Title

James Park Coffin CVR questionnaire

Creator

Files

Date Original

1912 October 11

Description

This is James Park Coffin's Confederate Veterans' Reunion questionnaire. Coffin served as a lieutenant in the 2nd Tennessee Cavalry during the Civil War, but settled in Arkansas in 1869. The questionnaire includes biographical, educational, professional, and genealogical information, as well as information on Coffin's military service.

Biographical/Historical Note

Act 353, approved by the state legislature on May 30, 1911, was enacted to "make an enumeration or census of the Confederate soldiers residing in the State of Arkansas, and to provide for the payment thereof." Responsibility for making the enumeration was directed to the county assessor of each county. The enumeration was to show the full name, present address, date and place of birth, date and state of enlistment, and other biographical data. The blank forms were prepared and supplied by the secretary of the Arkansas State Archives. The completed forms were filed in the office of the probate judge of the county where the enumeration was taken, and "a carefully compared copy, duly certified under oath, by the assessor, shall be forwarded to the secretary of the Arkansas State Archives for preservation therein." There were two forms included. One, the Biographical Memoranda Form, requested biographical information, such as full name, mailing address, date and place of birth, family and genealogical information. The other was a Confederate Military Service Memoranda, a supplement to the first form.

Physical Description

8 typed pages, 14" x 8.5"

Subjects

Family trees; Military service; Civil wars; Cavalry

Contributor

Arkansas State Archives; James Park Coffin; Burton Arnold

Language

English

Identifier

MS.000979, James Park Coffin

Resource Type

Text

Collection

1911 Confederate Veterans Reunion Registrations, MS.000979

Publisher

Arkansas State Archives

Contributing Entity

Arkansas State Archives

Recommended Citation

James Park Coffin CVR questionnaire, 1911 Confederate Veterans Reunion Registrations, Arkansas State Archives, Little Rock, Arkansas.

Rights

Use and reproduction of images held by the Arkansas State Archives without prior written permission is prohibited. For information on reproducing images held by the Arkansas State Archives, please call 501-682-6900 or email at state.archives@arkansas.gov.

Disciplines

United States History

Comments

It is often very easy, when studying history, to forget that history was created through the actions and efforts of individual people. Genealogists remember this better than most, because their primary interest is in individuals. And the best part of individuals' records is that you get to see their personality shine through. On the second page of this document, when asked if he had ever been a member of the legislature, Coffin replies, "Never a member of the legislature, (Thank God.)" What also makes these records interesting to me is that the 1500+ questionnaires of which this document is a part are some of the first records created by the Arkansas State Archives, which was only officially six years old when these were made. - Mary Dunn

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