OBITUARY - FRANCIS I. HALE
Francis I. Hale was born on January 9, l827, in Wayne Co., Kentucky. When about one year
of age, he moved with his parents to Morgan Co., Indiana. In February, l852 he was united
in marriage to Miss Delilah Coffee and to this union seven children were born, three boys
and four girls.
In the year l855, he moved his family to Iowa, and in December of the same year, they
moved to Harrison Co., Missouri, where he purchased 85 acres of land with improvements,
consisting of a good house and other buildings. The house burned down before he moved
into it and he put up a log cabin, which served him as a house for many years.
In August, l866, the wife died, leaving her husband and small children, John H. Hale,
Alonzo W. Hale, Mary A. Hale, and Martha E. Hale, their other three children having died
in infancy. In the year l867, Mr. Hale was united in marriage with Miss Nancy Hobbs.
(F.I. Hale died in l9l3. As the remainder of the account does not pertain to the Coffey
family it is not included here.)
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Findings on ELIZABETH COFFEY REEDY
Elizabeth was born about l839. She was listed in the l850 census as age 11 and in the
l860 census the Coffey household included Delilah, age 57; Elizabeth, 2l; Robert, l8; and
Lewis Martin, l5. Judged by the precedents set by her mother and sisters, Elizabeth was
well into the spinster category at 2l. Her brothers, James, John, and Moses lived nearby
as did sister, Nancy Jones. Philip was on the western frontier in Nebraska Territory with
his new bride.
In April of l863, Robert was a two-year veteran in the 27th Ind. Regt. Delilah (Jr.) and
Polly were farmers' wives, living in Missouri. Elizabeth, now age 24, married James
Reedy, then. There must have been some flaw in the marriage, for on May l2, l863 the
Morgan County Civil Court granted James a divorce from Elizabeth, who did not appear in
court to contest the action. That same May, James again came to court to request
dismissal of the divorce case. It is puzzling as to how a former decision could be
dismissed. The mystery continues with the death of Elizabeth, later in l863. Ranous
Baker, a young neighboring farmer became the administrator of the estate. There was a
sale of her personal goods, including a bed and bedding, some dishes and cookware, and
livestock. The proceeds amounted to $70.00. Some of our questions:
l. Why was Baker named administrator, instead of one of Elizabeth's older brothers?
2. Why did Elizabeth own household goods and livestock since she presumably lived with her
mother?
3. Did she ever live with her husband?
The clerks office records the marriage of James Reedy and Susan Lowe in l865. In the l880
census, Susan Reedy is shown as a head of household with minor children. James Coffey in
his listing of the family, mentions only that in l887 both Elizabeth and James Reedy are
dead.
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ROBERT WASHINGTON COFFEY
Robert Washington Coffey was born Aug. 2, l84l in Morgan Co., Ind. We would assume his
boyhood was the usual for that era, except he was without a father before the age of
three. Brother Moses said he was the support of the family after l844, but we suspect
that James and John, who lived nearby, also helped. In September of l86l, the 27th
Regiment of Indiana Volunteers was formed at Indianapolis with Robert and many of the
Morgan County boys enlisted. During its three years of service it was first attached to
Banks' 5th Corps, then later to the Army of the Potomac, and finally to the Army of
the Cumberland. It camped at Frederick, Maryland until March of l862 when it had its
first enemy contact in a skirmish at Smithfield, Virginia. This was followed by 27 other
engagements including major battles at Antietem, Chancellorsville, Resaca, Kenesaw
Mountain, Peachtree Creek, and Gettysburg. The regiment went into its winter quarters at
Tullahoma, Tennessee in the fall of l!
863 and during this idleness Robert used his leave to return home and marry Margret
Adeline Blair on Mar. l7, l864.
Returning to his unit, Robert found it was now under General Joe Hooker and just entering
the Atlanta campaign. In September of l864, enlistments of the original recruits expired.
Some, including Bob and nephew, John Taylor Coffey, joined the 70th Indiana Regiment for
Sherman's march to the sea. They then turned north through the Carolinas and at long
last the war ended. After the Grand Review in Washington, Bob returned home. Arriving in
Morgan County, he discovered that his wife's brothers had moved to Illinois, and they
advised Bob to do the same. In the spring of l866, Robert and Margret settled in
Cumberland County, Illinois. Here they lived as a farm family and raised their five
children. Margret died in l900 and Robert in l9l8.
(Compiled from a History of Cumberland Co., Illinois and various accounts of units in the
Civil War.)
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MOSES TURPIN COFFEY was satisfied to spend most of his life within a mile or two of his
birthplace. One exception was when at the age of 33 he enlisted in the l48th Indiana
Regiment. Their principle assignment was the occupation of recently captured Nashville,
Tennessee while the brunt of the war moved to other campaigns. The l48th was organized in
February, l865 and mustered out in September, l865.
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December 3, 2003