Biographical Sketches
GO. COFFIN, M. D.
No profession calls for more self-sacrificing efforts than the medical, no greater responsibility rests upon any man than upon the physician, no labors are more delicate, more arduous or require greater care than those that devolve upon him, and on his skill and ability hangs the issue of life and death. Dr. Coffin has gained a reputation as one of the most eminent members of the medical fraternity, and today is enjoying the fruits of his thorough prepartion is a large and lucrative practice. He is now serving as city physician of Kansas City, as chief of the staff of the city hospital and outdoor medical corps, and also as sanitary superintendent.
Conspicuous among the long roll of eminent names associated with the practice of medicine in Missouri is that of Dr. Coffin. He was born in Danielsville, Northampton county, Pennsylvania, August 4, 1858, and is a son of Samuel and Lavina (Seigenfoos) Coffin, also natives of the Keystone state. The father was a descendant of the Nantuckets who settled in the east in the 17th century and aided the colonies in their struggle for independence. His business was the manufacture of school slates, which he successfully carried on in Portland, Pennsylvania, for many years. He died in Colorado in 1891, but his widow is still living in that state, where they removed in 1889.
The Doctor is the eldest of a large family of children. He was reared under the parental roof, and acquired his early education in the common schools, after which he entered the Williamsburg Academy, of Mount Bethel. He began earning his livelihood as a salesman in a drugstore in Portland, Pennsylvania, where he remained for several years, and in the meantime he took up the study of medicine. He made his own way through college, and on the completion of the prescribed course was graduated at the Medical College in Philadelphia. Thinking the west furnished a better field of labor for young men, in the spring of 1879 he bade adieu to friends and home, removing to Marshall county, Kansas, where he opened an office and continued in the successful practice of his profession until 1885. He then went to Colorado, where he remained for 2 years, and in 1887 arrived in Kansas City, where he has since been located. He has now built up a large practice, which is constantly increasing.
While in Colorado, Dr. Coffin held the position of United States Pension Examiner, and in April, 1894, he was made house surgeon of the Kansas City Hospital, the appointment of Mayor Webster Davis being confirmed by the common council. On the 17th of April, 1895, he was appointed by the mayor and confirmed by the city council as city physician for a term of 2 years, and has since filled that position to the satisfaction of all concerned. The hospital is now being remodeled and the capacity doubled under his supervision. It was a master hand that took matters in charge when Dr. Coffin entered upon the duties of the office, and the reformation which he is working is one that reflects credit upon his skill and knowledge, as well as upon his medical and executive ability. The last named quality is illustrated in the wisdom of his appointments and his general efficiency. He studies men and methods as well as medicine, and thus is able to secure the best results. His resources have been carried forward until he is today one of the best informed men in the profession in the city. He belongs to the Missouri State Medical Society, and local medical societies and the Mississippi Valley Society. For 1 year he was lecturer on the subject of anatomy in the Western Dental College, also lecturer in the Kansas City Training School, and for 2 years he was demonstrator. Socially he is a member of the Knights of Pythias and other benevolent orders.
In 1882 Dr. Coffin was united in marriage with Miss Minnie A. Dean, of Frankfort, Kansas, a daughter of Colonel G. A. Dean, land commissioner of the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, also of the Fort Smith & Little Rock Railroad, his residence being in Little Rock, Arkansas. They have 2 children - Dean O. and Bertha M.
This page was last updated August 2, 2006.