Good storytelling almost always begins in the middle. If there is no dilemma, after all, there is no story to tell. So it is with this website. We look at the story of a family named Cox that was settled in New Jersey at the beginning of the 18th Century but was scattered to the winds of the west and south by the end of it. Our main character, Jacob Cox, was born in New Jersey, but he undoubtedly was endowed with the same need for freedom and independence that spurred his neighbors to risk their lives for it. Jacob, and at least one brother, took off for southern Virginia in the mid-1700’s. While there, Jacob bought and sold land as he used it. He built some grist mills along the way. Then he took the youngest half of his family on to northeastern Tennessee, eventually settling a few miles north of where Knoxville is located today. Some of his older children headed off to South Carolina and Georgia before he left Virginia. His brother, named Samuel we believe, took his family and helped settle Nashborough (Nashville), Tennessee, before venturing up to Warren County, Kentucky, where they helped establish Bowling Green.
As you might expect, these families were deeply involved in the Revolutionary War, some had slaves, and they always seemed to live on the line that divided former Europeans from Native Americans.
It appears that Jacob was married twice, first to Anna Coleman, and then to her sister, Mary. No one has recorded the history of these two women, aside from their parental family, until now. We do so, not with absolute proof, but armed with a combination of DNA, land records, and family naming rituals.
As is always true in genealogical storytelling, we can assume there are errors in some conclusions that we have made. You, our website guest, get to be the judge of where we are right and where we are wrong. Though our story is about Jacob, the Coleman sisters, and those who came after them, we will also look backward as far as Jacob’s grandparents. A story is never complete without a flashback here and there!
With that said, let the story begin…
Well, you should know I believe you to be a genius when it comes to our Cox family. I love that you have created this site to share the history.
Allice
Allice, I appreciate your comments. I also appreciate your contributions to this site. Collaboration is a good thing!
I love history especially if it involves my family. My name is Angela Hulett. My mother is Shiela May Baker ( maiden name cox). My maternal Grandpa is Johnny Owen Cox. He married Iris May Stubblefield and they had 4 children in this order:
Shiela Baker (Cox)
John Cox
Sharon Boyd (Cox)
Daryl Cox
His sister was Lula Cook (Cox). She married Frank Cook and they had I believe 5 Children. 4 girls one boy.
Angela, thanks for writing. If I have the correct family line, it appears to me that you descend from Phineas Cox, b. 1764, and Barbara Stump. The Jacob Cox featured on this website would have been the uncle of Phineas, and Phineas probably grew up knowing Jacob, though their families moved to different territories soon after the Revolutionary War. It is indeed all in the same family!
Hi Angela,
My name is Diana (Hulett) McBride and my maternal grandparents are Isaac Ninnian Cox and Eva Mae (Bryan) Cox. My Cox family is from Bethany, MO and my Hulett family (paternal grandparents) are from Pattonsburg, MO. I wonder if we are from the same Hulett clan??
Diana
dianamaemc@gmail.com
Steve,
Have you seen a copy of a letter that a Jacob Cox wrote to his uncle, Coleman Cox (in Tennessee) in 1847? The letter was from Greenefield, MO and largely described prices of agricultural products and land. This letter is part of the collection of papers that my uncle, Idris Cox, inherited.
I recently typed the letter on my iPad and can send you a copy (as well as a photo of the letter) if you don’t have a copy of it.
Richard:
Thanks for the offer. I do have a copy of the letter. It is included in the Coleman Cox papers section of this website. I, of course, got it and all the papers from Idris. His research is represented throughout the site. The letter is a fascinating read about life in the 19th Century! I am always looking for new information, so don’t hesitate to offer other items.
John Phineas Cox is my 4th great grandfather. His son Coleman Cox 1779-1852 died in Washington Co, Arkansas. He married Martha Buchanan in Kentucky. There seems to be a problem in our line, John P is listed with a father named Samuel 1724-1797 who married Mary Coleman. The name Coleman has been passed down through the male line. Coleman’s son, was John Coleman, his son James Coleman, his son Henry Coleman, his son Clarence Coleman. My question is Samuel Cox who is supposed to have married Mary Coleman the son of John Phineas Cox? Please help. Just been to Warren Co. and Logan Co. Ky. Saw the Cox cemetery.
Dana, thanks for writing. You are asking questions about which we have guesses rather than answers. The person you call John Phineas Cox has been assumed to be John P. Cox, but there is conjecture as to whether his middle name was Phineas. He had a brother named Phineas, which might make it seem less likely that it would also be his middle name. I am not aware of any record that spells out the middle name.
John P. and Phineas were the sons of a person we believe to be named Samuel, though we have not formally confirmed it. Samuel was a brother of the Jacob after whom this website is named. He was probably born in the 1720’s, but there is no official date, nor do I believe we know his exact death year. We know that Samuel and Jacob had close connections to the Coleman family in Halifax County, Virginia. There is some DNA evidence suggesting that Jacob was married to a Coleman, perhaps two sisters. I don’t believe we have the same evidence for Samuel. Jacob named one of his children Coleman (not the one in your family line). So, did Samuel marry a Coleman? It is a nice guess, but as of this moment, we don’t have any evidence pointing to a specific spouse. Because of Y-DNA, we can be confident that your John P. Cox was the great-grandson of Phillip Cox and Dorcas Hull, and the most reasonable assumption is that he was the grandson of John Cox and Mary Taylor, and the son of Samuel Cox and wife unknown.
In my first reply to Dana I stated that “Jacob named a son Coleman…” That was incorrect. Jacob’s son (Samuel-different from the one in this discussion) was the one who named a son Coleman. I apologize for the brain cramp.