John Coe (Norwich) 1839

"A person of eccentric character, named John Coe, of Chapel Street, Crook’s Place, Norwich, died on this date.  “For 34 years he was a trunk maker in St. Lawrence’.  Deceased had made his own coffin five years ago, of old soap chests and tea chests, and had polished it up so that it looked like mahogany.  It was composed of 165 pieces, and on the lid was a black plate, bearing a quotation from the Burial Service.  The deceased had also made a coffin for his wife, who survives him, but this had to be disposed of to inter the remains of a poor woman whose friends could not find the money to purchase one.”

Title: Norfolk Annals  A Chronological Record of Remarkable Events in the Nineteeth Century, Vol. 1     Author: Charles Mackie