See also
| Name: | John COE |
| Sex: | Male |
| Father: | Charles COE (1662-1738) |
| Mother: | Hannah DALWEN ( -1738) |
| Birth | 1700 (app) | Maldon,Essex1 |
| Death | Mar 1779 (age 78-79) | Maldon,Essex |
| "The late John Coe, Esq., who was buried last week at Maldon in Essex, is reputed to have died worth £120,000, the greatest part of which he has left to his two nieces." Ipswich Journal Saturday 3 April 1779. (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk) | ||
| Burial | 19 Mar 1779 | All Saints Church Maldon Essex1 |
| Occupation | Merchant, Maldon, Essex; Maldon, Essex | |
Made will 1778, a copy of which we have, transcribed by JCC Coe (born 1875) from Prin. Registry of Probate Divorce & Admiralty Division of High Court of Justice. He appears to have no issue, as he leaves his estate to his sister Ann Bird, his niece Lady Waltham, his niece Hannah Pigott and her son John Coe Pigott.
Extract from will: "I, John Coe of Maldon, Essex, merchant, I give and devise to my sister, Mrs Ann Bird and her assigns property in parish of St Peter, Maldon, in her occupation for life, then unto great nephew John Coe Pigott, his heirs and assigns for ever."
An obituary of his nephew William Bird describes him as "the opulent John Coe"! From John Crosier's diary, March 1779 (sent in email from MAHG) we know that from the middle of the 18th century the most prominent member of the Coe family was John Coe. He was generally supposed to have lost a large sum in supporting the Corporation's unsuccessful legal defence against Bamber Gascoyne's writs in the 1760's, but was reckoned to be worth "about forty thousand pounds" on his death in 1779. Crosier also tell us "He kept his carriage and lived always in a close, genteely private manner; a man of very good knowledge but a good deal of austere pride". After the Corporation was dissolved in 1768 he used his position and influence in an attempt to control the town's affairs and acted as "nominal" magistrate.
Also from MAHG (taken from The Borough of Maldon 1688-1768 by JR Smith 1981, copy in the Plum Library Maldon)we learn that the Coes were the founder members of Maldon Congregational Church and, as politically active nonconformist Whigs, exerted a powerful behind-the-scenes influence on the Corporation, especially in relation to the choice of parliamentary candidates, and led their party's fight to maintain its weakening grip on the town.
| 1 | "Arthur Cox email 18 Oct 2003 (Maldon Archeological & Historical Group)". |