N. B. Coggshall, a Butler county pioneer and successful farmer and stockman of Chelsea township, is a native of Indiana. He was born in Wayne county in March, 1841, and is a son of Caleb and Mary A. Coggshall. The Coggshalls came from an ancient and honorable English family, and trace their lineage back to 1144. The direct lineal ancestors of N. B. Coggshall, beginning in 1144, are as follows: Matilda, the oldest daughter of the Grand Duke of Normandy, Sir William, First Abbott Coggshall Abbey, Lord Odo, Third Abbott. Lord Peter, brother of Stephen, Chancellor of Lincoln. Lord Thomas, Monk of Valle Dell, eleventh year of the reign of King Henry, third son of King John. Lord Ralph, Monk seventh, Lord Ralph De Coggshall, a Monk of the Cistercian Order, sixth Abbot of Coggshall. Sir Thomas, Knight. Sir Ralph, baron. Sir John, baron. Earl Henry, baron. Sir William, baron. Sir Thomas, baron. Lord John. Sir Thomas, baron. Lord John of Herndon. Sir Rodger, Knight. Lord John. The American line of descent is as follows: John. Joshua, aid-de-camp to Lafayette. John, commander in navy, Revolution. Caleb, major, War of 1812. John, captain in Mexican war. Tristram, farmer. Caleb, merchant. Nathan, lieutenant in Civil war, 1861-1865. Mary J., daughter of Caleb, and Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Mary Jane.

Mr. Coggshall was reared and educated in Indiana and when the Civil war broke out he enlisted at Richmond, Ind., August 8, 1862, in Company E, Sixty-ninth regiment, Indiana infantry, and served with his company throughout the Civil war, and was mustered out of service July 5, 1865, and received his honorable discharge. Mr. Coggshall came to Kansas and located in Butler county in 1868, and was one of the pioneers of Chelsea township. He practiced law for six years in El Dorado and for twenty-five years held the office of justice of the peace, although farming has been his chief occupation, and he has been an extensive cattle raiser. He and his wife now own 560 acres of land and rank among the prosperous farmers of Chelsea township.

Mr. Coggshall was married at Cottonwood Falls, Kans., December 22, 1867, to Miss Mary Ann Ellis, daughter of Archibald and Ann Ellis,

natives of County Mayo, Ireland. The Ellis family were among the very earliest settlers in Butler county. They came here in 1869. For a more complete history of the Ellis family, see sketch of John Ellis in this volume.

Mrs. Coggshall is one of the pioneer women of Butler county. She came here when a young girl, and at first she felt as though she never would be able to adjust herself to the conditions of the frontier, as she found them in those primitive days, but she became accustomed to life in the great West and became very much attached to this section of the country after being here a very short time. She was one of the pioneer school teachers of Butler county, and in the early days taught school in a log school house in Chelsea township. Mrs. Coggshall has been actively identified with the life and development of Butler county almost since its beginning, and she and Mr. Coggshall rank among the leading pioneers and first families of Butler county. They are an estimable couple and number their friends in legion.

For years Mr. Coggshall was a supporter of the policies and principles of the Republican party, but in recent times he has been inclined to be liberal and independent in his political views.

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