Charles Henry Coe

As printed in 1902

CAPTAIN CHARLES HENRY COE.

Among the valiant men that Ohio sent 10 the front to aid in the preservation of the Union in the Civil war was Captain C. H. Coe who is now living a retired life upon his farm in Hilliar township, Knox county. With love for his native land, reverence for its institutions and its government and with a courageous spirit that enabled him to bravely face danger, he rendered to his country effective service and all through the years of his life, whether in times of peace or war. he has been a patriotic and public spirited citizen.

The Captain was born near Fredericktown, Maryland, November 5, 1823. His father, Joshua Coe, was also boni in that state and was reared and married there. By occupation he was a farmer, following that pursuit throughout his business career. In 1825 he emigrated westward to Licking county, Ohio, settling near Utica. In early life he had learned the brickmaker's trade and after coming to Ohio he manufactured all of the first brick used in the construction of buildings in Utica. Subsequently he removed to Knox county, where he died in 1841, at the age of fifty-seven years. He was a Whig in his political affiliations and was a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, in the work of which he took an active and helpful part. He held a number of its offices and also filled political positions. His wife, who in her maidenhood was Mary Burgoon, was a native of Maryland, and a daughter of Francis Burgoon, who died in Somerset, Perry county, Ohio, at the advanced age of eighty-nine years. Mrs. Coe passed away at the age of seventy-three. She was the mother of eight children, but the eldest, a son, died in infancy. The others were Katharine, Mary, Francis, David, Charles H., Thomas D. and William.

Captain Coe was only two years of age when taken by his parents to Licking county, Ohio, in 1825. His childhood days were spent in a manner not unusual to farmer lads of the period. He worked in the fields through the summer months and in the winter season he pursued his education in an old-time log school house. When seventeen years of age he was apprenticed to learn the trade of a tanner and currier, and followed that pursuit until the breaking out of the war of the Rebellion. On the 27th of July, 1 86 1, he went to Camp Chase, where he was offered the position of quartermaster by Colonel Fuller, but this he declined and was thereupon commissioned adjutant by General Buckingham to recruit soldiers. In

[This passage is too damaged in the scanned book to reproduce. See the original book.]

On the loth of November, 1844. Captain Coe had been married to Miss Eliza Ann Conard, a daughter of Joseph Conard, of Utica, the oldest settler of Knox county, having taken up his above within its borders in 1805 from Fredericktown, Virginia. Fredericktown, Ohio, was named by him and he took an active part in the pioneer development of this part of the state. His daughter, Mrs. Coe, died December 7, 1873, leaving four children: Alice Filenia, Charles Wesley, Jennie Eliza and Judson Conard. On the 13th of December, 1875, the Captain was again married, his second union being with Miss Sarah E. Mills, the daughter of Samuel Mills. By this marriage there is one daughter. Lelia Pearl, at home and a graduate of the Harcourt Seminary

In his early manhood Captain Coe voted the Whig ticket and on the organization of the Republican party joined its ranks and has since been one of its stalwart supporters. In 185 1 he was nominated on the Whig ticket to represent his district in the state legislature and was everywhere known as the "boy candidate." Although there was a usual Democratic majority, such was his popularity and personal worth that he succeeding in reducing the Democratic vote until he was defeated by only forty-one majority by John Bell. He has since declined the nomination for county treasurer and also that of state senator, but has held all the local township offices, including that of land appraiser, while for thirteen years he was assessor. Socially he is identified with the Masonic order and also belongs to Debolt Post, G. A. R. in which he has filled part of the offices. He is a member of the Methodist Episcopal church, and upright principles have ever actuated his life and shaped his dealings with his fellow men. He is now living retired but he still makes his home upon his farm, which comprises three hundred and fifty-five acres of valuable land in Hilliar township, in addition to which he owns property at Hot Springs, Arkansas. As a soldier on the field of battle, as an enterprising agriculturist, as a representative of fraternal and church relations he has ever commanded the respect and confidence of his fellow men.

As printed in The Biographical record of Knox County, Ohio : to which is added an elaborate compendium of national biography (1902). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.