#11
Ira Clinton Cox
1882-1954
Ira Clinton Cox,
the fifth son of James William and Mary Elizabeth (Mitchell) Cox, was born at
Select, Ohio County
In the 1900
census, Ira was eighteen years old, single, and was shown as a “boarder,”
living with his mother, Mary Elizabeth, age 56, and her husband, John Rummel,
52, at Hartford. The census record shows
that his mother and step-father had been married four years.
Ira Clinton, born at Select in 1882, was the second son of
James William Cox to serve in the military (Jasper Newton, his brother, was
first. My grandfather was born in
1884).
On the 5th day of January, 1906, Ira Clinton Cox, single,
enlisted at Beaver Dam, Kentucky, as a private of Company D of the 28th Regiment
of Infantry in the U. S. Army, to serve for three years. It was recorded that he born at Select,
Kentucky and when enlisted, he was 23-1/2 years old, occupation was
"lumberman", and he was described as having blue eyes and dark brown
hair and was six feet tall. He became a sharpshooter and was listed as a good
marksman on March 3, 1909. It is
presumed he received medals for these two achievements.
Ira Cox arrived in Cuba October 8, 1906. He left Cuba on
January 1, 1909 and arrived in the United States, January 5, 1909. He was honorably discharged from the Army at
the expiration of his term of service of three years. After discharge at Fort Monroe, VA on January
6, 1909, he was said to be in good physical condition and his character was
described as "Excellent" by 1st Lieutenant Tom J. Rogers, 28th
Infantry, Commanding Company D.
(James Coy Cox, his son, sent me a studio photograph of
his dad in his army uniform). The U. S.
Army Register of Enlistment 1798-1914 listed Ira Clinton Cox as being discharged
January 4, 1909 at sea, aboard the USA G Sumner, with excellent service record.
He was single, discharged in good physical health. Under remarks, it says: "Enlisted at Beaver Dam KY, left U.S.
October 8, 1906, arrived in Cuba, Oct. 12, 1906, and left Cuba, January 1,
1909; arrived in United States January 5, 1909." Honorable discharge papers were signed at
Fort Monroe, Virginia, January 6, 1909.
In the 1910
census, Ira C. Cox, age 28, was living with his sister Cinderella and her husband
Thomas Crowder, in Magisterial District 4, Ohio County
On September 12,
1918, Ira may have accompanied his brother, Orlando Cox, on the day they were
to register for the World War I Draft Registration. The registration on that
date required all men between the ages of 18 and 45 to register for the military
draft, soon after the U.S.
declared war against Germany
Both brothers
were living at Equality at the time and ran their father’s farm, as well as
their own. Ira gave his age as 36, born
January 20, 1882, and stated that he was a farmer by occupation. He listed his wife, Annie Martha Cox, as his
nearest relative, also living at Equality.
He was described as being tall, with blue eyes and dark hair. Clinton Iglehart, the local draft registrar,
took his information and signed Ira’s draft registration card.
At age thirty,
Ira Clinton married Anna Martha Coy, on Christmas Eve, Dec 24, 1912, at Hartford , Ohio
Anna had
brothers and sisters: William H., James
C., and John S. Coy. She also had half
brothers and sisters, Susan B. Allen, George T. Allen, Rachel J. Allen and Asa
C. Allen, who were children of her first marriage. Anna’s half-sister, Susan B. Allen, called
“Sudie” and sometimes “Bell
Together, Ira
Clinton and Anna Martha had three children:
1) Ona Mae Cox, born Aug 16, 1916
2) Alma Ree Cox, born September 29, 1919
3) James Coy Cox, born December 19, 1922
By the time of
the 1920 census enumeration, Ira, age 38, was living at Smallhous, Ohio County,
with his wife, Anna, age 24, with two little daughters, Ona M., age 4 years, 7
months, and Alma R., age 4 months.
Ten years later,
in the 1930 census, Ira and Anna M. lived in Centertown, Ohio County, with
their three children: Ona Mae, age 14; Alma Ree, age 10; and J. C. (James Coy),
age 7. Ira owned his own farm and his
occupation was given as “general farming.”
In the spring of
1933, Ona Mae’s name was mentioned in the local newspaper, The Centertown Record:
“Mar
3, 1933 – Ona Mae Cox was among the Centertown area 8th grade
students
who passed the common school test. Raymond Robertson was
one
of the test graders.”
~.~
The above
newspaper item was quoted on page 676 of a new book about the history of
Centertown, “Just Yesterday We Were
Children,” which is filled with school pictures including all three of Ira
and Anna’s children. The book is filled
with hundreds and hundreds of pictures, and contains over 1,000 photos, some as
early as the last quarter of 1800, and goes through WWII and beyond. Many military photos are shown of the
soldiers who participated in all wars.
It was written by Beth (Chinn) Harp and edited by Helen (Allen) McKeown.
I can highly recommend it to anyone who lived in Centertown or the surrounding
area communities. Many schools and many
class photos, as well as churches and church members, are shown, along with the
histories of each, and many communities are mentioned in extensive newspaper
quotations such as the one below:
“Sep 22, 1933 – There was a pie supper to
raise money for Bunker Hill
School.
There was profit of $13. A lot of
money during this time!”
~.~
Ira’s army
military records state that he was born at Select in 1882 and enlisted at
Beaver Dam, KY January 5, 1906. After he
served out his three-year enlistment, his discharge military papers show he was
twenty-three and one-half years of age, and by occupation was a
“Lumberman.” He had blue eyes, dark
brown hair, and fair complexion, and was six feet in height. His discharge papers are dated January 5,
1909. Under “Military Record” his papers
indicate that he achieved status as a “Sharpshooter” on December 16, 1907, and
a few months later, after more training, he became a “Marksman” on March 3,
1908. No doubt he received medals for
these achievements. He was single;
discharged in good physical health.
Under remarks, it states:
“Enlisted at Beaver Dam, Ky. , left U.S. October 8, 1906, arrived in Cuba , October 12, 1906, and left Cuba , January 1, 1909; arrived in United States Fort Monroe ,
Virginia Fort Monroe
Ira Cox married
Anna Martha Coy, the daughter of Hardin Coy, on Christmas Eve, December 24,
1912 at Hartford Daughters Hospital
in Shelbyville , Kentucky
on October 4, 1954, and was buried in Louisville Memorial
Gardens
As mentioned,
Ira and Anna Martha had two daughters, Ona Mae and Alma Ree, and one son, James
Coy Cox. James lives in Louisville and
he and I talk at least once or twice a year and have corresponded a number of
times. James visited my grandparents one
summer and brought his tape recorder. It
is the only recording I have of my grandfather’s voice. James made a copy of the taped visit for me,
and I have shared it with all the members of my family. It is a wonderful audio tape! He took it back home to play for his aged
mother, who was in a nursing home.
~.~
IRA C. COX DIES
AT SHELBYVILLE
Ira C. Cox, 73, died Monday, October 4 at
1:30 p.m. at Kings Daughters
Hospital
Survivors
are his wife, Anna Martha Cox; one
daughter, Mrs. Ona Mae Burgess; one son, J.
C. Cox,
Louisville; 3 sisters, Mrs. Mary Christian,
Cromwell;
Mrs. H. T. Crowder, Rosine; Mrs. J. J.
Willett, Beaver
Dam; two brothers, O. C. Cox, Edinburg, Indiana
J. N. Cox, Texas
Mr. Cox was a member of the Masonic
Lodge
of Ceralvo.
Masonic
rites were administered and funeral
services were conducted by Rev. William
Holliday,
Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. at the W. G. Hardy Shively
Chapel, Louisville Louisville
Loretta
Westerfield gave me a copy of the following obituary for her uncle, Ira Clinton
Cox. No date or name of the newspaper
was given.
~.~
Ira C. Cox, 73, Dies
At Shelbyville
Hospital
~.~
Ira C. Cox, 73, formerly of Ohio county, died
Monday,
October 4, at the Kings’s Daughters
hospital, Shelbyville,
He was a member of the Masonic Lodge and Order
of
the Eastern Star at Ceralvo and of the Smallhous Baptist
Church
Funeral services were conducted at the W. G.
Hardy Shively
chapel, 3101 Dixied Highway , Louisville
by the Rev. Bill Holladay, of
Centertown. Interment was in the
at the grave.
He leaves his wife, Mrs. Anna Martha Cox; two
daughters,
Mrs. Ona Mae Burgess, of Louisville
of Centertown; one son, James C. Cox, of Louisville
Mrs. Cinderella Crowder, of Rosine; Mrs.
Mary Christian, of
Cromwell, and Mrs. Eugene Willett, of Beaver
Dam; two brothers,
O. C. Cox, of Crown
Point , Indiana , and Newton Cox, of Texas
and seven grandchildren.
~.~
I think Uncle
Ira Clinton Cox was a great favorite in the family growing up with his
brothers. Uncle Netter gave his youngest
son, the middle name of Orville “Clinton” and then, Uncle Netter’s oldest son,
Leslie Ray, named his oldest son “Ira Clinton Cox,” after Uncle Netter’s brother,
Ira Clinton, of course. All the family
pronounced it “Iry” – in both generations.
~.~
Sad news to hear
about the death of my cousin, James Cox, and I will add his obit to this story
as taken from “My Computer Diary” that I have kept pretty much on a weekly
basis, starting in 1996:
“~ Sunday, August 09, 2009 ~
James Coy Cox, son of Ira
Clinton Cox, was Granddaddy’s older brother’s only son. James lived in Louisville
James Coy Cox
COX,
JAMES C., 86, passed away Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital Centertown ,
KY Ft. Knox , KY.
He
was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters, Ona Mae Casebier and Alma
Porter. Survivors include his sons, Stephen C. Cox (Sheila) and Gregory J. Cox
(Phyllis); six grandchildren; five great- grandchildren; his longtime friend
and companion, Pansy L. Young.
Funeral
service is 11 a.m. Friday at Owen Funeral Home, 5317 Dixie Hwy Louisville Memorial
Gardens Kentucky
Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas
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