Zeresh Puckett was born in Shelby County, Illinois on May 24, 1833, the daughter of Elihu Puckett and Rebecca Wilks.  She had an older sister Jamima and two younger brothers, Lewis and George.  Zeresh may also have had an older brother James Hughes from her mother’s first marriage.  Zeresh is a Biblical name from the Old Testament.

In 1836, Elihu and Rebecca moved the family from Illinois to Clay County, Indiana in the area served by the Coffee Post Office in Lewis Township. In 1853, Zeresh married Benjamin Coppock and they settled into farming in Lewis Township.  Zeresh helped support the family as a seamstress.  Later, Benjamin was employed as a grocer.

The couple had five children during their marriage: Jemima, Rebecca, Mary, Ida, and Thomas.  All lived long lives, reaching their seventies or beyond.   Zeresh, unfortunately, did not see her children to adulthood.  She died on February 27, 1873 at the age of thirty-nine.

Zeresh Puckett was my 3rd-great grandmother on my dad’s side

REFERENCES

• United States Census: 1850, 1860, 1870
• Find a Grave website
• History of Clay County, Indiana, Volume II, William Travis, 1909.