My great grandfather Joshua David Coffee his family and his older brother John James Coffee left the strife and unrest in Fannin County and moved to the Brown-Coleman County line in 1879 and leased 160 acre hard scrabble farm from Peyton Green Whaley, southwest of Bangs, Texas. The farm was actually located on the Brown County side of road that marked the Brown-Coleman County line. My grandparents lived on the farm until 1910 and everyone moved to Brownwood when my grandfather retired. However, in 1900, my father, Peyton Joshua Coffee, was born in Coleman, Texas.

In 1867, John James Coffee left Fannin County and moved his family to McDonald County Missouri. Me moved to Missouri with plans to study law under his cousin, Col.John T. Coffee (6th Missouri Cavalry,C.S.A.) . Unfortunately Col. Coffee had left Missouri in 1865 and went to Mexico with Gen. Jo Shelby and the Confederate exiles, the so-called "Undefeated".

My great grandfather Joshua Coffee remained on the leased acrage the rest of his life but he never farmed. P.G. Whaley (Col.James Code Monroe's 1st Arkansas Cavalry,C.S.A.) later became my grandfather John Coffee's father-in-law and Whaley gave them the property. P.G. Whaley and Monroe's 1st Arkansas Cavalry left Arkansas in 1865 and joind Gen. Shelby but voted to go home when they arrived at the Trinity River at the Taos Ferry, northeast of Corsicana Texas.

My great grandfather, Joshua "Doss" Coffee was a teamster in Fannin County and continued to operate freight wagon from Brownwood, Coleman and San Angelo, Texas and back to Brownwood. He travedled on the Brownwood - San Angleo wagon road that went through Flat Top, Texas, which was at the confluence of the Concho and Colorado Rivers. Flat Top was established in 1863 and was the headquarters for the Rich Coffey-John S. Chisum-S.R. Coggin cattle partnership.

The coming of the railroads pushed the freight wagon business more and more westward and the Santa Fe Railroad came to San Angelo by 1888. My great grandfather then hauled freight locally for P.G.Whaley until he retired in 1910. My great grandmother, Mary Lou (Blanton) Coffee was killed on a runaway freight wagon in 1885. My great grandparents are buried in the Mukewater Cemetery, southwest of Bangs Texas.

When John James Coffee returned to Fannin County in 1877, he and my great grandfather made plans to move to west Texas. John J. had his license to practice law by then. In 1885, he moved to Mitchell County and became a attorney for the John Wesley Snyder's Renderbrook Ranch before it was sold to Issac Ellwood, the co-inventor and salesman of barbed wire. John James Coffee died and was buried in Lorraine Texas, 20 miles east of Colorado City, Texas.