THE WILL OF EDWARD COFFEY
Examining the name "Anstes Coffey"
One of the issues regarding
the will of Edward Coffey is whether one of the children he names is a female
(Anstes or Austes), or a male (Austen or Austin).
My opinion (Fred Coffey) is
the same as that of John Chenalt. We believe the name is "Anstes".
John has provided copies of
two versions of the will. Unfortunately, it is a copy of a copy of a non-white
document, and there is a lot of "noise". But the writing can still be
pretty well made out. (There still remains the problem of reading the fancy
text made with a quill pen using old and inconsistent spellings.)
John believes that
"Version 1" is the original draft, and "Version 2" is what
was copied from that draft into the Essex County, Virginia, Will Book. (My
impression is the versions were written by two different people, although it
could be that the same person simply becomes "neater and fancier"
when he is copying his work into the formal "will book".)
Following is (1) a transcript
of the will (to help read the very difficult copies), with certain words
underlined, followed by (2) a comparison of certain letters in the underlined
words, and (3) a discussion of that comparison:
Essex County, Virginia
Records
Deeds & Wills No.
14, Page 669
IN THE NAME OF GOD AMEN. I
Edward Coffey being in bedd of sickness but in perfett sense & emmbrey thanks bee to God;
I Edward Cofey do bequeath this to bee my Last Will & Testament, -
I leave all my Land to my two Suns John Cofey and Edward Cofey Equall to
be divided at Sixten Ears
of age if the mother of them be ded otherwayes att Eighten Years of Ages.
I also give one Cowe &
her increase to my daughter
Marther Cofey att ye Ears of Sixten or at her mothers deth allso one Cowe
yerlen to my Sun John Coffey
& her increase
All the tenebles Stock &
Bock I give to my wife Ann Cofey till her deth but if she marys then every one
of my Children to have their parts as they come of age, and after ye Deces of
my wife all tenables to be
Equall devided between my Six children John, Edward Cofey, Marther Cofey, Ann Cofey, Anstes Cofey, Elisabeth Cofey.
As witness my hand &
Seall this 14th day of Febry 1715/16
Samel. Edmondson
Themety (mark) Selemon
Edward Cofey (his mark) Cofey
Compare: |
Will Version I
(the draft?) |
Will Version II (Will Book) |
The name "Anstes
Cofey" (Compare with following:) |
|
|
The "nn" in
"Ann" |
|
|
The "un" in
"my Sun" |
|
|
The "u" in
"daughter" |
|
|
The "n" in
"Land" |
|
|
The "te" in
"Sixten" or "Eighten" |
|
|
The final "es" in
"tenables" (or "tunbles"?) |
|
|
The final "s" in
"Sickness" |
|
|
Now, let us discuss each of
the letters in A N S
T E S
:
The "A" is not a problem - it looks perfectly normal.
The next letter, "N" looks line an "n" in version 1, but
looks more like a "u" in version 2. So on the next 4 lines we have
compared various forms of "nn", "un", "u", and
"n" from the two documents. In version 2 these letters are absolutely
indistinguishable, and the reader can only guess at the meaning based on
context. However in version 1 I perceive that there are differences between
"n" and "u", and the second letter in Anstes name is most
likely an "n".
The "S": Now, to a modern reader the next letter looks
exactly like an "f". However in the 18th century this is
how the "s" sound was written. Thus there is no doubt that the third
letter is "S".
Now lets take two letters
together, the "T"
and the "E". In
Anstes name: We would read it as "to", or maybe even "ro",
since our writer doesn't cross his "t's" and makes a funny
"e". But look at the
"te" that occurs in "Daughter", and also in the words
"sixten" and "eighten". I'm convinced the writer did indeed
mean "te"!
And then the final "S". It's not clear if the writer is using the
"f" form, or is putting a fancy tail on a conventional "s".
We could read it as a "j", or maybe even as a "d". But if
we look at the final "es" in "tenables", or the final
"s" in "Sickness", then it seems clear that the writer
means to make an "es" at the end of the name.