Tag Archives: Genealogy

Genealogy Progress Report: Cox Creek Research and Kentucky Records

11 Sunday Oct 2026

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DNA Updates

  • no DNA matches with a common ancestor this week.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

45. The Filson Club History Quarterly, III, p. 70. This document can be found on the Filson Club website. It is a transcription of Minute Book A for Jefferson County, Virginia. Isaac Cox was selected as a representative to the Virginia Assembly in April 1781.

46. Rogers Clark Ballard Thruston, typed notes on “Early Records of Louisville, Kentucky, 1781-1804,” p. 2, in the The Filson Club. (An extract from p. 9 of the original Record Book.) This may be unpublished information. If I make it to Louisville for a research trip, I’ll make a point to look for these notes. This reference is tied to the statement that Isaac Cox was named as a Louisville town trustee in 1783.

47. The Filson Club History Quarterly, VI, pp. 40-41. This document is also available on the Filson Club site. This is Minute Book 1 for Jefferson County, dated April 1784 to November 1785. Isaac Cox served as a Jefferson County Court Justice in April 1784. David Cox was appointed as a Justice of the Peace and Commission of Oyer and Terminer.

48. W. W. Hening, Virginia, Statutes at Large, 1619-1792, XI, p. 283. This collection is available on Hathitrust. This entry names the trustees of Transylvania Seminary of which Isaac Cox was included.

49. Minute Book of the Nelson County Court, A, p. 1. David and Isaac Cox were named justices of the newly formed Nelson County. This reference is available on FamilySearch.

50. Ibid, pp. 8, 9. This reference is for two separate entries. The first being a default judgment for Isaac Cox against Paul Froman. The second was the recording of Isaac’s livestock marking. Livestock were free range during this time and were marked/branded to label ownership.

51. Ibid, p. 10. Allowed rates for inns and taverns were established by the early court sessions. It wasn’t exactly a free market economy…everyone charged the same.

52. Hening, op cit, XII, p. 282. Available on Hathitrust. This law established the road commission in charge of building the road between the Great Kanawha Falls and Lexington. The Falls are located near present day Glen Ferris on the Kanawha River. The road may have been a precursor to US 60 and/or Interstate 64, although nothing to that effect has been documented. Isaac Cox was named a road commissioner for the project, however it is not clear what segment he was responsible for since Nelson County is west of Lexington and Fayette County.

Kentucky Counties, 1785-1786. Nelson County is #4, Fayette County is #2.

53. L. and R H Collins, History of Kentucky (Covington, 1882), I, p. 366. This volume is available on GoogleBooks. It lists those from Kentucky counties who served in the Virginia Legislature prior to Kentucky’s statehood. Isaac Cox is listed as representing in 1781. It is not clear where Ms. Adams obtained the information for the other years in her statement.

54. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, IV, p. 258. This document can be found on Hathitrust. It is an account of the court martial of Colonel McGary for the murder of Shawnee Chief Melanthy in 1786. David Cox participated in the court martial proceedings the following year.

55. The Filson Club History Quarterly, XIII, p. 12. Available on the Filson Club website, this article provides an early history of the Ballard Family in Jefferson County. It includes an account of the massacre of the family on March 31, 1888 by the Delaware Indians, presumably the same ones that had taken the life of Colonel Isaac Cox in the preceding days. The first-hand account was relayed by Bland W Ballard to Draper in 1844 and is quoted verbatim in this article. The Ballard family and the Cox family intermarried at the turn of the nineteenth century.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors49975006
Potential Duplicates507511
No Documentation40724077
Other Errors418418
  • BH, the wife of a distant cousin, needs references. I was able to piece together information and find a reference.
  • MS, the husband of a distant cousin, needs references. Found a marriage announcement in the paper for him and his wife.
  • MC, a distant cousin, needs references. It was not clear that the relationships assigned for her supposed father was valid. The family unit was removed.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,028 people
End of Week: 28,027 people
Change = -1 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Coxes of Cox Creek: Revolutionary War Footnotes and Findings

04 Sunday Oct 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy, Revolutionary War

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DNA Updates

  • BO, a distant cousin through Valentine Mattox. I haven’t done anything with this line yet, so I will tag and keep for later.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

40. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, II, p. 47. Found on Hathitrust, this letter from Colonel Jon Floyd dated April 16, 1781 to Thomas Jefferson, Governor of Virginia. Governor Jefferson requested a contingency of soldiers to fortify the Continental Line on behalf of the Commonwealth of Col. Floyd explained the treacherous conditions currently plaguing the inhabitants of Kentucky, making his request difficult to fulfill.

41. Ibid., II, p. 313. Also found on Hathitrust, this letter is from Lt Col. John Montgomery dated August 10 1781 to Governor Nelson of Virginia. This missive relayed the dire food situation at the Falls of the Ohio (Louisville). It also included a debriefing of a soldier who had been taken captive by the British and held at Detroit prior to his escape.

42. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXXII, p. 169. Again, this reference can be found on JSTOR. The article relates the events of the burning of Kinchloe’s Station in 1782. The original article referenced in this piece was published in The Bardstown Saturday Gazette by Major Thomas Speed, published on Saturday May 26, 1855. It included details that were relayed by the men who lived through this event as young children. The story has been retold in numerous family histories written about the families impacted.

43. Copy of General Clark’s payroll for officers of the Jefferson County Militia in 1782, Photostat in the Filson Club. As cited, this document is not accessible on the internet. It likely could be obtained in George Rogers Clark and His Men Military Records, 1778-1784 which is available on FamilySearch. There are a number of mentions of Cox men in this book, including Abraham, David, Isaac, James, Thomas and John.

  • Abraham
    • from July 1778 to May 1779 under Captain John Williams during the captures of Cahokia, Kaskaskia, and Vincennes.
    • from May 1779 to May 1780 under Captain John Williams.
    • from May 1780 to November 1781 under Captain Richard Brashears and Colonel John Montgomery.
    • He deserted on August 20, 1780
  • Isaac
    • June 1 to 16, 1781, Colonel Cox’s regiment guarded Squire Boone’s settlement in Shelby County, protecting twenty families.
    • October 20 to November 24, 1782, Colonel Cox led a battalion With Captain Richard Chenoweth And Captain Charles Polk.
  • David
    • October 20 to November 23, 1782, served under Captain Charles Polk and Colonel Isaac Cox.
  • James
    • August 8 to December 14 1778 under Captain Joseph Bowman
    • December 1778 to May 1779 under Captain Abraham Kellar
    • May 1779 to November 1781 under Captain Abraham Kellar in capturing Fort Sackville.
    • October to November 1782 under Captain Gabriel Madison.
    • November 1782 under Captain Thomas Moore
  • Thomas
    • Deserted March 10 1780 under Captain Edward Worthington

44. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, II, p. 47. see item 40 above. The letter mentions that Isaac Cox was a commissioned officer at that time.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50065011
Potential Duplicates511513
No Documentation40774080
Other Errors418418
  • TK, a distant cousin needs resources. Not a fan of the Public Records Index, but I’ll use it if I have to. Fixed her sibling while I was at it too.
  • AE, the husband of a distant cousin needs resources. I was able to find a marriage and divorce record for the couple.
  • Sarah Pea, a distant cousin needs resources. This one I will need to revisit once I return home and can review the data in the Catt Book. I’m not 100% convinced the person Ancestry is leading me to is the correct Sarah Pea. Unfortunately FamilySearch is not much help either since Knox County records are blocked except at an Affiliate Library.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,028 people
End of Week: 28,028 people
Change = +0 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Genealogy Progress Report: Coxes of Cox Creek and DNA Leads

27 Sunday Sep 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy, maps, Newspapers

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DNA Updates

  • LB, a distant cousin connected through John Coppock. Since I don’t have any of her line built out, I will tag her for another day.
  • NP, a distant cousin connected through potential ancestor Sarah Reed. I haven’t done any work on this line, so I’ll tag and leave for later.
  • AM, a distant cousin also connected through Sarah Reed. Again, I’ll have to defer until later.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

37. John H. Spencer, A History of Kentucky Baptists (1885), I, p. 22. This two volume set can be found on Internet Archive. This particular reference was only to quote a description of the settler’s clothing. The description was part of the early history of four churches in the area that formed an association in 1785. The minutes from the association indicate that the Baptist church established at Cox’s Creek started in April 1785 and there were 26 members. (p. 20).

38. Willard R. Jillson, ed. Filson’s Kentucke, The Filson Club Publications: No. 35 (1929), p. 32. This reference can be found on Hathitrust. It contains descriptions of the natural resources that were available to the early pioneers of the area, include sulfur and salt springs, limestone, and herds of buffalo.

39. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXXII, p. 169. This article can be found on JSTOR. It is a reprint of an article from The Bardstown Saturday Gazette by Major Thomas Speed, published on Saturday May 26, 1855. Interwoven with Major Speed’s narrative are additional references to court depositions and land records that are relevant to inhabitants of the area. Unfortunately, the May 26th issue of the newspaper is not available on newspapers.com.

Hughes op cit, Plate No. 38, facing p. 182. This is a sketched map of the area near Cox’s Station showing how the various settlers were located for best protection.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50115013
Potential Duplicates513513
No Documentation40804079
Other Errors418421
  • The wife of Charles DeMoss, who is a potential 6th great-granduncle, did not have any references. I did not have a name for her, only a supposed date of marriage. The Demoss Family in America by Edith Caughron (1952) gave her a name. Without seeing the letter Mrs. Caughron mentions as her source, it is difficult to evaluate the validity of this information.
  • Edith H, a distant cousin is marked as a potential duplicate. This one is a bit unique. Edith’s middle name is Thomas. In the 1895 Kansas State Census, there is a Thomas listed who is about the same age as Edith, but Edith is not. This child is marked as a male. There is no other mention of a male child in this family by the name of Thomas. The 1900 Census also states that the mother of this family had birthed twelve children and nine were still living. Nine children were accounted for in 1895 and in 1900. I have to agree that Edith and Thomas are most likely the same person.
  • SS, a distant cousin has no source records attached. I was able to find a Kentucky birth record and a census record. I was also able to update her family members with the census data.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,025 people
End of Week: 28,028 people
Change = +3 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Coxes of Cox Creek: DNA Status, Source Fixes, and Next Steps

20 Sunday Sep 2026

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DNA Updates

  • No DNA matches with common ancestors for the past two weeks.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

35. The Filson Club History Quarterly, XI, p. 129. – The Quarterly has been digitized and is available online at the Club’s website. It does include a pdf list of all articles published in each volume. This particular reference happens to be incorrect. The correct citation is The Filson Club History Quarterly, volume 2, p. 129. This article by John D Wickliffe of Bardstown is titled “Pioneer Stations in Nelson County”. The source of this article was a Colonel W D Huston (1818-1895), who supposedly was a descendant of the Polk family. The article mentions that Cox’s Station was the first station established in Nelson County in 1775 and the Polk Station was the second. There was a contingent of 17 people who made the first trip down the Ohio to establish a land holding.

James Hughes, A Report of the Causes determined by the late Supreme Court for the District of Kentucky and by the Court of Appeals (1803), Lexington, pp. 183-189. This reference can be found at Hathitrust. These pages are contained in the report associated with the appeal of Carter v Oldham (May 1800). This case was originally held in Chancery Court regarding a land dispute dating back to 1780. The report contains information from multiple depositions describing when Isaac Cox, Thomas Polke and others came to Nelson County and made improvements to the land. Thomas Polke’s deposition is on page 188. Several deposers mentioned that Isaac Cox and company were in Nelson County making land improvements in the spring of 1776.

36. Temple Bodley, History of Kentucky, “Fleming’s Journal” (1928), I, p. 322. This book can be found on Hathitrust. This citation refers to quoted passages from Colonel William Fleming’s Journal as he traveled across Kentucky. In January 1783, Col Fleming visited Cox’s Station and interacted with Col. Isaac Cox.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis Week2 Weeks Ago
Total Errors50135024
Potential Duplicates513511
No Documentation40794091
Other Errors421422
  • AS, a descendant of the Bunnell line, needs references. There is very little on this cousin except a mention in his father’s obituary for him and his two brothers.
  • RC, a DNA match from the Fielden line, needs references. Was able to update him and other family members with several doucments.
  • RH, husband of a distant cousin, needs records. As it turns out, the distant cousin was the stepdaughter of a distant cousin and should be deleted. I was able to update some facts for members of the family.
  • RM, a distant cousin, has a birth date after the attached mother died. After a little investigation, this cousin and her sister were attributed to the wrong wife of their father. It is unclear how exactly this error was made.
  • LB, a distant cousin, needs sources. I happened to go to high school with this cousin. Found several sources to shore up her record and found some interesting information on her siblings.
  • JG, a distant cousin who is a DNA match, needs sources. I found a marriage record for her and other records for some of her family members.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,009 people
End of Week: 28,025 people
Change = +14 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Uncovering the Cox Family History

06 Sunday Sep 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy

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DNA Updates

  • KB, a potential 6th cousin through Joseph Coppock and Jane Wilson. He’s one of my Revolutionary War Patriots. I only have the one child attached for them. I’ll need time to research and prove the line to KB.
  • LA, a potential 5th or 6th cousin through Nicholaus Sievers and Gesina Brake. I have part of her line proven, but not much time this weekend to dive in and complete. The surnames are very familiar names I grew up with. I’ll need to tag for later.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

32. Calendar of Virginia State Papers, III, p. 633; IV, p. 8. I found both volumes on Hathitrust. In Volume III, Gabriel Cox and others, as military officers of Yohogania County, Virginia, fronted money for the War effort. When they asked for reimbursement in 1781, they were residing in the area that had been relinquished to Pennsylvania and apparently Pennsylvania was denying reimbursement because they acted on behalf of Virginia.

In Volume IV, there is reference to a judgement levied against Gabriel and the others for costs and damages associated with the war effort. The judgement was handed down in Washington County, PA.

33. Deposition of David Cox in Deposition Book, Nelson County, Kentucky, Courthouse, B, p. 677. There is a deposition book for Nelson County, Kentucky, but it does not have a page 677. The name David Cox does not populate when searched. It may be that book B has not been digitized.

34. Draper MSS., typed copy of 9ZZ96-102, in the Filson Club. I will add this to my list of Draper copies to request.

35. The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, XXI, p. 302; XXXII, p. 174. The Register can be found on JSTOR.

Volume XXI – Land certificate records issued for Nelson County, Kentucky for the following individuals: David Cox, Isaac Cox, Jacob Decker, James McDonald, and Benjamin Cox.

Volume XXXII – This article provides quotations from various entries in the Nelson County Deposition books, including the one cited in footnote 33 above. Unfortunately, it is not clear who the “he” David is referring to in his deposition. The relevance of the citation, however, is that David Cox was present at Cox’s Station in April 1780.

AI Tasks

None this week.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50245032
Potential Duplicates511515
No Documentation40914095
Other Errors422422
  • YD, a distant cousin who has a residency reference attached that is before her birth. She was born about 1939. When I added the 1940 census information, it also added a residency for 1935 which I should not have accepted. It has been removed.
  • SB, the father in law of a distant cousin. Since I am not keeping inlaws of distant family, I will be removing him and his wife.
  • William Polk, is identified as the grandfather of the wife of a distant cousin. He was married to Elizabeth Spratt. Since the Polks are a bloodline of mine and they intermarried with several other lines of mine over the years, I am going to keep him. After reviewing information in my Polk books, I believe William to be the son of William and Margaret Taylor Polk. Elizabeth Spratt’s sister Susan married William and Margaret’s son Thomas. It was rather common during the 1700s for siblings to marry siblings, especially in frontier areas found in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. In a biographical sketch for Headley Polk found in Polk Family and Kinsmen, William is attributed to the elder William and Margaret. Another family genealogy entitled The McLendons of Anson County makes mention of a William Polk who married Pricilla Roberts. This will all need to be sorted out at a later date. Also to be considered is the family genealogy entitled The Shelby Family by Gwen Platt.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,004 people
End of Week: 28,009 people
Change = +5 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Recent Findings on the Cox Family in Washington County

30 Sunday Aug 2026

Posted by in Genealogy, artificial intelligence

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DNA Updates

  • No new DNA Records with a common ancestor identified this week.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

Last week, footnote 23 referenced a court case between Alexander Wells and the heirs of John Decker. I attempted to obtain a copy of the entire court file. Since Brooke County is in West Virginia, I reached out to West Virginia to see if they had it. They did not. They did suggest that I try the Brooke County Clerk or try to find it in Augusta County, Virginia. For now, I’ll save the response in my files. If I decide I really need it, I will reach out to Brooke or Augusta County.

28. Deed Book, Washington County, Pennsylvania, IC, p. 283. This document can be found on FamilySearch. This transaction is between Isaac Cox and John Decker for a 400 acre parcel of land known as “Mingo Bottom”. The transaction was for six hundred pounds and was made on July 9, 1778. It was witnessed by George Cox, John’s son-in-law, and presumably two of John’s sons. Which Isaac Cox this land belonged to is not quite clear–George’s father or his brother.

29. Ibid. I, p. 1. This document can be found on FamilySearch. It details the transfer of a parcel of land identified as “Rich Hill” situated in Yohogania County from Gabriel Cox (Isaac’s son) to a James Logan for 1000 pounds of current currency. The transaction was completed on July 7, 1781, however it was not recorded until January 1, 1782. Gabriel was identified as a Justice of the Peace for Washington County.

30. Crumrine, op. cit., Pamphlet VII, p. 391. October 25, 1779, the Court of Yohogania County granted Isaac Cox the right to relocate to Kentucky County, Virginia.

31. Boyd Crumrine, The History of Washington County, Pennsylvania (1882), pp. 229, 239. This book can be found on Internet Archive. This passage refers to a letter from Colonel Marshall detailing the issues he was experiencing in 1781 organizing the militia after Pennsylvania and Virginia came to an agreement on the border dispute. The Virginians, led by none other than General George Rogers Clark were disruptive to say the least. Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Cox, under the orders of Colonel Pentecost, committed a number of “outrages” against Pennsylvanians who were drafted into service under General Clark but refused to report for said service. Lt Col Cox’s men seized and destroyed property, threatened women and children, and held residents in confinement. Some individuals were ordered to be hanged. (Penn Archives, Series 1, Volume 9, pp 343-345, found on Ancestry.)

Page 239, mentions charges levied against Gabriel Cox in 1782 during the Court of Quarter Sessions for the acts committed on the residents mentioned above. Charges included assault and assault and battery. He was found not guilty of the two charges of assault. After the first two acquittals, the charges were dropped in cases 4 and 5. In a nutshell, Gabriel did what was ordered of him…he was to assemble troops for General Clark. Brute force probably should not have been employed in the process. Since the boundary between Virginia and Pennsylvania (extension of the Mason-Dixon Line) had not been completed at the time, Gabriel ideally should have kept his activities south of that line. Those that filed charges against him, were residents north of the Line. (Penn Archives, Series 1, Volume 10, pp 80-82, found on Ancestry.) It does sound like Gabriel was involved in some form of rioting after the acquittals.

The Centennial Celebration of the Organization of Washington County, Pennsylvania (1881), printer, E.E. Crumine, p. 49. This book is available on Google Books, however, I did not see anything on page 49 that would be relevant to the Cox family.

Additional Findings–Washington County Deed Books

  • Gabriel Cox and his wife Sarah Enoch Cox witnessed a land transfer between Abraham Morgan and Samuel Irwin on May 27, 1783 in Washington County, PA.1
  • Isaac Cox sold a parcel of land in Yohogania County to Andrew Nye for sixteen hundred pounds on August 16, 1779.2
  • Isaac Cox sold a 1000 acre parcel of land to James Ellison located on Plum(b) Run which branches off the Salt River and is about 40 miles from the Falls of the Ohio (present day Louisville KY). This transaction is dated November 29, 1777. Based on the description provided, this parcel is located in the Spencer and Nelson County area. In 1777, it was part of Kentucky County, VA.3
  • On February 9, 1778, a transaction between Isaac Cox and Garrett Vinnaman for land about six miles from the tract he sold to James Ellison.4
  • On March 30, 1778, Lemuel Davis was bound to Isaac Cox as an apprentice. Lemuel was eight years old and was bound to Isaac until he reached the age of 21. Seeing as how Isaac Cox relocated to Kentucky in 1780, it might be necessary to look for subsequent papers regarding this arrangement to see if Lemuel accompanied the Coxes to Kentucky or if his apprenticeship was transferred to someone else.5
  • February 9, 1778, a transaction between Isaac Cox and John McDowell for land in the same area as Garrett Vinnaman.6
  • Gabriel Cox sold land on Hard Bargain Creek to James Swolivan on September 22, 1777.7
  • Isaac Cox and James McMahan were briefly in a trading company partnership with several other gentlemen. The trading company was located about a mile outside of Pittsburgh. Isaac and James sold their shares to Dorsey Pentecost.8
  • This document was witnessed by both Isaac Cox and Gabriel Cox in 1787. Their location was noted as Nelson County, Virginia. This would be the younger Isaac since his father had died in 1783.9
  • On October 9, 1780 Gabriel Cox served as administrator to the estate of Thomas Cook in Yohogania County.10

Additional Findings–History of Washington County, Pennsylvania

  • Page 146: In 1770, Gabriel Cox acquired property on Peters Creek.
  • Page 148: Gabriel Cox was on the 1772 assessment roll for Springhill Township.
  • Page 185: Isaac Cox was named a Lieutenant Colonel in the militia in 1777. Gabriel Cox was listed as a captain.
  • Page 186: Gabriel Cox’s house was identified for storage of magazines in Yohogania County.
  • Page 188: Isaac Cox, as a court justice, assisted with the collection of signatures for the Oath of Allegiance to the Commonwealth
  • Pages 205, 207, 217: Gabriel Cox served on road commissions.
  • Page 211: George Cox served on a road commission.
  • Page 215: Isaac Cox was named to a commission to build a courthouse and jail.
  • Page 219: Isaac Cox was placed in charge of salt distribution.

AI Tasks

When I started on footnote 28, I discovered that the Washington County deeds included grantor and grantee indices from 1781 to 1924. Since the Cox information was split up alphabetically by given name, I decided to enlist CoPilot to help me combine all Cox grantor entries into one table. What I am learning about these AI bots is that you have to treat it like a 3-year old and provide directions for each step in the process. For example, in the past I have learned that you have to limit the number of files and/or size of the files uploaded at one time for processing. So my plan was to upload this is batches of 5 files at a time (I had 24 files to sort). I assumed that I could just upload each batch of 5 and CP would know what to do. WRONG! I took a step back, applied the same prompt to each batch, making each batch a separate data table. Then I instructed it to combine the 5 csv files that were generated.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50325037
Potential Duplicates515517
No Documentation40954098
Other Errors422422
  • KE, the husband of a distant cousin has no first name and does not have any references. I was able to find his first name and a few references, including an obituary.
  • JG, a distant cousin, has no records attached. I was able to find a census record among other things.
  • DC, a distant cousin, has no records attached. I was able to find an obituary and other records.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,002 people
End of Week: 28,004 people
Change = +2 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

  1. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXB-PQ8V-T?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  2. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HYFH?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  3. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HTGV?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  4. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HYRD?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en
    ↩︎
  5. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HTLZ?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  6. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HTLM?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  7. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HYNV?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  8. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSNL-HYFS?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  9. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXB-PQ77-T?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎
  10. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSXB-PQ7F-Z?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&searchForm=advanced&lang=en ↩︎

Cox Family Land Records and Historical Insights

23 Sunday Aug 2026

Posted by in artificial intelligence, Genealogy

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DNA Updates

  • No new DNA Records with a common ancestor identified this week.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

22. Deed book, Ohio County, West Virginia, I, pp. 56, 57, 241. This took a bit of work to find, but is located on FamilySearch. In fact, page 241 is the same information that is in footnote 19 which was discussed a couple weeks ago. Mrs. Adams also named George’s brother Gabriel, however, a land survey in this book could not be found. Also, she mentions a total of 2664 acres, however, only 1566 acres are accounted for within these pages.

  • Friend Cox had 2 tracts totaling 708 acres stretching north along the Ohio River and east along Buffalo Creek.
  • George Cox acquired 400 acres north of Friend’s holdings.
  • Israel Cox held 258 acres along Buffalo Creek.
  • Peter Cox held a 200 acre tract along Buffalo Creek. Peter’s land lay to the east of Israel’s, sharing a boundary.

23. Lyman Chalkley, ed., Abstracts from the Records of Augusta County, Virginia (1912), II, p. 100. This book is part of a three volume set that is available on HathiTrust.org. It is actually titled Chronicles of the Scotch-Irish Settlement in Virginia (1745-1800). The referenced abstract refers to a dispute between Alexander Wells and the heirs of John Decker. George Cox married John’s daughter Susannah. This document provides pertinent timeline information regarding the migration of the Cox family. George Cox claims that he had erected a cabin on the land in 1772. Isaac Cox moved from the area in question to near Steubenville, Ohio in 1775. The abstract does not provide detail regarding where the land was.

A second case mentioned on page 106 involved a parcel of land near Steubenville that William McMahan had owned from 1775 to 1778. William married Isaac Cox’s daughter Ann. George Cox is mentioned as a despondent.

Deed Books, Hampshire County, West Virginia. The deeds for Hampshire County were discussed previously regarding footnote 14.

24. Deed Book, Brooke County, West Virginia, I, p. 45. This document is available on FamilySearch. In 1787, John Cox, as the heir at law of his father Friend Cox, sold 227 acres of land to Van Swearingen that Friend had intended on gifting to his son Benjamin. Referring back to footnote 19, two tracts of land totaling 708 acres were surveyed for Friend. This 227 acres was the northern part of the 400 acre tract. The remaining land was divided between Jonathan and Joseph. Jonathan and Joseph’s shares were sold to Charles Praither in 1788 who founded Wellsburg, WV in 1791.

25. Boyd Crumrine, ed., Annals of the Carnegie Museum (1903), “Minute Book of the Virginia Court held at Ft. Dunmore (Pittsburgh) for the District of West Augusta, 1775-1776” (reprint), Pamphlet XXI, p. 566. This part of the footnote refers to the renaming of Catfish Camp in the meeting proceedings. The reference can be found on Hathitrust.org.

supra, p. 18. This part of the footnote refers back to footnote 18.1

26. Crumrine, op. cit. “Minute Book of the Virginia Court Held for Yohogania County, 1776-1780“ (reprint), Pamphlets IV, p. 97; VII, pp. 211, 220, 234, 254, 277; Pamphlet XXI, pp. 528, 566. CoPilot was being helpful today and summarized the civic activities of various Cox family members while they resided in Yohogania County.

27. Ibid. Pamphlet VII, pp. 258, 397, 408, 411. This footnote references the Cox family members who participated in the militia during the Revolutionary War era in Yohogania County.

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50375032
Potential Duplicates517517
No Documentation40984093
Other Errors422422
  • .AA, a distant cousin from the 1840s is suspected to be a duplicate and has no references. The duplicates are named Allison and Alice. They both were born in 1847. Alice lived a long life; Allison appears to have died as an infant. I’m guessing they were twins. I cannot find anything in my paper files regarding this family. Without any positive evidence of there being two girls, I feel compelled to remove Allison until some evidence of her existence surfaces. I will make a notation on Alice’s record that there possibly could have been a twin sibling named Allison.
  • MSB, a distant cousin from the early 1800s needs a reference. Several references presented themselves.
  • EK, a 2nd great grandaunt, needs a reference. Unfortunately, it seems that she lived her entire life in Germany and I do not have access to the international references at this time.

Goals and progress
Beginning of Week: 28,000 people
End of Week: 28,002 people
Change = +2 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

  1. https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17-114copiedsurveybooks/Books%20C1-C234/Book%20C025/Book%20C-025%20pg%20292.pdf ↩︎

Dunmore’s War: Documenting the Cox Family Legacy

16 Sunday Aug 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy, maps

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DNA Updates

  • DH, a 4th cousin 1x removed descends from Isaac Catt. This was easy enough to fill in and add to the tree.
  • EV, a 3rd cousin 2x removed descends from Calvin Mattox. This cousin was also relatively easy to add to the tree.
  • T4 is a descendant of Reuben Staton. Since I haven’t really built that branch out much yet, I’ll tag it and leave it for later. A quick look and I’m not sure the suggested path is correct.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

20. Draper MSS, typed copy of 16S280-286 in the Filson Club. This reference was previously discussed on July 26th.

21. Reuben G Thwaites, ed, Documentary History of Dunmore’s War, 1774 (1905), pp 15, 16, 220, 233, 256, 258, 425. This book can be found on Internet Archive.

  • page 15 references Draper MSS, 2SS, book 5, pp 33-35. The passage, as recounted by Michael Cresap Jr, mentions Joseph Tomlinson and Nathaniel Tomlinson, as well as George Cox, son of Isaac Cox. The incident described occurred April 30, 1774 at Baker’s Tavern which was situated near Yellow Creek and the Ohio River. A group of Mingo Indians related to Chief Logan were ambushed by a larger group of white vigilantes and massacred. George Cox apparently left the scene prior to the massacre, however, Nathaniel Tomlinson did participate. The Tomlinsons are of interest; George Cox’s mother (Isaac’s wife and my 6th great grandmother) was Susannah Tomlinson.
  • page 16 references Draper MSS 2S, book 3, p. 34. This account of the incident provided by George Edington mentions that George Cox was part of Daniel Greathouse’s party, but does not go into detail regarding Cox’s role in the incident.
  • page 220 is a correspondence from Major Arthur Campbell to Colonel William Preston, describing an incident with the Indians which occurred on September 29, 1774. Major Campbell expressed concern about the low number of men willing to band together to protect the citizenry. Among those who were not responsive to the call of arms was a man named Cox. The book index attributes this reference to a Captain John Cox. (Draper, 3QQ109.)
  • page 233 is a follow up letter from Campbell to Preston dated October 6, 1774. Reference is made to a Lt. Cox, however again, it is not clear which Cox it identifies. The book index identifies this Cox as Gabriel. (Draper 3QQ116)
  • page 256 This page is undated correspondence from Colonel William Fleming to his brother-in-law William Bowyer recounting his injuries incurred at the Point Pleasant Battle. No specific mention of a Cox individual was made.
  • Page 258. Correspondence from Captain William Ingles to Colonel William Preston recounting the Point Pleasant Battle. Again, no specific mention of a Cox family member. (Draper 3QQ121)
  • Page 425. Mention of Lt Gabriel Cox, likely son of Isaac, as part of Dunmore’s Division in the April 1904 issue of West Virginia Historical Magazine.
    • Volume 4, number 2, published in April 1904, available digitally on FamilySearch. Page 159 – An excerpt of a deposition of Benjamin Tomlinson is recounted. The deposition was collected on April 17, 1797. Benjamin was asked who was in attendance at the treaty signing at the conclusion of Dunmore’s War. Lt. Gabriel Cox who now resided in Kentucky was named. This would be consistent with Isaac and Susannah’s son Gabriel. This article references A Biographical Sketch of the Life of the Late Captain Michael Cresap by John J Jacob, originally published in 1826 and reprinted in 1866, available on Internet Archive.

The following references to Cox family members were not included in Mrs. Adams’ citation:

  • Page 19 – George Cox is mentioned by the interviewee. His actions were not described, just merely that George was a large man. Large by 1774 standards likely meant over six feet tall and 200 pounds or more.
  • Page 229 – John Cox is mentioned in a missive from Campbell to Preston. This is likely Captain John Cox since it states he was leading a company of 24 men. It is not clear if this John was related to my Cox family or belongs to another. (Draper, 3QQ114)
  • Page 421 – Mentions that George Cox participated in the conflict under Lord Dunmore’s Division, however, no details were provided. (Draper 6ZZ79)

List of Revolutionary Soldiers in Virginia, Virginia State Library, Richmond (1912). I’m not sure how this reference relates to the Dunmore War since that conflict technically was not part of the Revolution. At any rate, the following Cox names are included in the list on page 115. References to the actual list on which these men appeared are provided and would likely need to be checked to confirm the correct man has been identified.

  • Benjamin Cox
  • David Cox
  • Lt. Gabriel Cox
  • George Cox
  • Isaac Cox
  • James Cox
  • John Cox
  • Joseph Cox

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50325059
Potential Duplicates517512
No Documentation40934103
Other Errors422444
  • JR, A 6th cousin DNA match. While I don’t like using Public Records Index for references, I will do it from time to time if nothing else presents itself.
  • Daniel Maquinet, a 7th great-grandfather. Not a lot is available on this ancestor.
  • DD, a 5th cousin needing records. Found a Public Records Index identifying him.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,966 people
End of Week: 28,000 people
Change = +34 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

Cox Creek History and Family Footnotes Explained

09 Sunday Aug 2026

Posted by in artificial intelligence, DNA Matches, Genealogy, maps

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DNA Updates

  • SH, descended through Richard Puckett. I don’t have any of her line built out so I will set this one aside until I am working on the Pucketts.
  • RW, also descended through Richard Puckett. I don’t have any of their line built out so I will set this one aside as well.
  • AT, descended through Benjamin Cox and Sarah Piety. I do have her line proven through her grandmother so I will finish this one up.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

15. Historic Romney 1762-1937, published by the Town Council of Romney, West Virginia, pp. 30-31. This book was found on FamilySearch. The referenced passage provides background on the first school in the area which was referenced in the mid-1700s by George Washington. Because the children of Isaac, Gabriel and Friend appear to have been educated, it is possible they attended this subscription school known as the Romney Academy.

16. Journals of the House of Burgesses of Virginia, 1766-1769, pp. 87-88. This book can be found at Hathitrust. On March 20, 1767, the House recognized twelve men who served under Colonel Bouquet in an expedition against the Shawnee and Delaware Indians and granted them 40 pounds each. Isaac Cox, presumably the son of the older Isaac, was among this group.

17. Reuben G Thwaites, ed., Early Western Travels 1748-1846, “Journal of George Croghan, 1765” (1904), I, pp. 126-129. Volume I, which this footnote references, can be found on the Project Gutenberg Website, gutenberg.org. The referenced pages describe Croghan’s journey from May 15-19, 1765 down the Ohio River as he made his way ultimately to the Mississippi River. Landmarks have been marked on the map below, indicating his daily progress during this segment of the trip. Croghan’s descriptions of the landscape lend to the attractiveness of the area for farming and settlement. Land deeds for various Cox family members reference Buffalo Creek near present day Wellsburg, West Virginia.

Daily progress (May 15 to 19, 1765) of Croghan’s journey down the Ohio from Fort Pitt (aka Fort Duquesne). Aerial perspective mapped using Google Earth with Lake Erie situated approximately 100 miles due north of Little Beaver Creek. Approximate distance covered in these four days was 165 miles.

18. Land Draughts in the Surveyor General’s Office, Pennsylvania Archives, Harrisburg, Appendix, 3rd series, p. 41. Unfortunately, it is not clear if this exact document is available on the internet. I did, however, locate what I believe to be other documents which describe the land claimed and patented by Gabriel Cox (son of Isaac) near the Monongahela River in 1769 in what is now Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.1 2 There are actually two separate plots of land–Coxburg and Cox’s Addition. A historical marker has been placed near the site.3

19. Land Patent Book, Brooke County, West Virginia, I, p. 1. A transcribed copy of land deeds recorded in Ohio County, Virginia, that are actually located in present day Brooke County can be found on FamilySearch. Tucked in the front of this book is a transcription of the surveyor’s description of lands for George Cox (son of Isaac) and Friend Cox in what is now Wellsburg. The original surveyor’s description, with drawings, was found in the Surveyor’s Books for Ohio County, Virginia which is available on FamilySearch.4 Considering I have a love of maps, I asked CoPilot to plot these out for me on a current day map of the area. He (yes, my CoPilot is an obtuse man) was unable to fulfill my request. I then manually roughed in the parcels using Google My Maps and the descriptions from the surveyor book. These two men basically owned all of the land that is now Wellsburg, WV. Holy cow! They later sold this land to Charles Prather who named the town after his son-in-law Alexander Wells.

Land parcels belonging to George Cox (northern parcel) and Friend Cox (yellow and purple).

Error Resolution

Per Ancestry’s Tree CheckerThis WeekLast Week
Total Errors50595067
Potential Duplicates512512
No Documentation41034100
Other Errors444455
  • The first individual to fix was “??”–no name, no documentation, and no relationships. Safe to say, this one should be deleted.
  • HS, a fifth cousin who needed some documentation. I was able to supply some for him and his siblings. An interesting newspaper article regarding an arrest came up as a hint with his name in an area where the family was known to live during that time, but I’m not positive it was him because the age was off by nearly a decade.
  • KF, a fourth cousin who also needed some documentation. I was able to supply a few documents for him.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,952 people
End of Week: 27,966 people
Change = +14 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky

  1. https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17-522warranteetwpmaps/r017-Map2502-Allegheny-JeffersonWeb.pdf ↩︎
  2. https://www.phmc.state.pa.us/bah/dam/rg/di/r17-114copiedsurveybooks/Books%20C1-C234/Book%20C025/Book%20C-025%20pg%20292.pdf ↩︎
  3. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=78747 ↩︎
  4. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS46-MVQR?view=fullText&keywords=Cox&lang=en ↩︎

Cox Family Research: Documenting Histories & Errors

02 Sunday Aug 2026

Posted by in artificial intelligence, DNA Matches, Genealogy

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DNA Updates

  • BC, through James Mattox and Elizabeth Moyer. This one wasn’t too hard to complete. I already had down to his grandmother documented. We connect through his dad and I wasn’t able to completely identify his mother.
  • SA, through Richard Puckett. I haven’t built out the Puckett tree so I will simply mark this one to do later.
  • LK, through Mathias Keller. This one was easy. Her father was already in my tree so it was only a matter of connecting her.

Coxes of Cox Creek Footnotes

12. Archer B Julbert, Historic Highways of America, “Braddock’s Road” (1903), IV, pp. 87-89. This book is available on Hathitrust.org. In the passage for May 7th, 1755, it mentions that they camped at Mr. Cox’s (probably Friend Cox) which was located along the Potomac River. It also states they crossed another waterway multiple times between Mr. Enoch’s place and Mr. Cox’s place. This was likely the Little Cacapon River. The distance between the two men’s strongholds was about 12 miles of poorly developed road. Mr. Enoch is quite possibly the father of Sarah and Mary Enoch who married Isaac’s sons Gabriel and Isaac Jr, respectively.

13. J C Fitzpatrick, ed., The Diaries of George Washington (1925), I, pp 405, 406, 449. This book is available on Hathitrust.org. The referenced pages describe the route Washington traveled in October and November 1770 which included not one but two of the Cox Forts. On October 8, 1770, the first Cox Fort mentioned was situated at the mouth of the Cacapon River (page 405)–the same location that Washington surveyed some 20 years previously. On October 10th, reference is made to a previous fort the Coxes had erected. This fort was located near Patterson Creek (page 406). The return trip in late November came past Cox’s Fort at the Cacapon (page 409).

14. Deed Book, Hampshire County, West Virginia, II through VI. This footnote references a series of land transactions made by various members of the Cox family during the period of 1757-1778. Mrs. Adams mentioned that Volume I was not available when she performed her research. Apparently it has been found at some point as FamilySearch has it digitized, along with the other volumes. At any rate, no mention of the Cox family was found in Volume I. The only mention of the Cox family in Volumes V and VI (1778-1785) were in reference to previous ownership of the parcel; they were not party to the transaction at hand.

Because of the number of documents found, I asked CoPilot to compile the information into a table for easy reference. I’m also attempting to have CoPilot map each parcel, however, that is more complicated. Based on the information in the table, the family gradually left the area. Gabriel appears to be the first to sell and leave in 1767. Friend followed in 1772 and Isaac and his sons brought up the rear between 1775 and 1779 which is consistent with Mrs. Adams’ summation.

Error Resolution

The last available update via Ancestry ProTools: I have 5067 errors in the tree–512 possible duplicates, 4100 with no documents, 455 other errors. My Ancestry error resolutions this week included:

  • BD, distant cousin needs sources. Unfortunately, no hints are populating for this living person. He was listed in his grandmother’s and his father’s obituary so those will have to do.
  • CS, another distant cousin needs sources. Since he is about the same age as my children, he was a little difficult to find. Thank goodness for small town newspapers that cover a ton of local events. He was named with his age as being a participant in a local parade. In my search, I was also able to find articles naming his two brothers as well.
  • JA, wife of a distant cousin needs sources. This one was easily sourced. She appears to be a cousin to my 2nd great-grandfather’s half-siblings.1

GED Miner Update

It’s been just over a month since I ran my tree through GED Miner. My tree score went up just a tad. I decided to work on tree errors and clean that up a bit.

  • There were four instances of a parent born after the child. Those were resolved by deleting the errant individuals.
  • There were nineteen age issues. Most of these were due to a transcription error when the documents were transcribed. A couple were connected to the wrong parents. A few were inlaws meant for pruning.
  • There are 312 people who are not attached to the tree. I’ll clean those out as I come across them. I found quite a few with the surname Taylor that were pruned.
  • There are 852 instances of duplicate birth or death events. I am going to tidy about 10 of these every day.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,998 people
End of Week: 27,952 people
Change = -46 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Continue research on Isaac Cox, “The Immigrant” and his wife Susannah Tomlinson.
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek
  • Run newspaper search, especially for articles recounting local history
  • Review the Cox package of information from Sweden
  • Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky
  1. Bennett, G.T., The Asbill Family History, 1955, pages 99, 173, Ancestry.com. ↩︎