 | A history of Caroline county, Virginia |  |
THE COGHILL FAMILY
The earliest ancestors of the Coghill family had their home in
York, England, and can be traced back in a direct line to Knaresborough,
1378, on the paternal side, and to 1135, on the maternal—
the Slingsbys of Scriven Hall.
The origin of the name Coghill, says Playfair in his British
Family Antiquary, volume 7, page 226, was probably derived from
a place anciently called Cockle-Hall, now Coghill Hall, in Yorkshire;
or perhaps from the residence of one of the family on a hill
near the river Cocke, which runs through the country.
The first ancestor, according to records in the Castle of
Knaresborough, was John Coghill, or Cockhill, of "Cockhill" who
resided in the county of York in the reign of Henry IV (1378-1413).
From John Coghill, of "Cockhill" the American branch
of the family is descended. (See The Family of Coghill, by James
Henry Coghill, which was published by The Riverside Press
(Cambridge) in 1879).
The first member of the Coghill family to reside in America,
so far as the record goes, was Samuel Coghill, who under date of
February 20, 1662, was granted four hundred acres of land lying
on the north side of the Rappahannock River in Farnham Parish
in what is now Richmond county. The patent was never recorded,
which fact led the family historian above mentioned to conclude
that he failed to take possession. The name is not found again
and it is presumed that he died in the colony soon after his arrival
or else returned to England.
The progenitor of the Coghills, of Caroline, who have played
so important a part in the life of the county, was James Coghill.
He received three patents to land for the transportation of
persons to the colony, which patents and deeds are of record
in the Land Office. The first is dated March 24, 1664, and is
for 246 acres lying in Essex, that part which afterward became
Caroline, and is for the transportation of five persons. The
second patent bears date of April 17, 1667, and is for one
thousand and fifty acres lying in old Rappahannock county.
The third patent is dated April 17, 1667, and is for six hundred
acres in old Rappahannock county.
The Coghill family has given many great men to England,
among whom may be mentioned Sir John Jocelyn Coghill, Bart.
of Glen Barrahane, Castle Townsend; Marmaduke Coghill, LL. D.,
Parliament; Lieutenant Nevill J. A. Coghill; John Coghill, of
London, and Sir Thomas Coghill, Knight, of Blechingdon.
Probably no family has had a larger place in the life of Caroline
county during the past two hundred years than the family
of Coghill. Among the many members of this family now active
in the affairs of the county may be mentioned E. R. Coghill,
Clerk of the Circuit Court for many years, and one of the best
loved men who has ever lived in the county; his son, E. S. Coghill,
Deputy Clerk, and Major T. D. Coghill, brother of E. R., and
for many years Sheriff of the county and otherwise prominent
in public life. R. A. Coghill, son of Major Coghill, has long been
a prominent merchant in Bowling Green.
The Coghill arms are thus described:
Gules on a chevron; argent, three pellets, a chief, sable.
Crest:On a mount, vert, a cock, wings expanded or.
Motto:
Non dormit qui custodit.
| A history of Caroline county, Virginia | |