Chronicles of the Coe Colony : Pea Ridge, Kentucky

Coe, Samuel S.; Adams, R. A.; Guffey, Billy N. (EDT)

ISBN 10: 0979771315 / ISBN 13: 9780979771316

Published by Xerxes Publishing, 2007

About this Item

Seller Inventory # 5278010-n

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Chronicles of the Coe Colony : Pea Ridge, Kentucky
• Publisher: Xerxes Publishing
• Publication Date: 2007
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0979771315
• ISBN 13: 9780979771316
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

Samuel Coe was born in the Coe Ridge Colony of freed slaves in the hills of Cumberland County, Kentucky in 1879. In this book he describes the Colony and its beginnings after the Civil War. The earliest days of the community are explored, as are its citizens; along with the fatal feud with a local white family, early logging of the Cumberland River, and the recurring problem of violence with those that lived around them. Chronicles of the Coe Colony had been out of print for almost 80 years before this reprint was issued. The book brings to life a period in this infamous community of freedmen, with their mixed heritage of African American, Native American and Caucasian blood, that has rarely been seen. Told in the words of one who grew up on the ridge and experienced many of the stories firsthand, it is sure to delight those that have an interest in former slave communities that emerged after the Civil War.

About the Author

Samuel Coe was a son of Bill and Mandy Coe, and the grandson of Ezekiel and Patsy Ann Coe, the original settlers of the Coe Ridge Colony. It is thought that Samuel was born in 1879, which is corroborated in the book; for, in Chapter Ten the story is told of George Taylor's death at the "voting-place" in 1892, and later in the same chapter mentions "the writer, a boy of thirteen years." It is believed that he moved to Kansas City, Kansas when he was in his early twenties, around the turn of the century, although in this book it states, "In this very city of Indianapolis, in 1902, the writer was attacked by what is known as a bungelow gang." So the exact year Coe moved to Kansas City cannot be stated with certainty. It is generally thought that Samuel worked as a fireman in Kansas City and was also assisted with this book by members of the fire department with which he worked. He died in Kansas City in 1962.