Statement from P.C. Coffee (written after 1896 about his Father (Gen) John Reed Coffee interred in the Cross Cem in Jackson Co Alabama and his ancestry)
Born March 27, 1814, John Reed Coffee, the ninth child and fifth son of Rice and Sallie Bradford Coffee, on a farm bought from Gen. Andrew Jackson by his father, located at Wartrace, Bedford Co. Tennessee (note: later PC infers John R. Coffey b. 1814 was the son of Henry Bradford Coffey. Not sure what the confusion was CWA 31 Mar 2016)
He never had the opportunity of attending school except for about 15 months which was at Shelbyville, Tennessee. At the age of about 10 years, his father allowed him to go to BelleFonte, Alabama where he worked as a clerk in a store at a mere salary of $5.50. So attentive was he at business that he was not outside the corporate limits of (as told by himself to the writer) for a period of three years. By industry and economy at the age of 22 he was able to establish a mercantile business of his own which he continued in BelleFonte, Alabama until 1840 when he was elected Sheriff of Jackson County (Alabama)
At the beginning of the war with Mexico he enlisted as a private in the command of Capt. Richard Jones. He was afterward promoted and went to Mobile and organized the First Alabama Regiment and was elected as its colonel and as such participated in the siege at Vera Cruz. After the Mexican War, he became a General of the (Alabama) militia.
On the 21st of January, 1849 he married Miss Mary Ann Cross, the only daughter of Col. Charles M. Cross and Eliza Talley.
While conservative in all things, he was a man of deep convictions and was loved, honored and respected by all who knew him.
He died at his home on the Tennessee River in Jackson County, Alabama March 21st, 1896 in the 82nd year of his life. bur. Cross Cemetery Jackson Co. AL.
Rice Coffee's grandmother on his mother's side was Miss McMinn His mother, Elizabeth Cleveland, a sister of Col. Benjamin Cleveland who commanded a regiment in the Battle of King's Mountain in the Revolutionary War.
His grandmother was a daughter of Oliver Cromwell. Rice's own grandfather on his father's side was John Coffee. Rice's own father was James Coffee whose brothers were Ambrose, Reuben, Lewis , Eli and Joel, and his sisters are, Elizabeth and Patsy. Elizabeth married Reuben Whitesides, Patsy married Marshall Durham.
Rice's Children were Joel Nash, Elvira, Henry B., Mary C., Weightstill Avery, and Martha or Patsy as she was called, Benjamin B., and John Reed.
Rice's mother was born in 1727 and died in 1827. Rice's wife's maiden name was Sallie Bradford whose mother's name was Margaret. Sallie's grandmother's name was Nellie Reid, a daughter of John Bell Reid, Rice's wife's father was Benet Bradford, Benet Bradford's children were Hannah, Polly, Sallie, John, Benjamin, Gentry, Nellie, James and Hamilton.
Rice was born in Amhurst Co. Va., April, 1776 (1766) and died at Wartrace, Tenn. July 24, 1853. His wife, Sallie, was born June 22, 1770, died Sept. 3, 1840. Rice was a cousin of Gen. John Coffee who commanded a brigade (War of 1812) and died near Florence, Alabama July 7, 1833, and who was with General Jackson during the war.
My father's father was Henry Bradford Coffee. He married Sallie Edmondson. My father (John Reed Coffey's) brothers were Barland Rice, Richard Edmondson, William Elmore, Wiley and Isom Lane. Sisters were Elizabeth, Elvira, Mary and Martha.
My grandfather, Henry Bradford Coffey, was a nephew of Gen John Coffee. Gen. Coffee was really the man who won the famous Battle of New Orleans, but a president was needed, Gen. Coffee would not accept, so to aid Jackson, Coffee gave all the credit to Jackson, and by doing so put him on the road to the White House. These are well known
facts to us all here.
** Could be a confusion of using the same names for several generations. says John Reed Coffey was his father born to Rice & Sarah Coffey then says his grandfather was Henry Bradford Coffey
Signed P.C. Coffee (as slightly edited by C. Wayne Austin, but still not sure if it is correct?)
Note: P.C. Coffee, a grandson of Henry Bradford Coffee and great grandson of Rice Coffee is interred in the Coffey family cemetery without a marker. (Comment by C. Wayne Austin)
As translated by C. Wayne Austin 31 Mar 2016 from this document:
