The 14 Children of James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell - Child 11

#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, on January 20, 1882.  When his parents separated in 1890, he was the only child who went with his mother when she left her home.  According to family tradition, he cried so hard, his mother took him with her.  He was the only other son of James William Cox, other than my grandfather, Jasper Newton Cox, who was in the military.  I have a photo of him in his military uniform, given to me by his son, James Coy Cox of Louisville, Kentucky.  James and I corresponded for several years and we usually tried to call one another at Christmas time.

      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.  Cinderella and Tom were 36 and 34, and had a little daughter, Loretta, age 9.

      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 County.  His bride was seventeen.  She was the daughter of Hardin R. Coy and his wife, a widow Elizabeth Allen. 

      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,” married Ira Clinton’s brother, Orlando Clay Cox. 

      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 8^th grade

students who passed the common school test.  Raymond Robertson was

one of the test graders.” 

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      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!”

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      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, January 5, 1909.”  His discharge papers were signed at Fort Monroe, Virginia, January 6, 1909.  His brother, Jasper Newton Cox, was also stationed near Fort Monroe at one period of time while he was serving in the Army.

      Ira Cox married Anna Martha Coy, the daughter of Hardin Coy, on Christmas Eve, December 24, 1912 at Hartford.  His occupation was farming.  He was seventy-two when he died at King’s 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.

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IRA C. COX DIES

AT SHELBYVILLE

                                    Ira C. Cox, 73, died Monday, October 4 at

1:30 p.m. at Kings Daughters Hospital, Shelbyville,

Ky. 

            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; 7 grandchildren.

           

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.  Interment took place in Louisville

Memorial Gardens.

      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.

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Ira C. Cox, 73, Dies

At Shelbyville Hospital

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                             Ira C. Cox, 73, formerly of Ohio county, died Monday,

October 4, at the Kings’s Daughters hospital, Shelbyville,

Kentucky.

                             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, Wednesday, October 6,

by the Rev. Bill Holladay, of Centertown.  Interment was in the

Louisville Memorial Gardens.  Plumb Lodge, No. 862, officiated

at the grave.

                             He leaves his wife, Mrs. Anna Martha Cox; two daughters,

Mrs. Ona Mae Burgess, of Louisville, and Mrs. Alma Porter,

of Centertown; one son, James C. Cox, of Louisville; three sisters,

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.

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      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.

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      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.  He and I talked at least once or twice a year, and for a long time exchanged letters and Christmas cards every year.  He is the one who made the recording of Granddaddy and Grandmother Cox and he sent me an audio tape of the surprise visit that I shared with everybody.  Back in the 1970’s, sometime.”

James Coy Cox

COX, JAMES C., 86, passed away Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital. He was born in Centertown, KY to Ira C. and Anna (Coy) Cox. He was a retired Mechanical Inspector with Boatwright Ordnance, (Civil Service) Ft. Knox, KY. He was a World War II Army veteran and a Purple Heart Recipient, having served in the European Theatre and was a member of the Centertown Masonic Lodge.

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, with burial in Louisville Memorial Gardens West. Visitation is 5-8 p.m. Thursday. Expressions of sympathy to the Masonic Home of Kentucky. Online condolences: owenfuneralhome.com

Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas

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

The 14 Children of James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell - Child 9

#9

Martha Evelyn Cox

1877-1961

Martha Evelyn Cox (1877-1961) was the daughter of James William Cox (1838-1931) and Mary Elizabeth (Mitchell) (1844-1903) and granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson Cox (1811-1892) and Susannah Miranda (Leach) (1807-1859) and of Joseph Martin Mitchell (1822-1904) and Susannah (Acton) (1826-1878). Family members say that Martha Evelyn Cox and Birch Shields eloped and married at Rockport - Aug 22. 1895.

From the Hartford Herald, Jan. 20, 1904, under column for Select community:

"Jewel, the infant and only child of Mr. and Mrs. Birch Shields, died last Thursday at 1 o'clock.  The little one had been in good health from birth and death was unexpected.  He was laid to rest in the Green River burying ground after funeral services by Rev. A. B. Gardner. "

Source:  "A Sesquicentennial History of the Green River Missionary Baptist Church, 1836-1986" written and compiled by Wendell Holmes Rone, Sr. for the 150th founding of the Church, 1987.

" Brother Shields married, probably around the year 1895, a lady named Miss Evelyn Cox -- born in August, 1877, according to the 1900 and 1910 Census Reports of Ohio County Kentucky.  She was, therefore, about eight years his junior in age.  The above Census Records list no children.  She, too, was baptized into the Church's fellowship by pastor Jarnagin, in November, 1888.  She was lettered out in 1911; in and out 1920-1922.  She survived him.  And, after the deaths of their respective mates, she was united in marriage to Rev. J. J. Willett, in 1940.  She became a widow for the second time, in 1944, upon his death."

Source for below:  "A HISTORY OF THE DAVIESS-McLEAN BAPTIST ASSOCIATION IN KENTUCKY, 1844-1943" by Wendell H. Rone.  Probably published in 1944 by Messenger Job Printing Co., Inc., Owensboro, Kentucky, pp. 425-426. 

"Brother Willett was married to Mrs. Birch Shields, the widow of Rev. Birch Shields, in the early part of 1940, and since that time has made his home at Beaver Dam, Ohio County, Kentucky.  He is also a member of the historic Beaver Dam Baptist Church.  Even though he is now in his eighty-third year our brother can still tell you why he is a Baptist and can preach to you a very able sermon.  The ministry has been blessed and enriched by the life and labors of James Joseph Willett.  He gave much encouragement and counsel to the author during the early days of his ministry and he will be forever grateful for it."

  On April 2, 1961, Martha Evelyn (Cox) Shields Willett, at age 83, departed this life; and her remains rest alongside his remains (1934) interred in the Green River Cemetery,  where his paternal parents and grandparents are buried, as well as other relatives.

Obituary of Martha Evelyn:

                                            MRS. EVELYN WILLETT

Beaver Dam -- Evelyn Willett, 83, of Beaver Dam died at 8:30 a.m. Saturday at the Ohio County Hospital in Hartford, following an illness of several months.  She was the widow of J. J. Willett.  She was born in Ohio County on August 31, 1877, and had lived in Beaver Dam most of her life.  She was a member of the Beaver Dam Baptist Church.

Survivors include two sisters, Mrs. Mary E. Christian, Cromwell, and Mrs. H. T. Crowder, Rosine; two brothers, O. C. Cox, St. Louis, Kentucky and J. N. Cox, Troup, Texas.

Funeral services will be held at 2 p.m. Monday at the Casebier Funeral Home chapel, the Rev. Dale Holly, officiating.  Burial will be in Green River Cemetery.

The body is at the Casebier Funeral Home in Beaver Dam. 

Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas

The 14 Children of James William Cox and Mary Elizabeth Mitchell - Child 8

#8

Cinderella Cox

1875-1967

      Cinderella Cox, born September 2, 1875, was the fifth daughter of James William and Mary Elizabeth (Mitchell) Cox.  At age twenty-one she married Hannibal Thomas Crowder, age twenty-five, on Christmas Day, December 25, 1896.  He was the son of Marion Francis Crowder and Amelia Hobdy.  She was called “Aunt C” or “Aunt Cindy” by all her nieces and nephews. 

      Cinderella died at age ninety-two, three days after Christmas, on December 28, 1967, and was buried beside her husband, December 31, in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Ohio County.  Her husband, “Tom,” born February 24, 1871, died twelve years earlier, June 5, 1955.

      They had two sons and one daughter.

1)      Wavy, born and died December 19, 1897

2)      Orville, born November 5, 1898; died September 26, 1901

3)      Loretta, born February 18, 1901 at Baizetown, a few miles from Select.  She married Alfred Royal Westerfield at Cromwell on February 16, 1921.  Loretta died on New Year’s Day, January 1, 1985, at the Professional Care Nursing Home in Ohio County.

      In April 1910 when the census was taken that spring, Cinderella and Tom were living at Ohio County, and living with them was one of Cinderella’s younger brothers, Ira Clinton, age 28, who had just returned home from the Army in 1909, after an absence serving in Cuba for three years.  He was single and listed as “general labourer, working out.”  Probably, he was helping his brother-in-law, Tom with his farm crops.

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H. T. Crowder, 84

Dies at Rosine

“Hannibal Thomas Crowder, 84, died at 3:30 a.m.

            Sunday, June 5, at his home in Rosine, following an

            illness of two years.

            He was born February 24, 1871 at Baizetown, the

            son of Marion Frances and Amelia Hobdy Crowder.

            He was a member of the Renfrow Church of Christ,

            the Rosine Masonic Lodge and Eastern Star.

            Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Cinderella Cox

            Crowder, of Rosine; a daughter, Mrs. Loretta Westerfield,

            also of Rosine; three grandsons and five great-grand

            daughters.

            The funeral was held at 2 p.m., Tuesday, June 7, at

            Rosine Baptist church, with Lloyd B. Spivey, Church of

            Christ minister, of Beaver Dam, officiating.  Burial was

            in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.

            Burial arrangements were in charge of the Casebier

            Funeral Home in Beaver Dam.”

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Cinderella (Cox) Crowder

12-28-1967 newspaper

            “Mrs. Cinderella Cox Crowder, 92, Rosine’s oldest

            Citizen, died at 5:40 p.m. Thursday in the Ohio County

            Hospital.

            She was born at Select, Kentucky, September 2, 1875,

            one of 14 children.  She was a lifetime resident of Ohio

            County and a member of the Renfrow Church of Christ.

            Mrs. Crowder was a 50-year member and first Worthy

            Matron of Rosine Chapter 542, Order of Eastern Star.

            In early years, she taught school at various places in the

            County, retiring from this profession in 1906.  She and her

            husband, Tom, who preceded her in death in 1955, operated

            a boarding house in Rosine for some time.

            Surviving are a daughter, Mrs. Loretta Westerfield; three

            grandsons; six great-grandchildren; five great-great grand-

            children; a brother, J. N. Cox of Troup, Texas.

            Services were held at 1 p.m. Saturday in the William L.

            Danks Funeral Home with burial in Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.

            The William L. Danks Funeral home in Beaver Dam was

            in charge of arrangements.”

~.~

      Another clipping read:  “Rosine citizens sympathize with the family of Mrs. Cinderella Crowder.  Mrs. Crowder, “Aunt Cindrella” as she was known to all her many friends and neighbors here, was Rosine’s oldest citizen, being past her 92^nd birthday.  She was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star and was the first matron of this society when it was first chartered.  Aunt Cindy will be missed by many, many who still remain here behind.”

~.~

Loretta and I corresponded for many years and my parents, husband, and little daughter Amy visited with her and her son Dwight in 1975.  She had prepared a huge meal, topped off with fresh apple pie, and brought out many scrapbooks and photo albums for us to see.  We were so happy to at last meet one another.  Dwight and I corresponded occasionally by email and once I talked to him by phone. (I was shocked today on September 21, 2008 to learn from Jim Cox in Louisville that Dwight, 63, passed away several months ago. Terry Acton furnished me with his obituary).

Their old home had burned that year (1975), but with help from the neighbors, they were able to save almost everything.  Loretta and Dwight built a new and modern, smaller brick home at Rosine on the site of their former home.  Sometime later their barn burned down. (At one time, when the post office was established in January 1872, the little community was known as “Pigeon’s Roost,” but in June 1873, the name was changed to Rosine.) 

Everyone in the family always said that Cinderella and Tom’s home was the meeting place for the entire family when the ones gone from Kentucky came home to visit.  Cinderella was the glue that held the family together, and after their death, family members continued to make it the meeting place and Loretta became the gracious hostess.  Consequently, she kept current with much of the family history.

Loretta and I first began our letter-writing in 1972 and continued it for almost ten years, until her eyes grew dim.  It was Loretta who helped me collect a great deal of the individual family history information on current Cox descendants – the fourteen children of James and Mary E. (Mitchell) Cox that has gone into the family chapters here. 

Letters are becoming a lost art, but I have saved family letters for many years, and have two very large notebooks filled with family letters, mostly from my children and parents, in date order, that are now chronicles or diaries of their lives.  They are messages filled with their thoughts, actions, decisions, dreams, announcements - the list is endless - about what was going on in their lives.  Someday, I will give each of them a notebook filled with our letters, because I also kept copies of my letters to them.  Family letters are among my most treasured collections.

Below is either the first or second letter I ever received from Loretta, and it began a very pleasurable letter-writing campaign back and forth between us for the next ten years or so. For ease in re-reading and study, I once retyped all of Loretta’s letters to me, and kept many copies of the letters I wrote her in return. One day, I will give her notebook of letters to one of her granddaughters. 

Her letters that traveled from Kentucky to Texas were always a pleasure to receive and a welcome surprise when I opened my mail box and found my mailman had left me a letter from my cousin.  I especially enjoyed her letters, which grew to be a special connection and bond between us.  This one was written more than thirty-six years ago:

November 6, 1972

           Dear Janice:

     Really don’t know how to apologize for my delay in answering your good letter.  Alfred, my husband, isn’t able to do anything and I have to do everything that is done.  Therefore, I never get all done.  Always behind with my work.

     Sure did enjoy your letter, read it over many times.  We were all amazed at the records, you must have spent many hours in compiling them.  I read them over most every day.  Many names I never heard before.  At the same time, we find many names handed down through the generations, so interesting.  I hope to add our generation to it in time.  Our family is so scattered, it may not be easy.

Our family is so scattered, I do believe Roy had to write to 36 different states when settling Aunt Eva’s estate.  Do hope you get the history written in time for me to read it.

It doesn’t seem possible that Aunt Eva is 83.  So glad she and Uncle Newton are enjoying their latter days.  Hope they will live past 95 and enjoy their senior years.

It was sweet of you to send Leonard a copy.  He would like to come back here to retire but his wife prefers the golden west.  Leonard’s family here have all passed on except one brother, Gordon, and possibly a half-sister.

The cousin I mentioned in Bowling Green was Stella Daniel ______?, Aunt “Rillar” (Corilla) Daniel, Robert H. Daniel’s wife.  Yes, Noka (Mrs. P. M. Barlow) is Joe Mitchell’s daughter and she has a brother Joe.  Her father is the son of Joseph G. Mitchell; if I read correctly, his spouse was Henrietta A. Hurt.  Noka’s mother was a sister to Uncle Orlando’s 2^nd wife, Belle Allen, the mother of his children.  Noka’s mother’s name was Rachel Allen; she and Aunt Belle are half-sisters to Uncle Ira’s wife, Anna Martha Coy.  In mother’s Bible, I found a list of her brothers and sisters with the date of their birth and death.  If you need them, let me know.

     No, I don’t know of any one doing research.  I am personally acquainted with our County Librarian (Mrs. Riley); the first time I am in Hartford will inquire of her for someone.

     Do hope you get to Kentucky on your vacation. Two or three weeks ago would have been perfect; our woodlands are so beautiful in mid-Oct.  Rough River Dam, Mammoth Cave, Kentucky Lake, Lincoln Memorial – also Jefferson Davis Monument are nearby.  Right now, many people are visiting “Shaker Town” near Lexington.  Come on to see us and the Horse Farms and many other things of beauty as “My Old Kentucky Home.”

Not the least of all for me is my own family I would like for you to meet.  Tell Uncle Newton his “fishing pal” is now wearing 17 shirt and 44 waist pants.  It actually frightens me.  Not what he eats, but an inactive thyroid, I fear.

If I find any thing new on our family tree, will send it on to you.  We all enjoyed your letter so much.  I know well how sweet little Amy is.  My last son arrived when I was 44.  He has been and is so much pleasure to us.  Not married, comes home often.  

                                                                                                                        Love you.   Loretta

     Sure do Thank you sincerely for the facts and data you sent me on our family.

~.~

Loretta often wrote little tid-bits of history in her letters to me, along with the family history, and in one letter written March 18, 1975, she said:

“Must tell you now I enjoyed the package and history of our Cox family.  It was really interesting.  McLean County now is very small and adjoins our own Ohio County.  But at the time they (the Coxes) came into KY, McLean County was a large part of this end of the State.  Am hunting for my old Kentucky histories to find a map that shows just how much.  The names of the many creeks are so familiar.  Can readily see your great desire to connect those first ones that came into Kentucky more and more with our family.  There are several by the name of COX in this county, but claim no kin with us.  The more I learn about our family, the more I feel we are related.”

“Grandpa Cox belonged to the Christian Church, but many of the children, girls especially, went to Baptist after marriage.”

      A few weeks later, on May 30, 1975, Loretta provided me with some more interesting family information:

            “Finally found the word Pincheco, Ohio County, in your papers.  It was

just a wide place in road between Cromwell and Beaver Dam.  Do believe Gilbert was born there.  It seems they had a post office there and  believe Grandpa Cox was post master.  You ask Aunt Eva, I believe she will remember.  Grandpa lived there when Aunt Bertha died.  Also, Aunt Mae first met Uncle Clayton Hocker there.  Prosha’s parents.  Now, there isn’t anything left to remind us of Pincheco, am not sure this spelling is correct; regardless of the spelling, the pronunciation is (Pinch’-eko), a building they used for both church and school was nearby.  The school was called Cooper, the church I believe was Baptist; not sure of it, it could have been Methodist.  If you find that I have used Pincheco, probably misspelled it, it will be one and the same.  Have never heard of one anywhere else.

“Am sending what I have collected to you.  Will continue as I can.  Am sorry I didn’t get the obituaries copied.  My old typewriter is about as dilapidated as I am, but it has had it; took Dwight and me both through College, and Melody finished High School with it.  With love, Loretta.”

      Just like Loretta, I often spent cold winter days re-reading her letters and analyzing what she wrote to see if I had overlooked something.  Eventually, I typed all of them up, and put them into a notebook for easy reference.  Loretta wrote very interesting letters and I learned so much from her.  She was a wonderful person.  I could identify with her, because I am also a member of the Order of the Eastern Star at Troup and have been for nearly twenty-seven years.  My grandfather was a Mason, affiliated with the Masonic lodge at Troup.

      Loretta was a very good-natured person and she had a great, optimistic outlook; she was never a quitter in trying to collect and compile all the records she could for me.  In another letter she said:

“Don’t hesitate to ask me over and over for the ones you need.  I have always been very active, taught until I was 70 years old.  But was doing fine until I had to put Alfred in the hospital in June 1974, knowing I would never be able to bring him home alive; and then the home I had remodeled for our old age burned in September and he passed away in October.  I still managed to control until we moved back in June.  So many things needed to be done.  Got to where I couldn’t drive my car.  Just sold it.  My recall is so poor, it is almost embarrassing.  In fact, it is maddening.  Don’t suppose this is any worse than other old people experience…so I try not to complain.”

      In another letter written August 2, 1975, she mentioned the fact that we were planning to visit Ohio County, and said:

            “Dear Jerri:  The aunts are calling to know when you are coming. 

Gladly told them, “It won’t be long now.”

Prosha was here when I received your letter; we both lamented that

you couldn’t have met here.  Her son, Jim and wife, Mary, brought

her.   Jim was on vacation; they went on to Mammoth Cave, Opera

Land and other places not so familiar to me.  Mary kept looking for

a “Hill-Billy”; gave us all a big bang when everyone she met was a

“Hill-Billy.” 

~.~

      My dad, Gilbert Cox, had not been back “home” to Ohio County since he was ten years old so my husband Conrad and little daughter, Amy Elizabeth, and I took them back to see everybody.  We had a wonderful, wonderful visit seeing and meeting all of my grandmother’s brothers and sisters who ranged in age from seventy-eight to ninety-five, as well as Cox cousin descendants.  My dad had so much fun reuniting with his cousins.

      The following  month in September, my dad came back home, bought a new station wagon and took his mother, Eva Caroline (Smith) Cox and his three sisters, Eula Mae Smith, Retha Green and Darrell Appl back for a more extended visit.  It made my grandmother so happy; she said it was the first time she had ever had all of her children “back home” at the same time.  They talked about this trip for many months.

On October 27, 1975, Loretta wrote to me about it:

            “Sure did enjoy the short visit of Aunt Eva and children; so nice they

            all got to come together.  They were only here a few minutes, but we

            sure did a good job of visiting that few minutes.  Dwight really liked

            talking to Conrad.  Speaks of him often.  Wished for you Saturday.

            My two oldest granddaughters, Ima and Nina, came with their three

            little ones.  Amy would have enjoyed playing with them.  They were

            in Louisville with their Mother who is taking treatments for cancer.

            Just ran down here to see me in the p.m.  Had been over a year since

            they had seen me.  Linda, the youngest, was with their mother. 

            Catherine, R. C.’s wife, had an operation about four weeks ago and

            it was malignant.  That is the cause of the treatments.

            Orville Cox from Paragould, Ark. had dinner with me Saturday a

week ago.  His wife was with her Mother in Beaver Dam.  We really

            had a good day lining up the Cox’s.  He is Uncle Netter’s youngest son.

            Then, last Saturday a.m., Willie Cox from Agnos, Arkansas came by

            for a few minutes.  His wife was with her sister in Fordsville.  So glad

            they both came, so we could keep in touch.  Willie told me I looked

            just like my mother; of course, that pleased me, also reminded me I

            had some “big shoes to fill.”

      On a cold winter day, she wrote me on January 20, 1977: 

            “Dear Jerri:  So cold and “snowy” I can’t get out, so to pass the time away

            I have been rereading your former letters.  In one, you ask the name of the

            cemetery near Luther Rogers’s farm.  It is “Fairview” on Hwy. 505 East.

            Highway 505 connects U. S. Highway 62 at top of Rosine Hill, with U.S.

            241, just out of Cromwell.  Many of our relatives are buried at Fairview.

            It is beautiful and well kept.  It slopes toward the road 505, with so many

            flowers.  Due to the slope they show up beautifully.

            “There are so many Coxes in Ohio County, can’t keep from believing we

            are all related.  One settlement of them near Dundee; another settlement

            of them below Cool Springs near Green River.  Have never been fortunate

            enough to meet one of them.  The Cox name is familiar all over Kentucky.

            In reading the Courier Journal, Louisville, we find the name frequently.

            Maybe eventually we will find some connection.”

      Loretta and Alfred Westerfield had three sons, Rupert Crowder, Orville Alroy, and Dwight Leahy.  A little daughter, Ruth Electa, died the same day she was born, May 14, 1936.

 

      In the 1930 census, Loretta and Alfred were living in Gary, Indiana, where Alfred’s occupation was listed as “pipe inspector in a steel plant.”  Two children shown were Rupert and Orville.  Ray Pierce, age 20, was listed as a “boarder” in their home.

      In filling out her own Family Group Chart (along with the many others she compiled for me), she indicated Alfred had served in the U. S. Navy, World War I.  His places of residence during his lifetime were listed as Fordsville, Hartford, Ohio, Indiana, California and Texas.  Loretta listed her own places of residence at Small House, Hartford, Rosine, Indiana and Wisconsin.

~.~

Obituary for Loretta Westerfield

                               “Mrs. Loretta Westerfield, 83, of Rosine, died Tuesday,

                        January 1, 1985 at Professional Care Home, Hartford.

                        She was born in Ohio County, was a retired school

                        teacher, and was a member of the Renfrow Church of

                        Christ, Rosine Chapter No. 342, Order of Eastern Star.

                        Her husband, Albert Westerfield, died in 1973.

                               Survivors include three sons, Dwight Westerfield of

                        Hartford, Orville Westerfield, Louisville, and R. C.

                        Westerfield of Hazard; six grandchildren and 12 great

                        grandchildren.

                               Services were 1 p.m. Friday at William L. Danks

                        Funeral Home, Beaver Dam.  Burial was in Sunnyside

                        Cemetery, Beaver Dam.  Eastern Star services were

                        held at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Funeral Home.”

~.~

      Obituary for Dwight Westerfield, son of Loretta, from the “Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer (KY) March 1, 2008 – Deceased Name:  Dwight L. “Frog” Westerfield

      “ BEAVER DAM – Dwight L. “Frog” Westerfield, 62, of Beaver Dam passed 

away Friday, Feb. 29, 2008, at Owensboro Medical Health System.  He was born 

May 27, 1945, to the late Alfred R. and Loretta Crowder Westerfield in Rosine.  

He was a former Ohio County jailer, member of Hartford Christian Church, a 

member of the Ohio County Chamber of Commerce, a former member of the 

Ohio County Election Board, active in the Republican Party and past chairman 

of the Ohio County Republican Party, a member of “Together We Care,” an active member of the Beaver Dam Fire Department, Rosine Association (TRA), served as Beaver Dam city commissioner, taught in the Ohio County School System, a 

Kentucky Colonel, past chairman of Ohio County Jaycees, past president of 

Habitat for Humanity of Ohio County, Secretary of Monroe Foundation, and a graduate of Horse Branch High School, Kentucky Wesleyan College and 

Leadership of Ohio County.

                             He was preceded in death by his brother, R. C. Westerfield.

     Survivors include his wife, Pauline Westerfield of Beaver Dam, two

step-sons, Joey Ritchie and Jimmy Ritchie, both of Hazard; three step-

grandchildren,  Matthew Ritchie, Wayland Ritchie and Christian 

Ritchie, all of Hazard; a brother, Orville Westerfield of Louisville; and 

several nieces and nephews.

     Funeral services are at 2 p.m. Sunday at William L. Danks Funeral

Home in Beaver Dam with the Rev. Michael Taylor officiating.  Burial

will be in Sunnyside Cemetery in Beaver Dam.  Visitation will be from

                        3 to 8 p.m. today and after 9 a.m. Sunday at the funeral home.”

~.~

  

      Obituary for Orville is from Louisville “The Courier-Journal” on August 29, 2009

ORVILLE A. WESTERFIELD

      Westerfield, Orville A., 83, passed away Friday at Park Terrace Health Campus.  

      He was raised in Ohio County, KY by his parents, Alfred and Loretta (Crowder

      Westerfield. He was a retired foreman for Corhart Refractories and was a World War

      II Navy veteran. He was a Christian by Faith.

He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years, Maxine (Ford) Westerfield; his parents; and two brothers, R.C. and Dwight Westerfield.

Survivors include his children, Patricia R. Hosch (Gordon) and Melody D. Hammond; grandchildren, Shannon Spivey, Brian Hosch (Angela), Nicole Hirst (Chad), Craig Hammond (Casie) and Natalie Hammond; and four great-grandchildren.

Funeral service will be 1 p.m. Monday at Owen Funeral Home, 5317 Dixie Hwy, with burial in Beth Haven Cemetery. Visitation is 2-8 p.m. Sunday. Online condolences to owenfuneralhome.com

(obit sent to me by Billy Morris - on August 29, 2009).

Submitted by Janice Cox Brown, Coppell, Texas