Portrait and Biographical Album of Fulton County,
Illinois: containing full page portraits and biographical sketches of
prominent and representative citizens of the county: together with
portraits and biographies of all the presidents of the United States,
and governors of the state; Biographical Pub. Co., Chicago, IL; 1890;
page 595–596; Transcribed by Margaret Rose Whitehurst
Horace F. Coe, M. D., a physician and surgeon of the Eclectic
school, has practiced medicine in Farmington since November 12,
1887. He is a native of New York, born in LeRoy, Genesee County,
September 8, 1830. His father, George C. Coe, was born in
Dutchess County, N. Y., and could trace his ancestry back to Colonial
times when four brothers of his ancestral family came from England, one
settling in New York, one in Connecticut, one in Pennsylvania and one
in the Carolinas. The mother of our subject was also a native of
Dutchess County, but her marriage with his father was consummated in
Genesee County. He was a butcher and a rope manufacturer.
He died in 1858 at the age of sixty-eight years, while she lived until
1874, and then departed this life at the age of seventy-four years and
four months. The following are the names of their five children –
Horace F., Malvina (who died in infancy), George W., Francis J. and
Emma.
The early life of the subject of this biography was passes in
Genesee County, N. Y., whence his parents removed to Licking County,
Ohio, when he was nine years old. From there they went to
Delaware County in the same State and thence to Champaign and later
removed to Miami. In 1845 they crossed the State line from Ohio
into Indian and settled in Logansport, where the father’s death
occurred. At the age of sixteen Dr. Coe became a chore boy for
Dr. Uriah Farquahr, a physician of Logansport, who took a liking to him
and from him he gained his first knowledge of medicine. He
subsequently studied under Dr. Fitch, of the same place, intermittently
for six years. While he was ambitious to become a physician he
did not have the means to educate himself and had to leave his studies
occasionally in order to work to make some money to defray his
expenses. Having acquired a good practical knowledge of medicine
he established himself as a practitioner at Bloomfield, Iowa, in the
spring of 1854. He did not, however, discontinue his studies but
was an attendant at lectures at Keokuk.
Dr. Cue was married at Keosauqua, Iowa, in 1855, to Miss Phoebe
E. Hinkle. She died in 1869 at the age of thirty years, leaving
two children – Emma V. and Cora S. Emma married William Timblin,
of Chicago; Cora was educated at the Deaf and Dumb Institute at
Indianapolis and has taught there for years. The Doctor’s second
marriage to his present estimable wife took place in 1870, and to them
have come seven children, whom they have named Viola, William E.,
Frank, Garfield A., Grace, Grant and one unnamed. William died at
the age of two years. Mrs. Coe’s maiden name was Harriet S.
Markey, and she is also a native of Ohio. She came to Schuyler
County with her parents. She is a woman of pleasant attributes
and is a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Our subject practiced in several places in Iowa. In 1857
he returned to Logansport, Ind., but after remaining there two years
went back to Iowa and lived there until 1860 when he traveled about
from place to place in Illinois. In 1862 he took advantage of a
fine opening for a physician at Brooklyn, in Schuyler County, and
established himself there. He was originally an Allopathist but
he became interested in the Eclectic system and in 1860 began to study
it, read constantly for two years, became thoroughly grounded in its
principles and since then has doctored according to its rules. In
1870 he removed from Brooklyn to Murphysboro, in Jackson County and was
here until 1878, where he took up his residence in Huntsville, Schuyler
County, and the ensuing ten years administered to the ailments of the
people in that locality. In 1887 he opened an office in
Farmington and has since built up quite a lucrative practice.
The Doctor took an active interest in the formation of the State
Eclectic Medical Association and met with his brother physicians for
the purpose of organization at Springfield in 1869. He is a man
of genial nature and an obliging disposition and is well liked among
his friends. In politics his views coincide with those of the
Republicans and he gives stalwart support to his party.
