Cokers Of South Carolina Part 3 of 3 By Steven James Coker Published 1986 in "The Lavender Line" Vol. 4, No. 4 To proceed now with the genealogy from Whitley Coker to the present. From the James Myers Coker Family Bible we have that Whitley Coker, Junior, was born September 25,1783, and died January 1, 1832. The Family Bible also gives us that Whitley, Jr. married Ann Ingram. These facts are confirmed by census records, estate papers and other documents. Whitley, Jr., and Ann had at least nine children. These were Jane Warin Coker b. Dec. 17, 1814 d. 1815 John S. Coker Sept. 8, 1817 Dec. 1864 Rebecca Bradley Smith Coker Jan. 27, 1819 Dec. 4, 1901 Mary Gill Coker July 10, 1820 ? William David Coker Mar. 6, 1821 Mar. 3, 1900 Margaret Magdalen Coker Apr. 3, 1824 Aug. 31, 1893 James Myers Coker Aug. 25, 1827 May 18, 1908 Leanorah Ann Coker Apr. 4, 1832 Apr. 9, 1906 Unknown son ca 1829 ? Whitley Coker, Jr., died intestate, and for unknown reasons the family waited a number of years before filing for administration of the estate. Widow Ann Coker was appointed as Administrix and annual returns were filed by her until her death around 1849. William D. Coker then sued for division of the estate which was accomplished in 1851. William D. Coker is buried at the old cemetery site near Puddin Swamp along with several other family members. Sadly, I've been told that some headstones were destroyed, so we may never know the names of all those buried there. The three brothers, James M., John S., and William D. are known to have served the Confederacy during the Civil War; James and William in the 4th S.C. Cavalry and John with the 25th S.C. Regiment. John was captured at Trevillion Station and later died while a P.O.W. in New York. Rebecca Coker's husband, William Hitch Price, also served as a sergeant in the Confederacy. Rebecca's granddaughter, Mrs. Ruby Price Gardner, wrote an article about Sgt. Price which was published in the CHARLESTON NEWS & COURIER newspaper for the Civil War Centennial Edition. She based the article on her father's writings and recollections of oral histories told to her. Mrs. Gardner is 75 and living in Society Hill, South Carolina at the time of my writing. In the newspaper article she told of a letter that arrived as the soldiers sat around a campfire and was delivered to Sgt. William H. Price. The letter was from his sister, Mary, asking him to come home to see Rebecca, his wife, who was gravely ill. No passes were being granted at the time, but the commanding officer was understanding and said in a tired voice, "Your company is moving out at dawn. No horses, not even yours, can be spared." Sgt. Price replied, "I would walk, Sir, and I give you my word of honor that I'll rejoin my company." He was granted the pass and started a cold, long and weary walk home. Rebecca was restless that night, and moaned, "William, William." Mary gave her water and a pill, then they heard a click at the gate, and steps of a man who had been slightly crippled from birth. "It's William," Rebecca cried, "I'd know that step even in eternity." A crippled soldier had walked 60 miles. His homecoming seemed to be the turning point for Rebecca who then recovered from her illness. (Rosa Eugenia Price, a sister of Ruby Price Gardner, died Feb.11, 1985 in Society Hill, S.C. She was 76, a nurse who counted President Herbert Hoover among her patients. She was born in Lee County, S.C., a daughter of John Ervin and Alice Stuckey Price, both deceased. She attended Columbia College and graduated from the School of Nursing at Medical College of South Carolina. She did graduate work at the University of Chicago, Ill. During WWII she was a captain at West Point Academy and a hospital ship nurse, serving in the Atlantic and Pacific. Surviving sisters are Ruby Gardner, Mrs. J.O. Hamilton and Miss Henrietta Price.) As for Whitley and Ann Coker's children's marriages, we know that Magdalen married a Solomon McClam; Leanorah Ann wed Ervin McBride Smith; John married P.M. Scurry; William married (1) Hazeltine, and (2) S.A.G. (Gibbons?), and my ancestor, James M. Coker wed Susan Ann Buddin. Susan Ann Buddin (b. May 30 1834, died Jan. 2, 1909) was the daughter of William Buddin and Martha McIntosh, also of Sumter District, S.C. The said William Buddin was descended from John Buddin and Elizabeth Robinson, known to have been in South Carolina by 1720. Children of Susan and James M. Coker: Robert J. Coker b. Oct. 7, 1850 d. Sept. 22, 1855 Margaret Drusilla Coker Oct. 19, 1852 Oct. 19, 1900 Ida Nelson Coker Mar. 15, 1855 Mar. 15, 1922 James Myers (Moss) Coker, Jr. Aug. 12, 1857 Nov. 24, 1925 Joseph Cunningham (Little Shug) Coker May 9, 1859 Jan. 18, 1889 William Buddin Coker Mar. 18, 1862 May 20, 1927 Martha Jane Coker Aug. 11, 1864 Dec. 14, 1865 Hartmon N. Coker Oct. 6, 1866 Sept. 15, 1876 Susan Emma Coker Aug. 6, 1869 June 23, 1965 Andrew Ellison Coker Feb. 26, 1872 Feb. 6, 1931 Daniel Hayward Coker Oct. 5, 1874 Sept. 10, 1876 John Edward Coker Mar. 6, 1877 Feb. 15, 1961 Of these, Margaret D. married David Nelson Gamble; Joseph "Little Shug" Cunningham wed Camilla Ervin Smith (Camilla was his first cousin and daughter of Leanorah and Ervin McBride Smith); William Buddin married twice, his second wife being Oliva Weaver; Susan Emma took Joe L. Gowdy as husband; Andrew wed Elizabeth Belle Thomas, and John Edward married Maud McKnight. James Myers Coker, Jr., and his sister Ida chose as marriage partners Elizabeth Ann DuBose and John Thaddeus DuBose. These two were children of Addison and Harriet DuBose. The said Addison was son of Zachariah DuBose and descendant of Isaac DuBose and Susanne Couillandeau, a French Huguenot couple, known to have settled in South Carolina by 1686. More information can be found on these Huguenot ancestors in the book DUBOSE GENEALOGY by Dorothy McDowell (published 1972 by R.L. Bryan) and THE HUGUENOTS OF COLONIAL SOUTH CAROLINA by A.H. Hirsch (published by Archon Books 1962). If the theories of connections shown in MacDowell's work-are reliable, then this DuBose line is traceable back to 1360 France's Martin du Bose. To continue to the present, James Myers Coker, Jr., and Elizabeth DuBose had children named: Rosa Ann Coker b. Sept. 10, 1878 d. Dec. 10, 1910 Joseph Ingram Coker June 15, 1880 Sept. 12, 1932 William Addison Coker June 21, 1884 Dec. 20, 1958 Archie Oliver Coker Sept. 23, 1887 Aug. 17, 1960 Fred T. Coker (Sr.) Apr. 5, 1889 Apr. 15, 1971 Mabel Florence Coker Jan. 23, 1893 May 17, 1951 James Mood Coker Mar. 24, 1895 Sept. 1916 Fred T. Coker (Sr.), the writer's grandfather, was born in the Hebron-Cades Community of South Carolina. He served as a carpenter stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., during World War I. Following the service, he returned to Hebron-Cades where he met and married Nettie Elnora Stewart (wed June 19, 1920). They farmed for about a year then moved to Columbia, S.C., where Fred went to work in Pacific Mills. They lived in Olympia Village in Columbia where they raised three sons. Grandmother has a picture of Grandfather as a young man which she tells us was the key to their meeting. It happened this way. One day while visiting a girl friend's home, Nettie noticed a picture on the mantel of a handsome young man. The friend informed her that the man was her older brother and promised to introduce Nettie to him when he returned home. She did so and the two fell in love and married. Nettie Stewart (b. Nov. 28, 1901) is the daughter of James Wesley Stewart and Mattie L. Bonner. Her family moved to Cades, S.C. when Nettie was four years of age from Escambia County, FL. Her grandparents in Florida were Thomas Calvin Stewart and wife, Rachel, and also Franklin Challis Bonner and his wife Susan Long. Nettie Elnora Stewart Coker, my grandmother, age 84, plays piano for her Sunday School every week as she has for many, many years. My grandfather, Fred T. Coker, Sr., loved to smoke cigars and listen to baseball games on the radio. During his years at the Mill, he belonged to and supported the worker's Union. [Nettie died October 9, 1996] Fred and Nettie raised three sons during their fifty-two years of marriage. All three sons graduated from Olympia High School in Columbia, served in the military during WWII, and went on to further study at Carolina colleges following the war. These three sons were Arnell Myers Coker (b. June 6, 1921, died December 8, 1973); James Frances Coker (b. April 3. 1923) and Fred T. Coker, Jr. (b. April 20, 1924). Arnell finished the University of South Carolina in 1949 with a B.A. in Business Administration. Having served his country during WWII, he continued his military career by giving 25 years of additional service to the South Carolina National Guard. He retired with the rank of Colonel. Arnell began work with the South Carolina Tax Commission upon graduation from USC. He advanced from auditor to the position of Director of the Corporate and Private Income Division during a twenty year career. He was active in his Masonic Lodge and the Rotary Club until his untimely death due to surgical complications. Arnell and his wife, Helen Brazell, had three children: Arnell Myers Coker, Jr., b. August 8, 1943; Barbara Regina Coker, b. November 2, 1950; Walter Richard Coker, b. February 9, 1954. J. F. Coker, the writer's father, studied accounting at the University of South Carolina from 1946-1949. He worked at the South Carolina National Bank during these school years and began his family with his first son born in 1947. Following the University he began a thirty year career in the construction business. This began with the position of Office Manager of Savannah River Plant Operations for Kolinski Concrete Company. He moved on to Wilhoit Steel Erectors as Comptroller, then to Higbe Concrete Co. and Touchstone & Little, Inc. as principle stockholder and Secretary/Treasurer He has been active in the American Legion, Jamil Shrine, USC Gamecock Club, and Resurrection Lutheran Church. Francis is currently retired and living in Columbia, S.C. with his wife of some forty years, Mellie Rae Ramsay. She is a descendant of Andrew Ramsay (b. 1820), carriagemaker, who came to South Carolina from Edinburgh, Scotland. James Francis Coker played guard on the Olympia High School State Championship Football Team. He was selected to, and played in the North Carolina vs South Carolina All Star Shrine Football Game. Military service and raising a family prevented his pursuing an athletic career in college. Dad was a good athlete. My parents gave issue to 4 sons: Francis Gregory Coker, b. April 6, 1947; Steven James Coker, b. December 29, 1951; David Preston Coker, born and died May 9, 1954, and Mark Thomas Coker, b. June 18, 1956. [Francis died April 6, 1988] Fred T. Coker, Jr. (b. April 20, 1924) is the youngest of the three brothers. He graduated in Engineering from Clemson University and has had a long and distinguished career in Engineering and management. He began as a technician with Pacific Mills in Columbia, moved on to eventually become Chief Manufacturing Engineer with Yale & Towne Manufacturing, then later an Associate Partner with Booze Allen & Hamilton in New York, and still later President of Rice Barton Corporation and President and Chairman of the Board of Directors for U.S. Dielectric, Inc. After a period of semi-retirement he is at it again as President of a small, growing business called FTC Industries in Hemingway, S.C. He and his wife,, Marcia Lorraine Straite, live in Myrtle Beach,S.C. They have three children who are Fred T. Coker., III, John Randolph Coker, and Marcia Joris Coker. Their eldest son, F.T. Coker, III,, is a graduate of Clark University and North Eastern University. John R. Coker graduated from Emory University in Mathematics and is now Vice President of Data Processing with a large Boston Bank. Young Marcia graduated from Skidmore University. Information for this writing was contributed by J.F. Coker, F.T. Coker, Jr., Nettie S. Coker, S.J. Coker, W.A. Buddin, W.R. Coker, Ruby P. Gardner and others.