Greenbrier County, West Virginia Biography of PRICE COFFMAN. This biography was submitted by Sandy Spradling, E-mail address: This file may be freely copied by individuals and non-profit organizations for their private use. All other rights reserved. Any other use, including publication, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission by electronic, mechanical, or other means requires the written approval of the file's author. This file is part of the WVGenWeb Archives. If you arrived here inside a frame or from a link from somewhere else, our front door is at http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm History of Greenbrier County J. R. Cole Lewisburg, WV 1917 p. 253-255 PRICE COFFMAN. The Coffman family have been residents of the Fort Spring district very many years. This branch of the family are descendants of Christian Coffman, born August 2, 1780, and died near Lewisburg, July 22, 1852. He married Anna Wenger, born near Edom, Va., June 12, 1788. She died November 13, 1861. She was a descendant of Christian Wenger, who emigrated from Palatinate, a province in the northwest of France, in the ship, "Molly," arriving at Philadelphia, September 30, 1727. Ten children were born to Christian and Anna (Wenger) Coffman, of whom Daniel, the fifth child, born August 23, 1818, was the father of Price Coffman, the subject of this sketch. He fell from a cherry tree and died June 29, 1871. On May 23, 1841, he was married to Catherine Hedrick, born April 18, 1820, died April 18, 1907, and their children are: David, born June 27, 1843, died September 4, 1847; John, born June 8, 1845, Carbondale, Osage county, Kansas; Price, of whom later; Mary Elizabeth, born August 15, 1851, married Mr. Brackman, Carbondale, Kan; Jacob Samuel, born May 22, 1854; Clark Phelps, born December 10, 1855, Carbondale, Kan; Charles Nixon, born December 15, 1859, Summersyille, Nicholas county, West Virginia; Harvey Lewis, born November 24, 1861, Coffman, Greenbrier county; Leni Leoti, born April 1, 1866. She married Mr. Hem, of Blakers Mills. Eight members of this family are still living, nor has there been a death in the family for seventy years. Price Coffman, who is living on the old homestead near Fort Spring, was reared a farmer and has been a successful one during all his life. He was educated for a teacher, but never taught school but one term, his attention having been directed to stock raising and agricultural pursuits chiefly. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and is an ardent supporter of Christian work. He married Miss Mary Van Stavern, daughter of Benjamin Stavern, November 22, 1871, and to this union were an interesting family of thirteen children brought up around the fireside of the present home, built the year following the marriage. Four of these children are graduates of Marshall College, and are teachers in the public schools of Greenhrier county. Walter Coffman is the eldest son and lives at Madison, Kan. His first wife was Miss Eva Butterfield. Martin lives in Richmond, Va., and married Miss Ida Simpson; Emma has been tic usekeeping for her father since the death of her mother; Charles lives at Salmon, Idaho; Elsie married J. H. McVey, now dead. Three children, Roger H., Eva Cole and John H. Their son, Roger, finished free school at eleven years and is in his junior year in the Ronceverte High School; Lillie is a graduate of Marshall College and has been a teacher in the fifth and sixth grades in the Lewisburg schools during the past six years. Olen is a lumberman. He is an expert on veneer logs and his services in that line are valuable. He is a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, a member of the Modern Woodmen, and is also a Mason. He married Miss Grace Donivan, and to this union were born three children: Olen B., Jr., Cameron and Mary Grace. He lives in Lewisburg, is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, South, and is district lay leader of Lewisburg district, Baltimore conference; Howard is single and is a twin brother to Hubert. He married Morrus Iowa Ramsey and is a bookkeeper; Harvey is a ministerial student at Randolph Macon College and has a bright future. He was a successful teacher and took the orators medal for the first year in college; Carrie is a teacher of the seventh grade in the Lewisburg public schools, where she has been employed three years; Mabel is also a graduate of Marshall College and teaches in the Ronceverte public schools; Ursula is a student in her senior year at Marshall College. The Coffman family have always maintained a high reputation for all that distinguishes the Virginian. while the present generation is particularly noted for those finer characteristics possessed only by the well educated and the highly cultured.