USA > Maine > Genealogical and family history of the state of Maine, Volume II > Part 41
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(III) Elder Francis, son of Thomas Choate, was born at Choate Island, September 13, 1701, died October 15, 1777. While a young man he learned the trade of blacksmith of his brother-in-law, Isaac Martin. It is said that he made all the ironwork for three schooners which he built in company with his brother, Thomas Choate, and also that with the assist- ance of his slave, Cæsar, he sawed out by hand all the plank used in the construction of these vessels. Although he was not a seafaring man, he owned and chartered many vessels engaged
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in fishing and the coasting trade. During his early married life occurred the "great earth- quake," October 29, 1727. Following this there was a great religious revival, and Fran- cis Choate and his wife Hannah were among those who joined the church. For many years he held the office of ruling elder, and it is said of him that he was a tower of strength in the Whitefield movement, and to the close of his life the right-hand man of his pastor, Rev. John Cleaveland. He was a slaveholder. and his slave Ned married a negress called Sabina, and they had a large family of chil- dren. Two of the daughters, when nearly grown up, took cold sleeping in the barn after a husking, and died. Their graves are the only ones on the island, with the exception of the Indians. The spot is marked by a pine- tree. Francis Choate was kind to his slaves, and in his will provided for their freedom or comfortable support should they become aged and unable to work. Old Ned chose to remain with the family, and died September 27, 1800, at the age of ninety years. About 1739 Elder Choate purchased a farm on the mainland known as the John Burnham place, to which he soon after removed, although he still car- ried on the island farm. His sons William and Isaac settled there, and in 1769 he gave them a full title to the estate. In 1725 he built on the island a well-constructed farmhouse, where in later years the famous orator, Hon. Rufus Choate, of Boston, was born. The house is still in good condition. He married, April 13, 1727, Hannalı, born in Boston, April 4, 1708, died October 2, 1778, daughter of Isaac and Mary (Pike) Perkins. She was a descendant of Jolin Perkins, who came from Newent, Gloucestershire, England, in the ship "Lyon," in 1631, Her father was a sea captain. Among the books in Esquire Choate's library was Flavel's work, "On Keeping the Heart," which, with various law and custom house papers, are still preserved. Some years before his death he lost his right hand by a cancer. On his dying bed he called his children about him and gave them his council and blessing. To his son John he said : "Don't let the world run away with you, John." And later, it is said, "That as Elder Francis Choate lay dy- ing, his minister, the Rev. John Cleaveland, jumped upon his horse and flew to his bedside, saying, 'Burgoyne has surrendered !' The dy- ing man waved his hand, with patriotic joy lighting up his face, but was too far gone to speak." Children: 1. Francis, born February 27, 1728, died 1740. 2. William, September 5. 1730, married, January 16, 1756, Mary Gid-
dings : died April 23, 1785. 3. Abraham, March 24, 1732, mentioned below. 4. Isaac, January 31, 1733, married Elizabeth Low; died May 30, 1813. 5. Jacob, August 17, 1735. probably died young. 6. John, March 13. 1737, married, November 14, 1760, Mary Eveleth; married (second) April 16, 1789, Mrs. Sarah Newman; died July 7, 1791. 7. Hannah, April 1, 1739, married, November IO, 1757, Rufus Lathrop ; died April 18, 1785. 8. Francis, September 18, 1743, died young.
(IV) Abraham Choate, son of Elder Francis Choate, was born March 24, 1732, died April 23, 1800. He was one of the grantees of the town of Stockbridge, New Hampshire, July 22, 1761. He resided in Balltown, and after 1772 in Wiscasset and Whitefield, Maine. He married Sarah, who died 1811, daughter of .Aaron and Sarah ( Appleton ) Potter. She was born in Ipswich. Children : 1. Nehemiah, born March 23, 1757, died at sea on a priva- teer in the revolution in 1775. 2. Abraham, February 24, 1759, married Abigail Norris ; died April 12, 1837. 3. Sally, November 26, 1761, died April, 1827. 4. John, January 1, 1763, died April 2, 1800. 5. Francis, May 12, 1764, married Susannalı Heath ; died Septem- ber 2, 1799. 6. Aaron, February 7, 1766, men- tioned below. 7. Moses, August 9, 1767, mar- ried, July 22, 1797, Margaret Fountain ; died January 17, 1851. 8. Rufus Lathrop, March 5. 1769, died June 26. 1769. 9. Rufus Lathrop, May 21, 1770, died January 15, 1771. 10. Rufus Lathrop, February 28, 1772, died Octo- ber 17, 1836; married Betsey Maynard. II. Hannah, April 26, 1774, died July 25. 1774. 12. Hannalı, August 11, 1777, married, May 30, 1798, Jeremiah Norris ; died September 13, 1873. 13. Polly, October 6, 1779, married, February 18, 1798, Isaac Marsh; died 1859. 14. Ebenezer, March 21, 1783, married, 1806, Barbary Fountain : died December 13, 1876.
(V) Aaron, son of Abraham Choate, was born February 7, 1766, in Chebacco, Ipswich, died in China, Maine, March 18, 1853. He resided in Malta, later Gerry, and finally called Windsor, Maine. It is said that on Sep- tember 8, 1809, he was engaged in the survey of a brook on his land, when he was sur- prised by three masked men in the disguise of Indians, who placed a pistol at his breast, ordering strict silence. A few minutes later, Paul Chadwick, one of the chain-bearers, ap- peared in view. The word was given, (Fire low) and three guns were discharged, Chad- wick being mortally wounded. No hostility was shown Choate. It transpired that Chad- wick was one of a band known as the Malta
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12.
Indians, who were bound by oath to prevent surveys and resist proprietors in enforcing claims to the lands, and because of his serving Mr. Choate was regarded as a traitor to his oath, and was accordingly murdered. This incident so shamed the people of Malta that they begged to have the name of the town changed, which was done. Aaron Choate married Elizabeth, born in Waldoborough, Maine, died in 1844, daughter of John Acorn. They resided in Whitefield and Windsor, Maine. Children: 1. Nehemiah, born 1789, married, 1816, Lois Stiles ; died April 30, 1859. 2. Aaron, May 17, 1792, married Mary Per- kins : died June 21, 1874. 3. Sarah, 1793, married Aaron Dudley. 4. John, married Mary Marsh: died March 8, 1861. 5. Jane. 6. Polly. 7. Almira, married Thomas Wain. 8. Daniel Lathrop, 1803, mentioned below. 9. Moses, April 16, 1805, married Merlita Stone. 10. Eliza, married Stone.
(VI) Daniel Lathrop, son of Aaron Choate, was born in 1803 at Whitefield, Maine, and died September 22, 1879, in Milltown, Maine, where he resided. He married, the intentions published June 22, 1839, Marinda Ann, born in Milltown, February 24, 1821, died April 14, 1865, daughter of William and Sarah ( Bart- lett) Griggs. Children: 1. Charles Fairfield, born January, 1843, was a member of Com- pany K. Twelfth Regiment Maine Volunteers, First Brigade, Second Division, Nineteenth Army Corps; was wounded at the battle of Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864, and died No- vember 10, 1864, in the National Ilospital, Baltimore ; he was left on the field and robbed of all his clothing but his shirt, by the rebel soldiers; when they pulled his boots they dragged him around by his feet, swearing and kicking him roughly; he lay on the ground, naked and bleeding, from morning until night, and the exposure alone was enough to prove fatal ; he was buried under arms at his native town, just three years to an hour from the time he left home to go to war. 2. Aldana Marinda, February 27, 1845, married, July 4, 1869, John Dudley. ( See Dudley.) 3. Will- iam L., August 6, 1847, married, 1871, Isora M. Dudley ; died July 14, 1890. 4. Sarah Mor- rison, May 6, 1849, married, May 4, 1868, Al- bert Hart. 4. Daniel Lathrop, 1851, died young. 6. Minerva Adelaide, June 30, 1853, married, August 5, 1874, William J. Milligan. 7. Peter Morrison, 1855. 8. George Franklin, August 11, 1857, married, December 24. 1887, Myra G. Marshall. 9. Rufus Milton, 1859. 10. Everett Shepley, September 9, 1862, mar- ried. December 30, 1892, Sarah J. Morrison.
II. Daniel, 1863, died July 30, 1864. Fremont.
Nicholas and Joan Coffin and COFFIN their children, Peter, Tristram Nicholas and Anne, were born in the Coffin homestead, in the parish of Brixton, five miles from Plymouth, Devon- shire, England. The homestead had been in the possession of the Coffin family for five hundred years when Tristram Coffin, the progenitor of the American Coffins, was born, and it is now, after eight hundred years, still in possession of a descendant, John Pine Cof- fin, who in 1907 had a family of ten children under its roof. As the mother of the immi- grant Tristram came with the family to Amer- ica representing a generation, we name her husband, although he never saw America, as the first generation, in the order of our cus- tom. He was a man of wealth and belonged to the gentry of the shire, and his eldest son, Tristram, inherited his estate.
(I) Peter Coffin, son of Nicholas and Joan Coffin, was born on tlie Coffin estate at Brix- ton, Devonshire, England, about 1580, and died there in 1627-28. He married Joan, or Joanna, Thember, and their six children were born and baptized in the Parish of Brixton, Devon- shire, England, in the order following: I. Tristram (q. v.), 1605. 2. John, about 1607. He was a soldier, and died in the service from a mortal wound received in battle during the four years' siege of the fortified town during the civil war, and he died within the walls of the town about 1642. 3. Joan, born in Eng- land about 1609, and probably died there. 4. Deborah, died probably in England. 5. Eunice, born in England, came to Massachusetts Bay Colony with her parents; married William Butter and died in 1648. 6. Mary, married Alexander Adams, and had children : Mary, Susannah, John and Samuel. She died in 1677, or thereabouts. Widow Joan, with her children, Tristram, Eunice and Mary, her two sons-in-law, husbands of her daughters who were married in England, her daughter-in-law, Dionis, and five grandchildren, came to Salis- bury in 1642. She died in Boston in May, 1661, aged seventy-seven years, and in the no- tice of her funeral it is quaintly stated that the Rev. Mr. Wilson "embalmed her memory."
(II) Tristram, eldest child of Peter and Joan, or Joanna ( Thember), Coffin, was born in the parish of Brixton, Dorsetshire, England, probably in 1605. He was of the landed gentry of England, being heir to his father's estates in Brixton, and he was probably a churchman
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after the order of the time of Elizabeth. He was married to Dionis (the diminutive for Dionysia, and after written Dionys), daughter of Robert Stevens, of Brixton, England. It is a strange fact that the Christian name of the immigrant forefather of all the Coffins in America, Tristram, is repeated and multiplied in every family in every generation, while the name of the foremother Dionis is repeated but once in all the generations, and that was when it was given to the eldest daughter of Stephen, the youngest child of Tristram and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin, but when she married Jacob Norton her name appears as Dinah. It is not known on which of the early ships con- veying emigrants from England to New Eng- land the Coffin family took passage, but it is generally believed that it was the same ship that brought Robert Clement, the emigrant, who owned the ships "Hector," "Griffin," "Job Clement" and "Margaret Clement," and if Robert Clement, the immigrant, took passage in one of his own ships, Tristram Coffin, the immigrant, was a passenger in the same ship, and both men settled in Haverhill in 1642. The early settlers of Salisbury, which town was established October 7, 1640, commenced a settlement at Pentucket the same year, and the Indian deed for this land was witnessed by Tristram Coffin in 1642, and in 1643 he removed to the place which was established as the town of Haverhill, Norfolk county, Mas- sachusetts Bay Colony. He settled near Rob- ert Clement. Tradition has it that Tristram Coffin was the first man to plow land in the town of Haverhill, he constructing his own plow. He changed his residence to the "Rocks" the following year, and in 1648-49 removed to Newbury where he kept an ordi- mary and sold wine and liquors and kept the Newbury side of Carr's Ferry. In Sep- tember, 1643, his wife Dionis was prosecuted for selling beer for three pence per quart, while the regular price was but two pence, but she proved that she had put six bushels of malt into the hogshead, while the law only required the use of four bushels, she was discharged. He returned to Salisbury and was commissioner of the town, and while living there he planned the purchase of the estate of Nantucket. where he with his asso- ciates removed on account of religious perse- cution. At least, Thomas Macy, who was the pioneer settler on Nantucket Island, "fled from the officers of the law and sacrificed his prop- erty and home rather than submit to tyranny which punished a man for being hospitable to strangers in a rain storm, even though the
strangers be Quakers." Macy returned to Salisbury and resided there in 1664, and when he left he sold his house and lands, the story of his "fleeing from persecution" is spoiled and history gives the true reason for the migra- tion, the search for a milder climate and bet- ter opportunity for cultivating the soil. Early in 1654 Tristram Coffin took Peter Folyer, the grandfather of Benjamin Franklin, at that time living in Martha's Vineyard, as an interpreter of the Indian language, and proceeded to Nantucket, to ascertain the "temper and dis- position of the Indians and the capabilities of the island that he might report to the citizens of Salisbury what inducements were offered for emigration." The land was secured the same year, and James Coffin accompanied Thomas Macy and Family, Edward Starbuck and Isaac Coleman to the island later the same year, where they took up their residence. The Coffin family that settled at Nantucket in- cluded Tristram Sr., James, Mary, John and Stephen, and each the head of a family.
Tristram Coffin was thirty-seven years old when he arrived in America, and fifty-five years old at the time of his removal to Nan- tucket, and during the first year of his resi- dence he was the richest proprietor. The property of his son Peter is said to have soon after exceeded in value that of the original proprietor, the family together owning about one-fourth of the island of Nantucket and the whole of Tuckernock. He was appointed the second chief magistrate of the town of Nan- tucket, succeeding his friend, Thomas Macy, and at the same time Thomas Mayhew was appointed the first chief magistrate of Martha's Vineyard. their commissions signed by Gov- ernor Lovelace, of New York, bearing date June 29, 1671, and the two chief magistrates, together with two assistants from each island, constitute a general court, with appellate juris- diction over both islands. The appointment was made by Governor Francis Lovelace, of New York, and his second commission, Sep- tember 16, 1677, was signed by Edward An- dros, governor-general of the Province of New York. He died at his home on Nantucket Island. New York, October 2, 1681, leaving his widow, Dionis, seven children, sixty grand- children and a number of great-grandchildren, and in 1728 there had been born to him one thousand five hundred and eighty-two de- scendants, of whom one thousand one hundred and twenty-eight were living. The children of Tristram and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin were nine in number, the first five having been born in England, as follows: 1. Peter, 1631, mar-
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ried Abigail, daughter of Edward and Cath- erine ( Reynolds) Starbuck; died in Exeter, New Hampshire, March 21, 1715. 2. Tristram Jr., 1632, married Judith, daughter of Ed- ward and Sarah Dole, and widow of Henry Somerby; died in Newbury, Massachusetts, February 4, 1704. 3. Elizabeth, 1634, mar- ried, in Medbury, Massachusetts, November 13, 1651, Captain Stephens, son of Edmund and Sarah (Dole) Greenleaf, and they had five children. She died November 19, 1678, and her husband in 1690. 4. James, August 12. 1640, died in Nantucket, July 28, 1720. 5. John, died in Haverhill, Massachusetts, Oc- tober 30, 1642, soon after his birth. 6. Deb- orah, born in Haverhill, Massachusetts, No- vember 15. 1642, and died there December 8, 1642. 7. Mary, February 20, 1645, married, in 1662, Nathaniel ( 1638-1719), son of Ed- ward and Catherine (Reynolds) Starbuck, and they had five children. 8. John (q. v.), Octo- ber 30, 1647. 9. Stephen, born in Newbury, May II, 1652, died in Nantucket, May 18, I734.
(III) John, eighth child of Tristram and Dionis (Stevens) Coffin, was born in Haver- hill, Massachusetts, October 30, 1647. He married Deborah, daughter of Joseph and Sarah Austin, and they had eleven children born .in Nantucket Island. He removed with his parents to Nantucket in 1660, and after the death of his father settled, about 1682-83, in Edgartown, and from him all the Martha's Vineyard Coffins descended. He died Sep- tember 5. 1711. He was a lieutenant in the Edgartown militia, and had previously held minor offices in Nantucket. Children : I. Ly- dia, born June 1, 1669, married (first) John Logan, (second) John Draper, and (third) Thomas Thaxter, of Hingham, Massachu- setts. 2. Peter, August 5. 1671, died October 27. 1749: married (first) Christian Condy, and ( second) Hope, daughter of Joseph and Bethia ( Macy) Gardner. 3. John Jr., Febru- ary 10, 1674. 4. Love, April 23, 1676, died unmarried. 5. Enoch, 1678, was chief justice of Dakes county ; married Beulah Eddy about 1700, and they had eleven children, all of whom lived to the ages of seventy-six and upwards, and died 1761. 6. Samuel, married Meriam, daughter of Richard and Mary (Aus- tin) Gardner Jr., in 1705, and died February 22, 1764. 7. Hannah, married Benjamin, son of Richard and Mary (Austin) Gardner Jr., and died January 28, 1768. 8. Tristram (q. v.). 9. Deborah, married, June 18, 1708, Thomas, son of John and Deborah (Gardner) Macy, and died September 23, 1760. IO.
Elizabeth. II. Benjamin, born August 23, 1682.
(IV) Tristram (2), eighth child of Lieu- tenant John and Deborah (Austin) Coffin, was born in Nantucket, Massachusetts. He was married February, 1714, to Mary, daughter of William and Mary (Macy) Bunker. He lived in Nantucket all his life and died January 29, 1763. Children : David, born 1718. 2. Sam- uel, 1720. 3. Tristram, 1722, died 1796. 4. Jonathan, 1725, lost at sea 1755. 5. John, 1727, lost at sea 1755. 6. Richard (q. v.), 1729. 7. Timothy, 1731. 8. Mary, 1733, mar- ried Jonathan, son of Robert and Hepzibah Coffin Barnard, and died in November, 1855. 9. Matthew, 1735, lost at sea 1755. The three brothers, Jonathan, John and Matthew, were lost at sea when serving as sailors on the same whale-ship.
(V) Richard, sixth son of Tristram and Mary (Bunker) Coffin, was born in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, in 1729. He was captain in the local militia of Addison, Maine, where he lived after his marriage to Mary Cook, of Martha's Vineyard, and he served as high sheriff of Washington county. He had a large family of children, including John (q. v.).
(VI) John (2), son of Richard and Mary (Cook) Coffin, was born in Addison, Maine, July 29, 1770. He married Phoebe Coffin, of Nantucket, June 22, 1795 ; children : I. Soph- ronia S., born September 24, 1799. 2. Han- nalı Ward, April 7, 1802. 3. Simeon (q. v.).
(VII) Simeon, third child of John and Phoebe (Coffin) Coffin, was born in Addison, Maine, January 17, 1806. He was an inn- keeper and ship-builder, and married Rebecca WV., daughter of Uriah and Anna Nash, of Harrington, Maine; children: I. John W., born March 27, 1828. 2. Mary E., January, 1830, died 1847. 3. Voranus L. (q. v.). 4. Alphonso, October 15, 1833, in Addison, Maine, was a sea captain and farmer, and died at Matanzas, Cuba, while in that port with his ship. Married Mary W. Wilson ; children : Ellinor, Annie E., Gertrude W., Alphonso. 5. Sophronia, died aged seventeen years. Re- becca W. (Nash) Coffin, died in 1844. Simeon Coffin married (second) Harriet B. Franklin ; two children : Azro ; Leonora, became the wife of Dr. H. Bellamy, of Logansport, Indiana.
(VIII) Captain Voranus L., second son of Simeon and Rebecca W. (Nash) Coffin, was born in Addison, Maine, October 3, 1831. He received his primary school training in the public schools of his native place and at Har- rington, Maine, and was prepared for college
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at Waterville Academy, taking a three-years preparatory course. He then taught school at Addison, Harrington and Milbridge, and in 1863 enlisted in the Thirty-first Maine In- fantry, and was with the regiment of the Army of the Potomac during the remainder of the war. He was taken prisoner while on picket- duty near Cold Harbor, Virginia, a few days after the battle, June 1-3, 1864, in which he participated, and while the opposing armies were idle, except the sharpshooters, who were picking off many men on both sides. He was carried to Libby Prison, Richmond, Virginia, where he was in slave confinement for a num- ber of weeks, when he was removed with others to Camp Oglethorpe, Georgia, where he remained July. August and September, 1864. His next prison was at Savannah, Georgia, and his fourth at Charleston, South Carolina, where he was among the prisoners placed under fire of the Union guns then be- sieging the city. His fifth prison was Camp Sorghum, South Carolina, where he was un- til Christmas, 1864, when he was removed to the prison stockades in front of the Insane Asylum at Charleston. While in the stockade he connived, with H. L. Bixby, of Maine, a fellow prisoner, to effect their escape, but he was recaptured sixty miles outside the city, and one of his captors was a lieutenant and he was recognized as a brother Mason, and re- ceived from him many favors, including a gift of $50 in Confederate money, a liberal supply of rice and flour and many personal favors. This lieutenant was from Grove Station, North Carolina, but after the war no communication was established between them. He was next sent to the military prison at Raleigh, North Carolina, then to Goldsboro, in the same state, and then to Wilmington, North Carolina, where he was paroled. After being allowed a vacation home of thirty days, he was or- dered to rejoin his regiment before Peters- burg, and while on his way heard of the fall of the city and the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox. He marched in the final grand review at Washington, D. C., and was mustered out at Bangor, Maine, in 1865. He had enlisted as a private, but before leaving Augusta, Maine, was commissioned second lieutenant, and on June II. 1864, first lieu- tenant, his promotion being a reward for his action at Cold Harbor before his capture. He was acting captain of Company B, Thirty-first Maine Regiment, most of the time while with his regiment, and was in command of his company on their return trip from Washington to Bangor.
The war over, he engaged in trade and ship- building at Harrington, Maine, where he launched a large number of schooners, barks and brigs, the shipyards being owned by Ramsdell, Rumball & Coffin. He subsequently purchased the interests of his partners and conducted the shipbuilding business as V. L. Coffin for about eight years, 1876-84. In 1884 the firm became V. L. Coffin & Son, his partner being his son, Charles A. Coffin. Captain Coffin retired from active business in 1906, his son assuming the active management of the same. His home in Harrington is one of the pleasantest sites in that sightly place, and the hospitality there dispensed is proverbial for its entire freedom from formality or re- straint. Captain Coffin holds a high position in the Masonic fraternity. He is a member of Narragansett Lodge, of Cherryfield, mem- ber of the St. Elmo Commandery, No. 18, Machias Royal Arch Chapter; Bangor Coun- cil, Royal and Select Masters; Delta Lodge of Perfection; Scottish Rite, Princes of Jerusalem, at Machias, and Rose Croix Con- sistory, in Portland, in which he has attained the thirty-second degree. His service as a soldier in the civil war gained him comrade- ship to Hiram Burnham Post, No. 50, Grand Army of the Republic, of Cherryville, Maine, and he served the post as commander for three years, and the state of Maine as past senior vice-commander, and the National body by a place on the staff of General Walker, commander-in-chief. His military service also was recognized by the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, of which he was a companion, by his being accorded a place on the staff of the state commandery. He represented the fifteenth district in the state senate from 1881 to 1885; member of the executive council of state of Maine in 1897-98, under Governor Llewellen Powers, and for thirty-five years was treasurer of the town of Harrington ; he has also filled most of the local offices of his town. His political posi- tion in the Republican party is shown by his appointment as a delegate to the National convention at Chicago which nominated Theo- dore Roosevelt as the Republican candidate for president in 1904. He held the important financial position of treasurer of Washington county, Maine, 1900-04, and his interest in the cause of education was recognized by the trustees of the University of the State of Maine by electing him a member of their body in 1899, for a term of eight years. In matters of religious observance Captain Coffin re- mained independent.
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