William King Coffin, the son of William and Mary Lockwood Coffin, was born in Jacksonville, Illinois, on August 9, 1850. His family moved to Batavia, Illinois, in 1855, where William King attended public schools. Upon graduation from Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, in 1871, Mr. Coffin was employed as a clerk at the First National Bank in Chicago. From 1873 to 1875, he served as secretary-treasurer of the Menomonie Barge Line Company, a Wisconsin firm; and from 1875 to 1882 he worked as a cashier at his father's bank, The First National Bank of Batavia, Illinois.
In the early 1880s, Mr. Coffin organized the Eau Claire National Bank of Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He served as cashier of the bank from 1882 until 1902, when he became vice-president. He became president of the bank in 1905.
During his banking career in Eau Claire, Mr. Coffin served as president of the Eau Claire Savings Bank, vice-president of the First National Bank of Fairchild, Wisconsin, and a member of the Land Mortgage Association. He was also one of the founders of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, a member of its executive council from 1894 to 1896, and president during the years 1897 and 1898.
In addition to banking, Mr. Coffin had large business interests in several lumber companies. He was president of the Eau Claire Library Board and of the State Library Association. He was a life member of the State Historical Society and served on its Board of Curators from 1916 to 1919. He was also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars, both in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
In politics, Mr. Coffin was a Republican. He served one term on the Eau Claire City Council and was on the staff of Governor Edward Scofield. He later served as a trustee of the Eau Claire County Asylum and Poor Farm and of Mount Washington Sanatorium.
In 1882, Mr. Coffin married May Gove Burroughs, the daughter of
Dr. Lester M. Burroughs. They had two daughters, Mary Elmira (Mrs. B.G. Proctor of Eau Claire) and Grace Burroughs (Mrs. F.R. Bates of Seattle, Washington). Mr. Coffin died on March 26, 1925.
Mr. Coffin's grandfather was Nathaniel Coffin, an intimate friend of William King, the first governor of Maine in 1822. His father, William Coffin, moved to Illinois as a young boy and later taught mathematics at Illinois College. In 1853 he moved to Batavia and engaged in farming and banking until 1880. William Coffin married Mary Lockwood, the daughter of Justice Samuel D. Lockwood of the Illinois Supreme Court.
