John Coalter

John Coalter (1769-1838), was born in 1769 to parents Michael Coalter and Elizabeth Moore. After brief schooling, he became a tutor and attended lectures at College of William and Mary under Bishop James Madison and George Wythe. He also studied law under St. George Tucker, receiving his law license in 1790. He was a lawyer and clerk of the court in Staunton, Virginia, and was appointed judge of the Circuit Court and Virginia General Court. Coalter moved to Richmond in 1811 when he was appointed judge of the Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals. Coalter was married four times. His first wife was Maria Rind (d. 1792), the orphaned daughter of Williamsburg printers William and Clementina Rind, who served as governess to the Tucker family. His second wife was Margaret Davenport (d. 1795), who died in childbirth. His third wife was Ann Frances Bland Tucker, the daughter of Frances Bland Randolph Tucker and St. George Tucker. Together they had three children: Frances Lelia Coalter (1803-1822), Elizabeth Tucker Coalter Bryan (1805-1853), and St. George Tucker Coalter (1809- 1839). His married his fourth wife, Hannah Williamson, in 1822, nine years after the death of Ann. In his latter years he enjoyed wide holdings and interests, including a lively concern with gold mining in Virginia. He died at Chatham in Stafford County, Virginia, in 1838.

Material in the Special Collections Research Center

• Brown, Coalter, Tucker Papers (I), 1790-1929, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.
• Brown, Coalter, Tucker Papers (II), 1791-1920, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.
• Tucker-Coleman Papers Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, William & Mary.

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