Michael J. Coffey
American politician (1839–1907)
Michael J. Coffey (c. 1840 – March 23, 1907) was an American politician from New York who served in the American Civil War and was an influential Democrat in New York City in the latter half of the 19th century.
Early life
His family immigrated to the United States from Ireland when Michael was five, and they settled in Brooklyn. When he was older he worked as a ship carpenter and worked with Ned Harrigan, who would become an actor.
Civil War
When the American Civil War broke out Michael joined the navy on the Monticello gunboat. Daniel Braine, who was in command, said that "He was one of the most courageous man he had ever met." He served on the boat until the end of the war.
Political career
Coffey became involved in Brooklyn politics. He lived in Red Hook. In 1867 Coffey was elected to The Brooklyn Board of Alderman. He served on the board until 1874 to serve in the New York State Assembly.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6831382. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1840, 1907, 1867 and 1874.
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This entry incorporates text from “Michael J. Coffey” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.