J. Bowen Coffman was born in Hempstead County on November 17, 1861, son of Joseph W. Coffman. His family moved to Lawrence County when he was five years old, and he attended school in Powhatan. He was appointed deputy clerk by Clay Sloan in 1887.^a He became the Lawrence County Clerk beginning in 1890, but died unexpectedly of "something like typhoid fever" in October 1891.

Source:

a: Goodspeed, p.785

Daily Arkansas Gazette. October 28, 1891. p.5.JB Coffman dies, 10-28-1891.pdf