William Henry Coffin

Brief Life History of William Henry

When William Henry Coffin was born on 9 December 1829, in Amesbury, Essex, Massachusetts, United States, his father, Henry Coffin, was 46 and his mother, Tabatha Bootman, was 40. He married Sarah Elizabeth Foote on 16 January 1850, in Newburyport, Essex, Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Massachusetts, United States in 1870.

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Family Time Line

William Henry Coffin
1829–
Sarah Elizabeth Foote
1830–1915
Marriage: 16 January 1850
Vesta Gertrude Coffin
1850–1925
Abigail Josephine Coffin
1851–1927
Judson Henry Coffin
1853–1943
Edward LeRoy Coffin
1859–1864
Caroline Louise Coffin
1862–1862
George Willard Coffin
1863–1923

Sources (29)

  • W H Coffin, "United States Census, 1870"
  • William H. Coffin, "Massachusetts Marriages, 1841-1915"
  • Wm. H. Coffin, "Massachusetts, State Vital Records, 1638-1927"

World Events (8)

1830 · The Second Great Awakening

Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.

1830 · The Oregon Trail

Many people started their 2,170-mile West trek to settle the land found by Louis and Clark. They used large-wheeled wagons to pack most of their belongings and were guided by trails that were made by the previous trappers and traders who walked the area. Over time the trail needed annual improvements to make the trip faster and safer. Most of Interstate 80 and 84 cover most of the ground that was the original trail.

1863

Abraham Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free.

Name Meaning

English (southwestern England, of Norman origin) and French: nickname from Middle English cofin, coffin, Old French cof(f)in (from Late Latin cophinus, Greek kophinos) ‘container, basket; coffer, chest (for keeping treasures, documents, armour, etc.)’. Early bearers of this as a hereditary surname were of knightly rank. Old French cofin was synonymous with coffer, and it may be that Cofin was used to denote a keeper of the (royal) coffer, attested in Anglo-Latin cofferarius. Compare Coffer . The modern English word coffin is a specialized development of this term, not attested until the 16th century.

History: Tristram Coffin came from Brixham, Devon, to Haverhill, MA, before 1647. An important line of his descendants is associated with Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.

Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.

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