Living
Sex: M
Parents
Father: Living Mother:
Spouses and Children
1. LivingLiving
Sex: M
Parents
Father: William Kenneth Coffey 3608 Mother: LivingJames Michael Coffey
Sex: MAKA: James Coffey 42, Jimmy Coffey 665
Individual Information
Birth Date: Angel's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 3608 Christening: Death: Bef 14 Nov 2003 3609 Burial: Cause of Death:Events
• Residence: St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Parents
Father: Living Mother:
Spouses and Children
1. *Marguerite Josephine Maher 3608 Marriage: Cir 10 Jan 1944 - St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada 3610 Children: 1. Living 2. Living 3. Roseanne Coffey 4. William Kenneth Coffey
Notes
General:
191120:
Information passed on yesterday by Steve Barnable from his mother [Frances Thorne Barnable]:
"Jim Coffey from Placentia I think, married Marguerite Meagher [NB: usually seen spelled Maher] from Ferryland. Marguerite was the daughter of Bill Jack Meagher from Aquaforte who married a White from Ferryland and lived in that big old green house over from Morrys . Her name was Shan White Meagher. The Freebairn house was sold to the Jim and Marguerite Coffey who lived in St. John's. Their son [William Kenneth Coffey] was a friend of Jimmy's [Barnable] and spent a lot of time there. Their son married a first cousin of Alexia's [Steve's brother Paul's wife] [the cousin's name is Carole Ann Watters Coffey] and he taught Matthew [Steve's son] at Gonzaga. He has twin boys both Dermatologists and a daughter. He died a few months ago and I was at his funeral."
The house in question has become known as the Freebairn-Coffey house, or so it is called on a variety of Newfoundland Heritage websites. But the fact is it was originally the house of one of the Tessier family (a son of Capt. Peter Tessier) and then served as the home and office of the Minister from St. Luke's. So with a long and colourful history I find that it is curious for it to be named after the two most recent owners James Coffey and Dr. Freebairn, rather than given a better clue to its origins by referring to it by the older owners' names.
Additional information from:
Architecture on Newfoundland's Southern Shore: Diversity and the Emergence of New World Forms
by Gerald L. Pocius
Found in: SOCIETY FOR THE STUDY OF ARCHITECTURE IN CANADA SOCIETE POUR L'ETUDE DE L'ARCHITECTURE AU CANADA Volume/Tome 8 June/Juin 1983 Number/Numero 2
"What is today called the Freebairn-Coffey house in Ferryland is another smaller example of this stone building tradition among larger upper-class structures. Although one source [Newfoundland Historic Trust, Ten Historic Towns (St. John's: Newfoundland Historic Trust, 1978), "Freebairn/Coffey House."] claims that it was built for a resident named Tessier, 10 local tradition maintains that this building was the early Anglican rectory situated on the hill above the location of the old Church of England . An examination of the house indicates extensive renovations in the 1890s, but an earlier date seems likely, given the use of stone and the presence of reused eighteenth-century floor boards in the upstairs walls."
The Newfoundland Historic Trusts' Book, Ten Historic Towns, evidently gave the current name to the house as well as providing the well known pen and ink drawing of it:
Title
Ten Historic Towns
Alternative title
Ten Historic Towns: Heritage Architecture in Newfoundland
Publisher
Valhalla Press, by arrangement with the Newfoundland Historic Trust
Place of Publication
St. John's (N.L.)
Date
1978
"This is a somewhat unusual house in Newfoundland being built half of stone and half of timber. Its date of construction is undetermined but it is erected on what was once the Tessier property. Peter and Lewis Tessier came to Newfoundland from Newton Abbot, Devonshire, and conducted a large mercantile business in St. John's at the end of the 19th century. They were descendants of Baron de Tessier who fled the excesses of the French Revolution to settle in England. Peter Tessier married a daughter of Robert Carter of Ferryland. Their son, Charles, built an elaborate estate, Germondale, on Waterford Bridge Road. It was demolished in the early 1970s. Peter Tessier may have constructed a stone house on the Ferryland property as a country retreat. It is thought the timbered upper section was added around the turn of the century, possibly by Dr. R. Jardine Freebairn who owned and occupied the place until his death 8 September 1934 at the age of 71 years. A native of Bronhill, Dumbartonshire, Scotland, Freebairn spent much of his life as a medical doctor in Ferryland where he also acted as magistrate. A daughter, Jessie, married Hedley Bret of St. John's."
Here are Nimshi Crewe's notes from an account by Dad Morry:
"Occupancy of the half-stone house now [ca.1960] Charles Freebairn at Ferryland, son of late Dr. Freebairn, M.D. there. Information from Howard Morry (75) of Ferryland. N.C. Crewe, St. John's, 12 April 1960. Rochefort - Magistrate = O'Mara = Stafford = Dr. Freebairn."
This information, though more comrehensive, is questionable. None of these names, with the exception of Freebairn, are mentioned in any other source and there is no mention of the Tessier family.
Living
Sex: M
Parents
Father: William Kenneth Coffey 3608 Mother: Living
Spouses and Children
1. LivingLiving
Sex: M
Parents
Father: William Kenneth Coffey 3608 Mother: Living
Spouses and Children
1. LivingLiving
Sex: F
Parents
Father: William Kenneth Coffey 3608 Mother: LivingLiving
Sex: M
Parents
Father: James Michael Coffey 3608 Mother: Marguerite Josephine Maher 3608
Spouses and Children
1. LivingLiving
Sex: F
Parents
Father: Living Mother:Living
Sex: M
Parents
Father: James Michael Coffey 3608 Mother: Marguerite Josephine Maher 3608
Spouses and Children
1. LivingRoseanne Coffey
Sex: F
Individual Information
Birth Date: Cir 1950 3608 Christening: Death: Bef 14 Nov 2003 3609 Burial: Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: James Michael Coffey 3608 Mother: Marguerite Josephine Maher 3608
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