OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. 



671 



Coates, Reynall, an American scientist, born in 

 Philadelphia, Pa., in 1802 ; died in Caraden, 

 N. J., April 27, 1886. His parents were 

 Quakers, and his father was widely known for 

 his practical philanthropy, and his mother 

 was an elder in the Society of Friends. He 

 developed a remarkable proficiency in mathe- 

 matics at an early age ; took a course of in- 

 struction in medicine and surgery at the Penn- 

 sylvania Hospital, and became resident physi- 

 cian of that institution. In 1825 he was ap- 

 pointed Professor of Natural Science in Alle- 

 ghany College. After making a trip to India, 

 where he prosecuted entomological research, 

 he went on a long cruise as a surgeon in the 

 navy, and collected material for a bulky vol- 

 ume. In December, 1835, he joined the scien- 

 entific corps of the South-Sea Expedition, and 

 was placed at the head of the department of 

 comparative anatomy; but on the failure of 

 the first expedition he left the service. He 

 drew up the address of the Native American 

 party in 1854, and took an active part in the 

 political canvass of the day. He was formerly 

 widely known as the author of " Leaflets from 

 Memory," which he called a book of prose-po- 

 etry, and of the poems kk The Gambler's Wife " 

 and "Christian Charity." Latterly he grew 

 very eccentric, and was frequently seen with 

 hundreds of entomological specimens impaled 

 on all parts of his clothing. Many of his 

 contributions to scientific literature were trans- 

 lated into the French, German, Spanish, and 

 Italian languages. 



Coffin, Robert Barry, an American author, born 

 in Hudson, N. Y., July 31, 1826 ; died in Ford- 

 ham, New York city, June 10, 1886. He was 

 a great-grandson of Alexander Coffin, one of 

 the original proprietors of Hudson, whose 

 great-grandfather, Tristram, the first of the 

 name in this country, emigrated from England 

 in 1605. When very young, Robert began to 

 spend his savings for books, and, at the age of 

 ten, owned a small library. His father died 

 in 1837, and he was then placed in a boarding- 

 school in Richmond, Mass., afterward entering 

 the Poughkeepsie Collegiate School, where he 

 was graduated in 1841. He then studied un- 

 der private tutors in Hudson, learning also the 

 art of steel engraving, and beginning to con- 

 tribute anonymously to the press. In 1845-'49 

 he was book-keeper in a New York importing 

 house, and found time at odd moments to 

 write a series of humorous " Letters from 

 Home " to a Hudson journal, over the signa- 

 ture of " Barry Gray," by which name he aft- 

 erward became well known. In 1849 he also 

 began to write for the " Home Journal/' A 

 severe illness forced him to resign his place, 

 and in 1852 he opened a book-store with his 

 brother in Elmira, N. Y., still contributing to 

 the New York press. In 1854 he turned his at- 

 tention to theology and wrote for the " Church- 

 man " and other religious papers, intending to 

 take orders in the Episcopal Church. He re- 

 turned to New York in 1857, and in 1858-'62 



was T. B. Aldrich's successor as assistant edi- 

 tor of the " Home Journal," at the same time 

 writing art criticisms for the "Evening Post," 

 many of which afterward appeared in Tucker- 

 man's "Book of the Artists." In 1863-'69 

 and again from 1875 till shortly before his 

 death, Mr. Coffin was a clerk in the auditor's 

 department of the New York Custorn-House. 

 He edited the "Table," a monthly publica- 

 tion devoted to gastronomy, in 1873, and in 

 1882-'86 contributed regularly on the same 

 subject to the " Caterer," published in Phila- 

 delphia. In 1881 he delivered a poem at the 

 reunion of the Coffin family in Nantucket. 

 One of his last pieces was " A Glimpse of Hen- 

 ry Clay, and the Clay Banquets," published in 

 the New York " Tribune" for May 30, 1886. 

 "Barry Gray's" industry was untiring. He 

 had a deep love of nature, and social qualities 

 that endeared him to all who knew him. His 

 books are mostly collections of his humorous 

 pieces written over the signature of "Barry 

 .Gray." They include "My Married Life at 

 Hillside," sketches written at his " Hillside 

 Farm," in 1857-'58.(New York, 1865); "Mat- 

 rimonial Infelicities " (1865) ; " Out of Town ; 

 a Rural Episode " (1866) ; " Cakes and Ale 

 at Woodbine " (1868) ; " Castles in the Air " 

 (1871) ; and " The Home of Cooper and 

 Haunts of Leatherstocking " (1872). He left a 

 completed book in manuscript. 



Cooke, John Esten, an American author, born 

 in Winchester, Va., Nov. 3, 1830; died in his 

 home, " The Briars," near Boyce, Clarke Coun- 

 ty, Va., Sept. 27, 1886. His father, John Rog- 

 ers Cooke, was a distinguished lawyer of Vir- 

 ginia, and he was a great-grandson of Gov. 

 John Esten, of Bermuda, where his grand- 

 father had been taken as a prisoner during the 

 Revolution. John Esten Cooke passed his early 

 years at " Glengary," his father's country seat 

 at Frederick. He left school at the age of six- 

 teen and studied law with his father, but after 

 practicing about four years, abandoned law 

 for literature. At the beginning of the civil 

 war he entered the Confederate army and 

 served successively in the artillery and cavalry 

 from 1861 till 1864, being on the staff of Gen. 

 J. E. B. Stuart, who had married a cousin of 

 Mr. Cooke. Another cousin, Gen. John R. 

 Cooke, also fought on the side of the South ; 

 but his father, Gen. Philip St. George Cooke, 

 uncle to John Esten, was a distinguished of- 

 ficer in the national army. At Appomattox 

 John Esten Cooke was inspector-general of 

 horse artillery in the Confederate army. Mr. 

 Cooke was a voluminous writer. Of late years 

 he did not write as much as formerly, but gave 

 his attention to the education of his three chil- 

 dren and the enjoyment of his country place, 

 " The Briars," beautifully situated in the grass- 

 lands of the Shenandoah Valley. Most of his 

 works are descriptive of Virginia life, and 

 many deal with the manners and customs of 

 long ago. His war-books are records of per- 

 sonal observation and opinion. His works pub- 



