View XML QR Code

Coffeen family papers, 1880-2020

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Coffeen family
Title
Coffeen family papers
Dates
1880-2020 (inclusive)
Quantity
14.81 cubic ft. (23 boxes) + 69.22 GB
Collection Number
09916
Summary
Coffeen family histories, documents, photographs, publications, and memorabilia about Henry Asa Coffeen, Edward Gillette, other family members, and the history of Wyoming and the West.
Repository
American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
American Heritage Center
University of Wyoming
1000 E. University Ave.
Dept. 3924
Laramie, WY
82071
Telephone: 3077663756
ahcref@uwyo.edu
Access Restrictions

There are no access restrictions on the materials for research purposes, and the collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
The creation of the EAD-version of this finding aid was made possible through a grant from the National Historic Publications and Records Commission.
Return to Top

Historical Note

The lineage and history of Henry Asa Coffeen’s family has been traced back to its very beginnings in America to Michael Coffeen (1706-1758), of Irish descent, who came to America from the Isle of Man in 1723. He had a son named John Coffeen (1727-1802), a captain in the Vermont Rangers. Captain John Coffeen’s son was the Reverend Michael Coffeen (1758-1813). Rev. Michael Coffeen’s son was John P. Coffeen (1783-1821). Alvah Preston Coffeen (1811-1880), Henry Asa Coffeen’s father, was the son of John P. Coffeen.

Henry Asa Coffeen was born in Ohio in 1841. He graduated from Abingdon College (Illinois) in 1864, and became a teacher and later Superintendent of Schools in Bement, Illinois. In 1869, Coffeen and his family moved to Danville, Illinois, where he ran a book and music store and was the first Sunday School Superintendent in the Christian Church. He moved his family to Big Horn, Wyoming Territory, in 1884, where he built and ran a general store. When it became known that the railroad was going to run through nearby Sheridan rather than Big Horn, Coffeen moved his store and his family there in 1887. He became a prominent businessman in Sheridan and was chosen to be a member of the constitutional convention that framed the constitution of the new State of Wyoming in 1889. Later, he was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-third Congress (1893-1895) of the United States. He also served on the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming in the early 1900s. Coffeen died in Sheridan on December 9, 1912.

Henry Coffeen’s oldest daughter, Harriet (Hallie), was born in 1866. She attended schools at Danville, Illinois and in Wyoming then went to the N.E. Conservatory in Massachusetts. She was a founder and the first president of “Colonial Dames” for the state of Wyoming. She was married on April 10, 1893 to Edward Gillette, pioneer railroad surveyor and the town of Gillette, Wyoming’s namesake. They lived in Sheridan and also owned the Absaraka Ranch. This historic ranch was located at the foot of the Bighorn Mountains outside of Sheridan, Wyoming.

Return to Top

Content Description

The Coffeen family papers contain family histories and biographies written and gathered by William W. Coffeen (great-nephew of Henry Asa Coffeen), Virginia Moseley (granddaughter of Edward Gillette), and the Coffeen Historical Information Education Foundation, Inc. (CHIEF). There are also photographs, postcards, and editions of The Teepee Book, a magazine published in Sheridan, Wyoming, by Herbert Allen Coffeen, which was “devoted to the INDIANS and the WEST.”

Of special note is the biographical information on Wyoming Congressman Henry Asa Coffeen and also on Edward Gillette. Gillette’s papers include a scrapbook of the Dome Lake Club, a private fishing resort in the Bighorn National Forest, of which he was a stockholder, trustee, and vice president, a booklet he wrote entitled “The First Trip Through the Big Horn Canon,” and a copy of his “Indian Stories.” The Coffeen and later the Gillette family’s Absaraka Park Ranch is documented in several photographs.

Return to Top

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Copyright Information

The researcher assumes full responsibility for observing all copyright, property, and libel laws as they apply.

Restrictions on Use

Statement on Potentially Harmful Language and Images Found in Collections

The American Heritage Center aspires to approach all areas of our work in ways that are respectful to those who create, use, and are represented in our collections. For a variety of reasons, however, users may encounter offensive or harmful language or images in some of our finding aids, catalogs, and collection materials.

Note that the AHC does not censor or alter contents of the collections as they provide context and evidence of a time, people, place, or event. Therefore, we encourage users to bring questions and concerns about descriptions in our finding aids to our attention via email or anonymous web-form. For more information, read our full statement.

Preferred Citation

Item Description, Box Number, Folder Number, Coffeen family papers, circa 1880s-1999, Collection Number 09916, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

Return to Top

Administrative Information

Related Materials

There are no other known archival collections created by the Coffeen family at the date of processing.

Acquisition Information

This material was received from Virginia K. Moseley from 1992-2006, William W. Coffeen in 1999, and the Coffeen Historical Information Education Foundation, Inc. (CHIEF) from 2019-2021.

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Ronda Frazier in November 2005 and updated by Jamie Greene in December 2020 and October 2023.

Return to Top

Detailed Description of the Collection

Container List

Processed by Ronda Frazier
2006

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West