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This description seems to fit the story that was passed down to you; however, I could not find children for Lillie and Benjamin. Perhaps your mother was a member of her huband, Benjamin's family.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/California/San_Francisco-755471/Things_To_Do-San_Francisco-Coit_Tower-BR-1.html
This 210 foot tower is located on Telegraph Hill, named after Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was a San Francisco eccentric that was also known to enjoy a good fire. She was adopted as a mascot of a fire fighting unit, and rarely missed a blaze. What does the tower have to do with fires? Absolutely nothing. Coit left a large sum of money to build the monument after she died, as therefore, is aptly named.
Don't miss the beautiful murals painted inside the ground floor which encircle the tower, and can be viewed for free. They were painted during the 1930's and carry strong socialist themes, which were very controversial at that time.
The views from the top of the tower is amazing, and you can get there by paying the $3.00 elevator fare. You can also chose to ignore the "tips appreciated" sign hung up by the highly unenthusiastic elevator operator as we did. Open daily from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=bfowoz&id=I1040
Am not related. Might be of interest. Have no idea what “Japanicadom” is referring to.
Vern D
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Transcribed by Dee Sardoc
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Stockton Daily Independent
Stockton, San Joaquin Co., CA
*******************************
>>FRIDAY, 19 FEB 1869<<
BY STATE TELEGRAPH, San Francisco, Feb. 18 --
-Mr.& Mrs. Howard COIT, nee Lillie HITCHCOCK, whose recent clandestine marriage created such a sensation in Japanicadom, arrived from the East last evening and were serenaded at the Occidental Hotel by the Hickerbockers, No. 5, of which fire company the lady was formerly an honorary member
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http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=bfowoz&id=I1040
ID: I1040
Name: Benjamin Howard Coit
Given Name: Benjamin Howard
Surname: Coit
Sex: M
Birth: 1838 in Buffalo, Erie, New York, USA
Death: 14 May 1885 in Colma, San Mateo, California, USA
Reference Number: Coit 1735
Ancestral File #: PP74-P2
Occupation: Colma, San Mateo, California, USA
Note: Caller at the San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange
Occupation: Chairman of the Board of Brokers 1867 Colma, San Mateo, California, USA
_VERI: YES 1
_UID: 4E3EB6482C0F4AFDBF3244A2035EC003075D
Change Date: 10 Dec 2005 at 21:46
Note: (Research):See attached sources.
_VERI: YES 1
Father: Benjamin Billings Coit b: 10 Apr 1801 in Norwich, New London, Connecticut, USA
Mother: Cornelia Adelaide Johnson b: 1818
Marriage 1 Lillie (Elizabeth Wyche) Hitchcock b: 23 Aug 1843 in West Point, Orange, New York, USA
Married: 1869 in Colma, San Mateo, California, USA
Change Date: 13 Nov 2001
Sources:
Media: Book
Abbrev: Coit genealogy
Title: The Coit Family; or the Descendants of John Coit
Author: Rev. F. W. Chapman, A. M.
Publication: (Hartford, Press of the Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co., 1874)
Text: Title: The Coit family, or, The descendants of John Coit , who appears among the settlers of Salem, Mass., in 1638, at Gloucester in 1644, and at New London, Conn. in 1650
Authors: Chapman, Frederick William
City of Publication: Hartford, Conn.
Publisher: Case, Lockwood & Brainard
Date: 1874
Page Count: 344
Reel/Fiche Number: Genealogy & local history ; G 1037
Subject Headings: Coit family.
Primary Family Name: Coit family.
Note:
Compiled at the request of Samuel Coit of Hartford, Conn.
Page: Page 298
Quality: 4
#####################
There is a portrait of her here.
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/h-coit2.html
MRS. LILLIE HITCHCOCK-COIT
A history of the old Volunteer Fire Department [1849-1866] would be wanting in completeness if it did not contain some reference to the lady whose name stands at the head of this sketch.
She is the patron saint of all pioneer firemen of the city, and if the survivors of that once sturdy brotherhood could have their most ardent wish gratified then the lot of Mrs. Hitchcock-Coit would be a supremely happy one in this life. From her earliest infancy, when as Miss Lillie Hitchcock, she romped in short frocks, she was curiously fascinated by the red shirt and warlike helmet of the firemen, and gloried in the excitement of a big blaze. As a child, still in her teens, she displayed extraordinary enthusiasm when the fire bell tolled out its alarms, and with an energy and speed that the most agile fireman might envy she hastened to the scene of the fire. She was always in the forefront on such occasions, and became such a conspicuous figure among the firemen who were battling to subdue the flames, that she became to be regarded as their mascot, and was made an honorary member of the Knickerbocker Engine Company, No. 5. The gold badge, presented to her when conferring the gift of honorary membership, she wears constantly, and as a girl attended many a fire wearing this emblem of the firemen's affection, and became so strongly identified with her company that she was regarded by the citizens with peculiar interest and affection. As years rolled by and Miss Hitchcock became older, she forsook the habit of following the engine, but the tie that bound her to her company was as strong as ever. In later life her interest in the firemen’s cause has suffered no abatement. If any member of the company falls ill she gladdens the sick room by her presence and ministers to his wants, and should death claim him she sends a loving floral tribute as the final expression of her regard. At the annual [Knickerbocker Engine Co.] banquet, on October 17th, again she shows her mindfulness of the “old boys” of her company by gifts to adorn the festive board. It is no wonder that the firemen of No. 5 swear by her, and the companies vied with each other to do her honor in the old days. Among the priceless objects religiously cherished by the Exempts, and which now adorns their meeting room at Brenham place is a bust of herself presented to the Exempt Company a few years ago. Her name and record are lovingly and inseparably intertwined with the happiest associations of the old Volunteers, and as long as a memory of that organization shall last hers will be preserved.
Mrs. Hitchcock-Coit has numerous mementos of her association with Knickerbocker Engine Company. There is her fireman’s hat and red shirt emblems of her honorary membership; there is her certificate of membership bearing date October 5, 1863, and which is beautifully etched in pen and ink, with exquisite skill and taste; and there is her gold badge. All of these she values for the memories they awaken.
Mrs. Hitchcock-Coit came to California as a child with her parents. Her father was a surgeon and a graduate of West Point, she being the only child. After her marriage she traveled extensively in the East, in Europe and the Orient, but notwithstanding all her wanderings, her love for California has been steadfast and paramount, and she has made it her permanent home. When in the city, Mrs. Hitchcock-Coit makes the Palace Hotel her headquarters. She has a beautiful home at Larkmead, Napa. County.
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In: The Exempt Firemen of San Francisco : Their Unique and Gallant Record, with a Resumé of the San Francisco Fire Department and its Personnel; Historical, Biographical. [San Francisco : H. C. Pendleton], 1900 : pp. 83-84
http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist1/h-coit.html
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Photo and 1900 Biography of Lillie Hitchcock Coit
History of the San Francisco Fire Department
Coit Tower Murals
San Francisco History
1846 - 1864
Elizabeth Wyche “Lillie” Hitchcock Coit
By Frederick J. Bowlen
Battalion Chief, San Francisco Fire Department
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One of the most unusual personalities ever connected with our Fire Department was a woman. She was Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who was destined not only to become a legend but to attain that eminence long before her life ended.
She came to this city in 1851 from West Point, where her father had been an army doctor. Seven years later, when only 15 years old, she began her famous career with Knickerbocker Engine Company No. 5.
One afternoon that pioneer fire company had a short staff on the ropes as it raced to a fire on Telegraph Hill. Because of the shortage of man power, the engine was falling behind. Oh, humiliating and better was the repartee passed by Manhattan No. 2 and Howard No. 3 as the total eclipse seemed to be but a matter of seconds. Then, suddenly there came a diversion. It was the story of Jeanne d’Arc at Orleans, The Maid of Sargossa and Molly Pitcher of Revolutionary fame all over again.
Pretty and impulsive Lillie Hitchcock, on her way home from school, saw the plight of the Knickerbocker and tossing her books to the ground, ran to a vacant place on the rope. There she exerted her feeble strength and began to pull, at the same time turning her flushed face to the bystanders and crying: “Come on, you men! Everybody pull and we’ll beat ‘em!”
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A Famous Day for Little Lillie
Everybody did come and pull and Knickerbocker No. 5 went up the slope like a red streak, and got first water on the fire.
That was a famous day for Lillie. From that time on she caught the spirit of the Volunteers and Dr. Hitchcock had difficult work attempting to keep his daughter from dashing away every time an alarm was sounded. As it was, there never was a gala parade in which Lillie was not seen atop Knickerbocker No. 5, embowered in flags and flowers. She was, literally, the patroness of all the firemen of her city.
From her earliest infancy she was curiously fascinated by the red shirt and war-like helmet of the firemen and she gloried in the excitement of a big blaze. Almost invariably, with the energy and speed that the most agile fireman might envy, she hastened to the scene of action. Lillie often said she loved courage in a uniform.
San Francisco society of the day was exclusive and right. As the Hitchcocks were valued members, society frequently agonized over the vagaries of its Lillie. But she seems always to have done exactly as she pleased without giving real offense.
On October 3, 1863, she was elected an honorary member of the Knickerbocker company, and always regarded that honor as the proudest of her life. She wore the numeral as an ornament with all her costumes, along with the gold badge presented at the same time.
As Miss Hitchcock became older, she gave up the habit of following the engine, but the tie that bound her to the company was as strong as ever. If any member of a company fell ill, it was Lillie Hitchcock who gladdened the sickroom. And should death call him, she sent a floral tribute as final expression of her regard.
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A Steadfast Love for California
After her marriage to Howard Coit, a caller at the San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange, she traveled extensively in the East, in Europe and the Orient. Notwithstanding all her wanderings, her love for California was steadfast and she at length made it her permanent home.
She was a notable figure even at the court of Napoleon III and a maharaja of India, and later, when she came back to San Francisco to live she brought with her a remarkable collection of gifts from royalty and others. They included gems of rare value, objects of art, mementos and souvenirs, some of them priceless.
When Mrs. Coit died here in July 22, 1929, at the age of 86, she gave practical evidence of her affection for San Francisco. She left one-third of her fortune to the city “to be expended in an appropriate manner for the purpose of adding to the beauty of the city which I have always loved.”
For several years after her death, there was question as to the most fitting interpretation of the “appropriate manner” in which to make the memorial. The executors of her will at last determined to erect a memorial tower in honor of this colorful woman and also a memorial tribute to San Francisco’s firemen.
Both have been completed for some time. The novel appearance of the 180-foot cylindrical tower which stands atop Telegraph Hill is surely significant symbol to the memory of one whose individuality made her as outstanding an example of the contrast to her days as is this unusual form of memorial shaft.
The second memorial to her was unveiled in Washington Square, December 3, 1933. It is a sculptured block representing a life-sized group of three firemen, one of them carrying a woman in his arms.
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San Francisco Chronicle
May 30, 1939
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