William Coats

1708 - 1797  (88 years)

• Name	William Coats  [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
  Birth	12 Sep 1708	Polden Hill Mm, Middle Division, Somersetshire, ENG   [3, 9]
  Gender	Male
  Death	1797	Kingwood, Hunterdon, New Jersey, USA
  Person ID	I667	Ancestrees
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2026

  
  

  Father	William Coatt,   b. 6 Mar 1671, , Somersetshire, ENG d. 21 Mar 1748, Greinton, Kingsbury, Somerset, ENG (Age 77 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Mother	Deborah Powell,   b. Bef 1685, Of Greinton, Somerset, ENG d. 5 Jun 1744, Kingsbury M.M., Somerset, ENG (Age > 59 years)
  Relationship	natural
  Marriage	8 May 1702	Middle Division M.M., Somerset, ENG   [10, 11]
  Family ID	F4187	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Children have not been able to be found for this couple. Collins book theorizes that he came to the U.S. and names children, Joseph, Walter, William, Sarah, Mary and Hannah in his 1775 will written in Hunterdon Co., NJ. If so, he moved to Tinicum, Bucks Co., PA by 1786 where he died in 1795. His son Joseph was first named as his executor. Joseph was of Knowlton Twp., Sussex Co., NJ at the time. It should be noted however, that a Quaker summary sheet in Hunterdon Co. prepared by an unknown researcher, believes the William who wrote his will in Hunterdon Co., NJ is the son of Samuel and Mary Saunders Coate. To date all Coates in Hunterdon Co., NJ have been the descendants of Samuel and Mary Saunders Coate. We have no evidence that William and Deborah's son William moved to Hunterdon Co., NJ as of this date 2019. However, most persons including myself believe that Samuel and Mary's son William is the one that moved to Newberry Co., SC in 1762 to follow his brother Marmaduke there. Again we have no proof that their son William is the one that moved south to SC. Either of these theories could be true as far as the William goes who wrote his will in 1775 in Hunterdon Co., NJ. There are a few records I've found in NJ that might apply to this William. A William Coate was the bondsman in the estate of Edw. Rockhill of Amwell Twp., Hunterdon Co., NJ in 1748. A William is mentioned in the inventory of the estate of Robert Hartshorne of Burlington on Jun 27, 1752. A William Coates and Mary Marsh were administrators for David Marsh's estate of Hunterdon Co., NJ in 1770. (C-1, p.167) One of William's daughters was married to a John McFaron when his will was probated in 1795 as John was one of the administrators along with William's own son, Joseph. This William was not of the Quaker faith as he began his will with an oath: "In the Name of God, Amen." When he wrote his will in 1775, all of his children appeared to be of age. One of his daughters was married to his son-in-law, John McParson, (one of his executors) but she is not named in that context. I transcribed his will below: "In The name of God Amen the thirtyeth Day of May in the year of our Lord God Anno Domini one Thousand Seven hundred and Seventy Five I William Cotes of Kingwood in the County of Hunterdon And province of New Jersey Yeoman Being Very Sick and weak in body but of perfect mind and Memory Thanks be given unto God therefore calling to Mind the Mortallity of my Body and knowing that it is appointed for all men once to die do make and Ordain this my Last will and Testament that is to Say principally and ( ) of all I Give and Recommend my Soul into the hands of God that Gave it and for my body I Recommend it to the Earth to be Buried in a Christian Like and Decent manner at the (Decision) of my Executors Nothing Doubling but at the General (Resurrection) I Shall Receive the Same Gain by the Mighty power of God And as (leaving?) Such Worldly Estate Wherewith it hath pleased God to Bless me with in this Life I Give ( ) and ( ) of the ( ) in the following manner and form, ( ) it is my will in the first place that all my Movable Estate be Sold in a Convenient Time after my Decease Excepting two Beds and Beding by my Executors hereafter (Named) to pay my funeral Charges and Debts. Item it is my will that all my Lands that I Possess be (Sowing) two years from this date. Item it is my will that after all my Just Debts and Legeses hereafter Mentioned be paid that the Reminder of my Estate be Equally Divided Between my three well Beloved Sons Joseph Cotes and William Cotes and Walter Cotes Item it My will that if it Should Please the Lord to take any of my well Beloved Children out of this world Without Issue Then his or her Share so Deceased to be Equally Divided Amongst my Surviving Children. Item it is my will that My Executors Do pay to my well Beloved Daughter-Sarah her-heirs or Assigns the sum of thirty pounds Good and lawful money in (....) months after the Sale of the Lands Item it is my will that my Executors do pay to my well Beloved Daughter Mary the Sum of Twenty pounds Good And Lawful Money in twelve months after the Sales of My Lands Item it is my will that my Executers do pay to my well Beloved Daughter Hannah Her Heirs or Assigns the Sum of Thirty pounds Good and Lawful money in Eighteen Months After the Sale of my Lands Item it is my will that my Executors Do Deliver to my Daughter Mary one Bed and Beding Immediately After my Decease Item it is will that my Executors Do Deliver to my Daughter Hannah one Bed and Beding Immediately after My Decease Item it is my will that my Wearing Apperal at my Decease be Equally Divided Among my three Well Beloved Sons Viz: Joseph William and Walter And I do Hereby Appoint my well Beloved Son Joseph Cotes and My Beloved Son in Law John McParson Sole Executors of this my Last will and testament hereby Revoking Defannuling and Making Void all former wills Bequeathed by me made and Declaring this and no other to be my last will and testament In Witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Aff(idavid) my Seal this thirtyeth Day of May Anno Domini one thousand Seven hundred and Twenty Five Signed Sealed ( ) Pronounced and Declared by the Said William Cotes as his last will and testament in the Presence of us the (Subscribers) (Signed Marten Cogart, Levi Hatcham (or Katcham), John Vankirk and William Coats" From this will we can ascertain that all of his children appeared to be of age and he appeared to be elderly. He mentions no wife. With six children being born an average of two years apart and all being of age (the girls living elsewhere where beds would have to be delivered), would make his oldest child be at least 33 years of age and born 1742 or earlier. An added note in the index to the will says that he was "of Tinicum, Bucks Co." when his will was filed 22 years later in 1797. He was in the tax records for Tinacum starting in 1787.

  
  

• Sources

  [S260] Transcribed Somerset England Birth and Marriage Records (C-1519c). [S258] Ernest S. Park, Ancestors & Descendants of Marmaduke Coate of South Carolina and Ohio (unpub, c1950, 1960). [S448] Ancestry.com, England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2013 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), 1,7097::0. [S449] Ancestry.com, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Tax Records, 1782-1860, (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Date:2012 Place:Provo, UT, USA;), The Bucks County Historical Society; Doylestown, Pennsylvania; Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Tax Records, 1782-1860; Collection: Title No. 102; Roll Number: 22, 1,2188::0. [S450] Coate, William, Will written in 1775. [S225] FreeReg (https://www.freereg.org.uk). [S197] Coats, Gary W., Descendants of Marmaduke Coate Database. [S50] Collins, Emma Odesa, Coate, Coates, Coats Family History and Genealogy (Lovington, New Mexico: Desert Plains Stationers, c1989). [S259] Bristol & Somerset Quarterly Meeting, Digest Register of Births, 1644-18337. [S1704] Bristol and Somerset Quarterly Meeting Marriages. [S261] England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837 (www.ancestry.com).