He Couldn't Stay Out of Trouble

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Noble Kelly Coffman (1901-1981) – disturber of the peace, forger, burglar, jail escapee, parole violator, auto thief, penitentiary inmate. Noble Coffman was the oldest of twelve children. He was my 1^st cousin 3x removed; a son of my 3^rd great uncle and aunt Kelley Arthur Coffman (1878-1953) and Etta Millicent Bridgewater Coffman (1883-1964). All of his “recorded” problems occurred between 1925-1929 in Illinois.

October 1925:  On October 24, 1925, Noble and some of his pals were arrested for disturbing the peace because they “were walking about the streets with a white mule bottle in their possession.” White mule is whiskey (aka moonshine), and the country at this time was in the middle of Prohibition. After his arrest, he was fined the sum of $8.40 ($121 today); but not having the money, “he was locked up in the village calaboose” (Shelbyville jail). [1]

December 1925:  On December 24, 1925, Noble wrote a check for $10 ($152 today) signing his uncle’s name on the check—Albert Bridgewater (1870-1956)—and gave the check to a Mr. Bennie Heitmeyer.  Mr. Heitmeyer cashed the check for Noble, giving him the $10 cash. When the check was presented to Albert, he denied ever writing the check. As a result, Noble was arrested, waived his right to a preliminary hearing, and had to stand trial in Shelbyville. I was not able to find a record of the trial, nor the outcome. I presume he either pleaded guilty or was found guilty and had to spend some time in the Shelbyville jail. [1]

March 1926: Noble was in the Shelbyville jail, probably serving time for forgery of the $10 check in December of the previous year. As the Decatur Review reported, someone gave him and a cellmate saws which they used to escape jail. They were later captured in Oak Park, Illinois, in a stolen automobile, but they managed to escape. They were later recaptured in Kankakee, Illinois, and taken to the jail in Decatur, Illinois. Since the automobile was stolen in Decatur, Noble and his cellmate had to go to trial in Decatur for the auto theft. Based on the below August 1929 paragraph, Noble was convicted and sentenced to the penitentiary in Chester, Illinois. [1]

Chester Penitentiary: Chester Penitentiary was actually the Southern Illinois Penitentiary located in
Chester, Illinois. Today, it is known as the Menard Correctional Center. Over the years this prison has housed many serial killers including serial rapist and killer John Wayne Gacy. At the time when Noble Coffman was incarcerated at the penitentiary, the prison suffered from massive overcrowding. In 1928, the prison, designed for 800 inmates, had about 2,000 incarcerated men Obviously, conditions were not ideal. In 1930, 500 cells were added housing two men each. These cells had full plumbing which had not previously been available in the old cells. Strict silence was maintained in the dining hall and while men were “marching” in line. Smoking was permitted in the cells. [2]

Chester Penitentiary, 1930s - Google Images

August 1929: On August 25, Noble Coffman and C. West – both out on parole from the Chester penitentiary for forgery and auto theft, were arrested for an attempted burglary on a filling station in Decatur. The station owner heard them trying to break in and appeared with a gun. “Coffman and West ran to their car, but in haste to get away, the driver broke the ignition key. there were kept under guard until police and deputies arrived.” They were also considered to be responsible for several “highway robberies” in the area. The police chief asked those who have been a victim of the robberies to come to the jail “to inspect the prisoners and see if they can be identified as highway bandits.”

At the time of this incident, both Noble Coffman and Earl Mitchell were married. In fact, Noble had only been married five months to Dolores Whitesides. On September 1, 1929, the Decatur Evening Review reported that the men were not able to post bond and were being kept in the local jail. However, the headline for this piece of news was: "Two Petitions for Divorce Are Filed."  So, does this mean the spouses of Coffman and Mitchell filed for divorce? I tried to find divorce records, but was unsuccessful.  In October, both Coffman and Mitchell were returned to the penitentiary for violating their parole.

 October 1929: On October 11, Coffman and Mitchell were indicted for the attempted burglary of the filling station. It is presumed that they were convicted as they appear on the 1930 U.S. Census as being incarcerated at the Southern Illinois Penitentiary.

 After his appearance on the 1930 federal census, Noble Kelly Coffman disappears from sight. At some time after getting out of prison, he changed his name to William. K. Meredith. According to his obituary, he was in the U.S. Navy during World War II.  In 1968 he moved to Branson, Missouri, with his second wife, Veronica (unknown maiden name). Other than that, no record can be found for Noble Coffman aka William Meredith.

 ________________

[1] Decatur Review\Decatur Evening Review. Retrieved August 11, 2022, from http://www.newspapers.com

[2] Menard Correctional Center. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2022, July 1) Retrieved, August 11, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menard_Correctional_Center#Notable_ inmates

He Died Before He Could Fight

Posted on Findagrave.com by Conner

Lester Nusam Evans (1896-1918) was one of eight children, and one of three boys, born to Wilson E. Evans (1867-1932) and Mattie M. Scivally (1869-1950). Lester is my biological first cousin 2x
removed.

On 3 June 1918, he registered for the WWI draft; he was twenty-two years of age. On the draft card he is described as being of medium height and build with blue eyes and black hair and working for his father, who was a farmer. Three months later, on 6 September 1918, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He ended up as a private in Company G, 57^th Pioneer Infantry. The Pioneer Infantry Regiments trained at Camp Wadsworth, Spartanburg, South Carolina. These infantry regiments were regular army troops, but they were also trained to be combat engineers.

Pictured posted on https://mcleodhistory.pastperfectonline.com

On 29 Sep 1918, three weeks after his enlistment, Lester found himself bound for France aboard the SS Leviathan.  The SS Leviathan was a captured German cruise ship, originally named the Vaterland. After being refitted for WWI, the Leviathan became a troop transport ship and started double bunking troops (soldiers sharing bunks by taking turns sleeping). Due to the double bunking system, the Leviathan was able to carry up to 14,000 individuals at a time; and with experience, 11,000 troops were able to load within two hours.

SS Leviathan - Google Images

Troops on SS Leviathian - Google Images

Unfortunately for Lester, he happened to be on the Leviathan’s most deadly voyage of the war. As the Leviathan was crossing the Atlantic Ocean, there was an outbreak of the Spanish flu. Assuming there were 14,000 individuals were on board – the population of a small city – 2,000 became sick from the epidemic and 80 died by the time they arrived one week later in the port city Brest on 8 October 1918. Lester contracted the Spanish flu on that voyage, and he died 11 days after landing in Brest on 17 October 1918 from bronchopneumonia. 

He died at Army Hospital 65 at Kerhuon, just outside of Brest.  He was buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery and Memorial in Fere-en-Tardenois, Departement de l'Aisne, Picardie, France.  I do not know if Lester was looking forward to fighting in the war or if he was worried about whether or not he would survive any fighting that he would encounter. But one thing is certain, he died before he could enter the fighting. 

Hospital 65 - Google Images

 After his death and burial, the American Red Cross sent a letter to Lester’s father. Here is the transcript of the letter, with the original posted below the transcript.

Evans, Lester N. 4252035, private, Co. G 57th Pioneer Inf.
American Red Cross
(Croix-Rouge Americaine)

4, Place De La Tour d'Auvergne
Brest, Finistere

Mr. Willie Evans
Winchester, Tenn.

My dear Mr. Evans:

            Altho  you have already received the news from our government that your son has died for his country in France, I am writing for the Home Communication Service of the American Red Cross to tell you more than the brief official message could give.
            He came ashore from the transport ill with broncho-pneumonia and was taken to a large base hospital, No. 65 at Kerhuon, just outside of this City. This hospital has a n excellent staff of doctors and nurses from North Carolina who are untiring in their devotion to the patients.  Your boy received very tender care possible, but he was not able to survive. He died at 5:15 a.m. October, 17, 1918.
            I attended the funeral at the new American cemetery at Lambezellec where he and other American boys were buried by their comrades with military honors.
            Captain J. O. Yates, chaplain of the U.S. Army at this base, had charge of the burial service. In his impressive prayer, he prayed not only for these boys who have given their lives in the cause of freedom in the present war, but also for those in dear America who love them. The American Red Cross is arranging to have the graves planted with ivy. I enclosed a piece of ivy from the hedge of the new cemetery where your son is buried.
            I send out my sympathy for your share of the world's present sorrow, and I send you my love also because I know he would be sending his if he had not died so courageously, not only for his own country, but, like Christ, for all the world.

 Sincerely yours,

 Maude Cleveland
Home Communication Service, A.R.G.
2 Place de Rivoli
Paris, France

 

Posted by BHartman on Findagrave.com