This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

I have created this artistic expression of a storybook version of the Coffin Family legacy, with original paintings, collages with vintage photos, into illustrations for a special coffee-table book, the true story of the seafaring Coffin Family legacy, connecting their historical homes, historical museums, and events, beginning in Normandy, France. The Norman Coffins lived in possession of Chateau Cortiton in 1066, which still stands today. After migrating to England with William the Conquerer in the 1200s, Sir Richard Coffin built Portledge Manor in Devonshire, England, also still standing today. In 1642, Tristram Coffin Sr. of Devonshire, England, with his family, left a civil war and was among the first of the race that settled in America. Living alternatively in the colony of Massachusetts, he arranged for the purchase of Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard by a company he organized of nine men on July 2, 1659. The fourth son of Tristram Coffin, Sr., was John Tristram Coffin, who was the first of the Coffins to take up residence on Martha's Vineyard and was a notable blacksmith and considerable owner of real estate. My family line is directly linked to John Coffin. He died on September 11, 1711, leaving the oldest headstone on Martha's Vineyard. Continuing is the story of Abigail Starbuck Coffin, doctor/midwife. She was a daughter of the Mormon pioneers who was caught in the western swirl of migration. Another connection is automobile magnate Howard E. Coffin, the Father of Standardization, predecessor of United Airlines, a prince of Detroit, and the king of the Georgia Coast. He shared in the visionary influence of his ancestors from Nantucket Island in the 1600s and thus extended Tristram Coffin's legacy to the southeastern Atlantic coast of Georgia. In this way, the original owners of Nantucket Island, Martha's Vineyard, and Sea Island, Georgia, connect over three hundred years, just one of many Coffin connections. To me, my ancestors are timeless. They are like a rare and treasured collection of antiques from a time gone by. They could be called, "Tristram's Treasures." Time can be eerie, especially when our ancestors have left behind so many indelible footprints all throughout American history. It's as though a part of them will never really be gone and that has inspired me to create a special storybook where they all belong, with their historical homes, museums, famous and epic stories, along with their outstanding achievements, monuments, and headstones, that even time can never erase. I invite you, the reader, through my original collages of artwork to follow me on this epic journey as we look at the Coffin Family legacy and the many connections they share throughout American history.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The Coffin Family; The Life of Tristram Coffyn, of Nantucket, Mass;, Founder of the Family Line in America: Together With Eniniscences and Anecdotes of Some of His Numerous Descendants, and Some Historical Information Concerning the Ancient Families Named Coffyn "And they token the relies of broken mete, twelve coffyns full." Thus it will be seen that this word originated back, far back, in the gray morning twilight of Asiatic life, in the nomadic period of man's existence, before the Bethlehem shepherds guarded their flocks by night on Judea's plains. Moving westward with the march of empire it retained its significance upon the borders of the English Channel, surviving the destructiveness of the Norwegian adventurers of the ninth century; and, becoming Normanized, it was first used as a sign-name, and then adopted as a surname from the official or business occupation, feudalism making it hereditary. William the Conqueror, was born at Fallaise, a town of Normandy, France, in the department of Calvados, 22 miles S. S. E. of Caen, on the river Ante, in the year 1024. It i now a town of about 15,000 inhabitants, having still in the ruins of its ancient castle one of the finest towers in France. The town is built upon cliffs commanded by an old Norman castle and surrounded by a picturesque country. An equestrian, bronze statue of William was erected here in 1851. Within two short leagues of Fallaise stands the old chateau of Courtiton, once the home of the Norman Coffins, the family name having now become extinct in that vicinage. The present owner, Mons. Le Clere, is the grandson of the last Miss Coffin, the estate having descended in an unbroken male line, as is supposed, until her accession. She married, in 1796, from which time the name of Le Clere has succeeded to that of Coffin as possessors of this ancient estate. Admiral Henry E.Coffin, of the English Navy, a nephew of Admiral Sir Isaac, is the authority for the last statement. In a letter to Mr. William E.Coffin, of Richmond, Ind., written in October, 1880, he thus describes this old Norman chateau which he had several times visited: "It stands at the bottom of a hill in front of a lake. The drive to it is through ornamented wood, a zig-zag road descending to it. There is only the dining-room, kitchen, and part of the old house remaining, and the new part has two drawing-rooms built two hundred years ago, but looking nice." It was upon this old estate, perhaps, that the first Norman Coffyn, of English fame, was born; and, being one of the younger sons, having no hope of an inheritance, if he rose to distinction in life it must be by his own endeavors. Reared within two leagues of Fallaise, he may have often sported with the youthful William, and been a favored guest at the Ducal Palace. When Williams father, Robert, made his pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, never to return, Coffyn's father may have shared In the vicissitudes of that expedition; and, if in the capacity of keeper of the Dukes strong box, the name of Coffyn may have dated from the return of that mournful retinue as an individualized surname. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.