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CHAPTER 2
MRS. JENNIE I. COLEMAN'S INTRODUCTION TO
THE HISTORY OF THE ROBERT COLEMAN FAMILY
It is difficult indeed to know how best to arrange and present the
history of a family which first came to Virginia as early as 1652.
Of all the wealth of material rediscovered by the efforts of many,
covering a period of over three hundred years, by far the best was
the Diary of Mrs. Jennie I. Coleman. She was truly devoted to a
study of family history. By far, she has left the most valuable
contribution in original form.
To Misses Julia and Mary Faucette, Mrs. Coleman was "Aunt Jennie,"
for she was a sister of their mother. To the remainder of us, she is
"Cousin Jennie." The terms are used interchangeably in this Book.
Mrs. Etta Rosson, by permission of the owners of the original
manuscript, made the typewritten copy of the original manuscript.
Cousins Julia and Mary Faucette have made an incomparable contribu-
tion by the preservation of this Diary. Cousin Etta Rosson has done
likewise by copying it for us.
Immediately following will appear Mrs. Coleman's writings as to
the general history of the Coleman family. For those interested in
the details of their family lines, we shall include the entire Diary
at a later point, referring extensively to the Colemans, Feasters,
Moberleys, Colvins, Stevensons, and Yongues.
FROM THE DIARY OF MRS. JENNIE I. COLEMAN
Feasterville, S. C.
Dec. 3d, 1905
Here in the home of my grandfather, Henry A. Coleman, my father,
John A. F. Coleman, now my home, and which in time will be the home
of my son and only child, John Albert Feaster Coleman, I begin
writing some of the history of our family as I know it, with the hope
that it will be of interest and a great pleasure to my boy and others
of the family when I am gone. Young people do not feel much interest
in family history, and old people do not often take the trouble to
write down what they know. Consequently, so much is lost to me that
I now long to know. While my
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THE ROBERT COLEMAN FAMILY
grandparents were living here in this old home, I could have learned
so much, but with the usual thoughtlessness of youth, I didn't know
what I.htm#N000702">I was losing. I did take an interest in family history then, and
have treasured up in my mind many things I heard them and other old
people tell. But much of it lacks something that I very much want to
know. They never recorded anything. My father, not a great deal. I
have wanted to write what I know a long time, but kept putting it
off. Again, I hope this may be of interest to you, John, and others
who care for such history, and I want you to keep on with the record.
I will begin first with the Colemans.
They came from Wales to Virginia. I do not know how long ago.
They moved into North Carolina, Halifax County, from which they came
to this neighborhood in 1775. There was a large family of them, but I
know of only three brothers, Robert, William, and Charles. They soon
acquired large tracts of land. Robert, I imagine, was the eldest,
and he bought up land that had been granted by King George in 1772 to
William Mazyck, also to Joseph Verree, and John Winn, on the
headwaters of Beaver Creek. He settled on uncleared land in a quarter
of a mile of this home, and lived and died within a mile of the first
settlement. He must have had money to have so soon acquired the large
area around him. He must have been a man of strong character, and
industrious, thrifty habits. His descendants generally have these
characteristics, preferring a plain style of living, abhorring show
of any kind.
He was a Major in the British Army [we have found no documentary
proof of this], and I do not know whether he changed before the close
of the Revolution. His sons were Whigs. We have a coat of his, in
good state of preservation, homespun woven, and made over a hundred
years ago.
Robert Coleman was born about 1745, and his wife, Elizabeth Roe,
was born in I747. They had several children when they came to this
State, David Roe Coleman the eldest. As I said, there was a large
family of the Colemans, and also the Roes. All settled near here.
They found the Wagners, Beams and Mobleys already settled on
Beaver Creek. There was intermarriage with these families,
which makes me a descendant of them all. The Wagners came from
Holland, the Beams from Germany, the Mobleys from England. They
were all settled near together on Beaver Creek, several miles below
where Robert Coleman settled. They had been here for some time,
and had endured the hard life of first settlers, such as Indian
foes to dread and conquer. Hans Wagoner had eight daughters, no
sons, so a fort, called Fort Wagoner, was built of
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THE ROBERT COLEMAN FAMILY
hewn whiteoak logs, 12 inches square, with a stone wall and deep
ditch around it, and the Wagoners lived in the fort because there
were no sons to protect this family, and when in danger of Indians,
the neighbors gathered in his home for safety and protection for all.
There are signs of the ditch around this yet. Must have been made in
early part of the 18th century. I have been told that the Mobleys
settled there about 1735. Later on, the Hamptons came and tried to
run these first settlers off. The Mobleys lived on Poplar Ridge, the
Beams, Hickory Flat. The Wagoners just above them on Reedy Branch,
in Fort Wagoner. The Hamptons ran the Mobleys off their land. The
Beams and Wagoners would not run, and got a grant from King George.
Hans Wagoner and wife, Elizabeth Johnson (from Scotland), are buried
near where they lived. Sam Mobley married their daughter, Mary, and
continued to live on Poplar Ridge (where they are buried). All these
old settlements are obliterated and the graves unmarked. (The above
was told me by Cousin Trez Feaster) .
The Mayos also lived neighbors to the Beams, and they
intermarried. I do not know their nationality.
Robert Coleman married Elizabeth Roe. Their children:
David Roe, 1st son, born in Halifax County, NC,
May 19, 1765.
John Roe, 2nd son, born in Halifax County, NC,
April 2, 1768.
Robert Roe, 3rd son, born in Halifax County, NC,
February 1, 1769.
Wiley Roe, 4th son, born in Halifax County, NC,
October 27, 1771.
Allen Roe, 5th son, born in Halifax County, NC,
November 7, 1773.
Griffen Roe, 6th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
May 20, 1775
William Roe, 7th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
March 6, 1776.
Sarah Roe, 1st daughter, born in Fairfield County, SC,
November 8, 1778.
Elizabeth Roe, 2nd daughter, born in Fairfield County, SC,
September 8, 1780.
Solomon Roe, 8th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
October 29, 1783.
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THE ROBERT COLEMAN FAMILY
Francis Roe, 9th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
July 12, 1786.
Zerebable Roe, 10th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
November 28, 1789.
Henry Jonathan Roe, 11th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
June 22,1793.
Ancil Roe, 12th son, born in Fairfield County, SC,
April 22, 1796.
Of this large family, three died infants. John, Griffen, William,
Francis, and the two sisters went West, first to Greene County, Ala-
bama. I know nothing at all about their descendants, except that they
went on to Mississippi and Texas. David, Robert, Wiley, Allen, Solo-
mon and Henry Jonathan lived and died near by, all marrying and
rearing rather large families.
Robert Coleman and his wife, Elizabeth, are buried very near where
they lived, at what is known as the "Coleman" graveyard. Their small
children were the first to be buried there (lie at the foot of
parents graves). The first house they built, as near as I can locate
it, was on the hill near the Rocky Knoll, above Bonny's Fork Branch.
I've heard my grandfather say that when they reached the place to
camp (on getting to where they settled) a large chip was cut from a
hickory tree, and bread was baked on it for their supper. The fields
then cleared have been cultivated most of the time since, and yield
fairly good crops. They built another home half mile south of the
graveyard; all trace of that is gone. I know living persons, tho, who
have been in the last house-Cousins Elitia Coleman Jeffares and
Julia Feaster Coleman say they have been in it. I think some parts of
it were used in building a home for Cousin David Roe Feaster.
Nine years ago we put up a small monument to mark the graves of
these two pioneer ancestors, Robert Coleman and Elizabeth Roe. 'Twas
paid for by small contributions from many of their descendants to the
7th generation, and from 14 states. I am exceedingly glad that tis
done, for I think they deserve to be so remembered. Only one, David
Roe, of their grown sons was buried with them. The others who died in
this state are buried in family burying grounds near their homes,
except Henry Jonathan, who is buried in the Feaster Cemetery by his
wife, Polly Feaster.
As I said, I've heard of only two brothers of Robert Coleman, and
can trace back to them all very well. There was a large family of
them, tho', and I see in an old list of Mobley names that several
Coleman men and
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THE ROBERT COLEMAN FAMILY
women married Mobleys. I feel sure these were brothers and sisters
of Robert Coleman. His brother, Charles, married Polly Mobley.
William married Nancy Butler. I will later on tell of their
descendants. Francis married Margaret Mobley.
OBITUARY OF MRS. JENNIE I. COLEMAN ( 1938)
MRS. E. W. COLEMAN
Chester, July 9. Funeral services were conducted at the
Feasterville Universalist Church Thursday afternoon for
Mrs. Jennie I. Coleman, 81, widow of E. W. Coleman, and oldest
daughter of the late John A. F. Coleman and Julia Stevenson,
who died at the home of her sister, Mrs. Mary Coleman Faucette in
Feasterville community late Wednesday. The services were conducted
by the pastor. Interment followed in the Coleman burying ground.
Six nephews were active pallbearers.
Survivors include a step-son, Roe Coleman, Jr. and a
granddaughter, Lola Marsh Coleman, both of Winnsboro; one sister,
Mrs. Mary C. Faucette; one brother H. D. Coleman, both of the
Shelton community and a number of nephews and nieces. Her husband,
E. W. Coleman, died in 1917.
She was born in the old Coleman homestead. She was a member of the
Feasterville Universalist Church.
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