Webb Coffee and his "fine wheat"

Title

Subject

Work/Business; agriculture

Description

This is a newspaper article about Webb Coffee and his crop of wheat for the year 1872. According to Florence historian Lee Freeman: "Webb Coffee (ca. 1796-1881) was a slave of Gen. John Coffee (1772-1833) for many years before becoming the slave of the General’s son, Joshua (1832-1879), at Coffee's Hickory Hill Plantation on the modern Cloverdale Road. In 1874, Joshua Coffee testified in Webb’s Southern Claims Commission (a Federal court which awarded monetary damages to pro-Union Southerners for property and crops confiscated by the Union Army if they could prove they’d remained loyal) case that Webb had loyally supported the Union and had lost two mules and several bushels of corn, peaches and other foodstuffs, which were taken by the Union Army in July of 1863, and that Webb deserved to be reimbursed by the Federal Government. Unfortunately however Webb’s claim was denied. In his Southern Claims Commission application he states: "I resided 3 Miles North of Florence Ala. from the 11th of April 1861. On the 1st of June 1865 I was living on land rented from My former Master, Joshua Coffee. . . I did not change residence or business during the war." “Uncle” Webb Coffee died 12 April, 1881. His Florence Gazette Sat., April 16, 1881 obituary says: "Uncle Webb Coffee, a clever old colored man, one of our oldest citizens, died Tuesday night, of dropsy, aged about 85. He died where he had lived for about 60 years, at the old Coffee homestead.""

Source

Lauderdale Times

Publisher

Lauderdale Times

Date

1872-06-18

Contributor

Lee Freeman

Rights

Images are available for educational and research purposes. This image may not be reproduced for commercial purposes without the express written consent of the copyright holder. It is the responsibility of the interested party to identify the copyright holder and receive permission.

Format

JPG

Language

English

Type

Still Image

Identifier

webbcoffee1.jpg

Original Format

JPG

Files

Collection

Work/Business

Citation

“Webb Coffee and his "fine wheat",” Shoals Black History, accessed April 20, 2024, https://shoalsblackhistory.omeka.net/items/show/637.