John Reid Coffey, 9th child and 5th son of Rice and Sally Bradford Coffey, was born on a farm bought by his father from General Andrew Jackson, at Wartrace, Bedford Co., Tenn., on March 27th, 1814.
He never had the opportunity of attending school more than fifteen months. He attended the "old farm" schools around Wartrace about three months and afterwards attended a school at Shelbyville, Tenn., about twelve months,
At about ten years of age his father allowed him to go to Bellefonte, Jackson Co., Ala., where he began-life as a clerk in a store on the meager salary of $4.50 per month. So attentive was he to business that he at one time, as told by himself, was never out of the corporate limits of Bellefonte for a period of three years,
By industry and economy he was able at the age of 22 to establish a mercantile business of his own which was conducted in Bellefonte till 1840, when he was elected Sheriff of Jackson County, and served till the expiration of his term of office.
At the beginning of the war with Mexico he enlisted at Bellefonte as a private in the company of Capt. Richard W. Jones. He was afterwards promoted and went to Mobile and organized the First Alabama Regiment and was elected the Colonel and as such participated in the siege of Vera Cruz. After the Mexican War he becaame a General of the militia.
On the 2d January 1849 he married Miss Mary Ann Cross (the only daughter of Col. Charles M. and Eliza (Clark) Cross, by whom he had six children - the first and second dying in infancy. The third child and first daughter, Mary Eliza married W.J.Tally, the eldest son of John B. Tally: John Benjamin, the fourth child and third son of said John R. and Mary Ann married America Norwood, daughter of Samuel C. Norwood: Sally A., the fifth child and second daughter married Charles William Brown youngest son of Jeremiah and Mary (Williams) Brown, author of this tree and family history: Clark Macklin the youngest child of the said John R. and Mary Ann, is unmarried at this writing, Dec. 26th,1894.
General Coffey in 1861 was a delegate to the Convention that passed the ordinance of secession at Montgomery. He was opposed to and voted against that ordinance
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