When Theresa Alice Cottrell was born on 10 March 1866, in Caldwell, North Carolina, United States, her father, William Wallace Cottrell, was 52 and her mother, Susannah Shearer, was 47. She married Isaac Avery Coffey on 12 January 1887, in Lower Creek Township, Caldwell, North Carolina, United States. They were the parents of at least 2 daughters. She died on 25 September 1929, in Lower Creek Township, Caldwell, North Carolina, United States, at the age of 63.