DNA info

added October 2020

A male Cox relative took the Y-37 test with the company Family Tree DNA. This test traces a paternal line and goes further than the mass test that most people take, the autosomal test. (We took that one, too, through Ancestry.com, and it did not tell us anything we didn't already know.) This is all an attempt to break through our "brick wall" that is William Cox and who his ancestors were.

While there was no eureka moment, the Y-37 test did provide several lines for new research. Below is some of the information. I've had to read up on DNA testing so if someone sees mistakes, please shout. Here's a good overview about Y matches. You'll see that "close matches" are kinda meaningless to us, as we are looking for clues way past five generations.

Carolina Coxes subgroup

The regular FamilyTreeDNA.com matches don't contain a lot that is helpful to us. Where the results become beneficial are the family surname groups. Members have to join and volunteers look at their DNA results and put them in subgroups with other members.

I joined the public Family Tree DNA Cox DNA Group.

The volunteers categorized our results into the R1b-I Carolina Coxes subgroup. This is not too surprising as it matches with a lot of info we already know about our ancestors and where they lived in particular eras. (Ctl+F "carolina cox" to quickly get to that section on the page). We are 935414.

This means we have a common ancestor and are related to the other members of this subgroup -- good!

The other members of this subgroup don't have any of their family trees farther back than us -- bad!

But, it does give us some clues, and instead of trying to find a needle in a pile of needles, we may be now looking for a needle in a haystack.

Finding connections

For example, we are related to Cary Cox, Sr., born about 1736 and died 1814. This would make Cary a contemporary of our earliest William. But were they brothers or did they share a great-great-grandfather? Who knows. But, we know something about Cary Cox's past, and maybe researching that will lead to William Cox clues. Or if the other families in the subgroup suddenly add a few generations back, we may see some more possibilities.

If anything, the results seem to strongly indicate what we'd strongly suspected: William came from either another part of North Carolina or Virginia, perhaps England. There are other subgroups for the Pennsylvania Coxes and Northeast Coxes, with ancestors farther back than our time period, and we do not seem to be in those subgroups.

You can see all the subgroups here: Cox DNA Study - Y-DNA Classic Chart

One possible thread

Looking at the Cary Cox example from above, I found a few reputable places that list his father and grandfather and some of their decendants:

• Steven Butler's family tree site, which brings together a few others sources, including the information and book from Helen Robinson Graves, and

• Oliver Weaver's well-sourced book (I have in pdf form), published in 2001, "Naomi Ann Cox (1814 - 1884) (Wife of the Reverend Benjamin Lloyd): Daughter of Cary Cox-II, Granddaughter of Cary Cox-I, Great Granddaughter of William Cox-I, of Orange County, Virginia and Three Generations of Earlier Ancstral (sic) Lines."

There is a William Cox in this family's line that fits the time frame that they do not know anything about. Could this be our William? It is a long shot and there are dozens if not hundreds of "William Coxes" running around this region in this time period.

But a William Cox who died about 1751 had four sons: William, Cary Sr., Tyre and Toliver. Nothing much is known about this son William, brother to Cary Sr. and all.

Weaver's book includes this in a section about Cary Sr., citing Vining, Vol. 2, p. 188 for the info:

“At this time, Cary’s oldest brother, William Cox, was in failing health. A court order, 22 June 1758, noted: “On the petition of William Cox who is in a state of ill health & unable to get his living, he is discharged from payment of County levy till he recovers his health.” Records do not show whether he lived or died. His later history is unknown.”

Of course, this family includes numerous other possibilities as well, including that our common ancestor was a few generations back from what they have researched. The pdf of the Weaver book is attached below. Part of my ongoing research is to go back to some of the primary sources in North Carolina and Virginia and trace other avenues and branches of this family to see if there are any firmer connections to our line.