my just debts & funeral expenses be first paid out of the whole. Item. I will & bequeath to my sons, James & William Coffey, to each of them five shillings sterling. Item. I lend to my dearly beloved wife, Jean Coffey, during her widowhood the rest of my estate, real & personal, & at the end of her widowhood to be equally divided among the rest of my children, viz. Thomas Coffey, John Coffey, Edmond Coffey, Reuben Coffey, & Benjamin Coffey, Winifred Moran & Betty Field & the above estate to be sold at said time. Item. I order Thomas Coffey & Benjamin Coffey, my executors, & I do hereby utterly disallow, revoke & disannul all & every other former will & testament, legacies, & bequests & executors in anywise before named & bequeath, ratify, & confirm this & no other to be my last will & testament. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal the day & year above written. John Coffey (Seal) Signed, sealed & delivered by the said John At Albemarle March Court Seventeen hundred & Seventy Five. This will was presented to Court & proved by the oaths of the witnesses thereto and ordered to be recorded and upon the motion of Benjamin & Thomas Coffey Executors therein named who made oath according to Law, Certificate is granted them for obtaining a probate in due form on their giving security whereupon they gave bond with Charles Patrick & James Garland their security and acknowledged it accordingly. Teste: Deeds, Vol. 23, Page 276, Indenture, July 15, 1745 John Coffey and wife, Jane Coffey, of Spotsylvania County, Virginia to Silvanus Allen, of Essex County, Virginia, in consideration of 25 pounds current money, a parcel of land lying and being in the County of Essex and the Parish of St. Anne containing 100 acres, being part of a tract of 200 acres formerly called by name of Moseley's Quarter, and bounded, viz: beginning at the corner oak and maple in a branch of Gilson's run, and running thence N-W 126 poles to a stake, a corner between the ad. land and the land of William Ballard, thence N-E 132 poles to a corner red oak sapling standing by the plantation of Stephen Chenault, thence along a new made line S-E 126 poles to a hickory in the line of John Garnett, then along his line and the line of William Taylor S-W 132 poles to the beginning, together with all houses, woods, and under woods. Witnesses: John Garnett John Coffey (seal) In the book Thomas Coffey and His Descendants, compiled by Laurence H. Coffey of Lenoir, NC (pub: Newell Sanders, Chattanooga, 1931), a record (deed book?) in "...Essex Co, Book No. 23, page 276, shows that John Coffey and wife Jane of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, sold the old homestead located at St. Anne's Parish in Essex County, Virginia, specifying all houses, orchards, meadows, pastures, et cetera, to Silvanus Allen, on July 15, 1745; and Book No. 24, page 130, recited that on June 15, 1747, they sold the remainder of the same farm to John Garnett." Nothing is known about John & Jane Coffey in Essex Co., except that a number of their children were born there. The dates & order of birth of their children is likewise not well known. It is known that Thomas was born in 1742 & Reuben most likely in 1744, so John & Edmond could not have both been born between Thomas & Reuben, & probably neither of them was. Most researchers have followed the order given in Laurence Coffey's book (see earlier reference) on Thomas Coffey. John Coffey and Jane Graves20 were married circa 1728 in Virginia. DEED BOOK 23, page 276 dated July 15, 1745 is recorded: John Coffey and wife, Jane Coffey, of Spotsylvania Co., Virginia, to Silvanus Allen, of Essex Co., Virginia, in consideration of 25 pounds current money, a parcel of land lying and being in the County of Essex and Parish of St. Anne containing 100 acres, being part of a tract of 200 acres formerly called by the name of Moseley's Quarter, and bounded, viz: beginning at a corner oak and maple in a branch of Gilson's run, and running thence N-W 126 poles to a stake, a corner between the sd. land and the land of William Ballard, thence N-E 132 poles to a corner red oak sapling standing by the plantation of Stephen Chenault, thence along a new made line S-E 126 poles to a hickory in the line of John Garnett, then along his line and the line of William Taylor S-W 132 poles to the beginning, together with all houses, woods and under woods. (Referred to as the old homestead and specified all houses, orchards, meadows, pastures, et. cetera). Witnesses: DEED BOOK No. 24, page 130 dated June 15, 1747 John Coffey and wife Jane Coffey sold the remainder of the same farm to John Garnett. St. Anne's Parish is the next parish north of South Farnham Parish, stood about two miles west of the village of Occupacia, and it seems that the old Coffey homestead was in that immediate neighborhood, as the calls of the deeds mention the land lines of William Taylor, William Balard, Stephen Chenault, Thomas Waring and John Garnett. DEED BOOK 24, page 130 dated July 15, 1747 Deed recorded: Deeded property above to a Anthony Garnett In about 1747 John and Jane apparently moved from Spotsylvania to Orange Co. where John bought 137 acres on Jun 23, 1747, and listed among the purchasers of an estate there in July 1751. When the 137 acres was sold on Aug. 30, 1752, his residence was given as Orange Co. He appears in several Albemarle records in the 1750's and 1760, and remained there the rest of his life. John's will was made on March 31, 1774, and proved at the March court in 1775. He likely died in Jan. or Feb. of 1775. In the next few years following his death all of the children except William, Edmond and probably Winifred moved to NC. Jane also went with them and located in Wilkes Co., near James and Thomas. John's will was such that the final settlement prevented final heirs from any claim on his estate until Jane died. She died in 1792. John Coffey and Jane Graves had the following children:
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