CIVIL WAR PENSION EXTRACT
John Andrew Coker
NOTE: At the time of ordering this particular pension file, I'd suspected this John Andrew Coker to be related to the Cokers of Caroline County, Maryland, some of whose descendants had relocated to Kent County, Delaware in the mid-1800's, subsequently intermarrying with several other families there. However, after reviewing the file, there appears to be no immediate connection of this John Andrew Coker with the Caroline County Cokers. John Andrew Coker was born and resided his entire life in Carroll County, Maryland, which is west of the Chesapeake, north of Baltimore, up near the Pennsylvania border. Nevertheless, I'm including pertinent details from the pension file here on the off-chance that this might be of use to any researchers, or in case a connection is eventually determined to exist further back between the Carroll County Cokers and the Caroline County Cokers.- - - - -
John Andrew Coker
Private, Company A,
6th Maryland InfantryPension #WC 790800 (alternate/other numbers: 844880, 241297)
Enrolled: 10 Aug 1862 at Baltimore, MD Honorably discharged 15 Jun 1865, Washington, DC. John Andrew Coker: Date of birth: 01 May 1845 Place of birth: Carroll Co, MD Date of death: 25 Dec 1914 Place of death: Carroll Co, MD Buried at: Snydersburg, Carroll Co, MD on 28 Dec 1914.
Son of: John Coker and Lydia Larr (per John Andrew Coker's death certificate, contained in the pension records).
First married to: Caroline Kagle Marriage date: 02 May 1867 Marriage place: Carroll Co, MD Wife's date of birth: 15 Oct 1841, place not listed Wife's date of death: 01 Apr 1925, place not listed Children: 1. William H. Coker born 24 Aug 1868 2. Elenora M. Coker, born 22 Sep 1870 3. Mary E. Coker, born 26 Feb 1874 4. John W. Coker born 09 Feb 1878 John's residences at various times as noted in the pension records:
Snydersburg, Carroll Co, MD (as of 01 May 1907)
Hampstead, Carroll Co, MD (as of 28 May 1912)
Etc.
(Appears to have been a lifelong resident of Carroll Co, MD).Among the affiants / witnesses for John and/or Caroline: None with any names pertinent to our group of DE and southern NJ families other than: Informant on John's death certificate: J. Wesley Coker (likely their
son, John W.)
Location of John & Caroline's marriage is given as "at J. C. Coker's." (this may possibly be John Andrew Coker's father, who was noted as "John Coker" on John Andrew's death certificate).
Marriage record of John Andrew Coker and Caroline Kagle:
Death certificate of John Andrew Coker:
OTHER ITEMS OF NOTE:John's request for pension was based upon being injured when kicked by a mule while in the service:
From an affidavit by John A. Coker, dated 30 Aug 1877:
".was injured by a mule, being mashed over the wheel of the wagon, he acting at that time as a teamster -- that since he received said injury he has been and is now suffering from the effect of the same [.] thereby
disabling him to such extent as to prevent him from following his usual occupation."From an examining surgeon's affidavit, dated 11 Apr 1881:
".rec'd inguinal hernia of left side [.] owing to his being forced upon the rim of a wheel by the kick of a mule at the time of the rupture."
From an affidavit by the regimental surgeon, dated 19 Apr 1881:
".that whilst the Regt was in camp at Williamsport Md in the fall of 1862 the said John A. Coker alleges he was severely kicked by a mule in the chest & in the region of the groin whilst in the performance of his duty as a regt'l teamster the injury in the groin finally culminating in hernia {scrotal} of the left side. That I attended him for said injury whilst in regimental hospital at Williamsport Md. He further alleges he has been a sufferer from said injury ever since to a very great extent. This certificate is based solely upon the applicant's statements as I have a very vague recollection of the circumstances attending it at this remote date. I have no reason to doubt the truthfulness of the statement."
A typed marriage record of John and Caroline was included in the pension file.
Scanned copy attached.
A copy of John's death certificate was included in the pension file.
Scanned copy attached.
John is listed at various times as:
("Age 62") (May 1907) 5' 9 & 1/2" tall, florid complexion, light hair, blue eyes.
("Age 67") (May 1912) 5' 9 & 1/2" tall, florid complexion, light hair, blue eyes.Their marriage record lists both John and Caroline as "white."
John's death certificate lists him as "white."
OTHER ITEMS PERTAINING TO JOHN ANDREW COKER, NOT FROM THE PENSION RECORDS:Regimental history:
To go to the official National Park Service's "Soldiers and Sailors" website, use the following link:
http://www.itd.nps.gov/cwss/soldiers.cfm
and in the boxes do the following:
under Last Name enter COKER
under First Name enter JOHN
under Union or Confederate select "Union,"
under State (or Origin) select "Maryland" from the alphabetical list of States
under Unit Number enter "6"
under Function select "Infantry"
On the resultant page click on the regiment's name to see a history of their service.
QUERY ITEMS:
1. Does anyone know of any connection between the Cokers of Carroll County, Maryland and the Cokers of Caroline County, Maryland?
2. Does anyone know the name of the cemetery in Snydersburg, Carroll Co, MD in which John (and presumably his wife) were buried?
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For those who may be new to the list, a few of these Civil War pension extractions have been posted previously by John C. Carter, Paul Johnson and Joseph Romeo. To view some of the others, as well as an explanatory note, please see the following page of the Mitsawokett site:
(Once on the page, scroll down below the Index to see the Overview).
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Please let me know if anyone has any questions: John C. Carter
"The History and Genealogy of the
Native American Isolate Communities
of Kent County, Delaware, and
Surrounding Areas on the Delmarva Peninsula
and Southern New Jersey"
Copyright 1997-
All rights reserved.
Not to be used for commercial purposes.
