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There are so many William Coxes and related names in the same general vicinity in North Carolina and in the same time period (1700s), it's difficult to untangle the strands. There is a Quaker William Cox who is not related (as far as we know). His sons are Thomas, Solomon, John, etc. When those names appear as witnesses, we assume it's the Quaker William Cox.
Here are mentions of William Cox in the Orange County, North Carolina deed records in the 1700s:
1772 deed
1772 deed
William Cox, our earliest known Cox ancestor, bought 110 acres in Orange County, North Carolina, for 60 pounds in 1772. The land was located on the Haw River and Cane Creek.
North Carolina, Orange County Deed Book #3, page 599: 22 April 1772 - John Howlet of Guilford Co., planter to Wm Cox of Orange Co. - consid.: 60 Pounds - 110 acres on ---Haw?-- River and Caine Creek. Signed John his mark Howlet. Witn: Wm White, John his mark Breser, John McElroy. Proven April 1772.
orange-wmcox-1772deed.pdfAs you can see, the Breser (or Brasier/Brazure/Brashier) family crops up all the time with the Coxes. This helps confirm that it is "our" William Cox as well as the same land being sold (below) with his wife's signature.
That land later became part of Alamance County in 1849. See below for maps and how confusing things could be as North Carolina county borders changed.
In 1787, William and his wife Alce sold this same 110 acres. He and his extended family as well as other nearby families were preparing to move to Greenville County, South Carolina.
North Carolina, Orange County Deed Book #4, p. 310 -11: Oct 13, 1787 - Wm Cox, Sr., of Orange Co., to John Millison of Chatham Co. - consid.: 250 Pounds - 110 acres on Cain Creek and Haw River. Signed by name and by Alce Cox. Wits: James Newlin, Kathrin Whitte, Benja. Pollard. Proven Nov. 1787.
Her signature actually looks like "Alic cox"
orange-wmcox-1787-land.pdf=============
Orange County, North Carolina - land records - trying to recreate/supplement lost records
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Haw river and Cain creek come together.
Cane Creek intersects Haw River in two places - Upper Cne Creek and Lower Cane Creek
Just north of Greensboro is snow camp road. Cemetery at snow camp rd that has lots of graves dating back to 1800s.
Farther down the road is another old cemetery with a church sitting across the road.
Walter cox said relatives of descendants of James brasher and sithey cox told him about the cemeteries. They went to them but didn’t copy anything down
The old Plank Road, a main artery in colonial times, ran through a portion of Snow Camp.
https://www.battlefields.org/learn/revolutionary-war/battles/pyles-defeat
Ever-changing boundaries: Useful maps
Ever-changing boundaries: Useful maps
"A compleat map of North-Carolina from an actual survey" 1770 (Library of Congress)
North Carolina counties, 1750
The Eno River land is now in Orange or Durham counties. This area was Johnston County for a while, created from Craven County in 1746.
1893 map
1893 map
Map of Alamance County with Property Owners, 1893 - If William Cox had land on the west of Haw River on Cane Creek 1772-1787, and James Newlin witnessed his sale in 1787, then this is probably the general area of his land ... (See the full high-res map here from UNC)
Perhaps same place, but different counties depending on year
Perhaps same place, but different counties depending on year
To illustrate how a person could have been in the same place but the records are in different counties, see the below screengrab of how the North Carolina counties evolved. Here's another explanation of the Orange County evolution.
Someone living in Orange County in the 1750s and staying in the same spot could theoretically have been in Bladen, Granville or Johnston the years before, and later: Chatham (1771), Caswell (1777), Alamance (1841), (Wake 1771, Guilford (1771), Duram (1881)
Orange County was formed in 1752 from parts of Bladen, Granville, and Johnston counties
Maps of NC counties through the decades
This is the area of the Haw River, with Cane Creek intersections (if that indeed is where our William Cox lived). This area is south of and between Burlington and Hillsborough. Just east of current community called “Eli Whitney."
Haw River and Cane Creek come together near the Orange-Alamance Co. line -- southwest corner of present-day Orange Co., and southeast corner of present-day Alamance Co.
At different points in time, this land would have said to be in: Bladen, Orange, and perhaps Alamance depending on the exact location. Chatham and Guilford counties are also very close.
This area was called nothing until 1749/1750 and then it was Bladen
In 1752, this same area was Orange County
1771 - Chatham created just south of this area
1785 - Guilford is just to the west of this area
1849 - this area split in half and I believe the same area would now be said to be in Alamance County
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