There is an old saying among collectors and horsemen that the leather on a fine Western saddle remembers the hands that shaped it. As a long-time trader of Old West antiques—having bought, sold, and collected everything from original Visalia tree saddles to classic Miles City and Furstnow gear over thirty years—I’ve always felt a quiet connection to those early leather craftsmen.
So, you can imagine my delight during a recent trail through our family genealogy when a name jumped off the census rolls and land records: Coggeshall.
It turns out our family bloodline stretches from the quiet silk mills of 17th-century England, through the rebellious founding of Rhode Island, straight into the bustling leather shops of Miles City, Montana, where our kin helped craft the most legendary cowboy saddles in Western history.
Part I: The Puritan Dissident (1599–1647)
Our 10th great-grandfather, John Coggeshall Sr. (1599–1647), was born into comfort as a prosperous silk merchant in Halstead, Essex, England. But driven by deep religious convictions, he packed his trade and family onto a ship for the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1632.
[JOHN COGGESHALL SR.'S JOURNEY]
Halstead, Essex ───► Boston, Mass. ───► Portsmouth, RI ───► Newport, RI
(Silk Merchant) (Colonial Deputy) (Signer, 1638) (1st President, 1647)
John was no bystander to history. When the colonial government put dissident preacher Anne Hutchinson on trial for her heresy in 1637, Coggeshall was one of just three deputies with the grit to vote for her acquittal. The Boston magistrates didn't take kindly to defiance—they banished him.
Refusing to be silenced, John Coggeshall helped draft and sign the Portsmouth Compact in March 1638, establishing a government based purely on the consent of its citizens. He went on to help found the town of Newport and, in 1847, was elected the very first President of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Though his tenure was cut short by his death that same year, the laws he championed established a sanctuary of religious freedom that eventually helped shape the United States Constitution.
Part II: The Trail to Custer County, Montana
As the generations rolled on, the Coggeshall bloodline branched out from coastal Rhode Island, pushing westward alongside the American frontier. While our direct line passed through the Braman, Pierce, and Bailey families, a parallel branch produced our 5th cousin 5x removed: Charles Etheridge Coggshall (1869–1913).
[THE DUAL LINEAGE]
Joshua Coggeshall (1623–1689)
│
┌───────────────┴─────────────────────┐
▼ ▼
Mary Coggeshall (1662) John Coggeshall (1659)
(Ancestor line down through (Branch line down through
Braman, Pierce, & Bailey) the Coggshall line)
│ │
▼ ▼
Lillian Amanda Pierce Charles E. Coggshall
(Great-Grandmother) (Miles City Saddle Maker)
Born in Wisconsin in 1869, Charlie Coggshall went west as a young man, running cattle alongside his father on the wide-open ranges of Eastern Montana. Charlie wasn't a bench saddlemaker himself, but years in the saddle gave him something even more valuable: an absolute, uncompromising understanding of what a working cowboy needed between himself and a half-wild horse.
Part III: The Miles City Saddlery Empire
In December 1894, a young craftsman named Al Furstnow opened a tiny saddle shop in Miles City, Montana, with himself as the sole worker. Needing capital and a sharp business partner, Furstnow teamed up with Charlie Coggshall in December 1896.
[THE MILES CITY SADDLE RIVALRY & EXPANSION]
1894: Furstnow Saddle Shop Opens (Miles City, MT)
│
1896: Charlie Coggshall Buys Half-Interest
│
1899: Partnership Splits ──► Friendly Rivalry Begins
│
1909: Coggshall Shop Becomes Miles City Saddlery Co.
Together, Furstnow and Coggshall built an empire. They combined Eastern assembly-line efficiency with custom, hand-tooled Western craftsmanship. Under Charlie Coggshall’s eagle eye as a strict taskmaster, his shop perfected game-changing innovations:
- The Montana Saddle Tree: Engineered specifically to withstand the brutal strain of roping thick-necked range cattle.
- The Swell Fork & Flat-Plate Rigging: Design improvements that gave working cowboys unprecedented seat stability and horse comfort.
Though Furstnow and Coggshall split in 1899 to form separate shops, their friendly rivalry turned Miles City into the saddle-making capital of the West. At their peak, their benchmen were turning out thousands of saddles a year, supplying working cowboys, teamsters, and ranchers from Canada down to Texas. In 1909, Coggshall’s shop evolved into the famous Miles City Saddlery Co., a name revered by horsemen and collectors to this day.
Lineage at a Glance
Direct Lineage (10th Great-Grandfather) | Collateral Branch (Saddler Line) |
John Coggeshall Sr. (1599–1647) • 10th Great-Granddad | John Coggeshall Sr. (1599–1647) |
Joshua Coggeshall (1623–1689) | Joshua Coggeshall (1623–1689) |
Mary Coggeshall (1662–1699) | John Coggeshall (1659–1727) |
Mary Bull (1693–1741) | Benjamin Coggeshall (1712–1781) |
Content Mumford (1725–1790) | Dunlap Coggeshall (1747–1808) |
William Braman (1753–1804) | Frederick Coggeshall (1795–1863) |
Waterman F. Brayman (1786–1865) | Eri Coggeshall (1830–1901) |
Elvira W. Brayman (1822–1909) | Charles E. Coggshall (1869–1913) • 5th Cousin 5x Removed |
Marcus M. Pierce (1842–1882) | Master Saddlery Partner, Miles City, MT |
Lillian Amanda Pierce (1867–1957) • Great-Grandmother |
A Drifting Cowboy Reflection
Looking back over the long trail of history, it’s amazing how the threads of character hold true across centuries. The same independent spirit that drove President John Coggeshall to stand up to the authorities in Boston for freedom of conscience was alive and well two centuries later in Charlie Coggshall, setting a new standard for quality on the Montana frontier.
Whether crafting law in colonial Rhode Island or perfecting the swell-fork saddle in Miles City, the Coggeshall name left a deep stamp on the American West—and on the backtrail of this Drifting Cowboy.
Thank you Gemini AI for your wisdom and research assistance. -- Drifting Cowboy
