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FANNIE HATCH COKER
1865 - 1955
Fannie Hatch Coker was a member of the Hatch family, a historic and
pioneering family of early Texas. She was born in Calhoun County on October 18, 1865
and passed away on July 9, 1955 in San Antonio, Texas. She became a member of the
historic Texas Coker family by marrying John Harrison Coker on July 8, 1884. Her ties
to the Texas Revolution and the formation of the Texas republic by her descendants and
marriage are unmatched in the history of the Coker community and cemetery.
Fannie Hatch Coker was the mother of ten children and upon her death in 1955, she left
to her legacy 27 grandchildren, 65 great-grandchildren, and 18 great-great grandchildren. She endured many hardships during her life as a mother of ten and witnessed many events
in Texas history. Her husband, our ancestor John Harrison Coker, was a dairy farmer
like many of the Coker community passed away in the middle of the Great Depression in
1932.
Fannie Hatch Coker’s grandfather was Captain Sylvanus Hatch who is interred in the Hatch Cemetery in Calhoun County. Hatch was born into a family that had emigrated from England
to Falmouth, Massachusetts in 1632. Hatch served under General Andrew Jackson at the
Battle of New Orleans in 1812. Hatch eventually made his way to Texas in 1828 and arrived at Stephen F. Austin’s colony with his family. Hatch received a league of land on Lavaca
Bay. He was later imprisoned at La Bahia Mission while his registration papers for his
ship were taken to Mexico City for verification, and he was released after two months.
Hatch’s ship made regular trips to trade goods between his new homeland and New Orleans
and his location on the bay.
Hatch kept in touch with other Texas colonists. In 1833, James Bowie retreated to
Hatch’s home for several weeks as he attempted to overcome his grief following the death
of his young wife and children in a cholera epidemic. Both Sylvanus Hatch and Jack Coker
joined the colonists rising up against President Santa Anna’s concentration of power and
repeal of the Constitution of 1824. Following the fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1836,
Hatch was among the men General Sam Houston sent to help escort women, children and
elderly men to safety during the runaway scrape. For his service to Republic of Texas, a
centennial marker was placed on his grave at the Hatch cemetery in 1936. Hatch’s memoirs
(1827-1885) are housed at the Briscoe Center for American History on the campus of the
University of Texas.
Prepared by Dr. Tom DeKunder - February 2020
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