Rich Coffey

COFFEY, RICHARD (18231897). Richard (Uncle Rich) Coffey, pioneer rancher, Indian fighter, and teamster in the lower Concho River valley, was born in Georgia on February 14, 1823. He married Sarah Greathouse (Aunt Sallie) of Decatur County, Georgia, on October 5, 1849; the couple had six children. Coffey moved his family to Parker County, Texas, in 1855. While residing there he served in the Texas Rangers qv and assisted Capt. Lawrence Sullivan Ross in the rescue of Cynthia Ann Parker qqv on December 18, 1860. Coffey moved to Elm Creek, near the site of present Ballinger, Runnels County, in 1862. He and several of his cowboys constructed Picketville, a picket fort known as the first white settlement in Runnels County.