1877 Ohio County Deaths

Descendants of John George Bowman

This man, John George Bowman, was from Maryland and is in most of the Ohio County Leach ancestry, plus several other Ohio County families. This research was done by Beth Rasmusses.

Descendants of John George Bowman

1 John George Bowman b: Unknown in Germany d: Aft. 1760 in Montgomery Co, Md

......... 2 JACOB BOWMAN b: in probably Wurttemburg , Ger d: 02 Feb 1821 in Possibly Ann Arundel, Md

............. +VERLINDA PURNELL b: 07 Jan 1748 in St James parish, Ann Arundel Co, Md. m: Abt. 1763 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Bef. 1778 in Maryland

.................... 3 Richard P Bowman b: in Montgomery Co, Md d: in Montgomery Co, Md

.................... 3 RACHEL BOWMAN b: 1773 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: 1834 in Floyd Co, Indiana

........................ +JOHN S. LEACH b: 1775 in Montgomery Co, Md m: 25 Dec 1796 in Prince George Parish, Montgomery Co, Md d: 09 Feb 1855 in Floyd Co, Indiana

............................... 4 Joshua Leach b: 1798 in Montgomery Co, Maryland d: 1880 in Floyd Co, Indiana

................................... +Elizabeth McLain b: 1801 in Kentucky m: 09 Dec 1819 in Maryland d: 12 Dec 1887 in FLoyd Co, Indiana

............................... 4 Verlinda Leach b: 1801 in Ohio Co, Kentucky d: 1841 in Jeffersonville, Clark, In

................................... +Adam Morgan b: 1798 in Connecticut m: 11 Feb 1823 in Clark Co, In. d: 1866 in Jeffersonville, Clark, In

............................... 4 Frederick Bowman Leach b: 1803 in Ohio Co, Ky d: 06 Aug 1867 in Hannibal, Mo.

................................... +Matilda Giboney b: 1806 in Missouri m: 16 May 1827 in Cape Girardeau Missouri

............................... 4 Leonard S. Leach b: 15 Apr 1806 in Ohio Co, Kentucky d: 23 Sep 1871 in Clark Co, In

................................... +Mariah Hey b: 1805 in Keighley, Yorkshire, England m: 13 Oct 1826 in Clark or Floyd Co, Indiana d: 25 Sep 1871 in Clark Co, In

............................... 4 JACOB BOWMAN LEACH b: 21 May 1809 in Ohio Co, Kentucky d: 24 Nov 1866 in Floyd Co, Indiana

................................... +Martha Hey b: 22 Jul 1810 in Keighley, Yorkshire, Eng  m: 15 May 1830 in Floyd Co, In (New Albany) d: 25 Sep 1852 in Floyd Co, In.

............................... *2nd Wife of JACOB BOWMAN LEACH:

................................... +Mary Lines b: 1806 in England m: 09 Apr 1854 in Floyd Co, In. d: Bef. 1880 in Floyd or Clark Co, In.

............................... 4 Elizabeth Ann Leach b: 28 Mar 1812 in Ohio Co, Kentucky d: 27 Jun 1894 in Iola, Illinois

................................... +John Gullett m: 03 Nov 1830 in Floyd Co, In. d: Bef. 1842 in Floyd Co, In

............................... *2nd Husband of Elizabeth Ann Leach:

................................... +Eli Patrick b: 1795 in New York m: 14 Dec 1843 in Floyd Co, In. d: Aft. 1860 in Floyd Co, In

.................... 3 Verlinda Bowman b: Abt. 1774 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Aug 1849 in Montgomery Co, Md.

........................ +Unknown Cross m: Abt. 1795 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 Matilda Cross b: Bef. 1800

.................... *2nd Husband of Verlinda Bowman:

........................ +Michael Merrick b: Abt. 1765 in Montgomery Co, Md m: 21 May 1800 in Charles, Md. d: Unknown

............................... 4 Rachel Purnell Merrick b: 14 Mar 1801 d: Unknown

............................... 4 Amelia Merrick b: 14 Mar 1802

............................... 4 Margaret Merrick b: 1804

............................... 4 Jacob B.Merrick b: 1812 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Unknown

................................... +Catherine Merrick b: Abt. 1810 m: 16 Jan 1837 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Bef. 1880 in Maryland

............................... 4 Richard Merrick b: Abt. 1817

............................... 4 William B. Merrick b: 1820 in Montgomery, Md.

................................... +Lucy Hall m: 1856 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 James W. Merrick b: 1822

.................... 3 George Bowman b: Abt. 1774 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Unknown in Montgomery, Md

........................ +Sarah Howse b: 1774 in Maryland m: 18 Feb 1796 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Bef. 1805 in Montgomery, Maryland

............................... 4 Matilda Bowman b: Abt. 1803 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Abt. 1860 in Frederick, Maryland

................................... +Stephen W. Cross b: Abt. 1800 in Ann Arundel, Maryland m: Aug 1821 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Bef. 1880 in Frederick, Md

............................... 4 Perry Bowman b: Abt. 1805 in Montgomery Co, Md d: 1894 in Montgomery Co, Md.

................................... +Caroline Linden m: 08 Nov 1827 in Montgomery Co, Md.

............................... *2nd Wife of Perry Bowman:

................................... +Rebecca Ann Musgrove b: Abt. 1815 in Montgomery Co, Md. m: 1830 in Rockville, Md d: Aft. 1870 in Montgomery Co, Md.

.................... *2nd Wife of George Bowman:

........................ +Deborah Smith m: 29 Jun 1805 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Unknown

.................... 3 Frederick Bowman b: 1776 in Montgomery Co, Md d: 1833 in Montgomery Co, Md

........................ +Jane Gloyd m: 03 May 1823 in Bartholemew Episcopal Church, Laytonville, Md. d: Bef. 1827 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 Alcinda Bowman b: 25 Jul 1824 in Montgomery Co, Md.

.................... *2nd Wife of Frederick Bowman:

........................ +Ruth R Darby m: 03 Dec 1832 in Montgomery, Md.

......... *2nd Wife of JACOB BOWMAN:

............. +Mary Chambers m: 06 Jul 1778 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Unknown

.................... 3 Amelia Bowman b: 1783 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Abt. 1867 in Laytonsville, Montgomery Co, Md

........................ +Aden Darby Alnutt b: 1789 in Montgomery Co, Md. m: 30 Dec 1812 in Montgomery Co, MD d: Unk in Montgomery Co, Md.

............................... 4 John Alnut b: 1814 in Montgomery Co, Md d: 1900 in Montgomery Co, Md

................................... +Elizabeth Ann Miller b: 1814 in Maryland m: 1837 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 Mary Ann Alnut b: Abt. 1816

................................... +Horatio Crawford m: 1844 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 Elizabeth Alnut b: 1820

................................... +Alexander B. Knott b: 1822 m: 1846 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 Carolyn Alnut b: 1822

................................... +John H. Thompson b: 1810 m: 1845 in Montgomery Co, Md

............................... 4 Susannah Alnut b: 1824 in Montgomery Co, Md.

.................... 3 Shadrack Bowman b: Abt. 1786 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Bef. 1880 in Davies Co, In

........................ +Susannah Smith b: in Maryland m: 24 Dec 1810 in Montgomery Co, Md d: Bef. Mar 1828 in Poss. Kentucky

............................... 4 Richard Bowman b: Abt. 1819 d: Bef. 1880 in Daviess, In.

................................... +Mary Doan b: 1827 in N. Carolina m: 13 Jul 1846 in Davies Co, In. d: Aft. 1880 in Daviess, In.

.................... *2nd Wife of Shadrack Bowman:

........................ +Ellen Waller Cole b: Abt. 1788 in Bourbon Co, Ky m: 25 Mar 1828 in Daviess Co, In.

............................... 4 Sarah Bowman b: Abt. 1828

............................... 4 Franklin Bowman b: 1830 in Daviess Co, In.

................................... +Martha MNU b: Abt. 1832 in Daviess Co, In.

............................... 4 Benjamin F. Bowman b: 1831 in Maryland

............................... 4 Martha Bowman b: 1832

.................... 3 Elizabeth Bowman b: Abt. 1787 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Unknown

........................ +James Case b: in Maryland m: 25 Feb 1807 in Montgomery Co, Md. d: Unknown

............................... 4 Shadrack Case b: 27 Nov 1807

............................... 4 Harriot Case b: 19 Aug 1808

............................... 4 Rhoda Case b: 05 Dec 1810 in Cumberland Co, Md d: 1885 in Hocking Co, Ohio

................................... +Jacob Myers m: 1830 in Wheeling, WV d: 1863 in Hocking Co, Ohio

............................... 4 Nancy Melindy Case b: 29 Mar 1824

......... 2 George Bowman b: Abt. 1755 in Frederick or Montgomery Co, Md. d: Bef. 1830 in Montgomery Co, Md.

............. +Elizabeth Gue m: 03 Feb 1779 in Montgomery Co, Md.

.................... 3 Rezin Bowman b: Abt. 1778 in Maryland d: 1842 in Maryland

........................ +Ruth Gue

............................... 4 Frederick W. Bowman b: 1810 in Maryland d: 1900 in Maryland

................................... +Ruth R. Darby b: Unknown in Montgomery, Maryland m: 1832 in Montgomery, Md. d: 1860 in Maryland

.................... 3 Allen Bowman b: Abt. 1783

.................... 3 Aden Bowman b: 1786

........................ +Keziah Sedgwick m: 03 Jan 1809 in Montgomery, Md.

.................... 3 Amon Bowman b: Abt. 1788

........................ +Ann Baker m: 13 Jan 1825 in Montgomery, Md.

.................... 3 Evan Bowman b: Abt. 1790

........................ +Mary A Baker m: 22 Dec 1827

.................... *2nd Wife of Evan Bowman:

........................ +Mary A. Hopwood m: 01 Jan 1839 in Montgomery, Md.

.................... 3 Rebecca Bowman b: Abt. 1793

.................... 3 Dorothy Bowman b: Abt. 1795

The 14 Children of James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell - Child 13 & 14

#13

Bertha Belle Cox

1886-1903

      Bertha Belle Cox was born September 13, 1886 at Cromwell.  She died when she was only sixteen of typhoid fever on August 7, 1903, and was buried at East Providence Cemetery beside her grandparents.   Bertha was two years younger than my grandfather, Jasper Newton Cox, and was next to the youngest daughter of James William and Mary Elizabeth (Mitchell) Cox.  She was their thirteenth child. 

      A photo of Bertha Belle, given to me by my aunt Retha Green, shows Bertha to be a very beautiful young lady in a white dress, probably taken when she turned sixteen. Loretta Westerfield gave me a typed copy of a “Resolution” written by her Sunday school committee, signed by S. L. Stevens, Mrs. Carl M. Taylor, and Laura Coleman, which has lovely things to say about her.  Bertha evidently worked diligently in her church.  My grandfather had written on the back of her photograph, “The first one of our family to go.”  I think Bertha must have been a delightful girl, who spent her short life touching everyone’s heart with her sweet and gentle spirit.

“RESOLUTION

                        Whereas, In accord with the Divine Will, one of our Sunday

            School has been called from her labors in our School, and

                        Whereas, a vacant seat is left to remind us that never more

            will we be permitted to enjoy the pleasant greeting, the affable and

            lovable nature of Bertha Cox in our Sunday School, in our Social

            gatherings, and in the home of her family.  Therefore, we offer the

            following resolutions –

                        1^st.  That though we deplore the loss of our departed friend

            and co-worker, whose youthful life was just blooming into womanhood,

            yet we submit, feeling our loss is Heaven’s gain.

                        2^nd.  That we extend to the bereaved family our tenderest

            sympathy in their sad bereavement, and commend them to Him in

            whose hands the destiny of all people and nations hang.

                        3^rd.  That while we will ever cherish the memory of Bertha,

            yet we humbly bow to the will of Him who doeth all things well.

                        4^th.  That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of the

            Sunday School, and a copy sent to the family of the deceased and

            also copies furnished for publication in the county papers.

            Committee: S. L. Stevens ,  Mrs. Carl M. Taylor,  Laura Coleman”

~.~

~.~

 #14

Sarah Mae Cox

1889-1935

      Sarah Mae Cox, the youngest child of James and Mary Elizabeth Cox, was born July 25, 1889, near Rosine in Ohio County.  She married first, George Clayton Hocker, the son of Willie and Minnie Hocker of Cromwell, on November 19, 1906. George died at age twenty-eight, from an accident where he worked at a cement factory.   He was buried at Liberty Cemetery in Ohio County.  They had two children: 

1)      Burnyce Bullard “Tex” Hocker, born in 1907

2)      Prosha Marie Hocker, born in 1910

      In 1910, George and Sarah were at home in Rosine, Ohio County, Kentucky, when the census taker, Henry C. Crowder came by on a spring day, April 21, to ask the questions which had been assigned to him.  George and Sarah are listed with two small children, their son, “Burnes” Hocker, age 3, and their daughter, Prosha M., age 1 year, 3 months.

      Not found in the 1920 Census, Sarah Hocker and her children moved to Kansas at some point in time, and Sarah was found living there in 1930, listed as a “lodger” in the home of James E. and Issalona Woods.

      After her husband’s death, Sarah Mae Hocker married second, Lawrence Stull, but where this event happened has not been discovered in my research.  Sarah Mae died at age forty-five, June 22, 1935 in Hosington, Barton, Kansas, and was buried June 24 in the Liberty Cemetery at Beaver Dam, Ohio County, Kentucky.  (Death certificate lists her as a widow and Mrs. Prosha Krug, her daughter living in Hosington, Kansas, was the informant on the death certificate.  It also gave Sarah’s birthplace as Small House, Ohio County, Kentucky.)

      Prosha married Eddie Krug sometime between the 1930 census and 1935 when her mother died.  Eddie Krug, age 26, was listed as a “roomer” in the home of George and Ida Durand in Hosington, Barton County, in the 1930 census.  Prosha apparently took care of her mother until her death.

     In December 2001, my aunt Eula Mae sent me the address for the widow of Prosha’s brother, Burnyce Hocker, who died a few years ago in 1992.  Her name is Hazel Hocker, 30 Dennis Street, Monte Vista, Colorado 81144, and I called her on February 16, and we talked a long time.  Hazel was eighty-four and had celebrated her 50^th wedding anniversary with Burnyce Hocker before his death in 1992.  We had a long conversation and Hazel will help me with more information on this branch of the family.

      Prosha Marie Hocker was married first to Eddie Krug.  There were no children by this marriage.  She married second Everett Wesley Walker.  Today, February 16, 2002, I talked to Debbie (Walker) Beetler, the daughter of Prosha, who also gave additional information about her own family and that of her parents and grandparents.  Debbie will give more information and fill in the information I lack on my family charts.  I plan to write her a letter soon to send charts for her to fill in.

~.~

      My aunt, Eula Mae (Cox) Smith was about two years younger than her first cousin, Prosha, and the two were close friends. In 1936, the year after the death of her mother, Prosha paid a visit to my grandparents who were living in Kilgore.  At the same time Eula Mae was there visiting her parents.  When it was time for Prosha to go back home, they decided to ride the train to Dallas to attend the 1936 Texas Centennial celebration when Texas was celebrating its 100^th anniversary of independence, and Prosha would go on home from there.  They were about twenty-four and twenty-two at the time and had a great time and had a lot of fun walking around on the fairgrounds gazing at all the various sights, exhibits, and rides at the centennial festivities.  Both had many stories to tell when they returned to their homes.  Eula Mae just laughed and laughed when she was telling me this story. 

      The 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition opened and ran from June 6 through November 29, 1936.   March 2, 1836 commemorated the creation of the Republic of Texas.  On that date, the Texas Declaration of Independence was adopted at Washington-on-the Brazos.  It was reported that like everything else Texas does, the Texas celebration was the biggest and best celebration of a Centennial that the world had ever seen.  The 100^th anniversary and Exposition held in Dallas also involved another exposition in Fort Worth where they constructed the coliseum, complete with rodeos, cowboys and cowgirls.  Darrell told me she got to go to the Centennial, too.  Their neighbors, the Chandlers, who had a little girl about the same age invited Darrell to go with them.  Darrell was about ten years old.

      An obituary from the Hartford Herald at Hartford, Kentucky is given below:

Mr. Clayton Hocker

Mr. Clayton Hocker, son of Mr. William Hocker, who lives near

Cromwell, was killed in Chanute, Kansas last week.  His home was

in that city and he was working in a cement factory.  Some of the 

machinery got out of fix and he undertook to adjust it when an arm

was caught in a belt which jerked his arm off and cut him on the head.

He lived only an hour after the accident.  His remains were brought to

this place Sunday morning for burial at Liberty church, which will take

place Monday morning.  He leaves a wife, and two small children,

who, with a young man of that city, Mr. Baker, accompanied the corpse.  

His wife is a daughter of Mr. James Cox, at Pincheco.

~.~

      An obituary from the Ohio County News at Hartford, in the Friday, June 28, 1935 edition, gives the following information:

~.~

Burial Rites Tuesday

For Mrs. Sarah Hocker

                                    The remains of Mrs. Sarah Mae Cox Hocker, who

                        died June 22 at her home in Hosington, Kansas were conveyed

                        to Beaver Dam and funeral services were conducted at Liberty

                        Church at 3 p.m., Tuesday, by Rev. R. E. Fuqua, of Hartford.

                        Interment was at Liberty Cemetery.

                                    Mrs. Hocker was born near Rosine in this county,

                        July 25, 1889, and was reared in this section.  She professed

                        faith in Christ at an early age and was a member of the Green

                        River Baptist Church.  She was married in young womanhood

                        to Clayton Hocker, also of Ohio County.

                                    Following their marriage they located in Kansas, where

                        He died 21 years ago.  Since the passing of her husband, Mrs.

                        Hocker had resided with her daughter, Mrs. Prosha Krug, of

                        Hosington.  She is also survived by a son, Bernice Hocker, of

                        Topeka, Kansas; three sisters, Mrs. Birch Shields of Beaver Dam,

                        Mrs. Cinderella Crowder, of Rosine; and Mrs. Mary Christian,

                        of Horse Branch; four brothers, Rev. Tom Cox, of McHenry;

                        Ira and Orlando Cox, of Equality, and Newton Cox, of Texas.

~.~

      A second obituary from an unknown newspaper, gives additional information on Cox family members and where they lived:

~.~

Mrs. Mae Hocker

Dies in Kansas

                                    Mrs. Mae Hocker died June 22 at the home of her daughter,

                        Mrs. Prosha Krug of Hosington, Kansas.  Death was due to pelvis

                        cellulites.

                                    Mrs. Hocker was the daughter of the late Mr. and Mrs. J. W.

                        Cox.  She was the wife of the late Clayton Hocker, who preceded

                        her in death by twenty-one years. 

                                    Surviving relatives are two children, Mrs. Prosha Krug,

                        Hosington, Kan.; Mr. Burnyce Hocker, Topeka, Kan.; three sisters,

                        Mrs. Mary Christian, Mrs. Cinderella Crowder, and Mrs. Evelyn

Shields; four brothers, Messrs. Tom, Orlando, Ira and Newton Cox.

                                    Those attending the funeral from a distance were Mr. and

                        Mrs. Eddie Krug, Hosington, Kan., Mr. Burnyce Hocker, Topeka,

                        Kan., Mrs. Ola Allen, Mrs. Leona Liles, and Mrs. R. E. Banham

                        and son of East St. Louis, Ill., Mrs. M. Matthews of Whiting, Ind.,

                        and Mrs. Luther Duvall of Akron, Ohio.

~.~

1-31-2009:  It is my wish to put some of the Cox stories in the hands of second cousins lest I wait too late, since I am not getting any younger at seventy-five.  Several drafts of this story are yet to be made before it is finally completed and I have a lot of work to do yet on this preliminary draft.  It is written as a record for my children and to be shared with other family members who may be interested).  –  

Note: This data was updated in 2015.

Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas, currently age 86.

The 14 Children of James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell - Child 12

#12

Jasper Newton Cox

1884-1974

      Jasper Newton Cox, the twelfth child of James William and Mary Elizabeth (Mitchell) Cox, was born at Cromwell, May 10, 1884.  His maternal grandparents were Joseph Martin and Susannah Caroline (Acton) Mitchell.  He was the great-grandson of Bartemus and Sarah (Robey) Acton and Robert Mitchell and Judith Benson. 

      When he was born in 1884 to James and Mary Cox, his oldest brother, Joseph Thomas Cox was already twenty-two.  “Newt, as he was called by the family was the youngest of the six sons of his parents.  He had six older sisters and two sisters younger than himself.  He was born and grew up in and near Cromwell and Select in Ohio County, Kentucky.  Most of his ancestors on both sides had been in the county of his birth since in the early years after it was formed in 1798.  The Coxes and Leaches were here as early as 1801, according to deeds and tax records.

      His paternal grandparents were Thomas Jefferson Cox and Susannah Miranda (Leach), natives of Ohio County, Kentucky, and his great-grandparents were James Cox and Elizabeth (Leach) and William B(rooks) Leach and Sarah Emily Barnes, all believed to be natives of Maryland.

      Jasper Newton Cox was twenty-four when he married Eva Caroline Smith at her parents’ home near Select, Ohio County on September 6, 1908. Marriage licenses listed in the Hartford Herald, issue of September 2, listed J. N. Cox, Simmons and Eva C. Smith, Select.  They had four children:

1)      Gilbert Owen Cox, Jr., born October 10, 1909

2)      Eula Mae Smith, born April 26, 1912

3)      Retha Cox, born October 17, 1922

4)      Ruby Darrell, born May 9, 1926

      Newton Cox, as he was often addressed, had just been discharged from the regular U.S. Army a year or so before his marriage.  He served two different tours in the Army – the first one just a few years after the Spanish American War had ended in 1898 and the Treaty of Paris was signed on December 10, 1898. At the time he served after the war, it was known as the “Philippine Insurrection Period.”   Some historians refer to it as the war that lasted from 1899 to 1902 in the Philippines.  My grandfather always referred to his service as occurring in “the Insurrection Period after the war had ended.” 

      Many Regular Army infantry, cavalry, and artillery units were sent overseas to the Philippines after the war.  My grandfather, as a young, robust soldier, was eager to be sent overseas with his buddies.  He signed up to go to the Philippines more than once, but each time, other units were sent and he never did leave the States.  He enlisted twice, with his first tour of duty in the artillery division – and the second and last tour where he served as a guard at Fort Leavenworth Prison in Kansas, from which place he was honorably discharged about 1906.

      In the Hartford Republican newspaper, edition of January 27, 1906, appeared a  column from the Smallhouse community, which mentioned:  “Mr. Newton and Miss Sarah Cox of Pincheco, were guests of Orlando C. Cox and family recently.”

      Ohio County was a coal mining county and my grandfather worked in the coal mines when he and my grandmother were married, although he didn’t work there very long.  Grandmother told me she didn’t like for him to work there because it was too dangerous.  Ohio County newspapers frequently reported mining accidents, which were all too common. 

      When he left the coal mines, Newt, as he was called, bought a little farm near Cromwell and went to farming.  Two children were born to them in Ohio County – my father, Gilbert Owen Cox, born at Cromwell, and his sister, Eula Mae Cox, born on the new little farm at Cromwell.

      About 1914, they moved to Edgerly, Louisiana, where my grandmother’s sister, Elizabeth “Lizzie” (Smith) Sandefur and her husband, Everett, lived, with their little daughter, Joye.  My grandfather found work there and they lived in Louisiana for at least five or six years. 

      On September 12, 1918, according to the World War I draft records, Jasper Newton Cox was 34 years old and had to register for the draft at the nearest Local Draft Board for the Parish of Calcasieu, Louisiana.  The local board was located at Lake Charles, Louisiana, according to the “stamped” record.  His registration card – Serial No. 123 2855 – Order No. 123 gave his permanent address as Edgerly, Louisiana; age 34; birth date May 10, 1884; race “white;” occupation, Sulphur Mining; employer, Union Sulphur Co., Sulphur, Louisiana; wife, Eva Cox.  His height was “medium;” build, “medium” with blue eyes, dark brown hair, and it specified he had “lost one eye.”  Loss of his eye occurred in an on-the-job accident in what was called “The Big Woods” while they were splicing a drilling line cable and a small piece of wire broke loose and pierced the edge of the pupil of his eye.  He was carried to an eye doctor in Lake Charles, about six hours away, but even after surgery, he never regained sight in his eye.

      In 1920, they moved to Texas where two more daughters were born – Retha and Ruby Darrell Cox. My grandfather worked for the Gulf Oil Company for a number of years, and later in the great East Texas Oil Field at Kilgore, near Tyler, during the Great Depression era.

~.~

      When I was growing up, we nearly always lived near my father’s parents, and when I was a teenager, my grandparents bought a house and thirty-four acres across the highway from my parents.  So my grandfather Cox was always around and we grandchildren were with him often.  He was a very pleasant and congenial man and whistled or sang when he was doing his chores.  Sometimes he kind of whistled his favorite and catchy little tunes through his teeth or hummed to himself.  When we were little he would rock us and sing “The Preacher and the Bear Song;” “Big Rock Candy Mountain;”  “Little Girl Dressed in Blue;” and “A Tisket, A Tasket.”

      Before television, he never missed listening to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights on the radio, and later he watched it on TV.  His favorite song was probably “The Great Speckled Bird” as only Roy Acuff could sing it.  He was a Mason, a devout Christian, and could quote almost any verse in the Bible we could ask of him.  He read in his worn Bible every day.

      Later when he was older and my cousin, Beverly Kay Green, came along, I watched him rock her in his rocking chair and he sang, “On the Shores of Lake Ponchartrain,” “Mockingbird Hill” and “Swinging on a Star” to her.  He always liked music.

      He was a gifted and wonderful story-teller with an almost graphic memory.  I particularly remember an evening in his living room with all of his children there, including my parents, and several grandchildren sitting on the floor.  He told us story after story from the “old days” in Kentucky when he was a boy.  I distinctly remember that everyone was completely enthralled and were so still and caught up in his stories that you could have heard a pin drop.  All the cousins remember this particular day and those old long-ago tales of his youth, growing up in Ohio County.

      In 1969, my grandfather, born 1884, began dictating his life story to me which I took down in shorthand and later transcribed into ten typed pages.  Our interview was interrupted that morning as we sat out on his screened-in back porch, when company drove up.  Joye, her husband, Frank Moore, and “Auntie” Sandefur from Palestine came over that Saturday morning, and we never did finish the history of his family. 

      I have always regretted that I didn’t go back over there the next weekend, because I wanted to get a few stories about all his brothers and sisters, and a little bit of their family histories.  But I have many stories of his life in Ohio County, Kentucky, his army life, coal mining, and his courtship of my grandmother, Eva Caroline Smith, that he told me that morning.  Together, they told me about their early life in Ohio County, before moving to Texas in 1920 when my father was about ten years old.

      An article from the Tyler Morning Telegraph on Saturday, September 8, 1973, noted their 65^th wedding anniversary:

“TROUP COUPLE WILL MARK 65^TH ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY”

Troup – Mr. and Mrs. J. N. Cox of Troup will observe their 65^th wedding anniversary with members of their family Sunday.

Both were born in Kentucky and have resided in Texas for 53 years.  They

have lived near Troup for the past 23 years.

They are the parents of four children:  Mrs. Darrell Appl of Tyler; Mrs.

Retha Green of Corpus Christi, Mrs. Eula Mae Smith, of Leoti, Kansas,

and Gilbert O. Cox, Troup.

Other descendants include six grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.”

~.~

      My grandfather was ninety years, four months and eleven days old when he died at his home at New Summerfield, passing away peacefully in his sleep, on September 21, 1974.  He and my grandmother had been married sixty-six years at the date of his death.  He was buried at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler, Texas, where years before the family had purchased a family burial plot when his two youngest daughters lived in Tyler. 

      His obituary in the Tyler Morning Telegraph in September 1974 is quoted below:

~.~

“J. N. COX”

    New Summerfield – J. N. Cox, 90, of New Summerfield, died Saturday morning at his residence following a brief illness.

    Funeral services are set for Monday at 2 p.m. in the Lloyd James Funeral Home chapel with the Rev. Milton Gardner officiating.  Masonic graveside services will follow at the Rose Hill Cemetery.

    Mr. Cox was a native of Ohio County, Kentucky and was in the drilling department of several major oil companies.  He was a veteran of the Spanish American War in which he served with the U. S. Army.  He had lived in New Summerfield for the past 25 years.  Mr. Cox was a member of the Baptist Church, the Troup Masonic Lodge No. 272, and had been a Mason for 49 years.

    His survivors include his wife, Mrs. Eva C. Cox of New Summerfield, a son, Gilbert Cox of New Summerfield; three daughters, Mrs. Robert A. Smith of Leoti, Kansas, Mrs. Duane Marvin Green of Corpus Christi, and Mrs. Darrell Appl of Tyler, six grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews.

    Pallbearers will be Masons.”

          ~.~

    

   Masonic Record

of

Jasper Newton Cox

“J. N. Cox was initiated Dec,  29, 1923, passed on February 3, 1923, and raised on May 27, 1924 at Oglesby Lodge #947 – in Oglesby, Texas.

           

He petitioned the Troup Lodge on November 30, 1956 from the Springfield Lodge #974 at Mexia, Texas.  Said he had lived at his present address (Summerfield) since December 1949.”

       My grandfather was a Mason for many years.  Through his membership with this fraternity, Darrell and I joined the Order of the Eastern Star at Arp (Smith County, Texas) in 1982.  When I began to wonder where and at what age my grandfather petitioned the lodge to become a Mason, I wrote the secretary of the Troup Masonic Lodge No. 272, where he was a member.  I received the following information. 

           

      At the time he petitioned the lodge to join the Masonic Fraternity he was thirty-nine years old and was probably working at the Waco Lime and Products Company, along with his brother-in-law, Everett Sandefur.  The family lived at Oglesby in Coryell County for several years. 

      In December 1923 as soon as he had learned his work, he was initiated as an Entered Apprentice at Oglesby.  In February, three months later, he was passed into the Fellow Craft and the following May in 1924, he was raised to the degree of Master Mason.  He kept his membership until he moved to Mexia in Limestone County when the Waco Lime and Products Company went out of business.  Not long after he arrived in Mexia, he petitioned the Springfield Lodge No. 974 and his membership remained with that lodge until 1956.

      When he petitioned Troup Lodge about nine miles from his residence at New Summerfield, my grandfather was seventy-two and said he had lived at his present address (Summerfield) since December 1949.  That is the approximate time he bought his farm across the highway from my parents, who lived two miles out of New Summerfield on Troup Highway No. 110.

      My grandfather remained a member of the Troup Lodge until his death in 1974,

a period of twenty-eight years.  All told, he had been a Mason for fifty-one years. He was a faithful servant of the Master, daily walked with God, and preached righteousness to his children.  “As ye would that men should do unto you…” was the rule he applied to his own life and lived by.  Jasper Newton Cox was laid to rest with Masonic honors. 

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      When my aunt wrote the information for her father’s obituary, she did not realize that it was not the Spanish American War that her father served in, but the period after the war called “the Philippine Insurrection Period.”

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      My grandmother, Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox, born at Select, continued to live in her home across the highway from my parents until my father died on August 19, 1984.   At that time she was ninety-five and went to live with her youngest daughter, Darrell Appl, in Tyler.   She died December 6, 1988, three months short of her 100^th birthday.  She had never been ill until the last six months of her life.  She was buried beside her husband at Rose Hill Cemetery in Tyler, Smith County, Texas.

      As mentioned, I have a typed ten-page story that my grandfather dictated to me of his life in Ohio County, including how he met my grandmother, their courtship in the horse and buggy days, and other happenings.  My grandmother said she thought he always tried to hire the wildest horse he could get from the livery stable, and consequently, they had some harrowing experiences. Later on, over a seventeen-year period, I interviewed my grandmother and other family members on audio tape for the remembrances of their life and times. 

      Slowly, I am also working on another book about my grandparents and my own parents, brothers and sisters.  If I don’t do it, it will be lost forever, and my children and grandchildren and future posterity won’t have the least idea about their family heritage.  I think it is important for them to know and I am thankful that I started collecting all this in 1962 – some forty-seven years ago, when my daughter Jennifer was in the eighth grade.  Her teacher assigned a project of “Family Tree” to her students as a project. As Jennifer started asking me questions, I realized suddenly that I knew nothing about their early lives or about my great-grandparents, although I did remember visiting my Great Grandmother Altman in Fort Worth when I was about five years old

      At the time of Jennifer’s Family Tree school project my two daughters had eleven grand-parents and great-grandparents living.   Three sets lived close enough that we could go visit, so Jennifer could interview them about their lives and their parents and brothers and sisters.  She also asked about their courtships and marriage.  And all three brought out a family Bible and Jennifer wrote down dates and places and filled in the blanks on the chart she had made.  Hearing the stories unfold of these grandparents was absolutely fascinating and they had such a good time telling their stories of days gone by.  Jennifer made an A+ on her Family Tree project – and I was hooked on family history – a hobby that has lasted the rest of my life.  

Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas