The 14 Children of James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell - Child 10

#10

Orlando Clay Cox

1880-1962

      Orlando Clay Cox was born February 2, 1880 at Cromwell, Ohio County, Kentucky.  He was married twice.  On February 18, 1899, at age nineteen, he married Ida Mae Allen, age twenty, the daughter of Frank and Rebecca Allen.  Ida Mae was born December 25, 1879.

      The 1901 New Year began amid much happiness and excitement for this young couple with the birth of their first child, Mable.  But what began as a happy event became very sad when Ida Mae, just twenty-one years old, died in January 1901, shortly after her baby was born.  The little babe they named Mable survived, and Ida Mae’s parents took the baby to live with them while the young father worked at farming.  

      More tragedy was soon to follow, according to the following obituary, found in the March 25, 1901 issue of the Hartford Republican newspaper, which says:

            “Died at the home of Mr. Frank M. Allen, Mable Cox, infant daughter

            of Orlando Cox, March 1^st, of whooping cough.  Deceased was grand-

            daughter of Mr. Allen.  The remains were laid to rest at Walton’s Creek

            burying grounds beside her mother.”

      In another county newspaper, The Hartford Herald, issue of March 27, 1901, in the Smallhous, Ky. column, additional information was written about Orlando and Ida Mae’s little infant daughter. 

            “Little Mabel, daughter of Orlando Cox, died Thursday night at the home

            of her grandfather, Mr. F. M. Allen.  Her mother died only two months

            ago.  Little Mabel was too pretty, sweet, and affectionate to stay on this

            earth.  She has gone to meet the angels and mother in Heaven.”

      And while the family was attending the funeral, this unfortunate event was mentioned in the same column:

            “While Mr. F. M. Allen and family were gone to the funeral of their little

            grandchild, his house came near being consumed by fire.  Some of the

            neighbors discovered the fire and put it out.  It burned a hole six feet long

            and three feet wide.”

      Ida Mae’s parents, Frank M. and Rebecca Allen of Cromwell, still had five children living at home as shown in the 1900 census: Elza D., age 17; Irena A., age 16; Bessie B., age 14; Pearl E., age 10; and Frank R., age 8.  Perhaps one of their school-age children came down with whooping cough, which was often being reported in the community newspaper columns during that period, and little Mable caught the disease too. 

      In 1900, it was reported that babies less than one year old usually had the most severe forms of the disease and that it was in this age group the most deaths often occurred.  Pneumonia, again more common in babies, was another complication and a major cause of death. 

      This was a very sad time for the whole family, and especially for the young husband, who had only been married about one year.  Ida Mae was laid to rest at Walton’s Creek Cemetery, adjacent to Walton’s Creek Baptist Church, located on Highway 85 north of Centertown, Kentucky.

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      On July 15, 1901, Orlando married Sudie Belle Allen, daughter of Hardin R. Allen and Elizabeth Coy of Grayson County, Kentucky.  Together, they had eight children – seven daughters and one son.  Only four daughters lived to maturity.

1)      Gilla Mae Cox, born Jan 7, 1901; died Dec. 2, 1908

2)      Orpha Vetress, born Dec 11, 1903; md. Henry Tom Matthews; died Jun 28, 1928

3)      Mary Elizabeth, born  Aug 8, 1905;  md Marion A. Matthews;

4)      Bertha Marie, born May 1908;  died Sep 1909

5)      Lola Myrtle, born May 1910; died July 1910,

6)      Lorean, born Jan 5, 1914; md. Cecil G. Roop in Hammond, IN

7)      Geneva Cathryn Cox, born Apr 7, 1920; md. Wayne DeCamp, Jan 5, 1947,

in Hammond, Lake Co., IN

8)      Roy Barnes Cox, born Aug 14, 1924; died Aug 16, 1924

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      Little Gilla Mae, the first daughter of Orlando and Belle, contracted diphtheria when she was about seven years old, perhaps at school, and died before the family could celebrate Christmas.  The Centertown Record reported her death:

“Dec 9, 1908 – Smallhous.  Gillie Cox, the little child of Mr. O. C. Cox died December 2 of diphtheria, and was buried at Walton’s Creek the following day.  Two more children in the family are sick.”

      Prior to 1900, diphtheria was reported to be one of the main causes of death in children.  It is noted that three of the Cox children died within three years of each other if the dates given were correct.   In the 1800s and early 1900s, diseases such as whooping cough, scarlet fever, and diphtheria were frequently reported in the local newspapers of Ohio County. Childhood diseases took a heavy toll among children, particularly babies and school-age children, until vaccines were developed.

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      In the 1910 Federal Census of Ohio County, Orlando C., age 30, and his wife, Suda B., age 28, are listed in Household No. 104, with two children:  Orpha V., age 6, and Mary E., age 5.  They told the census taker they had been married nine years and had four children during that time, only two of which were living. 

      On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany and officially entered the “Great War”, also known as World War I.  Six weeks later, on May 18, 1917, with the need to temporarily increase the U. S. military establishment during the war, the Selective Service Act authorized the President to establish a draft, and local boards were created for each county in every state. 

      As a result, every male living within the United States between the ages of eighteen and forty-five were required to register for the draft.   Twenty-four million men registered in the three draft registrations, held on June 5, 1917, June 5, 1918, and September 12, 1918. 

      Orlando Clay Cox registered in the third draft registration on September 12, 1918, which registered all men between age 18 and 45.  Orlando’s draft registration card, signed by Clinton Igleheart, the local registrar, indicates that he listed himself as being a farmer, thirty-eight years of age, born 1880, living at Equality, Ohio County, Kentucky.  He listed his nearest relative as J. W. Cox, who he said lived at Horton, Ohio County.  He was described as having medium height, small build, with brown eyes and black hair.

      Fortunately, World War I formally ended on the 11^th hour of the 11^th day of the 11^th month of 1918 with the German’s signing of the Armistice, thus, Orlando and none of his brothers were drafted into that terrible war fought “in the trenches” on foreign soil.  Thankfully, they could continue to follow their pursuit of farming in a peaceful country with their families.

      By the time of the 1920 census, enumerated in January, the family was still living at Smallhous.  Orlando was listed as 39; Sudie B. was listed as 37, with two daughters at home.  The names of two daughters were almost illegible, but would have been Mary E. and Lorean, listed as ages 14 and 6.   Geneva was not born until three months later in April.

      Four years later, their only son, Roy Barnes Cox, was born and died the same week.  His death was reported in the Centertown Record.

      In the 1930 census, Orlando, age 50, and his wife Sudie, called by her middle name of “Belle”, 48, were living in Centertown (their post office address), with two daughters, Lorene, 16, and Geneva, 10. 

      The Centertown Record carried another news item about the Orlando Cox family:

“Oct 3, 1930 – Lorrane Cox, whose home is in Equality, is living in

Centertown in order to attend Centertown High School.”

      And yet another near tragedy for Orlando’s family was again reported in the Centertown Record newspaper:

“Feb 11, 1931 – Geneva Cox had a scare when she threw trash into the

fire not knowing it contained a 22 rifle load in the contents.  It exploded

and cut a gash in her forehead plus stunned her for a while.”

      Geneva would have been about ten, going on eleven, when this accident happened.  No doubt the whole family and all their neighbors and children at school learned a lesson about this near-fatal accident.

      In the fall that year, the Record reported the death of James W. Cox, father of Ira and Orlando, both of whom were living at or near Equality.  It was at the home of Orlando and his family where James William Cox died in 1931.  He had been living with the family for some period of time after the spring of 1930 when he was shown in the census living in the home of Cinderella.  At some point in the next year, Cinderella became unable to take care of him and he went to live with Orlando and his family at Equality.

“Oct. 16, 1931 – James W. Cox. Father of Ira and O. C. died at O. C.’s

home on 9/25 of cancer.”

      Sudie Belle (Allen) Cox died June 24, 1956.  She was the half-sister of Anna Martha Coy (wife of Ira Clinton Cox). 

      Orlando farmed most of his life, worked faithfully in his church, and died at age eighty-two, July 31, 1962 at Hammond, Lake County, Indiana, where he was living with his daughter, Lorean.  (See death certificate; daughter Lorene Roop was the informant).  

      He was buried August 3, 1962 in the Smallhous Cemetery, at Smallhous, Ohio County, in the community where he had lived for many years.

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“ORLANDO C. COX, 82,

EXPIRES IN INDIANA;

FINAL RITES TODAY

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                                    Orlando C. Cox, 82, a former resident of the

                        Equality section of Ohio county, died Tuesday at the home

                        of a daughter, Mrs. Lorain Roop, 7020 Schneider Avenue,

                        Hammond, Indiana.

                                    Born in Ohio County, Mr. Cox had resided in the

                        county for about 70 years.  In recent years he had resided

                        with his children.

                                    He was a member of Ceralvo Masonic Lodge F. & A.M.

                        No. 253, a past patron of Centertown Chapter No. 78, Order of

                        the Eastern Star, and was a charter member and deacon of the

                        Smallhous Baptist Church.

           

                                    In addition to Mrs. Roop, he is survived by two other

                        daughters, Mrs. Elizabeth Matthews of Murray, Mrs. Geneva

DeCamp, of St. Louis, Missouri; one sister, Mrs. Cinderella

Crowder, of Rosine; one brother, Newton Cox, of Troup, Texas;

five grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

            Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. today at the

Smallhous Baptist Church, with the Rev. Everett Wilkins,

pastor, officiating.  Burial will be in the Smallhous cemetery.

            The body was removed Thursday morning from the

Virgil Huber Funeral Home in Hammond, to the Birkhead

Funeral Home here, where it will remain until the funeral hour.”

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      It is interesting to me when looking at the places where death occurred for many Cox family members that most of them were brought “home” to be buried in the county of their birth in Ohio County.  Many of the Cox children also married on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day, and perhaps it was a “family tradition.”  Mostly, of course, it would be a time when those from a distance might be home and all the family members were gathered close at Christmastime, and would be able to attend the wedding celebrations.

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Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas