By Coker descendant Warren Nunn
When James Thomas Coker died in 1920, he did not leave a will. He was also insolvent.
How James Thomas Coker’s assets were disbursed.
Excerpt from James Thomas Coker documents.
His son Arthur acted on behalf of the family in dealing with the estate through the Public Curators’ Office.
After the property in Glenmore Road, North Rockhampton, was sold, as well as its contents, and claims against the estate were settled, only a few pounds remained to be disbursed to his widow and eight surviving children.
Emily Coker was estranged from James Coker. She left Rockhampton and moved to Perth in Western Australia several years earlier.
In 1890, James Coker served about four years in prison for embezzlement. The account of that incident is told here.
That may have been a factor in James and Emily parting ways.
James and Emily had 16 children, of whom 10 survived to adulthood. Two, Leonard William Thomas and James Martin, predeceased their parents.
There are more than 500 Coker descendants (not all living) many of whom still live in Rockhampton and surrounding districts.
Not all of them would be aware of shared family connections.