Coffey/Riley Family History: 1860-1930 Censuses

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Who this page is about, and how we're related:

Great (x4) grandfather	James Shea =
Great (x3) grandparents	Julia Shea + James Denis Coffey =
Great (x2) grandparents	Mary Elizabeth Coffey + Peter Leo Riley =
Great-grandparents	William James Riley + Anastasia Cheverie =
Grandparents	William Stephen Riley + Mildred Ester Kearney =
Parents	Lynne Marie Riley + Peter Robert Nelson =
Self	Brooke Lee Nelson

Censuses

Index

Name	1860	1870	1880	1900	1910	1920	1930
Coffey, Anna "Annie"				1900	1910	1920	1930
Coffey, Daniel		1870	1880	1900		1920
Coffey, Delia (Lycette)				1900		1920
Coffey, James Sr.		1870	1880
Coffey, James Jr.			1880	1900		1920
Coffey, Jerry				1900
Coffey, John			1880	1900		1920
Coffey, Julia (Mansfield)			1880	1900			1930
Coffey, Margaret (Davis)			1880	1900
Coffey, Mary E. (Riley)		1870	1880	1900	1910
Riley, Eunice (Lemery)					1910		1930
Riley, Harry				1900	1910
Riley, Helen (Dame)					1910	1920	1930
Riley, John				1900	1910
Riley, Leo				1900	1910
Riley, Marion				1900	1910
Riley, Peter L.				1900	1910
Riley, Rebecca					1910
Riley, Richard					1910		1930
Riley, Ruth (Herrin)				1900	1910	1920	1930
Riley, William				1900	1910	1920
Shea, Julia (Coffey)	1860	1870	1880	1900	1910	1920	1930

James Dennis Coffey & Julia Shea

My great-great-great grandfather and grandmother

JAMES DENNIS COFFEY, b. 1844, Ireland; d: 1885 Nashua, NH
JULIA SHEA, b. 1846, Kenmare, County Kerry, Ireland; d: 1932 Nashua NH
Married 11/11/1865 in Nashua, NH

11 children:

MARY ELIZABETH COFFEY, b. 1866; d: 1911
DANIEL J. COFFEY, b. 1868
JAMES W. COFFEY, b. 1870
JOHN W. COFFEY, b. 1872
MARGARET L. COFFEY, b. 1874
JULIA COFFEY, b. 1876; d: 1943
NELLIE COFFEY, b. 1878 - died in childhood
EDWARD COFFEY, died in childhood
DELIA V. COFFEY, b. 1881; d: 1926
JEREMIAH "JERRY" COFFEY, b. 1883
ANNA "ANNIE" C. COFFEY, b. 1885

Julia Shea Coffey (Not sure who the baby is)

Julia Shea reportedly arrived in the United States in 1857 at age 11. James Dennis Coffey owned a grocery store and delivered milk. He was killed by a train while delivering milk by horse and cart early one morning. The family learned of the accident when the horse returned home alone. Julia was left with 11 children. The youngest, Anna, was only eight months old. Julia continued to run the grocery store and raise her large family.

Peter Leo Riley & Mary Elizabeth Coffey

My great-great grandfather and grandmother

PETER LEO RILEY, b. 4/?/1864 New Hampshire; d: 10/19/1934 Nashua, NH
MARY ELIZABETH COFFEY, b. 1/17/1866 Nashua, NH; d: 12/3/1911 Nashua, NH
Married 1/18/1888 in Nashua, NH

11 children:

WILLIAM JAMES RILEY, b. 1888; d: 1950
MARION RILEY, b. 1890
PETER LEO RILEY, JR., b. 1892
JOHN XAVIER RILEY, b. 1894
HARRY RALPH RILEY, b. 1896; d: 1981
RUTH LOUISE RILEY, b. 1898; d: 1994
EUNICE M. RILEY, b. 1902
ALTURA V. RILEY, b. 1902; d: 1980
REBECCA RILEY, b. 1905
HELEN RILEY, b. 1905
RICHARD RILEY, b. 1906

From left: Peter Leo Riley, Mary Elizabeth Coffey, William James Riley

Peter Leo Riley died in 1934 in Nashua, NH as a result of pneumonia as a result of severe burns suffered when he fell asleep smoking in an overstuffed chair. He was an iron moulder working in Nashua all his life. He married Mary Elizabeth Coffey on 1/18/1888 in Nashua. Their marriage license was taken out on her birthday, and they were married the next day. Their first child, William James Riley, was born nine months later on 9/21/1888.

John and Julia Shea, 1860 Census

1860 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 5 (See full size >>)

It is likely that John Shea is Julia's brother, and Bridgett is his wife; James is Julia's nephew, and the other Bridgett her sister.

Name	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
John Shea	25	Laborer	Ireland
Bridgett -	20	Housekeeper	Ireland
James -	9 mo.		N.H.
Bridgett -	17	Works in factory	Ireland
Julia -	14		Ireland

James Coffey and Julia Shea, 1870 Census

1870 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 5 (See full size >>)

Name	Age	Occupation	Birthplace
Coffey, James	26*	Makes bobbins (?)	Ireland
- Julia	26*	Keeping house	Ireland
- Mary	5		N.H.
- Daniel	2		N.H.

* One of many inconsistencies in age in this and subsequent censuses

James Coffey and Julia Shea, 1880 Census

1880 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 5 - District 147 (See full size >>)
Address: 29 or 30 (?) High St., Nashua, NH

Name	Age	Relation	Occupation	Birthplace
Coffey, James	30*	head	Laborer	Ireland
- Julia	30*	wife	Keeps house	Ireland
- Mary	14	dau	Cotton mill op.	N.H.
- Daniel	12	son	At school	N.H.
- James	9	son	At school	N.H.
- John	7	son	At school	N.H.
- Margaret	6	dau	At school	N.H.
- Julia	4	dau	At school	N.H.
- Nellie	2	dau	At home	N.H.
- John	50	father	At home	Ireland

Coffey and Riley Families, 1900 Census

At the time of the 1900 Census, Julia Shea Coffey (my great-great-great grandmother), who was a widow, lived in Nashua, NH with five of her children: James (29), Julia (23), Delia (18), Jerry (16) and Annie (14). Next door lived her daughter Mary (33), her husband Peter Riley and their six children: William (10), Marion (10), Leo (7), John (5), Harry (3) and Ruth (7 months). (Mary and Peter would eventually have five more children, for a total of 11.)

Julia's three other children also lived nearby in Nashua. Daniel Coffey, 32, and his wife Katherine had four children: Katherine (8), James (6), William (3) and Margaret (1). John Coffey, 27, and his wife Catherine had two children: Albert (8) and Celestine (4). Margaret Coffey and her husband Fred Davis did not yet have children. Julia had two other children, but they both died in childhood.

I can only imagine how wonderful it was for three generations of this large family to all live so close to each other. I am sure that the young cousins spent lots of time playing together, and spending time with their grandmother Julia and numerous aunts and uncles. Julia woiuld be happy to know that the Riley family has maintained this closeness - I am lucky to have had the privilege to grow up surrounded my many aunts, uncles and cousins, just like Julia's grandchildren.

Julia (Shea) Coffey Family & Mary Coffey and Peter Riley Family

1900 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 5 - District 123 (See full size >>)
Peter and Mary lived next door to Mary's mother Julia and Mary's younger siblings.

Name	Relation	Birth	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Address: 32 High St., Nashua NH
Coffey, Julia	head	Jan 1855?	45*	Ireland	Grocer (?)
- Julia	dau	Aug 1876	23	N.H.	Milliner
- James W.	son	Aug 1870	29	N.H.	Salesman
- Delia	dau	Dec 1881	18	N.H.	Shoe (?)
- Jerry	son	Jul 1883	16	N.H.	Grocer (?)
- Annie	dau	? 1885	14	N.H.	At school
Address: 34 High St., Nashua NH
Riley, Peter L.	head	Apr 1864	36	N.H.	Iron moulder
- Mary E.	wife	Jan 1867	33	N.H.
- William	son	Oct 1889	10	N.H.	At school
- Marion	dau	May 1890	10	N.H.	At school
- Leo	son	Nov 1892	7	N.H.	At school
- John	son	Nov 1894	5	N.H.	At school
- Harry	son	Jun 1897	3	N.H.
- Ruth	dau	Oct 1899	7 m.	N.H.

Daniel Coffey family

Daniel Coffey - Julia (Shea) Coffey's oldest son; Mary Elizabeth's brother.
1900 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 3 - District 121 (See full size >>)
Address: 8 Jackson St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Birth	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Coffey, Daniel	head	Apr 1868	32	Vermont	Iron moulder
- Katherine	wife	Dec 1867	32	Vermont
- Katherine	dau	Dec 1891	8	N.H.	At school
- James	son	Apr 1894	6	N.H.	At school
- William	son	Oct 1896	3	N.H.
- Margaret	dau	Jun 1898	1	N.H.

John Coffey family

John W. Coffey - Julia (Shea) Coffey's third son; Mary Elizabeth's brother.
1900 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 9 - District 129 (See full size >>)
Address: 38 Central St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Birth	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Coffey, John	head	Aug 1872	27	N.H.	Clothing clerk
- Catherine	wife	Apr 1873	27	N.H.
- Albert	son	Feb 1893	7	N.H.	At school
- Celestine	dau	Dec 1895	4	N.H.	At school

Margaret Coffey and Fred Davis family

Margaret (Coffey) Davis - Julia (Shea) Coffey's second daughter; Mary Elizabeth's sister.
1900 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 1 - District 117
Address: 34 Merrimack St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Birth	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Davis, Fred A.	head	Apr 1872	28	N.H.	Manager (?)
- Margaret L.	wife	June 1874	25	N.H.

Coffey and Riley Families, 1910 Census

Julia (Shea) Coffey Family

1910 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 6 - District 167 (See full size >>)
Address: 20 Beech St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation
Coffey, Julia	head	62
- Annie	dau	25	Teacher, public school
Riley, Ruth¹	granddaughter	10

¹ Ruth Riley is listed twice, at her grandmother's house and her parent's house. Maybe she was just visiting her grandmother when the census taker came?

Mary Coffey and Peter Riley Family

1910 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 7 - District 169 (See full size >>)

Address: 8 Marshall St. Nashua NH

<< Here is what 8 Marshall St. looks like today (click to see larger). From Google Maps Street View.

Peter and Mary (Coffey) Riley Family, 1910 Census

Name	Age	Occupation
Riley, Peter	46	Moulder, foundry
- Mary	42
- William	21	Machinst, machine shop
- Marion	19	Paster, shoe factory
- Leo	17	Cutter, shoe factory
- John	15
- Harry	13
- Ruth¹	11
- Helen	8
- Eunice	7
- Rebecca	4
- Richard	2

Coffey and Riley Families, 1920 Census

Note: I could not find the Peter Leo Riley family for 1920 or 1930. His wife, Mary Elizabeth Coffey, died in 1911, and he died in 1934, so I don't know where he was between the time his wife died and the time he died.

Julia (Shea) Coffey and Delia (Coffey) Lycette Families

1920 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 6 - District 145 (See full size >>)
Address: 20 and 22 Beech St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation
Coffey, Julia	head	72
- Anna C.	daughter	34	Teacher, school
Riley, Ruth R.	granddaughter	21	Clerk, dry goods
Lycette, John J.	Head	38	Plumber
- Delia	wife	38
- Julia	daughter	8
- John	son	8 mo.

Daniel Coffey Family

1920 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 1 - District 137 (See full size >>)
Address: 51 Broad St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Marital	Occupation
Coffey, Daniel J.	head	51	widowed	Molder, iron shop
Burnham, Christine C.	daughter	26	widowed	Spinner, cotton mill
Coffey, William B.	son	22	single	Surveyor, lumber yard
- Margaret	daughter	19	single	Laborer, ? factory
- Katherine	daughter	17	single
- Olive	daughter	13	single
Burnham, Andrew F.	grandson	7	single

James Coffey Family

1920 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 7 - District 146 (See full size >>)
Address: 11½ Marshall St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation
Coffey, James	head	44	Machinist, foundry
- Mary	wife	45
M?, Lillian	niece	24	? grocery store

John Coffey Family

1920 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 8 - District 148 (See full size >>)
Address: 392 Main St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation
Coffey, John W.	head	47	Retail merchant, men's clothing
- Katherine F.	wife	46
- Albert G.	son	27	Doctor, dentistry
- John Paul	son	15

William Riley and Anastasia Cheverie Family

1920 U.S. Census: Massachusetts - Essex - Beverly (See full size >>)
Address: 5 Grant St., Beverly MA

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation
Riley, William J.	head	31	Shoemaking
- Anastasia E.	wife	26

Helen Riley and Chester Dame Family

1920 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - Ward 8 - District 148 (See full size >>)
Address: 15 Dunstable Rd., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Occupation
Dame, Charles E.	head	56	Bookkeeper, ? foundry
- Prudence	wife	52
- Chester.	son	24	Plumber
- Helen	daughter-in-law	19

Coffey and Riley families, 1930 Census

In 1930, Julia was 80 and shared her home with her widowed son-in-law John Lycette (husband of Delia, who died in 1926) and two grandchildren, her single daughter Anna (45), widowed daughter Julia (53) and orphaned grandson, Richard Riley (23). Julia's three granddaughters, Ruth, Eunice, and Helen, who were married with their own families, also lived in Nashua.

Julia (Shea) Coffey Family

1930 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - District 95 (See full size >>)
Address: 20 Beech St. Nashua, NH

¹ Julia's son-in-law - his wife, Delia Coffey, died in 1926
² Richard Riley is the youngest son of Peter Riley and Mary Coffey, who died in 1911.
³ This is Julia Coffey, whose husband, John Mansfield, died in 1927. She had no children.

Name	Relation	Age	Marital	Birthplace	Occupation
John Lycette¹	head	49	widowed	Mass.	Proprietor, plumbing est.
- Julia	dau	18	single	Mass.	none
- John Jr.	son	11	single	N.H.	none
Coffey, Julia	head	80	widowed	Irish Free State	none
- Anna C.	dau	45	single	N.H.	School teacher
Riley, Richard²	grandson	23	single	N.H.	Cutter, shoe factory
Mansfield, Julia³	dau	53	widowed	N.H.	none

Ruth Riley and Harold Herrin Family

1930 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - District 95 (See full size >>)
Address: 14 Maple St., Nashua, NH

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Herrin, Harold J.	head	27	Maine	Manager, tire shop
- Ruth L.	wife	27	N.H.	none
John H.	son	11 mo.	N.H.	none

Eunice Riley and Emile Lemery Family

1930 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - District 97 (See full size >>)
Address: 126 Vine St., Nashua NH

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Lemery, Emile H.	head	27	N.H.	Stitcher, shoe shop
- Eunice M.	wife	27	N.H.	none
- Eugene A.	son	9 mo.	N.H.	none

Helen Riley and Chester Dame Family

1930 U.S. Census: New Hampshire - Hillsborough - Nashua - District 102 (See full size >>)
Address: 15 Eastman St., Nashua NH

¹ This is Helen Riley, who lived with her father-in-law, mother-in-law, husband and children.

Name	Relation	Age	Birthplace	Occupation
Dame, Charles	head	66	N.H.	Bookkeeper, office
- Prudence	wife	62	Mass.	none
- Chester H.	son	35	Mass.	Plumber
- Helen¹	dau-in-law	25	N.H.	none
- Robert	grandson	9	N.H.	none
- Edward	grandson	8	N.H.	none
- George A.	grandson	4	N.H.	none
- Roger A.	grandson	2	N.H.	none