Prominent Burke Family: Coffer

(Copher)

Coffer: A Prominent Family In the early 1660s, John Coffer was the first Coffer of this line to arrive in

the new world.

In 1728, Francis Coffer, John Coffer’s son, received a 378-acre land grant from Lord Fairfax in the area now known as Burke, Virginia.

Thomas Withers Coffer, son of Francis Coffer, was a well-known vestryman of Truro Parish. Other well-known vestrymen of Truro Parish included George Washington, George Mason, Thomas Wren, and the Fairfax’s. He voted, had accounts at Colchester, and was on the rent rolls for 600 acres from 1764-1774.

During the War of 1812, Thomas Coffer, grandson of Thomas Withers Coffer, was a Captain in the 1st Battalion, 60th Regiment, Virginia Militia. In August 1814, His unit mobilized to defend Washington, however, militias back then were seen as notoriously unreliable, so a US military supply clerk in Washington refused to issue them arms and ammunition. The unit spent the night bivouacked in the US Capitol building and then left the city before the British forces arrived and burned the city.

Joshua Coffer Tree Branch(and selected Burke-area family stories)

Joshua Coffer Jr.1862-1881

Ella AnnCoffer

1859-1908

Huldah Virginia

Simpson1840-1905

JoshuaCoffer

1814-1862

JohnHenryCoffer

1809-1857

ThomasWithersCoffer

1807-1886

WilliamFrancisCoffer

1799-1885

JaneCoffer

1802-1885

Elizabeth Ann

Coffer1808-1881

HannahCoffer

1800-1895

Armistead Thompson

MasonCoffer

1819-1861

SilasBurke

1796-1854

ThomasCoffer

1773-1862

Ann Simpson1779-1859

FrancisCoffer

1748-1817

CatherineGunnell

1746-1800

William B.Simpson

1757-1820

JeanWishart

ThomasWithersCoffer

1713-1781

MaryFerguson1715-1758

Henry M.Gunnell

1720-1792

Katherine.O’Daniel

FrancisCoffer

1683-1740

MaryLittlejohnWithers

Francis Coffer received a 378 acre land grant from Lord Fairfax in 1728 in the area now known as Burke, Virginia

Thomas Withers Coffer was a well-known vestryman of Truro Parish, along with George Washington, George Mason, Thomas Wren, and the Fairfax’s.

HenryWishart

1683-1740

AnnShapleigh

Neale1735-1775

MiltonHall

1849-1939

Thomas Coffer was a Captain in the 1st Battalion, 60th Regiment, Virginia Militia during the War of 1812.

Siblings married siblings: Hannah Coffer married Silas Burke, and Jane Coffer married Levi Burke. Thomas Coffer married Jane Selecman, and Elizabeth Coffer married George Selecman.

Exodus of the three oldest brothers: John and William Coffer moved to Wood County, West Virginia. Thomas Coffer moved to Andrew County, Missouri.

Ella Coffer allegedly commits suicide by throwing herself under a train in Burke.

A Civil War Mystery: In April 1861, Joshua Coffer voted for Virginia’s succession from the Union. In February 1862, however, he is allegedly captured by JEB Stuart’s men and put in a Confederate Prison in Richmond where he died in March 1962

FrancisCoffer

17__-1863

When Francis Coffer died in 1863, his will freed from slavery Charles T. Pearson, his three brothers, and mother. The proceeds from the sale of Coffer’s property went to the Pearson family also. Charles Pearson built a home, farmed and later set aside a plot of land in Burke for the Pearson Family Cemetery (located on Burke Lake Road).

“Locust Hill” The original Coffer family house,

called “Locust Hill”, was probably located at or near the present site of the Woods Community Center located at 10100 Wards Grove Circle

The house on the site today is most likely a second construction of the Coffer house and possibly dates from about 1876, based on inspections of the foundation, building techniques, and materials, as well as tax records

Francis Coffer reportedly purchased the land from John Arundell (Arundle) in 1803

Using Forensic Evidence to Date the Coffer House• The house design, materials, construction methods, and building technology are

appropriate for a house constructed during the last quarter of the 19th century. During a

physical examination of the house, various components of the house were studied to

determine the likely construction period. These components included the nail types,

mortar composition, roof construction, saw marks, newel post style, firebox

construction, door trim style, interior door transom panels, etc.

• Land tax records suggest that the existing house was constructed ca. 1876. The house

may have replaced an earlier house, possibly even at the same site. Perhaps an

earlier building was destroyed and rebuilt. In 1874 and 1875 there were no values

assessed for buildings; however, the following year there was a substantial amount

assessed for buildings. An analysis of aerial photographs, topographic maps, and 19th

century maps indicate that a residence existed on or near the current site of the

present structure, but does not provide sufficient information to demonstrate that the

structure on the 1862 McDowell map is the present structure.

Pre-Civil War “Snapshot” of a Successful Family By the mid-1800s, the Coffer family was deeply interwoven into the fabric of

prominent Fairfax County society by marriage into families that included Burke, Simpson, Gunnell, Selecman, Neale, and others.

In 1858, Joshua Coffer (aged 44) appears to be head of the Coffer household at Locust Hill. Joshua marries Huldah Virginia Simpson (aged 18), who we suspect (but have not confirmed) is a cousin from his mother’s side.

By 1860, tax records show that Joshua Coffer’s father, Thomas, owned about 290 acres of land in what is now Burke, Virginia and raised livestock and cultivated corn, hay, potatoes and oats. A large portion of the land was timber.

In 1860, census records suggest three generations lived at Locust Hill: Thomas Coffer, Joshua and Huldah Coffer, Joshua’s invalid brother, Armistead Coffer, Joshua’s daughter, Ella Coffer, and Joshua’s nephew, Francis Coffer.

The 1860 census also indicates the Coffers had 5 slaves

Virginia Succession Vote

On 23 April 1861, in the Virginia Succession Vote at Sangster’s, records show that Joshua Coffer voted “Yes” in favor of succession from the Union

Note: Among the Burke area landholders, the only person on record as voting against Virginia’s succession was subsequently driven out of the community and fled to Alexandria, VA

1862 –Tragedy for the Coffer Family 3 February 1862 – Joshua Coffer’s son, Joshua Coffer Jr. is born in

Burke, VA

15 February 1862 – Joshua Coffer’s father, Thomas Coffer dies in Burke, VA

22 February 1862 – Joshua Coffer allegedly is taken prisoner by Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart and taken to Richmond, VA and put in prison

8 March 1862 – 16,000 Union soldiers occupy and denude the Coffer farm

22 March 1862 – Joshua Coffer reportedly dies at a Confederate prison hospital in Richmond (which we have been unable to confirm from prison records)

In 1862, Union Troops Occupy Locust Hill

Br. Gen. Louis (Ludwig) Blenker

On 8 March 1862, 16,000 Union soldiers occupy the Coffer farm for eight days and reportedly used fence rails on the property for their campfires and to build temporary mud houses.

Brigadier General Louis Blenker, 8th Infantry (1st German Rifles), uses the Coffer house as his temporary headquarters in Burke, Virginia

Example of a Union Civil War camp in Virginia. This picture shows A Civil War camp of the 6th N.Y. Artillery at Brandy Station, Virginia

Coffer Cemetery Sleuthing

A short walk from the Coffer family home is a small family cemetery (located off Wards Grove Circle)

The original headstones were damaged by vandals in the 1990s and have been replaced by a single modern stone that simply lists names and dates of birth and death

Joshua’s original headstone showed his DOB as 21 October 1814 and included: “Born in Fairfax Co., VA” and “Died in Richmond”