Cox generations
William Cox
|
|
|
|
|
|
William Cox's estimated birth was around 1730-1735, location unknown. (Note: He is NOT "William Richardson Cox" that so many ancestry.com, LDS and other databases have mistaken him and merged the two people into one. They have his father and mother and direct line listed mistakenly. I would love for this to be true because we'd know who his parents were, but it's NOT. We have primary sources and even DNA that prove that these are two different families. This is yet another frustrating perpetuation by people who don't do original research or use primary sources. More about sourcing and untangling all the William Coxes
His first wife was "Alce" or "Alic" or Alice. Not much is known about her. All children listed below are believed from her. He married Mary Langford (a widow) sometime before September 1799.
Mary Langford Cox died May 9, 1844, age 95, so that would put her born around 1749. This would make it more likely that she was indeed William's second (and younger) wife and too young to be mother of the known 9 children (some other family trees around the internet have her and "Alce" as the same person -- NOT so!).
>> More about William's two wives including Mary's first husband
William was in Orange County, North Carolina, in the (we believe) 1750s but certainly by 1760s/1770s. He sold everything and moved to Greenville County, South Carolina, in the late 1780s. He migrated with many of his adult children and their families, along with families who are intermarried all with the Coxes: the Longs, Blacks, Payne/Paines, Lees and the Brashiers/Brazures/Breaziers.
>> More about William and families' land records in North Carolina and land records in South Carolina
William Cox died in 1814 in Greenville County, South Carolina, burial site unknown. >>See will/heirs and court info in Documents. His estate was administered on November 25, 1814, by his son, Abraham Cox. Final division of his property was made to his wife and children on January 4, 1819. One-third was given to his wife and the other two-thirds was divided equally among his children.
From Walter Cox, a descendent from William Jr., in a letter to my family in 1993: "Now getting to William Cox from N.C. As you will see, he came to Greenville Co., S.C. in 1787. Some believe earlier, but I don't think so. If he did, his family wasn't with him. There is a story floating around that I heard my grandmother tell many times that when William Cox came to Greenville Co., he moved his entire family with him. They came by covered wagon and horseback. There were grandchildren also. After his wife Alice died, he married Mary Langford. All of William's children are by his 1st wife Alice."
More info from Walter Cox about pinpointing "our" William Cox
William and Alice/Alce/Alic had at least 9 children and all are believed to have been born in North Carolina. (Note: Some Census has as NC birth but it's not proven yet -- it's just been passed down that they were born in NC). "There may have been two other children since his property was divided into eleven shares other than his wife's share," according to "A Family History of The Cox Family" book, compiled in 1982 by Austin Delbert Cox of Texas.
Their known children were, in what is believed to be a rough birth order according to how they were listed in the estate papers. Caveat: Abraham was the exececutor/administrator of the estate, so he wasn't listed. Does that mean he is the oldest, or just the son William was closest to? William's second wife died at the home of Abraham years later, so I assume she was living with them.
1. Rachel Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Died 1824. Married Thomas Long.
2. Sithey/Cythia/Cynthia Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Married Rev. James Brashier/Brazier, who died in 1834/5 in Talladega County, Alabama. He was son of Thomas Brazier, brother to Samuel, below, according to book "A Brazier/Brasher Saga" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brasher McCoy.
3. Isaac Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Died before March 31, 1830. Unknown spouse. (He is listed by himself in William's 1814 will)
4. Hannah Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Died before 1818. Married Samuel Brashier/Brazier (son of Thomas Brazier, brother to James above). They moved to Franklin County, Georgia and some of their descendants to Gallatin County, Illinois, according to book "A Brazier/Brasher Saga" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brasher McCoy.
5. Cathrine (or Katherine) Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Married Francis Lee.
6. William Cox Jr. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Died in 1798. Married Connie Baker (b. 1760 d. after 1850. She married second time to William Richardson)
7. Sarah Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Married William Brashier/Brazier. He is related to Thomas Brazier some how, and could possibly be a grandson, according to book "A Brazier/Brasher Saga" by Charles Brashear and Shirley Brasher McCoy.
8. Rebecca Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Married George Croft (who died 1844).
** 9. Abraham Cox. Born in Orange County, North Carolina. Married Nancy Payne. [Is he the oldest son? Not sure where he fits into birth order. He was not older than Rachel and Sithey we can estimate, based that he was not listed in the "45 and older" category in the 1800 census.]
Based on rough estimations across Census records, we can provide a general timeframe for at least the first two of his children (and conclude that they are probably his oldest). From the 1800 SC Census, Isaac Cox and Abraham Cox are listed in the category below age 45 (ages 26-44). Rachel and Sithey are listed in the category as older than 45.
Caveats: Remember that the Census was taken over a couple of years, not on one exact day in 1800, and we are assuming that the order the children were listed in William's will was their birth order, except for the big question of Abraham (see above). So with some very rough overall math, we can guestimate that Rachel and Sithey were born circa 1755 or before, and that Isaac and Abraham were born after 1755. If they are indeed the first oldest children, odds are the girls were born early 1750s, with perhaps Isaac and Abraham after 1755. If they owned land by 1779 (which I believe they are the Isaac and Abraham listed in the NC tax lists), then let's assume they were in their 20s. That plus the Census would put their birth in circa 1755-1760.
That is all very guestimating math, though. If we're wrong and the 1814 estate papers didn't list the children in order, then it could be all up in the air.
Some of this information was obtained from records found in the Greenville County Courthouse, South Carolina, and copied by Lula Cox Monroe and passed to us by Walter Cox.