William Coats was born November 22, 1790 in Sumner County, Tennessee. He was the son of Wilson Coats (ca 1760-1822) and Catherine Celia Ruyle (ca 1770-1828). He married Hannah Alexander around 1809 in Bedford County, Tennessee. He remained in Bedford County until December 18,1813 when he enlisted in the war of 1812. He served under the name of Sergeant William Coats, as an orderly Sergeant. He was in the company commanded by Captains Patton or Harris and Lieutenant Barrett, in the 28th Regiment of the U. S. Light Infantry. He served until the close of the war, April 14, 1814. William returned to Bedford County and remained there until 1817. He took his wife and two children and moved to Monroe'County, Mississippi, where he established his homestead on 160 acres of land that is located about half-way between Quincy and Wise Gap. William Coats served on the jury at the county court in Hamilton in December of 1822 and January of 1823. At this time, William became a long time friend of Stephen Cooke, Clerk of the county court. This friendship probably helped William when he was appointed Justice of the Peace of Monroe County in 1824. William then went on to become Judge of the Probate Court before 1830. Around December of 1827, William Coats' first wife, Hannah Alexander, died. it is believed that she died during the birth of her last child. Hannah is buried in the Old Center Cemetery in Monroe County. William and Hannah were the parents of seven children. Around 1828, William married a second time to Elizabeth Gideon, Born July 16, 1804. In August of 1830, after Lowndes County was separated from Monroe County and the County Seat was moved from Hamilton to Athens, William Coats became the Chief Justice of the County Court. In February of 1836 the Mississippi Legislature enacted legislation which carved several counties out of land in North Mississippi. This land had been ceded in 1832 and 1834, out of the Chickasaw tribe of Indians, by the Treaty of Pontotoc. William Coats along with James Rowland, Lewis Gideon, and David Walker was appointed Commissioners to organize and establish Ittawamba County. At this time, William and Elizabeth moved to Ittawamba County, where they stayed until the early 1860's. Around 1860, they moved to Redland, Pontotoc County, Mississippi. On December 26, 1865 William Coats Died. He was 75 years old. Elizabeth died on June 28, 1887. She was 83 years old. They are both buried at Redland Cemetery in Pontotoc County. William and Elizabeth were Parents of twelve children.
William was the Father of nineteen children in all. Most of Williams descendants live in or around Pontotoc, MS.
Most of this information was given to me by Caroline Jarvis Coats (Venice FL) (deceased).