Tag Archives: Winkler

Researching the Cox Family: Insights & Discoveries

01 Sunday Mar 2026

Posted by in DNA Matches, Genealogy

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I started the week with a DNA match with a common ancestor down my Lankford line. It was easy enough to complete since I already had most of their line completed due to another previous match. I’m actually excited to move on to the Winkler and Lankford lines to research. Unfortunately, I probably won’t be able to add very many generations to those lines. I have not been able to get much further back on George Winkler, my third great grandfather. He seems to have appeared in the Edwardsport area out of thin air. Conflicting information about where he was born does not help the situation either. I will likely need to do a wide area canvas of Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana for any Winklers between 1840 and 1860. That I’m not looking forward to.

I will be able to document at least one generation of the Lankford family and most of it has been built out to this point. Again, I’ll likely need to do a wide area search across three states to find Benjamin Lankford’s roots.

And not to get too far ahead of myself, but the current plan is to finish the Cox family, stopping at Isaac Sr. I will likely include the limited information I have on Gabriel and Friend, his assumed brothers. Unless I can find something to substantiate they really were brothers, Isaac will be the last chapter in this section and I want it finished up by the end of 2026. Next will be the Winklers which likely will only be one chapter long. With the extensive three state search planned, I hope I can wrap that up by end of year 2027. I’ll begin research on the McCulloughs in 2028. That line could take a while to complete as I have three or four generations to research, including a possible Revolutionary War Patriot.

Back to my Cox family. I’m going to talk my way through the references listed in Evelyn Adams’ Coxes of Cox Creek KY

  1. Pages 63 and 250 of The Cox Family in America postulate that Isaac Cox, Gabriel Cox, and Friend Cox were brothers and possibly were born in Switzerland. One of the reasons given that Isaac and Friend might have been brothers, or at the very least is the frequent use of the uncommon name Friend, and other names, in both families. I haven’t built out all of Isaac’s grandchildren at this point. I will need to revisit this claim once I do. Friend does occur in later generations of Gabriel’s family. Relatively close proximity of their residences along the Monongahela River and similarities in family lore regarding where the family originated (Germany and Switzerland). I will need to look into the border region between those two countries.
  2. Volume II of the Hampshire County (WV) Deed Book contains several transactions involving Gabriel Cox and his wife Eleanor, identifying him as a yeoman (farmer).
  3. The Ohio County (WV) will book includes Gabriel’s Last Will and Testament which names six children.
  4. Cox Family provided some of the descendants of Gabriel on page 63.
  5. Cox Family provided some of the descendants of Friend on page 250.
  6. The Official Roster of Soldiers of the American Revolution Buried in Ohio provides a brief bio of Friend’s son Benjamin. Many of the details are questionable at best. The information seems to have comingled details for this man and his younger cousin also named Benjamin.

Working on the descendants of Gabriel (item 4 above), some researchers have identified Eleanor’s last name to be Peterson. There are marriage records in Philadelphia for a Gabriel Cox marrying an Eleanor Peterson in 1735. It’s entirely possible, although, older written histories didn’t mention the family migrating through Philadelphia at any time.

Geography Note: Brooke County, Virginia was formed from Ohio County. It is adjacent to Jefferson County, Ohio.

Gabriel’s son Israel and his wife Elizabeth were both alive at least until 1800 based on a land deed record recorded in Brooke County, Virginia. There was a suit filed against an Israel Cox Sr in 1805 in Jefferson County, Ohio. An Israel Cox was listed in an 1810 probate inventory for Jacob Durrant in Jefferson County.

Unable to find the 1810 US Census for Ohio, I decided to browse the 1820 Census for Jefferson County. The Israel listed below could be Gabriel’s son. There is both a male and female over 45 years old which would be consistent with Israel and Elizabeth. The younger individuals could be a widowed son and his children.

  • Isaac Cox with the following enumeration in Steubenville Township: 2 males under 10, 1 male 26-44, 1 male over 45, 5 females under 10, and 1 female 16-25.
  • Josiah Cox with the following enumeration in Knox Township: 2 males under 10, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 16-25, 1 male 26-44, 1 female under 10, 1 female 26-44, 1 female over 45.
  • Israel Cox with the following enumeration in Steubenville Township: 1 male 10-15, 1 male 16-25, 1 male 26-44, 1 male over 45, 1 female 10-15, 1 female over 45.
  • Garret Cox with the following enumeration in Wayne Township: 4 males under 10, 1 male 10-15, 1 male 26-44, 2 females under 10, 1 female 26-44.
  • Mary Cox with the following enumeration in Wayne Township: 2 females under 10, 1 female 26-44, 1female over 45.
  • Benjamin Cox with the following enumeration in Wayne Township: 1 male 16-25, 2 females under 10, 1 female 26-44.
  • John Cox with the following enumeration in Wayne Township: 1 male under 10, 2 males 10-15, 1 male over 45, 1 female under 10, 1 female 10-15, 1 female over 45.

Also, an Israel Cox purchased a tract of land from Cornelius Sammons in 1823.1 No wife was listed for Israel…did Elizabeth die between 1820 and 1823? An Israel Cox married a Margaret Fellows on September 29, 1825 in Wells Township.2 The marriage ledger described the groom as a “young man”.3 In 1830, Israel and Margaret sold the land that was purchased in 1823.4 As details start to emerge, this may not be the Israel I am researching. It could be a younger relative or a completely different Cox line entirely.

While Cox Family does not account for all of Gabriel’s children named in his will, it does state that all of them except Israel were killed by Indians. It does not mention if any of them had descendants or what their fate might have been. Peter, Margaret and Mary were married at the time of Gabriel’s death, but I have not yet found anything additional.

Working on the descendants of Friend (item 5 above), not much has been identified. His son John remained in Washington County. His son Benjamin moved westward to Highland County, Ohio. I need to spend more time building out this part of the tree in the next week.

Error resolution. The last available update: I have 4898 errors in the tree–382 possible duplicates, 4069 with no documents, 447 other errors.

  • The mother-in-law of a distant cousin. As stated before, I am pruning extended family.
  • A third cousin needed a source. Once again the California Birth Index comes to the rescue.
  • The last “error” was a repeat that was previously resolved.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,135 people
End of Week: 27,188 people
Change = +53 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. Deeds, Jefferson County, Ohio, 1818-1824, volume H, pp. 380-381, Image Group 004021842, images 487-488, FamilySearch. ↩︎
  2. Marriage Certificates, Jefferson County, Ohio, 1824-1831, volume 3, p. 33, Image Group 007485906, image 75, FamilySearch. ↩︎
  3. Marriage Record, Jefferson County, Ohio, 1824-1831, volume 3, Image Group 004701465, image 145, FamilySearch. ↩︎
  4. Deeds, Jefferson County, Ohio, 1828-1831, volume M, p. 620, Image Group 004021942, image 663, FamilySearch. ↩︎

Navigating Historical Boundaries for Genealogy Research

08 Sunday Feb 2026

Posted by in Genealogy, Newspapers, Revolutionary War

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I’m going to start this week off with DNA. Ancestry sent me an email stating I had a match. It’s never done that before. It was 76 cM so I hoped it would be an easy match. I opened it up and she’s got an unlinked tree with only six people in it. Only one person actually had a name. So I looked at the shared matches. WOW! Lots of matches including my dad’s sister. Saw a match that was only identified as initials because it is managed by someone else. It matched the initials of the sole person in her tree. An obituary would be my best bet for finding a connection…and it was! This new match was a granddaughter of my existing match. YAY! She’s related on my Winkler line. However, there were some matches identified on my maternal side. Looking at the potential ancestors, she could also tie into my Pea line. This could be amplifying the DNA content slightly. I’ll worry about that at another time though.

As I transition between Yohogania County and Washington County to Hampshire County, a little boundary history is necessary to optimize my search for information on Isaac Cox Sr. Hampshire County was originally formed on paper in 1754 from Frederick County and Augusta County in Virginia. Due to hostilities in the area, organized settlement of the area was delayed a few years. In 1785, Hampshire County was split in two, forming Hardy County from the southern half. No further changes in county lines were noted after 1785. In 1863 Hampshire County, along with 49 other counties to form West Virginia. Mineral County was carved out in 1866 and Grant County was formed from Hardy County. Previous publications on this Cox family have mentioned the Cacapon River which runs north-south in the eastern part of Hampshire County. Records search will focus mainly on that area.

Source: mapofus.org

A search for Isaac Cox in newspapers came up empty for the desired time period. That is not surprising since the Hampshire County area was not widely populated or developed in the mid 1700s.

I would be remiss if I didn’t utilize the reference materials available to me at the local genealogical library. In their stacks was a copy of the two volume Biographical Record of Washington County, PA originally published in 1893. Contained within its pages was a biography of a Noah Cox (b. 1819). In the biography, it stated that Noah was the grandson of a Christopher Cox who emigrated from Germany and settled in the Greene County, PA area prior to 1762. Greene County was formed from Washington County in 1796. Based on this information, this particular family is likely to not be related to my Coxes, but the info is helpful as I sort individuals out. Christopher’s children are listed as: John, Jessie, Hiram, Aaron, Christopher, Moses, Jacob, Matilda, Mary and India.

Document findings

  • Early Landowners of Pennsylvania: Atlas of Township Warrantee Maps of Washington County, PA compiled by MacInnes & MacInnes. The plats are broken down by township with plenty of maps to illustrate. Gabriel Cox held two warrantees in present day Union Township (previously part of Peters Township) for parcels labeled “Coxburg” or “Coxbury” and “Cox’s Addition”. His brother John Cox held an adjacent parcel “Belmont”.
  • In a land transfer deed between Isaac Cox and John Decker on July 9, 1778, the parcel of land in question, Mingo Bottom, bordered the Ohio River. It was to the south of a parcel owned by Isaac’s sister Ann and her husband William McMahan. George Cox, Ann and Isaac’s brother, served as one of the witnesses. Since the Ohio River is not in Washington County, this land may have been partially in present day Ohio County, WV.
  • In a land transfer deed between Isaac Cox and Andrew Nye dated August 16, 1779, the parcel of land was adjacent to a tract owned by Isaac’s brother David. David and Gabriel witnessed the document.
  • In a land transfer deed between Isaac Cox and Garrett Vinnaman dated February 9, 1778, the parcel of land on Harrod’s Town Fork. Gabriel served as witness.
  • The brothers John, Isaac, Gabriel and David Cox were mentioned in a land transfer deed between Moses Holladay and Samuel Irwin for a parcel along Peters Creek in May 1779. Peters Creek is in the northeastern portion of Washington County. It would seem the Cox family holdings were somewhat extensive and spread across the county. This land was likely in present day Union Township mentioned previously above.
  • Deed transfer from Isaac & Mary Cox and Gabriel & Sarah Cox to Edward McGuire in Hampshire County, VA, December 8, 1772. Mary and Sarah were daughters of Enoch Enochs.

It has occurred to me that because Isaac and Gabriel were selling off land in Hampshire County in 1772 and they were presumably in Yohogania County at the time of its formation in late 1775. Purchases of the land noted above were possibly recorded in the District of West Augusta. There are some court minutes available which I have already looked through.

In the coming week, I will focus on Hampshire County and what I can find there for the family. I will also return to the previously published sources for potential resources to seek out.

Error resolution. The last available update: I have 4913 errors in the tree–382 possible duplicates, 4085 with no documents, 446 other errors.

  • The first error to fix is for the mother-in-law of a distant cousin. With the limitations I am imposing on my tree, she will be pruned along with her husband.
  • The second one might be difficult. This is the daughter of a second cousin so she is still fairly young. I was able to find her brother so I will have to take that as a consolation prize in this case.
  • The last error to fix this week was for a distant cousin with no records attached. I was able to add at least one source to several members of this family and get them off the list.

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,081 people
End of Week: 27,088 people
Change = +7 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

Researching Isaac Cox: A Genealogy Journey

04 Sunday Jan 2026

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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
  1. Kentucky County Court, Nelson County Probate Records, volume A, pages 43-45, film 9612, images 28-29, FamilySearch.org ↩︎
  2. Evelyn C Adams, “The Coxes of Cox’s Creek, Kentucky”, Genealogies of Kentucky Families, Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc (Baltimore), 1981, page 464. ↩︎
  3. Nelson County Deeds, 1784-1795, pages 146-147, film 9618, images 576-577, FamilySearch.org ↩︎
  4. Adams, page 465. ↩︎
  5. Henry Miller Cox, The Cox Family in America, The Unionist-Gazette Association (New Jersey), 1912, page 253. ↩︎
  6. Nora Lee McGee, Early Records of Nelson County 1775-1800, film 467410, FamilySearch.org. ↩︎

2025 Week 31

03 Sunday Aug 2025

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I made it to the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City! We have a group of about 20 ladies here researching for the week.

Day 1: The first task I’m tackling is looking at restricted access books from their catalog. The first is “DeMoss Family History” by Jo Ann Robertson Hornby written in 1998. She did an awesome job of citing her sources and even providing some document images. One detail that I definitely need to explore is that my line might be descended from William DeMoss and not Louis DeMoss. He is postulated to be a brother to Louis and lived in the vicinity of Louis in Maryland. He also moved to Orange County, Virginia around the same time Louis did. He had two children, one of which was a son named Thomas. This will be worth researching further.

Also worth exploring further are the purported children of Louis DeMoss (1715-1749) and Margaret Ramsey. Their children were listed in “Ancestors of John G Fee, Matilda H Fee, and John G Hanson” by Richard Sears, however, it does not appear to be sourced. They would have been the correct age to have parented my William DeMoss (1773-1815). Children: Peter, John, James, Louis, William, Mary and Elizabeth. Hornby only assigns one child, a daughter Christian, to this couple.

Day 2: Today I’m hanging out on the 3rd floor where all the US and Canada books are. First up is a book of marriage bond abstracts for Fleming Co, KY compiled by Gareth Mark. It does provide some useful information with respect to the Thomas DeMosses in Fleming County. A marriage bond for Thomas DeMoss and Mary Snediger (sic) dated 1823 named Lewis DeMoss as the father of this Thomas DeMoss. A separate bond from 1824 named a Thomas DeMoss as the bondsman for Elizabeth DeMoss who married Michael Hedrick. It’s possible that this is a second Thomas who lived in the county at the same time and is a brother to Elizabeth. This could also be the Thomas who married Rebecca Morrow and that I have DNA matches through.

A number of DeMosses born in the 1770s and residing in the Fleming County area in the early 1800s lead me to believe they were probably siblings: James, William, Mary, and Lewis. The marriage bond records for Mary to Thomas Lock in 1795 Mason County, Kentucky, indicated that her mother’s name was also Mary. The fact that her mother gave her permission would suggest her father was deceased. Part of Mason County became Fleming County in 1798. I’ll need to keep looking for the connection between this generation and the next.

Day 3: I think I have exhausted all sources for the DeMosses at this point in time. When I get home, I will need to review what is already in my manuscript for this line and make any updates based on what I have found. I did do a little research on my George Winkler line which will be the next after the Coxes. I found the divorce proceedings for his marriage to Katie Bean which barely lasted a couple months. Now I am back working on Susannah Cox Ballard’s extensive family.

James and Susannah’s son Bland, named for his grandfather, was fairly straight forward to research. He served as a federal circuit court judge under President Abraham Lincoln. Their son Josephus died as an infant. I also located a transcription of a family bible for the Ballard family which confirms the dates of their vitals. With that, I am finished with Susannah!

Moving on to Isaac Cox, the fifth child of Benjamin and Sarah Piety Cox. Isaac resided in Clark County, Indiana. His sons were river boat pilots on the Ohio River.

Day 4: Last day at the library. Today I am hanging out on the 3rd floor again and going thru the surname books. I seem to have found some good stuff on my Bunnell/Bonnell line. There are three books that chronicle the earliest parts of this family for me. “The Bunnell/Bonnell Family in America” by WIlliam R Austin happens to be on Internet Archive so I can refer back to it often at home.

There is useful information regarding the service of Benjamin Bunnell in the Revolutionary War that might be found in “A Village at War, Chatham, NJ and the American Revolution” by Donald Wallace White. I’ll need to check that out. I might be able to get another Patriot or two out of it. Digging further I was able to find the service source and proof of residency for Benjamin Bunnell so I will be preparing that DAR supplemental application when I get home. I’ve only been wanting to submit that one since 2019!

Back to my research on the Cox family. I have cleaned up Isaac Cox who resided in Jeffersonville, Indiana and am moving on to Joseph Cox, born ca 1790. According to most previously published family histories, he did not marry. However, I have several DNA matches that might say otherwise. Once I sort this out next week, I will elaborate.

This week Ancestry gave me three new errors to resolve. I have 5243 errors in the tree–378 possible duplicates, 4261 with no documents, 604 other errors.

  • John Watson is a floater. I have deleted him.
  • A stepson of husband of wife of distant cousin. He is outside of my lines so I deleted him too.
  • A 6th cousin 1x removed has no documentation. I found his marriage record.

This week in the past…
I’d like to take an opportunity to celebrate the anniversaries of births, marriages, and deaths of my bloodlines the week ahead.
375 years ago – birth of Susanna Whitehead (10th ggm)
360 years ago – birth of Louise Arrivee (8th ggm)
346 years ago – birth of Abigail Fowle (8th ggm)
346 years ago – death of Simon Cardinal (9th ggf)
285 years ago – marriage of Elizabeth Quincy (7th ggm) and Rev William Smith (7th ggf)
216 years ago – Elihu Puckett (4th ggf)
69 years ago – marriage of August Cardinal (ggf) to his second wife Jessie Shackelford

Goals and progress…
Beginning of Week: 27,609 people
End of Week: 27,630 people
Change = +21 persons
Tasks for coming week:

  • Focus on Joseph Cox who may have married Elizabeth Smith
  • Review the information in The Other Polks to see if there is anything I don’t already have
  • Continue data mining on Ben Cox and Sarah Piety
  • Confirm the data from Polk Family and Kinsmen has been added for this family and page numbers are noted for easier citation adding
  • Review Coxes of Cox Creek

Corporal Isaac DeMoss

25 Thursday Jan 2024

Posted by in 52 Ancestors, Civil War, Genealogy

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Week 4 of the 52 Ancestors Challenge finds us exploring the topic “Witness to History”. There are so many individuals I could write about under this topic, most having served and fought for the freedoms we currently enjoy. Many of those same individuals I have already written about, but I haven’t yet focused my attention on my third great-grandfather Isaac DeMoss.

Isaac was born in Fleming County, Kentucky on March 13, 1833 to William DeMoss and Elizabeth “Betsey” Lowe.1 He is believed to be the fourth of ten children born to the couple. While still in diapers, his parents, along with several of his father’s siblings’ families, packed up the family and journeyed westward into Indiana, settling in southeastern Daviess County, Indiana.  

Isaac remained on the family farm until the early to mid-1850s. He set out to make his own way, heading further westward, settling along the White River which separated Daviess County from Knox County to the west. On December 8, 1855, at the age of twenty-two, he married sixteen year old Louisa Reeve, daughter of Joseph Reeve and Sarah Ireland Reeve. The following June, Isaac acquired a land patent (certificate 39184) for thirty-three acres of land along the White River bottoms. 

Isaac and Louisa did not waste time starting a family. Samuel T was born in October 1856 and Marion followed four years later. Life as a farmer was then interrupted when the Civil War broke out. Isaac, Louisa’s brother Samuel, and many of their friends and neighbors enlisted for a three year stint in the Union Army, becoming a private of Company C of the 80th Indiana Infantry. They mustered in on September 8, 1862 at Princeton, Indiana, and marched to Covington, Kentucky, where they joined forces with several units from Ohio. The first year of service was spent mostly in Kentucky. Notable campaigns included fighting Confederate forces at Perryville led by Major General Braxton Bragg. The Regiment had movements in Tennessee before engaging in a number of battles in Georgia in 1864. They circled back through Alabama to Tennessee once more before heading east to North Carolina in 1865. The 80th finished their tour of duty in Salisbury until they mustered out on June 22, 1865, returning home to Indiana. Isaac left the military with the rank of corporal.2

Unfortunately, when Isaac did return to Edwardsport, he did so as a widow. Louisa passed away on April 18, 1864. The cause is currently unknown, however, both Louisa’s mother Sarah and her mother-in-law Betsey also died within months of Louisa. It is not known if their deaths are related or merely coincidental. A year later, young Marion also died of an unknown cause, not having reached his sixth birthday.

At the age of thirty-three, Isaac married sixteen year old Laura Johnson. Within a year she gave him another son, William, however he died a week later. Isaac continued to amass his land holdings and in 1872, he and Laura welcomed another son John Franklin DeMoss. Personal accounts provided by various family members referred to John as Richard or “Dickie Popcorn”.3 

Unlike some of his brothers-in-law (Louisa’s brothers), Isaac focused on farming and did not appear to branch into other trades or skills. He did, however, amass a sizeable amount of land in and around Vigo Township, mostly along the river. Much of this farmland was transferred to Samuel and Richard in the 1890s, as reported in the Vincennes papers.

Isaac took ill in the summer of 1900, contracting Rheumatic Fever. He suffered from this affliction for nearly three months, succumbing on October 19, 1900 at the age of sixty-seven.

  1. Biography of Samuel T. DeMoss, History of Old Vincennes and Knox County, IN, George E. Greene, 1911, p. 271. ↩︎
  2. Battle Unit Details, 80th Regiment, Indiana Infantry. National Parks Service website. ↩︎
  3. Reeve and Hulen Families, Helen E. Reeve, 1974.  ↩︎

Who is Harriett Murray and where did she go?

04 Tuesday Jul 2017

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Been a while, huh?  I am bound and determined to get one segment of the family tree published by the end of the year so here I am asking the hard questions once again.

I’m in the process of cleaning up my Winkler ancestors.  Good ol’ George is still throwing up road blocks, especially where this supposed half sister Harriett Murray is concerned.  According to the Historical and Biographical Atlas of Knox County, Indiana, George’s parents were George and Sophia (Gross) Winkler, and George was born in Tennessee.  I still can’t find any trace of them in 1860 or 1850 in Indiana, Kentucky or Tennessee.  It’s likely the surname was somehow misspelled.  At any rate, I’m not putting in too much effort to find them at this time.

Harriett Murray is another matter altogether. She shows up in 1880 living with my 3GGrandparents (George and Josephine) in Edwardsport and is listed as a half-sister to the head of the household, namely George.  So back to 1870 and 5 year old Harriett can be found with her parents Samuel and Sophia Murray  in the Wheatland area.  Samuel is listed as being 50 and Sophia 30.  If this Sophia is George’s mother, she would be more like 50, not 30.  It wasn’t uncommon for ages to be wrong on the census rolls back then.  In fact, there was a Samuel Murray who married a Sophia Dillon in nearby Daviess County in 1860.  It’s not completely out of the question that Sophia Dillon could be Harriett’s mother, instead of Sophia Gross.

So, it’s hard to say what happened to Samuel and Sophia between 1870 and 1880.  I’m guessing Sophia died.  Samuel may or may not have died.  It was commonplace for single dads, especially older ones, to dump their kids on the relatives.  The problem now if figuring out where Harriett went.  There aren’t any 1890 census records due to the fire at the Library of Congress, and vital records were crappy during that era.  Sadly, nothing is coming up in my search.

Harriett, where did you go?

80th Indiana Infantry, Company C

11 Tuesday Nov 2014

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The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 at Fort Sumter, South Carolina.  Initially, seven southern states seceded from the United States to form the Confederate States of America.  This number grew to eleven before it was all said and done.  In 1862 President Abraham Lincoln raised the call to arms among the Union States, requesting 300,000 volunteers step up and help bring an end to the war.

The men of Southwestern Indiana heard the call and the 80th Indiana Infantry was formed.  The regiment consisted of 1,049 men from several southwestern counties in the state.  The men were grouped in to 10 companies identified by letters of the alphabet.  About 100 men from Edwardsport mustered together at Fort Gibson in Princeton on September 3, 1862 to form Company C.  The 80th spent their first year battling for Kentucky before moving on to Tennessee and the Siege of Atlanta.  They returned to battle in Tennessee, then were shipped to North Carolina to fight under General William T Sherman in early 1865.  They war ended in April 1865, along with the assassination of President Lincoln.  The 80th finished out their duties at Salisbury NC where they were mustered out in late June 1865.  In the end, the 80th lost 237 men to death, 49 to desertion and 3 were unaccounted for.  A more detailed account of their battles can be found in the Civil War Index and the website devoted to the 80th Indiana Volunteer Infantry.

William Lankford

William Lankford

Members of Company C were all from the Edwardsport area.  Three men in particular, John S. Cox, George W. Winkler, and Isaac DeMoss, were my 3rd great grandfathers.  All three mustered in on September 3, 1862.  Unfortunately, not all of them came home.  John died at New Haven, KY on January 14, 1863.  George and Isaac fared better, mustering out on June 22, 1865.  While all three entered service as privates, Isaac finished as a corporal.

Of course, these three were not the only ones in my family’s tree that served in Company C.  Isaac’s cousin Samuel Reeve entered as a Sergeant and had attained the rank of First Sergeant by the time he returned home in 1865.  George had two of his extended family fighting by his side.  William Lankford, George’s brother-in-law, mustered out as a Sergeant after the war while Robert Gilmore, who married one of William’s sisters, was discharged early on April 24, 1863.

Benjamin William Lankford & Sally Mattocks

05 Wednesday Nov 2014

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Today’s focus is on another set of 4th great-grandparents, Benjamin and Sally (Mattocks) Lankford.  According to census records, Benjamin was born around 1819 in Tennessee and Sally in Kentucky around 1815.  They were married in Lawrence Co, Indiana on April 16, 1838 by Johnson Mattocks.  It is unknown if Johnson was a relative of Sally.  The parents of both Benjamin and Sally are unknown at this time.

Benjamin and Sally had several children:

  • William (1840-1893)
  • Martha Jane (1841-1925)
  • Harrison (1843-1899)
  • Josephine (1844-1890) married George Winkler (my 3rd great-grandparents)
  • Sophia (1847-1847)
  • Lucinda (1849-?)
  • Benjamin (1854-?)
  • James (1855-?)
  • Burrel (1859-?)

The 1840 and 1850 census have them living in Lawrence Co, Indiana.  In 1850, there is a William Lankford, age 35, living in their household.  He could possibly be Benjamin’s older brother since it was noted he was born in Tennessee.  Between 1850 and 1856, the family moved to Steen Township (Wheatland) in Knox County. They lived there through 1860, but were living in Washington, IN at the time of the 1870 census.  It is likely they moved some time after 1867 when Lucinda married Richard Alford.  Benjamin Jr can be found living with his brother Harrison in 1880, but their parents, as well as James and Burrel, are not to be found.  It is suspected that Benjamin and Sally died sometime between 1870 and 1880.

George Washington Winkler

03 Monday Nov 2014

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George Washington Winkler was one of my third great grandfathers.  He was born March 21, 1843 in Indiana, possibly in Greene County.  The identity of his parents is currently unconfirmed.  There are a few researchers who have linked him to Henry Winkler and Lucy Whitton, but I haven’t yet seen documentation confirming this and have doubts these are his parents.  In 1880, Harriet Murray, 15, is listed in his household as his half-sister.  Backtracking to 1870, Harriet is found with her parents Samuel and Sophia Murray, leading me to believe George’s mother’s name was Sophia.  Unfortunately, a maiden name has not been determined.  George’s whereabouts are unknown prior to his marriage to Josephine Lankford.  He did serve in the War Between the States in the 80th Regiment of the Indiana Infantry, Company C, along with many others scattered about the family tree.

Josephine and George were married in Wheatland in 1861.  They were blessed with the following children:

  • Elisabeth Jane (1862-1926)
  • Sarah Frances (1866-1936)
  • Sophia (1868-1940)
  • George (1871-?)
  • Samuel (1872-1873)
  • William (1874-1948)
  • Charles (1877-1877)
  • Clara Mae (1878-1969)
  • Thomas (1880-1947)
  • Bertha (1884-1961)
  • Maude Nellie (1886-1956)

Sarah, who is my 2nd great grandmother, went on to marry Samuel T. DeMoss who became a prominent businessman in the Edwardsport area.

George lived most of his life in Edwardsport (Vigo Township).  After Josephine died in 1890, he married Katie Bean in Greene County on December 4, 1892.  That marriage didn’t last very long, although how it ended is not readily known since I cannot locate Katie anywhere else.  George then married Mary Emma (Watkins) Bartlett on June 26, 1894 in Knox County. Emma was born in Illinois, possibly Fayette County, about 1849.  She married Milton Bartlett in the late 1860’s and they moved to the Edwardsport area in the mid-1870’s.  He died sometime between 1885 and 1894.

George and Emma, along with several of his children and her youngest daughter Carrie, were residing in the Freelandville area (Widner Township) in 1900. George passed away on December 12, 1909 in Freelandville where he is supposed to be buried.  Mary Emma is listed in subsequent census rolls: 1910 in Widner Township, 1920 in Busseron Township, and 1930 in Oaktown on Hickory Street.  Since she is missing from the 1940 lists, it’s assumed that she died sometime during the 1930’s.

 

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Fayette County Illinois is west of Effingham.

Busseron Township is south of Oaktown, IN.

William DeMoss and Elizabeth Lowe

02 Sunday Nov 2014

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Today’s highlighted family is that of William J. and Elizabeth Lowe DeMoss.  They are my 4th great grandparents on my dad’s side.

Based on 1850 census data, William was born around 1803 in Kentucky.  I have no concrete information on his parents, but he was possibly from the Fleming County area based on information found in other family trees on Ancestry.com.  One researcher names his parents as William and Polly DeMoss, but I haven’t found any documentation supporting this as of yet.

Elizabeth Lowe was born on August 15, 1806 in Kentucky.  It is believed that her parents are Isaac and Margaret McLees Lowe.  It’s also thought that the Lowes were from the Fleming County area.

William and Elizabeth were probably married around  1825, but no marriage records have yet to be located. Based on census records, they were in Fleming Co, KY in 1830 and had moved to Reeve Township, Daviess Co, IN by 1840.  The 1850 census lists the following children belonging to William and Elizabeth.  Based on information in the early census rolls, there may be two more sons older than Elizabeth who had left home by 1850.

  • Elizabeth (b. 1831)
  • Isaac (b. 3-31-1833)
  • John (b. 1836)
  • William (b. 10-3-1837)
  • Democrat (b. 1840)
  • Mary (b. 1841)
  • Squire (b. 5-2-1846)
  • Fleming (b. 1848)

William is hard to find in 1860.  It’s possible he was working as a farm hand in Steen Township, Knox County.  This is plausible since he is listed just before Benjamin Lankford and his family.  Benjamin’s yet unborn granddaughter Sarah Winkler ends up marrying William’s toddler grandson Samuel.  Sam and Sarah are my 2nd great grandparents.  William cannot be found in 1870 census records so it’s possible he passed on sometime during that decade.  My next trip home may include a search of the cemeteries in the Wheatland area.

Elizabeth is missing in the 1860 census, but she shares a headstone with her daughter-in-law Mary Reeve DeMoss (William’s wife) in the Edwardsport Town Cemetery.  Elizabeth’s date of death was July 13, 1864.  Both Isaac and William married Reeve sisters, so it’s not out of the question that Elizabeth was either living nearby or with one of them.

Of William and Elizabeth’s children, further information is available for only a few of them.  As mentioned above, Isaac and William married two sisters and settled in the Edwardsport area.  Both lines are fairly well traced with Isaac being my 3rd great grandfather.  John appears to have stayed in Daviess County with his family for quite a while.  At some point, he and several of his grown sons were living in the Decker, IN area.  Knox County death records have his death listed in the Wheatland area in 1908.  Squire was listed in 1870 living with John in Daviess County and was buried there in 1871.  No information has yet to be located on young Elizabeth, Democrat, Mary, Fleming or their two older brothers.

 

 

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Fleming County, Kentucky is northeast of Lexington.
Reeve Township is in the southeast corner of Daviess County IN, south of Montgomery and Loogootee.
Steen Township is the area around Wheatland, IN and borders Daviess Co.