It’s a new year for research and I have a new family unit to research. I am moving back one generation on my Cox line to Isaac Cox and Susannah Tomlinson. This research segment should prove to be a little challenging. Granted, there are several publications dating back over a hundred years detailing the history of Isaac and Susannah, however, I want to be thorough and verify and supplement that material with historical documents that might be available.
Isaac and Susannah lived in the eighteenth century. They, and their progeny, were pioneers in their own right. They pushed the boundaries of civilization into the western frontier. They were instrumental in developing the infrastructure and government in these newly settled areas. They also suffered tragic loss as a result of the risks they took. I am humbled to carry their DNA.
Last week I lamented the errors that currently exist on the public trees that confuse all the various Isaac Coxes that were peppered across the Colonies. This week I am starting the task of compiling documents specifically for my 6th great-grandfather Isaac Cox. Along the way I will likely also collect documents for his son who was commonly referred to as Colonel Isaac Cox. At times it could be difficult to determine which of the two men documents refer to. Knowing that both men died in Kentucky while it was still part of Virginia, I will start my search there and work my way backward in time.
One thing I have learned about genealogy is it is more than just history. It involves geography! One of the first documents I have found in the Full Text Search on FamilySearch is a Tax Records ledger for Jefferson County for 1799. It identifies parcels of land that were originally granted to Isaac Cox. Which Isaac Cox is unknown, however, the water course and county where the parcels were in 1799 are included. The ledger states the parcels are along the Green River and Rolling Fork and are in Hardin County. The Rolling Fork makes up the natural boundary between Hardin County and Nelson County. Hardin County was formed from Nelson County in 1792. This demonstrates the potential vastness of the Cox landholdings in early Kentucky.
Jefferson County Court minutes from 1784 names Isaac Cox as a “gentleman justice”. Gentleman Justices typically were not lawyers, but were respected large landowners in the community who presided over county courts, managing local affairs, petty disputes, and administering oaths. Think county commissioners on steroids. Because the elder Isaac Cox is believed to have died in 1783, this Isaac Cox was most likely his son.
A series of land transactions were made by the younger Isaac Cox and his wife Mary in Nelson County in 1787. Some county court minutes were found listing him as a justice in early 1788, as well. His will was written on September 6, 1786. It was presented in court on April 8, 1788.1 Some sources estimate his death to be March 31st which coincides with the attack on the Bland Ballard family.2 Isaac was present in County Court on March 12th. His death was sometime between March 12th and April 8th.
A good number of land deed transactions were recorded referencing “Isaac Cox, dec’d” after 1788. It proved to be a bit challenging to sort the documents, and the associated heirs, out, especially since the will for the elder Isaac doesn’t appear to be available and many of the beneficiaries overlap. One key detail found (or missing, as the case may be) is that the younger Isaac did not include his mother Susannah in his will. This is the determining factor I used to sort out which transactions belong to each estate.
In reviewing land deeds, there was one document that gave me pause. A power of attorney was drawn up for John Cox, George Cox, and Anne Cox Machan [McMahon], wife of William Machan [McMahon] on August 10, 1789. The concerning part was that in the body of the document, William’s wife is referred to as “Nancy”.3 In various written family histories, Isaac and Susannah have a daughter named Nancy and a daughter named Anne.4 Little is known about Nancy. One source says she married a Nathan Chalfant.5 More research needs to be completed to sort this detail out as no specific source was provided. Was this Nancy really a child of Isaac and Susannah or did she belong to some other couple? Was Anne’s name really “Nancy Anne” or “Anne Nancy”?
There were at least five deeds drawn up on the elder Isaac’s estate between 1789 and 1799. The first, dated May 29, 1789, did not include John, George, or Anne. This is likely because they were not local to Nelson County. At the time this deed was recorded, the above referenced power of attorney was put into place for subsequent transactions. This first deed included the following heirs at law: Susannah (the widow), and their children David, Gabriel, Jonathan, Mary, Benjamin, and Isaac’s widow Mary. The remaining four deeds did not include the younger Isaac’s widow. Also, there is no mention of Nancy or her heirs in any of the five deed transactions. These deeds account for nine of the children born to the older Isaac and Susannah.
It is not clear why Mary Enoch Cox May was not included on all of the land deed transactions for her father-in-law’s estate. She was named in a transaction dated June 19, 1801, with John and David Cox. She was later named in another transaction in January 1805, to one of the Cox grandsons. It could be that she granted a POA to her second husband William May who also was the Cox family attorney. Alternately, it could be due to the fact that she did remarry and she was no longer eligible as an heir.
An interesting manuscript about the early days of Nelson County, even before it was known as Nelson County, was penned by Nora Lee McGee and can be found on FamilySearch.6 Ms. McGee compiled an extensive collection of quotes and summaries from depositions related to land boundary disputes that were filed in the late 1790s. These lands were those original grants obtained from Virginia in 1780. The depositions provide evidence of who was in Jefferson/Nelson/Shelby Counties during those very early years.
I finally took a look at Cox Family in America by Henry M. Cox. It was published in 1912. Many of the authorities consulted for this compilation were family histories written by other individuals. None of the information is directly attached to its source which makes it difficult to confirm where the information originated from. The information pertaining to my Cox line is fragmented at best. That said, I don’t believe I can use it as a credible source going forward.
As an aside, I went down a rabbit hole this week as well. I thought I would get a head start on the next surname I will be tackling, even though it will likely be a year before I can start it. Winkler. As I have lamented in the past, in 1880 there was a young woman named Harriet Murray listed as a half-sister in George Winkler’s household. Her mother’s name was Sophia. George’s mother’s name was Sophia, so naturally that is how I connected them. Harriet disappeared after the 1880 census and I have tried to sort through Sophia’s back story. I ended up with a few DNA matches to Sophia. These are likely due to the trees the matches are attached to. They document that Harriet’s mother’s name was Sophia Abel. For now I have disconnected Harriet from my tree and will see if those common ancestor matches remove themselves.
In trying to sort this out, I enlisted the help of ChatGPT just to keep me sane. Granted, I only recently signed up for a free account, so I have no search history saved to me as a user. As it was spewing out findings and supporting information, it kept referencing this blog…the one *I* write. After two queries of getting my own musings back, I finally clued the app in on that very fact. It was very apologetic and assured me it would use the information that I have provided here when considering responses, not just rehash what I have already come up with.
Something occurred to me as I was re-reading the last feedback I received from Chat (I really need to give him a name). George’s marriage record was not accompanied by a parental permission for him. That said, I checked into marriage laws for 1861 in Indiana. Parental permission was not required if the groom was at least 21 years of age. This would support George’s birth in 1840 not 1843. Also, the marriage record lists his last name as “Winkle”. Not sure if that is a concern or not. However, I did manually review all of the 1860 Census for Knox County and there were no Winklers (or Winkles) residing in the county at that time. I have a few more ideas to check on before I essentially give up on finding George’s parents. It’s looking like the Winkler section in my manuscript won’t take long to put together.
Error resolution. The last available update: I have 4929 errors in the tree–376 possible duplicates, 4097 with no documents, 456 other errors.
- A 3rd cousin, who interestingly is connected on both my maternal and paternal sides, needed sources added.
- A dangler. Appears she is the sister-in-law of my grandmother’s brother. Since I am not keeping extended family in that regard, she will be deleted.
- A 6th cousin with no sources attached. She was named in her father’s obituary so that will have to do.
Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,019 people
End of Week: 27,050 people
Change = +31 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
- Review Minutes of Yohogania Co, VA
- Look for documents in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Kentucky
