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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 1st cousin 3x removed; a son of my 3rd 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]
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| 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.
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[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
