Samuel Cox, Brother of Jacob

Samuel Cox, Sr. and Family Migration
By Allice Burns Reynolds

We believe Samuel Cox, Sr. was born between 1727-1729 in New Jersey and migrated to Halifax County, Virginia with his brother Jacob, Sr. around 1755. The first land record I have found for Samuel is 20 May 1762, Halifax County, Virginia on Mills Creek. Samuel purchased 230 acres from Jacob Dye for 25 pounds and sells this same land the very next day for 17 pounds to John France. Samuel was a witness for another land transaction between Matthew Marable of Lunenburg County, Virginia to Robert Wade of Halifax County, Virginia which occurred on 14 November 1760 and we believe his son, John Cox, was born in Halifax County, Virginia on 04 Jan 1758.
In Halifax County, Virginia alone, I find seven land transactions believed to be those of Samuel Cox, Sr. between 1762 and 1764. The land is found on Mills Creek at the mouth of the double branch; the south side of the south fork Mayo River; both sides of Stinking River; and Blue Ridge, also called Main Mountain or The Mountain at Dan River; Meadows of Dan and Claudville.
Per Steve Cox Claudville is about 25 miles west of where he believes Jacob and Samuel, Sr. first settled on the Mayo River and close to Horsepasture Creek.
By 23 Sep 1768, Samuel Cox appears to be residing in Rowan County, North Carolina, and sold 200 acres on both sides of the Stinking River, now Pittsylvania County, Virginia to Thomas Tunstall, along with several horses, 8 head of cattle, 40 head of hogs, and all household and kitchen furniture. This transaction took place on 26 Feb 1768, months before it was filed. The transaction must have been amended, because Samuel, still residing in Rowan County, North Carolina, sells this same 200 acres, 12 ½ acres to Arther Keysee and 187 ½ acres to Thomas Tunstall on 26 May 1769.
Samuel Cox may have been an early settler of Washington County, Virginia and among those who believed the were actually residing in Washington County, North Carolina, as he disappears from Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties land and tax records in 1769 and doesn’t reappear until 1779.
October 28, 1779, Samuel Cox is approved for 4 days pay as a witness in the Shelton vs Gilliam case of Henry County, Virginia. Samuel’s believed son, Phineas Cox enlists in the Revolutionary War with George Rogers Clark, while long hunting on the Holston and provides Henry County, Virginia as his home. This same year, 1782, Samuel purchased 402 acres in Halifax County, Virginia, both sides of the Dan River. The north side property is near the Pinnacles and adjoining his own line. Samuel purchased this land from the Virginia Land Office.
Taxes are paid by Samuel on 200 acres, George Waller’s List, Henry County, Virginia in 1782 and the same year he purchased 400 acres on the Big Dan River, again near the Pinnacles and bordering his own line. The last taxes paid in Henry County, Virginia by Samuel happen in 1786.

Connection between Samuel Cox and Jacob Cox
It is important to answer whether Samuel Cox and Jacob Cox have a connection between them while in southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. We are helped in answering the question by the presence of Frederick and Fulker Fulkerson, two men who migrated from the same community of New Jersey as the grandchildren of Phillip Cox (Samuel and Jacob). A land transaction in 1770 ties all the pieces together. Fulker Fulkerson (who in 1758 bought land adjoining Jacob Cox on the same day as Jacob) purchased land from Jacob on the Green Creek of the South Mayo River. Witnesses for the transaction included Frederick Fulkerson and Samuel Cox. This is a good indicator of the interrelationship among these men. In 1773, Frederick Fulkerson witness another land transaction on land that had previously been owned by Samuel Cox. This is on the south side of the south fork of the Mayo River on land patented by George Walton, and it is likely very near the 1758 land purchases by Fulker Fulkerson and Jacob Cox. We believe Samuel’s purchase is probably a record that has been torn from the original Halifax County records.

Children of Samuel
Suspected sons, Phineas, John and Fulker (sometimes listed as Fuller) Cox all migrate to Ft. Nashboro (Nashville), Davidson County, North Carolina/Tennessee after serving in the Revolutionary War. Phineas, at the age of 14, acts as a guard for the John Donelson flotilla and arrives in Ft. Nashboro on 24 Apr 1780. Son John arrives shortly thereafter, and by 1784, Phineas has 640 acres surveyed on his behalf, located on the waters of the Marrowbone, that lead from Stump’s to the mouth of Red River. Phineas, in 1783, marries Barbara Stump, daughter of Frederick Stump, signer of the Cumberland Compact, at Ft. Nashboro. John Cox is awarded 100 acres, for service in the Continental line, lying on the west side of White’s Creek, Davidson County, North Carolina, bordering the west side of Jacob Stump’s survey. Jacob Stump, being the son of Frederick Stump, Sr., also signed the Cumberland Compact and was killed by Native Americans in 1780, while he and brother Frederick Stump, Jr. were working to clear their land.
“The Pre-emptors: Middle Ten¬nessee’s First Settlers,” By Irene M. Griffey, n. p., I. M. Griffey, Clarksville, TN., 1989, Volume 1: Includes a list of 272 men who fought the Native Americans during the early days of Davidson County, North Carolina. In this list we find the name Fuller Cox, who is suspected to actually be Fulker Cox, a third son of Samuel Cox, Sr.
We now have John, Phineas, and Fulker (Fuller) Cox all residing in Davidson County, North Carolina and on 24 Apr 1787 (the year is difficult to read) Samuel Cox appears with land on the dry fork of White’s Creek next to Frederick Stump (Sr.). It is not known if this is Samuel Cox, Sr. or Samuel Cox, Jr. who is believed to be a fourth son.
An entry on 7 October 1787, shows Samuel Cox having land in the Col. Martin Armstrong survey, which adjoins his own, lying on the Red River.
John and Phineas Cox leave Davidson County, North Carolina for Logan County, (which became Warren County) Kentucky, arriving October, 1792. In 1793, Samuel, Sr. and Jr., Fulker, and William Cox, a suspected 5th son, join them in Logan County, Kentucky. All, with the exception of Samuel, Jr., have land on the Gasper River. Samuel, Jr. is on the Big Barren.
Samuel Cox, Sr. disappears from land and tax records by 1801-1802. John and Phineas Cox remain in Warren County, Kentucky until their deaths, 1832 and 1842, respectively. Samuel, Jr., Fulker and William Cox leave Warren County, Kentucky for Maury County, Tennessee about 1806, which becomes Giles County, Tennessee.
Samuel Cox, Jr. remains in Giles County, Tennessee until his death in 1824. Fulker Cox moves to Marshall County, Mississippi by 1840, where he dies sometime between 1841 and 1846.
William Cox’s location after Giles County, Tennessee is unknown.
Descendants of this group of trailblazers head further west, helping to settle Indiana, Missouri, Texas, Arkansas and many other places. They are an amazing bunch and thrilling to search out.