Very little is recorded about Mrs. James Casey Coale or her husband outside of the one instance she was mentioned in the Club’s minutes. In the minutes her two novels, The Cottage by the Sea and Lelia the Hindoo Girl, were inducted to the library making her an honorary member on Meeting of April 9th, 1901.
My research began with her husband, Mr. James Casey Coale. I discovered his Ancestry.com page and found out he was an Insurance Agent married to an illusive “Catherine B.” Catherine B.’s Ancestry.com page had even less sources than her husband’s, making it very hard to tell if this is the woman I have been searching for. Since both James and Catherine lived in Baltimore the same time time frame as the club, I assume this was the right couple.
Mrs. Coale was born in Maryland, 1823. Mr. Coale was born in 1826, making him 3-4 years younger than his wife. Mrs. Coale gave birth to one and only child, a daughter by the name of Elizabeth Coale in 1849. Mr. Coale died April 13th, 1891.
On the census Mrs. Coale’s occupation is listed as “Keeping House” rather than “At Home” as most women have listed at the time. On the same census, three Irish immigrants are listed as “servants” in the Coale’s household. This indicates the Coale’s were most likely well-off. Because they were wealthy, it bugs me that this was the extent of information I could find on the Coale family.