Date: 9/21/98 6:07 PM RE: COE, Stephen b. 1775 in SC USA Mary, Thank you soooo much for the wonderfully detailed information. You have been so kind. This is the first substantive information I have received on Elizabeth's family from a descendant. You have done a credible job of sorting out the facts. According to Hal Helm, a descendant of Martha Coe and Jesse Casey, Martha's parents as recorded in a family bible were Stephen Coe and Betsy Hart. I know nothing of Betsy Hart's family other than according to her son Wesley Allen Coe she was born in South Carolina. The Caseys and Coes may have traveled from South Carolina to Tennessee together. According to descendants, Ambler Casey was born in 1791 in Spartanburg County, SC. I think you are quite correct to assume that Wesley Allen was a Coe name, possibly from Stephen's wife's family. At least three of Stephen and Betsy's children named children Wesley Allen. Daughter Martha had a son Wesley Allen, b. 1841. Daughter Mary had a son Wesley, b. 1840. Elizabeth had a son Wesley Allen, b. 1834. Son Wesley Allen, b. 1809, had a son Allen, b. 1842, and a grandson Wesley Allen, b. April 17, 1859. Son Vincent had a grandson James Wesley, b. April 11, 1856. Please keep in mind, however, that the area in which they lived in Tennessee was a fundamentalist stronghold. Whitfield County, GA, just across the Georgia state line from where they lived, was named for Methodist evangelist George Whitfield. Whitfield, who attended Pembroke College at Oxford, fell in with the brothers Charles and John Wesley, founders of Methodism, and was instrumental in the early formation and spread of the sect. There is a monument to Whitfield's memory on the courthouse lawn in Dalton, where some of the Coes lived. Wesley became a common given name among early Methodists. I think the connection may be stronger than this, though. It seems that it may be a family name. If I were to do further research on the family, I would certainly look for a Wesley or "West" Hart, as those early Wesley Coes and Caseys were sometimes called. I would also look for someone listed as Stephen "Cole," as that is how I found him listed in some of those early pauper records. I also wonder if there may not have been some early minister, politician or luminary in that area named Wesley Allen. I found no one of that name in the Encyclopedia of Tennessee History and Culture, but it could be a Georgia or South Carolina name. The families were evidently poor and must have been part of the unnamed masses that flooded across the country during those days. Records of them are going to be rare and difficult to find. The rewards for time well spent should be equally great. You note that you found Elizabeth Casey in the 1880 census of Newton County, AR. In what state does she list her parents' birth? Wesley stated that both of his parents were born in South Carolina. Records from Martha's family also attribute South Carolina as their place of birth. You note the years of birth of Elizabeth's children. Do you know the birthdates of any of these children? What about your great grandfather Ambler, b. 1842? Thank you again for your kindness! If there is further information with which you think I might be able to assist, please let me know. Carl Robert Coe Marysville, OH 43040-9012