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William M. Coffin papers

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Held at: Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia [Contact Us]19 S. 22nd Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.

Overview and metadata sections

William M. Coffin, a New Albany, Indiana, businessman and soldier, was born on 12 October 1833. Before the Civil War, he worked for a wholesale and retail merchant in New Albany. He enlisted in the United States Army in August 1862 and became a lieutenant in the 5th Indiana Cavalry. Coffin was honorably discharged on 31 August 1865 and returned to Indiana; there, despite poor health, he became a traveling clothing salesman, insurance salesman, and real estate dealer. He married Leonora W. Moore in 1880; they had two children, William Marmaduke (b. 1887) and Robert Erastus (b. 1892).

The collection contains letters, claim forms, affidavits, memoranda, and other documents, 1880-1911, concerning William M. Coffin's military pension and medical disabilities from his service in the Civil War. The papers describe Coffin's state of health and war related disabilities as well as his experiences with medical care and treatments during and after the war. Coffin suffered from typhoid fever, gunshot wounds, hemorrhoids, chronic diarrhea, and rheumatism.

The William M. Coffin military pension papers were purchased by the Historical Collections of the Library of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia through a gift of the Samuel Lewis Circle on 15 July 1993.

The collection was processed and catalogued in 1993.

Publisher
Historical Medical Library of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia

Collection Inventory

Declaration for invalid army pension with attached memorandum, 29 April 1880.
Box 1 Folder 1
Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 15 February 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Carpenter, Adam. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 3 March 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Carpenter, Adam. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 3 March 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Barnett, Gideon H. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 11 March 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Woodward, John K. Additional testimony in case of William M. Coffin, 16 March 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Bentley, George R. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 17 March 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Lawrence, Henry and David D. Smith. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 5 April 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Rust, Herbert L. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, 9 May 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Hanlon, Thomas. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, June 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Sterett, Henry. Additional testimony in pension claim of William M. Coffin, September 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Coffin, William M. Affidavit of claimant, 19 September 1881.
Box 1 Folder 1
Coffin, William M. Autograph letter signed: New Albany. Includes response, 8 November 1882.
Box 1 Folder 1
United States. Pension Bureau. Pension certificate of William M. Coffin (copy), 14 April 1883.
Box 1 Folder 1
Coffin, William M. Application for readjudication in case of pension claim with attached memorandum, 8 June 1883.
Box 1 Folder 1
Coffin, William M. Declaration for rerating, 11 October 1887.
Box 1 Folder 1
United States. Pension Bureau. Letter: Washington, D.C. to William M. Coffin, 27 June 1888.
Box 1 Folder 1
United States. Pension Bureau. Letter (copy): Washington, D.C. to Lycurgus Dalton, 3 September 1888.
Box 1 Folder 1
Coffin, William M. Declaration for readjudication, 10 September 1888.
Box 1 Folder 2
Saffin, Wm. Additional evidence in invalid claim of Wm. M. Coffin, 27 June 1889.
Box 1 Folder 2
Connaty, J. W. Additional evidence in invalid claim of Wm. M. Coffin, 29 June 1889.
Box 1 Folder 2
Memorandum of affidavits and evidence in the pension claim of William M. Coffin, circa 1889.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. Notes concerning disabilities, 1889.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. Memorandum in regard to the family of William M. Coffin, February 1898.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. Declaration for the increase of an invalid pension, 10 October 1892.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. Note., 25 October 1905.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. Autograph letter signed: [Montgomery?], 18 November 1905.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. A copy of questions and answers concerning the pension claim of Thomas H. Butler, 18 May 1906.
Box 1 Folder 2
Coffin, William M. Declaration for pension, 1911.
Box 1 Folder 2

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