Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader.
Description
Copyright has not been assigned to The Society of California Pioneers. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Librarian. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Society of California Pioneers as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must be obtained by the reader Autobiography & Reminiscence of Alvin Aaron Coffey, Mills Seminary, P.O., 1901. The Society of California Pioneers Alvin Aaron Coffey, born on July 14th, 1822, began life as the slave of Margaret Cook of Mason County, Kentucky. His parents were Larkin Coffey and Nellie Cook. He married Mahala Tindall on October 9, 1842 in Kentucky. Cook sold Coffey in 1834 to Henry H. Duvall and in 1846, Duvall sold Coffey to Dr. Bassett for $600. Coffey worked on Bassett's farm for 3 years, going to California with him in 1849. The Bassett party left St. Louis on April 2, 1849, for St. Joseph leaving there on May 5th. The group endured a cholera epidemic and at Deer Creek (Sacramento Valley), they divided up the wagons. The Bassett party moved to Clear Creek and began dry-digging where Coffey worked for Bassett for 13 months in Cal. saving $616 to buy his freedom. Bassett took Coffey's money travelling with him back to Missouri, via New Orleans, and sold him again for the amount of $1000. Coffey returned to California in 1854 and lived in Shasta County until 1857. He saved the money to buy his and his family's freedom, returning East to get them. Returning to Shasta County in 1857, he bought a farm in Tehama County and was employed by the Government during the Modoc War. Later, Coffey lived in the Home for Aged Colored People in Alameda County, and became the only Negro member of the California Society of Pioneers Autobiographies and Reminiscences of California Pioneers, p.45-52, Vol. 1. This is a typed transcript, bound into a volume, of the member's autobiographical reminiscence created as an institutional record for the Society of California Pioneers. The transcription includes a reference to a photograph of the member in a set of bound volumes. It appears that the photographs in this set were dispersed throughout the regular photography collection, but the photographs referenced in the related materials may or may not be these same photographs. The reminiscence spans the period of April 2, 1849 (St. Louis, Missouri) to 1851, Coffey's first return to Missouri but it is mainly the year 1849, from his overland journey to California with his master, Dr. Barrett. Coffey gives his reactions to his enslavement and accuses Barrett of taking money given to him to secure Coffey's emancipation. He then sold Coffey to another master. Geographic details in this reminiscence are incomplete.
Coffey, Alvin Aaron--1822-1902 Pioneers--California--Biography Pioneers, Black African American pioneers--California--Biography Slave narratives Freedmen--California--San Francisco Overland journeys to the Pacific Gold mines and mining Frontier and pioneer life California--History--19th century
Time Period
California -- History -- 19th century
Place
Pioneers California Biography African American pioneers Freedmen San Francisco. California v Biography. History 19th century. California, Northern. Tehama County (Calif.)
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
