Levi Coffin Jr. (1798 - 1877)

Born 28 Oct 1798 in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States of America

Ancestors

Husband of Catharine (White) Coffin — married 28 Oct 1824 in Hopewell Monthly Meeting, Guilford, North Carolina

Descendants

Died 16 Sep 1877 at age 78 in Avondale, Hamilton County, Ohio, United States of America

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Biography

Levi Coffin Jr. is Notable.

Levi Coffin Jr. was a part of the Abolitionist Movement.

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Levi Coffin was an American Quaker, abolitionist, and businessman. Coffin was deeply involved in the Underground Railroad in Indiana and Ohio and his home is often called "Grand Central Station of the Underground Railroad". He was nicknamed "President of the Underground Railroad" because of the thousands of slaves that are reported to have passed through his care while escaping their masters.^[1]

He was born 29 Oct 1798 at Guilford, North Carolina^[2][3] the son of Levin Coffin, born in Massachusetts and a descendant of Nantucket Island owner Tristram Coffin, and Prudence Williams. He married Catherine White on 28 Oct 1824 at Guilford, North Carolina.^[4][5]

While Levi Coffin grew up on a farm and continued to farm in his younger years, he was a school teacher, first organizing a Sunday school for black children, and his memoirs^[6] are written in an entertaining and accessible style full of true life adventure and surprising historical fact regarding abolition, the UGRR, and Quaker efforts in them. His sheltering of Eliza Harris (Uncle Tom's Cabin) on her journey on the UGRR is but one of many similar encounters he details. First editions of Levi's Reminiscences in both the first American and English editions remain sought after items among book collectors.

Around 1826, the family relocated to New Garden, Wayne County, Indiana where he operated a general store^[7][8] and would later settle in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1847.^[9][10] He was part of the organization of the freedmen's bureau in 1863 and in that capacity traveled at least twice to Europe to enlist support and aid.

The humble overseer of much of the underground railroad passed away 16 Sep 1877 at Avondale, Hamilton, Ohio^[11] and is interred at Spring Grove Cemetery, Cincinnati, Ohio.^[12]

Land Records

1824^[13]

Name Levi Coffin
Issue Date 20 Oct 1824
Place Hendricks, Indiana, USA
Land Office Brookville
Meridian 2nd PM
Township 14-N
Range 2-E
Section 18
Accession Number IN0450__.212
Document Number 5385

1838^[14]

Name Levi Coffin
Land Office Cincinnati
Document Number 6706
Total Acres 160
Signature Yes
Canceled Document No
Issue Date 1 Aug 1838
Metes and Bounds No
Statutory Reference 3 Stat. 566
Multiple Warantee Names No
Act or Treaty 24 Apr 1820
Multiple Patentee Names No
Entry Classification Sale-Cash Entries
Remarks Lands In Indiana
Land Description 1 SE 2ND PM No 19 N 14 E 31

1840^[14]

Name Levi Coffin
Land Office Cincinnati
Document Number 79
Total Acres 40
Signature Yes
Canceled Document No
Issue Date 10 Nov 1840
Metes and Bounds No
Statutory Reference 3 Stat. 566
Multiple Warantee Names No
Act or Treaty 24 Apr 1820
Multiple Patentee Names No
Entry Classification Sale-Cash Entries
Remarks Lands In Indiana
Land Description 1 NESE 2ND PM No 20 N 14 E 12

Sources

1. ↑ Levi Coffin Jr. at Wikipedia
2. ↑ Deep River Monthly Meeting Women´s Minutes, 1843-1892, Guilford College; Greensboro, North Carolina
3. ↑ William Wade Hinshaw's Index to Unpublished Quaker Records. Swarthmore, Pennsylvania: Friends Historical Library, Swarthmore College. New Garden Monthly Meeting; Archive Reference: EE 158
4. ↑ Hopewell Monthly Meeting Women´s Minutes, 1824-1849, Guilford College; Greensboro, North Carolina
5. ↑ Hinshaw, Wm Wade, et al, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, I:608, Hopewell Monthly Meeting minutes
6. ↑ Coffin, Levi. Reminiscences. Cincinnati, Ohio: Robert Clarke & Co. 1880. also found here in a more readable format
7. ↑ US Census, Year: 1830; Census Place: New Garden, Wayne, Indiana; Series: M19; Roll: 29; Page: 128; Family History Library Film: 0007718
8. ↑ US Census, Year: 1840; Census Place: New Garden, Wayne, Indiana; Roll: 98; Page: 245; Family History Library Film: 0007731
9. ↑ US Census, Year: 1860; Census Place: Cincinnati Ward 9, Hamilton, Ohio; Page: 427
10. ↑ US Census, Year: 1870; Census Place: Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio; Roll: M593_1207; Page: 2B
11. ↑ Hinshaw, Wm Wade, et al, Encyclopedia of American Quaker Genealogy, V:899, Cincinnati Monthly Meeting
12. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #212
13. ↑ BLM General Land Records https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx, image
14. ↑ ^{14.0 14.1} United States, Bureau of Land Management. Ohio Pre-1908 Homestead & Cash Entry Patent and Cadastral Survey Plat Index. General Land Office Automated Records Project, 1996.

See Also:

• Levi Coffin Jr. at Wikipedia
• Dictionary of North Carolina Biography
• Encyclopedia of American Quaker genealogy, v.1. Hinshaw, William Wade, 1867-1947 Note: this link does not redirect to records specific to Levi Coffin.
• "United States Census, 1860", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCL2-3QF : Tue Oct 03 20:14:46 UTC 2023), Entry for Levi Coffin and Cath Coffin, 1860.
• "United States Census, 1870", , FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M624-C1M : Fri Oct 06 22:42:46 UTC 2023), Entry for Levi Coffin and Catherin Coffin, 1870.
• "Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6VC-BZY : 1 March 2021), Levi Coffin, Sep 1877; citing Death, Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, United States, source ID v 1B p 203, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 355,118.