| 218 cont'd | HISTORY OF ALLEN AND |
JESSE H. COFFMAN.
JESSE H. COFFMAN—One of the successful and representative farmers of Allen County is Jesse H. Coffman, of Moran. He came to the county in 1884 and purchased the old "Fair Lawn" farm, the northeast quarter of section 34, town 24, range 20. He was a pioneer to Neosho County, from which point he located in Allen County. In 1868 he pre-empted a claim on the Osage Ceded lands and was a party to the famous law-suit which arose over the title to that land, much of which lay in Neosho County.
Mr. Coffman came west from Adams County, Indiana, where he was reared from boyhood. He was born in Fairfield County, Ohio, December 17, 1839. His father, David Coffman, was born in the same county in 1809 and was there married to Rebecca Hughes, a daughter of Jesse Hughes, a soldier of the War of 1812. Mr. Hughes came from Pennsylvania into Ohio as a pioneer and David Coffman came through that State from Virginia on his way to Ohio. The Coffmans are one of the old American families and some of them were patriots of our Revolution. Our subject's great-grandfather was one of them and he was killed while in the service.
David Coffman died in 1872 at the age of sixty-three years. His wife died the same year. Their children were: Mary E., who resides in Adams County, Indiana, is the widow of the late Basil Hendricks, her second husband; Sarah A., wife of Henry Steele, of Pleasant Mills, Indiana, Harriet O., widow of Alexander Eichar, who resides with our subject; Jesse H.; Isabel, wife of David Springer, of VanWert County, Ohio, and George M. Coffman, of Erie, Kansas.
In 1861 President Lincoln appointed J. H. Coffman postmaster of Pleasant Mills, Indiana, which office he resigned in 1862 to enlist in Cornpiny E, 10th Ohio cavalry, Captain Fehlison and Colonels Smith and Sanders. The regiment was under Kilpatrick and took part in the cavalry work around Atlanta and Savannah. It returned north through the enemy's country to Richmond, Virginia, where it was embarked on a transport for Baltimore and from that point was shipped to Cleveland, Ohio, where it was mustered out of service in August, 1865. Mr. Coffinan took part in all the serious engagements with which his division was concerned and notwithstanding the frequency with which he was under fire during his
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three years' service he received no wounds. He was mustered out as first duty sergeant of Company E.
The three years intervening between his discharge from the army and his advent to Kansas Mr. Coffman spent at farming in Adams County, Indiana. He made the trip to Kansas in a wagon coniaining,[sic] besides his family, his personal effects. He disposed of his Neosho County farm at a fancy price and invested the proceeds in land near Moran. His farm comprises 330 acres conveniently situated and well stocked and well tilled.
Mr. Coffman was first married in 1867 to Anna R. McLeod who died in 1879, with issue as follows: May, wife of Marion Lee, of Los Angeles County, California; Edith I., wife of Chas. Weast, of Neosho County. In 1884 Mr. Coffman married Laura E. Coe, a daughter of Orville L. Coe, of Geanga County, Ohio. Their child is Harold C. Coffman.
Mr. Coffman is a well known Democrat and is one of the party leaders in Allen County. He frequents county conventions and enthuses his countrymen in the faith in every political campaign.
Pages 218-219, transcribed by Carolyn Ward from History of Allen and Woodson Counties, Kansas: embellished with portraits of well known people of these counties, with biographies of our representative citizens, cuts of public buildings and a map of each county / Edited and Compiled by L. Wallace Duncan and Chas. F. Scott. Iola Registers, Printers and Binders, Iola, Kan.: 1901; 894 p., [36] leaves of plates: ill., ports.; includes index.
