 
  Scott Co MO |
|
Biographies of Scott County, 1888 John R. Coffman John R. Coffman, M.D., a prominent physician of Commerce, Mo., was born in Ste. Genevieve County, Mo., in 1846. His grandfather, Joseph Coffman, was born in Pennsylvania of German parents, and although he spoke English well, was much more thoroughly versed in German. He located in Virginia. The family residence was within fourteen miles of Monticello - the abode of Thomas Jefferson. In 1832 Joseph Coffman left Virginia, with his family, and came to Ste. Genevieve County, Mo., where he resolved to settle. Learning that there was good land for sale twenty miles south of St. Genevieve, he proceeded in that direction and purchased the estate on which his family has since resided. This estate contained 1,200 arpents of land, which he afterward cultivated and which formed the foundation of his fortune, and that of his son, John, who inherited the estate. Joseph Coffman died in 1856, and John Coffman, the father of the subject of this sketch, took possession of the property and managed it with rare skill, until his death. The emancipation of 116 slaves diminished the value of the property $75,000. In 1840 John Coffman and Jane L. Smith were united in marriage. She was the daughter of Judge Smith (judge of the court of quarter-sessions at Ste. Genevieve). John Coffman died October 25, 1887, with chronic pleurisy. His wife died previously, in 1880. They were the parents of ten children, viz: James W., Charles, Frank, John, Jesse, Lucinda (now Mrs. Bull), Ida (now Mrs. Tillman), Joseph, Jennie (Mrs. Crowder) and Menard. Charles and Menard are deceased. John R. Coffman remained with his parents in Ste. Genevieve County until he was sixteen years of age, when he entered the Washington University of St. Louis, and remained four years, after which he entered the St. Louis Medical College, for which institution he graduated in 1869. In 1870 he took a diploma from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of New York. Returning home, he soon after went to Hood County, Tex., and remained there four years, practicing his profession. He then located at Commerce. He is a member of the Southeast Missouri Medical Association, and has taken special courses on the eye. He was married in 1871 to Anna P. Saunders, a native of Arkansas, born in 1850. She is a daughter of John and Martha Saunders, natives of Alabama. Besides his profession, Dr. Coffman has large farming interests. He and his wife are the parents of five children: Frederic, Harry, Normante, Yancy and Marie. Normante is dead. Dr. Coffman is a member of the A.F. & A.M. and of the A.O.U.W. Both he and Mrs. Coffman are earnest members of the Methodist Episcopal Church South. This site is a AHGP Project which is a volunteer genealogical organization dedicated to the free access of genealogical information. NOTE: If you run across a site thats charges a fee to view these pages, please let me know This is a free site. There is not a charge to view these pages. Return To -C- Biographies 
 
| |