James Burton Coffman

James Burton Coffman

TexasConfirmed

Maternal great-uncle · 1905–2006 · "Dr." by three honorary doctorates

Born

24 May 1905, Taylor County, Texas

Died

30 June 2006, Houston, Harris County, Texas

Parents

James David "Jim" Coffman & Lydia Mae Bowles

Married

Thelma "Sissy" Bradford

Children

Hayden Ralph Nesmith

Sources

21

Images

24

Life in the order the records give it

Birth1905

Born 24 May 1905, Taylor County, Texas S109S110S111

the family tree says Potosi Probable confirm or correct →; the obituaries say only the county

Death2006

Died 30 June 2006, Houston, Harris County, Texas, aged 101; buried beside his first wife in Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, Houston, section Lakeview Gardens 27

Find a Grave memorial 14852608 S109S110

Schooling1920

🆕 A sophomore at Abilene High School in 1920–21, on The Sophomore Class roll of The Flashlight as “Coffman, Burton” S383; added 24 September 2026.

Census1910

1910 census: "James B", aged 4, in his father's household, Justice Precinct 3, Taylor County, with "Robt W", 3 S118. 1930: "Burton Coffman", 24, a roomer at Abilene with three of his brothers S119. 1940: head of household, Houston, occupation "Minister, Church", wife Thelma S120. 1950: Houston, "Pastor, Church" S121

Birth1923

Baptised in 1923 during the Abilene Christian College lectureship; Abilene High School; B.A., Abilene Christian College, 1927, history and music S111S112S113

Schooling—

Rural school principal in Callahan County for two years, then history and English teacher at Abilene High School S111S112

Work1930

Ministry, 1930 onward: associate minister and song leader, Wichita Falls, 1930 → Lawton, Oklahoma → Sherman, Texas → Central Church of Christ, Houston, 1938–1951 (raised the money for its building at 4100 Montrose Boulevard) → Sixteenth Street Church, Washington, D.C., with ninety days as a guest chaplain to the armed forces in Japan and Korea → one year as vice-president of Harding College, Searcy, Arkansas → Manhattan Church of Christ, 1954–1971 → retired to Houston, 1971 S110S111S112S115

Schooling—

The "Dr." is three honorary doctorates

Abilene Christian, Pepperdine University and Magic Valley Christian College (Albion, Idaho). No earned doctorate; the years are not established S110S111S112

Death1971

ACU Outstanding Alumnus (ACU says 1971, the obituary 1972); ACU Christian Service Award, 1987, with Thelma; the Burton Coffman Chair of Biblical Research at ACU is named for him S111S110

Work1992

The Commentaries: a verse-by-verse commentary on every book of the Bible, 37 volumes, written from his retirement into 1992, published by Abilene Christian University Press and hosted online by StudyLight.org. His unpublished memoirs (five parts, 1990) are ACU Center for Restoration Studies MS #44 S111S112S113S114

Death—

Survived by three daughters

Cynthia Shry, Mary Glenn Kochendefer and Nancy Willis — eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren S111

Why he matters to this record

Three documents tie him to Earl's line, and none of them is a family story. The 1939 marriage return from Gallatin names the officiant as "James Burton Coffman, M.G." — the man who married Earl's grandparents was the groom's brother S28. The 1972 obituaries of both parents list "James" and "Robert" side by side among the sons S16. And the Dee Coffman family photograph, circa 1924, has both brothers standing in the back row, named by their niece Ginger Probable S108. The 1910 census page adds the earliest witness of all: two small boys, 4 and 3, in the same house S118.

James Burton Coffman was born on 24 May 1905 in Taylor County, Texas, the second child and eldest surviving son of James David Coffman and Lydia Mae Bowles, "so far out in the country," he liked to say, "it took two days to go to town and back." He was baptised in 1923 during the Abilene Christian College lectureship, finished Abilene High School, and took his B.A. in history and music from Abilene Christian College in 1927. After two years as a rural school principal in Callahan County and a spell teaching history and English at Abilene High School, the Wichita Falls church offered him a post in 1930 as associate minister and song leader, and preaching became his life S111S112.

He served congregations in Wichita Falls, Lawton and Sherman before moving to Houston in 1938, where as minister of the Central Church of Christ until 1951 he raised the money for its building at 4100 Montrose Boulevard. From Houston he went to the Sixteenth Street Church in Washington, D.C., spent ninety days as a guest chaplain to the armed forces in Japan and Korea, and served a year as vice-president of Harding College before turning down tenure for the pulpit S110S111. In 1954 he became minister of the Manhattan Church of Christ in New York City. Within a year he had appointed elders and launched a building fund he preached for across the country; on 30 June 1968 the new building at East 80th Street and Madison Avenue was dedicated. "A hundred years is long enough," he said of the converted residences and lodge halls the city's Churches of Christ had worshipped in. He retired in 1971 and went home to Houston S115S111.

Retirement produced the work by which he is known: beginning at sixty-five he wrote a verse-by-verse commentary on every book of the Bible, thirty-seven volumes from Abilene Christian University Press, finished when he was eighty-seven. Abilene Christian named him Outstanding Alumnus, endowed the Burton Coffman Chair of Biblical Research, and gave him an honorary doctorate, as did Pepperdine and Magic Valley Christian College. Thelma died in 1995; he later married June Bristow. Two days before his hundredth birthday he preached, standing, at the West University church in Houston. James Burton Coffman died on 30 June 2006, aged 101, and is buried beside Thelma at Forest Park Lawndale S110S111S114S109.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Children1914

🆕 His daughter Lydia Frances married Hayden Ralph Nesmith, born 15 April 1914 in Taylor County S488. He was a Santa Fe Railway agent, an author and poet, and a Second World War veteran, and died at Lubbock on 18 October 1980; he is buried in Resthaven Memorial Park S487. added 25 September 2026.

Siblings1929

🆕 His brother David followed him to Abilene Christian College: “David Coffman, Abilene” is among the sophomores in the 1929 Prickly Pear Confirmed S1143 and on that year’s roster of the A.C.C. Glee Club, under Miss Myrtle Dunn S1144. The yearbook gives no middle name.

Parents1881

Son of James David "Jim" Coffman (1881–1972) and Lydia Mae Bowles (1883–1972); grandson of David Emily "Dee" Coffman. Named first among the surviving sons in his mother's 1972 obituary, and linked to both parents on his memorial S16S109

Siblings1902

Elder brother of Robert William Coffman, Earl's grandfather. The other siblings: Obera (1902–1904), David Emily (1909–2005), Jesse Jerome (1912–1992), Horace Glen (1915–2006), Lydia Frances Nesmith (1916–1993) and Ila Belle Windham (1922–2011) S16S109

Marriage1906

Married Thelma "Sissy" Bradford of Arlington (31 December 1906 – 30 November 1995), in 1931 Probable

the year is inferred from "wife of 64 plus years"; her dates are on the shared headstone S110S111S116

Marriage1922

Married secondly June Annette Easley Bristow (1922–2010), widow of John Wiley Bristow, after 1995; she survived him. The date of that marriage is not established S110S111S117

Marriage1939

Solemnised his brother Robert's wedding to Louise Martin Timberman at Gallatin, Sumner County, Tennessee, on 8 June 1939, signing the return "James Burton Coffman, M.G." S28

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Not found

Manhattan, stated exactly. He did not found the congregation: it began in 1920 and had met since 1941 in a brownstone at 48 East 80th Street. He became its minister in 1954, appointed elders in May 1955 (it had had none since 1935), launched the building fund the same year, saw the mortgage burned in October 1960, and the new building at East 80th and Madison

the first purpose-built Church of Christ in New York County — was first used 19 May 1968 and dedicated 30 June 1968 S115S111

Photos & documents 10 photos · 14 documents

Photos (10)

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Open photo

Documents (14)

Documents · 14 page images all documents

Retrieved from the UNT Libraries' Portal to Texas History, or — for the University of Texas Cactus yearbooks — from Texas ScholarWorks. Each thumbnail opens the full page scan, which can also be downloaded. The quoted text is the OCR that ships with the scan, copied verbatim; the page image is the authority.

Open full page

Ancestry member media — shared on Ancestry by Notrees302 — page bfc47db0

Birth certificate ·

View full page Download image

Open full page

1910 U.S. census, Justice Precinct 3, Taylor County, Texas — Coffman household

Document · 19 April 1910

View full page Download image

Open full page

1930 U.S. census, Abilene, Taylor County, Texas — Burton Coffman rooming with three brothers

Document · 1930

View full page Download image

Open full page

The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.) — page 7

Newspaper · 14 June 1939 · page 7 of 12

… y simply “Thank you." 5. A meal served at a fixed price. Best "What Would You DO" solu- tion—(c). ACC Graduate and Tennessee Girl Marry in Gallatin Announcement has been made here of the marriage June 8 of Louise Timberman of Gallatin, Sartor, Sally Joe Holbrook, Alvin McAdoo, Grace Edwards, Mary Lou Tenn , and Robert Coffman of Hou- ston, son of Mr and Mrs R C. Coff- man, route 2, Abilene, and a gradu- ate of Abilene Christian college. Mrs Albert Timberman of Abilene, aunt of the bride was in Gallatin to attend the… …" 5. A meal served at a fixed price. Best "What Would You DO" solu- tion—(c). ACC Graduate and Tennessee Girl Marry in Gall …

Probable because given name matched “Burton” or “James Burton” in the page text; Pasadena / school-district context; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Open full page

1940 U.S. census, Houston, Harris County, Texas — Burton and Thelma Coffman

Document · 1940

View full page Download image

Open full page

1950 U.S. census, Houston, Harris County, Texas — Burton Coffman

Document · 1950

View full page Download image

Open full page

The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.) — page 38

Newspaper · 29 July 1951 · page 38 of 52

…A THE ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS o-U Abilene, Texas, Sunday Morning, July 29, 1951 REPORTED AT LUNCHEON American-Russian Relations to Dominate History of Century farmer and poultry breeder at Given Farewell Party Dudley, preaches once a month at the Dudley Church. Horace Glenn BALLINGER, July 28. IRNSI— Coffman ia assistant minister and Mrs Curtia Bryan, who is mov- song director of the Broadway Church of Christ, Lubbock Mrs. - mint by mem. Hayden R. Nesmith (Frances) gelo, was complimented by mem teaches in the Home Economics bers of Know our Neighbors Club Deportment of the Lubbock at a handerchief show… …back to school! A …

Probable because given name matched “Burton” or “James Burton” in the page text; Pasadena / school-district context; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Open full page

Annual Report of the Boy Scouts of America: 1957 — page 271

Newspaper · 12 March 1958 · page 271 of 307

…ne. C. Emerson Klees, Emporium. 500. Pioneer Trails Council: E. J. Halberg, Kittanning. I. Max. Jaffe, Butler. J. A. Kirkpatrick, Zelienople. Edward J. Steiner, Kittanning. 501. Mid-Valley Council: Fred F. Gilbert, Jermyn. Rev. Walter P. Shymansky, Olyphant. 504. Columbia-Montour Council: Robert W. Coffman, Bloomsburg. Paul C. Webb, Bloomsburg. 507. Valley Forge Council: Fritz Ahlfeld, Norristown. Harry R. Back, Wyncote. A. Morse Baker, Bryn Mawr. Arthur W. Binns, Swarthmore. Charles A. Bott, Meadowbrook. Richard G. Burton, Aldan. George Howard Carey, Wyndmoor. John Curtin, Jr., Lansdale. Newlin F. D…

Probable because given name matched “Burton” or “James Burton” in the page text; no place or role corroboration on the page.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Open full page

Annual Report of the Boy Scouts of America: 1959 — page 265

Newspaper · 24 March 1960 · page 265 of 304

…l: E. O'Neill Kane, Jr., Kane. C. Emerson Klees, Einporium. HaImhilin Redfield, Bradford. 500. Pioneer Trails Council: I. Max Jaffe, Butler. E. J. Steiner, Kittanning. 501. Mid-Valley Council: Frank W. Kinosky. Jessup. Rev. Walter P. Shymansky, Oly- phiant. 504. Coluinbia-Montour Council: Robert W. Coffman, Berwick. Paul C. Webb, Bloomsburg. 507. Valley Forge Council: Harry R. Back, Wyncote. A. Morse Baker, Bryn Mawr. Charles A. Bott, Meadowbrook. Richard G. Burton, Aldan. Geo. Howard Carey, Wyndmoor. Paul J. Cupp, Bryn Mawr. John Curtin, Jr., Lansdale. Nowlin F. Davis, Haverford. Jack Doering, Meado…

Probable because given name matched “Burton” or “James Burton” in the page text; no place or role corroboration on the page.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Open full page

The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.) — page 34

Newspaper · 19 April 1962 · page 34 of 46

…--------------------------------------------- WARRANTY DEEDS Certified Home & Development Co. Inc to Mrs Bennie He ndrix. $1,595 & execu tion of a note for $947 50: Lts. 4 & 5, Bik By BOB BUNDY I While $750,000 is required to Reporter-News Staff Writer complete the building, the church James Burton Coffman, born is going to borrow $250,000, leav- three miles south of Potosi May ing $500,000 to be raised, Coffman 24, 1905, the son of Mr. and Mrs. said. J. D. Coffman of Rt. 2. Abilene, Auditorium is the guiding force behind the Church facilities in the building E construction of the first new will incl… …nie He ndrix. $1, …

Probable because given name matched “Burton” or “James Burton” in the page text; Pasadena / school-district context; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Open full page

The Abilene Reporter-News (Abilene, Tex.) — page 36

Newspaper · 23 December 1972 · page 36 of 36

…ry of Abilene: a Church. 21,1954, in Maryland. Temple Baptist Church, sister, Mrs. Gervis (Joy) Gal- Father Bernard Gully of St They came to Big Spring in James Corman Officiating will be the Rev. breath of Abilene; two grand- Francis Church of Abilene will 1956. A veteran of World War 'James David Coffman 91 H.B. Terry, pastor of Temple children, officiate. Burial will be at 3 II, he served in the U.S. Route , retired stock farm’ Baptist Church, assisted by Pallbearers will be Bob Se- p.m. Sunday in the Mitchell Army. er, died at’ 3 45 p.m. Friday in the Rev. Oscar Fanning, pas bolt, B E' (Rusty) Jo… …am, Bruce flush a …

Probable because given name matched “Burton” or “James Burton” in the page text; Pasadena / school-district context; identified by given name only, which this page grades Probable.

View full page Download image Original at texashistory.unt.edu ↗

Open full page

James Burton Coffman Commentaries — Matthew (vol. 1), ACU Press, cover

Book · 1974

View full page Download image

Open full page

James Burton Coffman Commentaries — Acts, ACU Press, cover

Book · 1974

View full page Download image

Open full page

James Burton Coffman — obituary, Houston Chronicle, 2 July 2006

Newspaper · 2 July 2006

View full page Download image

Quoted text is the Portal's own OCR of this page, copied verbatim. OCR of 1960s newsprint drops punctuation and mis-reads letters; read the page image before treating any wording as exact.

In the record Generation 3 — Earl's grandparents and their siblings

1. S16FindAGrave memorial 53116850, Lydia Mae Bowles Coffman (1883–1972), Dudley Cemetery — includes the transcribed obituary naming son Robert Coffman — findagrave.com/memorial/53116850.
2. S28Marriage bond, licence and return, Sumner County, Tennessee, p. 492 — Robert Wm Coffman and Louise Martin Timberman; bond 6 June 1939; solemnised 8 June 1939 by James Burton Coffman, M.G.; clerk's office, Gallatin. Tennessee, County Marriages, 1790–1950; FamilySearch ark:/61903/1:1:QKH3-85GH (bride), …QKH3-85G4 (groom). Page image read directly and zoomed to 5×. ⚠️ On three passes the bride's surname read "Tuckerman" to this researcher where the indexers read "Timberman" — see her card; the disagreement is recorded, not hidden, and the name does not rest on this hand.
3. S108Dee Coffman family photograph, circa 1924 — names supplied by Virginia "Ginger" Coffman. A copy of the group photograph already published here, with names typed onto fourteen of the faces and captioned in the image itself “Dee Coffman Family / Circa 1924.” Compiled by Virginia "Ginger" Coffman (Earl's aunt, daughter of Robert William Coffman) and relayed by Earl on 18 September 2026. The labelled image is on this page. Names given: James Burton Coffman, Robert William Coffman, Sue, Lucy, Lydia Mae, Lee Coffman, James David Coffman, Dee Coffman, Mollie Wright Coffman, Lydia Francis Coffman, Ila Belle Coffman, Horace Glenn Coffman, David Coffman, Jesse Coffman. FAMILY TESTIMONY, and graded as such. A relative naming relatives she knew is good provenance; it is not a record, and no document here names a face. This is an addition, not a correction — the photograph's attribution to Dee and Mollie Coffman's family was never in question, and is unchanged. Its weight is that it answers a question this page had been carrying since 16 September: which figures are Dee and Mollie. Ten of the fourteen names are new; four agree with the identifications Earl's uncle David Coffman gave two days earlier. Mary Jane "Mollie" Wright has no other photograph anywhere in this record, so the detail on her card is cut from this frame and labelled as a detail. ⚠️ Her circa 1924 is the family's attribution and sits inside this page's earlier 1923–1930 estimate; the photograph still carries no date of its own.
4. S109James Burton Coffman — Find a Grave memorial 14852608. Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, Houston, Harris County, Texas; born 24 May 1905, died 30 June 2006; section Lakeview Gardens 27. Links parents James David "Jim" Coffman (53116702) and Lydia Mae Coffman (53116850) and sibling Robert William Coffman (36374281). Photographs of the headstone, the section marker and two portraits; the Houston Chronicle obituary transcribed on the page. Retrieved 19 September 2026; page capture in the Documents fold. The family links are contributor-made, but they agree with S16 and with the 1910 census (S118).
5. S110Obituary, Houston Chronicle, 2 July 2006 — "James Burton Coffman", transcribed on Find a Grave memorial 14852608 and on Legacy.com (id 26837188). Born Taylor County 24 May 1905; baptised 1923; ACC 1927; Wichita Falls 1930; Houston, Washington, Harding, Manhattan ("more than $1 million" raised); three honorary doctorates; retired 1971; commentaries; died 30 June 2006. "Preceded in death by his wife of 64 plus years, Thelma (Sissy) Bradford, his parents, three brothers, and a sister" — by June 2006 Robert (d. 1990), Jesse (d. 1992) and David (d. 2005) were dead and Lydia Frances (d. 1993) was the sister: the count fits Earl's line exactly. The 1931 marriage year is inferred from "64 plus years" and is graded PROBABLE.
6. S111Abilene Christian University news release, "Burton Coffman dies at 101" — his death on 30 June 2006, announced 3 July 2006 — acu.edu/events/news/archives2006/060703_coffman.html, read via the Wayback Machine (capture 29 May 2010). The fullest account: baptism 1923, B.A. 1927 in history and music, the school posts, the congregations in order, the Japan–Korea chaplaincy, Harding College vice-presidency, the honorary doctorates (ACU, Pepperdine, Magic Valley Christian College), Outstanding Alumnus 1971, Christian Service Award 1987 with Thelma, the Coffman Chair, the survivors by name: June Bristow Coffman; daughters Cynthia Shry, Mary Glenn Kochendefer, Nancy Willis; eight grandchildren; six great-grandchildren. Gives the alumnus award as 1971 where the Chronicle obituary says 1972; recorded, not adjudicated.
7. S112"Biography of James B. Coffman", ACU Coffman Commentaries site — acu.edu/sponsored/coffman/Biography_of_James_B.html, read via the Wayback Machine (capture 22 December 2015). Baptism, education, the Wichita Falls start, the honorary doctorates, and the portrait ACU used for him, captured here. Institutional biography by his alma mater and publisher; agrees with S111 at every point checked.
8. S113"James Burton Coffman Papers, 1901–1990", finding aid, ACU Center for Restoration Studies MS #44 — digitalcommons.acu.edu/findingaids/343. Biographical note gives Abilene High School, ACC B.A. 1927, the 1930 Wichita Falls post, the 37-volume commentary, and lists his five-part unpublished memoirs (1990). Archival description of his own papers; the memoirs themselves have not been read for this record.
9. S114Christian Chronicle, "Minister Burton Coffman dies at 101" — his death on 30 June 2006, reported 1 August 2006 — christianchronicle.org/minister-burton-coffman-dies-at-101/. Death at Houston aged 101; the West University church sermon at 100; the commentaries. Independent of ACU; a church newspaper, and the one obituary of the three not written by an institution he belonged to.
10. S115Manhattan Church of Christ, "History" — manhattanchurch.org/mcoc-history, read 19 September 2026. Congregation founded July 1920; 48 East 80th Street bought 1941; minister roll "Burton Coffman 1954–1971"; elders appointed May 1955 (none since 1935); building fund 1955; mortgage burned October 1960; new building first used 19 May 1968, dedicated 30 June 1968. The congregation's own account, and the reason this record says he led the Manhattan church rather than started it: the church is thirty-four years older than his ministry there.
11. S116Thelma "Sissy" Bradford Coffman — Find a Grave memorial 36374105, and the shared COFFMAN headstone, Forest Park Lawndale, Houston. Stone reads: Thelma Bradford, Dec. 31, 1906 – Nov. 30, 1995; James Burton, May 24, 1905 – June 30, 2006. Photograph in the Documents fold. A 2002 Christian Chronicle column dates her memorial to 1994; the stone says 1995 and governs.
12. S117June Annette Easley Bristow Coffman — Find a Grave memorial 186641270. 1922–2010; widow of John Wiley Bristow; second wife of James Burton Coffman. Establishes who she was; the date of the marriage is not on the memorial and remains UNVERIFIED.
13. S1181910 US Federal Census — Justice Precinct 3, Taylor County, Texas, ED 269, sheet 3A, enumerated 19 April 1910, household 48: Jas D Coffman, 28, head, b. Texas; Lydia, 26, wife, b. Arkansas; James B, 4, son; Robt W, 3, son; David E, 0, son. NARA T624; Ancestry collection 7884, record 123378181, image 4454817_00356. Page image captured 19 September 2026 from Earl's own signed-in session. The earliest document with both brothers in it.
14. S1191930 US Federal Census — Abilene, Taylor County, Texas: household of F D Atchley, 44, and Maude, 43; roomers Burton Coffman, 24, David Coffman, 20, Jesse Coffman, 17, Horace Coffman, 14. NARA T626; Ancestry collection 6224, record 60827529. Page image captured 19 September 2026. Unmarried, the year his ministry began at Wichita Falls; the four brothers rooming together in the college town.
15. S1201940 US Federal Census — Houston, Ward 4, Justice Precinct 1, Harris County, Texas, ED 258-165, sheet 14B, 23 April 1940, line 55: Burton Coffman, head, 34, b. Texas, occupation "Minister, Church"; Thelma, wife, 32, b. Texas. NARA T627; Ancestry collection 2442, record 159837200. Page image captured 19 September 2026. His Central Church of Christ years.
16. S1211950 US Federal Census — Houston, Harris County, Texas, ED 263-343, sheet 8, 25 April 1950, line 27: Burton Coffman, head, 44, b. Texas, occupation "Pastor, Church"; Thelma, wife, 43, b. Texas; two roomers. Ancestry collection 62308, record 187606928. Page image captured 19 September 2026. Read from the page, not the index.
17. S383The Flashlight, Abilene High School yearbook, 1921, p. 48. Ancestry record 201670304. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed The Sophomore Class roll, with “Coffman, Burton”. A sophomore in 1920–21, so of the class of about 1923. No portrait on the page.
18. S487Texas, U.S., Death Certificates — Hayden R. Nesmith, Lubbock, 1980 (no. 89259). Ancestry record 727183. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Hayden R. Nesmith, died 18 October 1980 at Lubbock, aged 66; a Second World War veteran; agent for the Santa Fe Railway, and an author and poet; wife Frances (née Coffman), informant; buried Resthaven Memorial Park, 20 October. The image carries a Social Security number; it is not transcribed here and the image is not reproduced.
19. S488U.S., World War II Draft Registration Cards — Hayden Ralph Nesmith, Taylor County, Texas. Ancestry record 20207423. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Hayden Ralph Nesmith, born 15 April 1914, Taylor County, Texas, farmer, Route 2, Abilene; contact his mother, Mrs. Maud Marian Nesmith.
20. S1143The Prickly Pear, yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1929, p. 50 — Sophomores. Ancestry record 200345283. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24 September 2026. Confirmed “DAVID COFFMAN, Abilene”, first entry in the left column, with his portrait. The page gives no middle name or age. He is taken to be David Emily Coffman, born 1909, because the 1930 census has David Coffman, 20, rooming in Abilene with his brothers Burton, Jesse and Horace, and no second David Coffman is in these volumes.
21. S1144The Prickly Pear, yearbook of Abilene Christian College, 1929, p. 132 — the A.C.C. Glee Club. Ancestry record 200346098. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 24 September 2026. Confirmed “DAVID COFFMAN” on the member roster; Caskey Livingston, president; Ernest Wright, secretary; director Miss Myrtle Dunn. The thirty portraits are not labelled, so which one is David cannot be told from the page.