In the past, I’ve shared stories about John Henry Peavler Stufflebean and his fourteen children. A number of Stufflebean cousins have found my posts and contacted me, which has been wonderful.

However, John Henry was the last of seven children born to John Stufflebean, who died in 1864 during the Civil War. John married twice. He and (1) Gulielma Beals married on Christmas Day 1845 in Linn County, Missouri. She was the mother of Elizabeth Jane Stufflebean and Daniel Boone Stufflebean. Gulielma’s cause of death is unknown, but she died when her children were very young.

On 9 June 1853, John married (2) Matilda Peavler, also in Linn County, Missouri. Matilda was the mother of five children – Mary Docia, Lewis Michael, Thomas James, Matilda Sarah Catherine and John Henry Peavler Stufflebean. Besides multiple posts about John Henry, I’ve also written about his brother, Lewis Michael Stufflebean and his family.

That leave five of John’s seven children to discuss, all of whom have descendants. I just don’t know any of them!

Today’s post is about Elizabeth Jane Stufflebean, eldest child of John and Gulielma (Beals) Stufflebean. Elizabeth was born on 28 December 1846 in Linn County, Missouri. She was not quite eighteen years old when her father died far from home, in Nashville, Tennessee, during the Civil War.

As Gulielma, her mother, had died years before, her stepmother, Matilda, was really the only mother she had known.

In 1860, Elizabeth was at home with John, Matilda, her brother Daniel, and three half siblings, Mary Docia, Lewis and Thomas.

The census taker did note that Elizabeth and Daniel attended school that year.

Elizabeth married James Edward Coffman on 2 February 1868, Linn County, Missouri, which was a couple of months after her 21st birthday. She must have been looking forward to some stability in her life, as the post-Civil War years and her father’s death were hard on the family.

James Coffman was born June 1850 in Putnam County, Indiana, the son of James and Louisa Coffman.

By 1870, she and James were living nearby in Sullivan County, Missouri with their one year old son, Daniel.

In 1880, the family had moved again, this time to Marshall, Saline County, Missouri.

James was a farmer and the family eventually moved on from Missouri to Norwich, Kingman County, Kansas, sometime between 1882 and June 1887, when son James Edward Jr. was born in Kansas.

Jame Coffman died in 1937 and survived his wife, Elizabeth, by 17 years. She died in 1920. Both are buried at Upchurch Cemetery, Kingman, Kansas, as are most of their children.

Elizabeth reported that she had given birth to 11 children and all were living in 1900. Daughter Laura E., twin to Lulu Nettie, born 27 August 1878, must have married, but Kingman County marriage records are not found online.

Children are all buried at Upchurch Cemetery, Kingman County, Kansas, unless noted otherwise.

Children:

1. Daniel Francis, born 1868, Sullivan County, Missouri; died 1957; married Jennie A., c1890.
2. Louisa Maria, born 28 August 1871, Missouri; died 19 October 1948; married Daniel Holder, c1891
3. Sarah L., born 1875, Missouri; died 1958; married P.J. Wills, c1895
4. Samuel Compton, born 2 January 1876, Missouri; died 6 October 1938; married Mary C., c1899. Both are buried at Maple Grove Cemetery, Wichita, Sedgwick, Kansas.
5. Mary L., born 1877, Missouri; died 1974; married James O. Beal
6. Lulu Nettie, born 27 August 1878, Missouri; died 25 December 1969, Los Angeles County, California; married James M. Reynolds. they are buried at Mountain View Cemetery & Mausoleum, Altadena, Los Angeles, California.
7. Laura E., born 27 August 1878, Missouri; not at home in 1900, but her mother reported all 11 children living in that census.
8. Cora Cat, born 9 January 1882, Missouri; died 25 January 1981; married Harry J. Richardson. They are buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery in Grants Pass, Josephine, Oregon.
9. Nora M., born 1884, Missouri; died 1972; married William H. Walker
10. James Edward, born June 1887, Kansas; died 1925 and is buried with his family. He is at home until the 1920 census and it appears he never married.
11. Florence (Flossie) Grace, born August 1891, Kansas; died 27 July 1966, St. Louis, Missouri; married Caldwell Colin Campbell, c1916. She is buried at Bel-Nor Cemetery, St. Louis County, Missouri.

Because this family lived well into the 20th century and mostly stayed put in Kingman County, Kansas, no further descendants will be identified for privacy reasons.

However, if you are a descendant of James Edward Coffman and Elizabeth Jane Stufflebean, please leave a comment. 🙂