A Journal for Tony Cox

Recently, I noticed that my Ancestry.com DNA ThruLines indicated that I have a 10 cM single segment Autosomal DNA match with a descendant of Rebecca Harmon Cox, the daughter of Joseph R. Cox and Malinda Hadley. Rebecca was listed in the Joseph R. Cox household on the 1850 Indiana US Census and in the Indiana Quaker Records. I add the name for wife of Joseph R. Cox here because Autosomal DNA can be inherited from either or both parents. The Autosomal DNA test results can include cousin matches from both parent’s ancestors. ThruLines is Ancestry.com’s DNA Analysis tool that combines their huge family tree database with their Autosomal DNA database to statistically predict ones ancestors. The tool is still in the early days of development and can often be misleading due to the above mentioned parental uncertainty and to the miscellaneous lineage errors that may be encountered in the Ancestry.com family tree database.

My DNA cousin match with a descendant of Rebecca Harmon Cox, the daughter of Joseph R. Cox and Malinda Hadley, is an incentive to look closer at the couple’s ancestry lines. While a 10 cM, single DNA segment is small enough to argue for a search through a huge pool of possible surnames and ancestors, 6 or 7 generations worth. I limit this study to searching the existing Cox historical records for the parents and grandparents of Joseph R. Cox and Malinda Hadley. I’m looking only for the possibility of a Cox heritage connection between Joseph R. Cox and me, not the proof of one.

The records show Rebecca Harmon Cox had Quaker Heritage and her parents were likely still with the church circa 1850 because the family is found listed in the Morgan County, Indiana West Union Monthly Meeting Quaker Records: Joseph R. Cox, born April 13, 1825, died August 11, 1852, and is buried at Fairfield, [Franklin County,] Indiana. He was identified as the son of Harmon and Martha Cox and as the husband of Malinda Hadley, born August 8, 1829. She was identified as the daughter of George and Deborah Hadley. Joseph’s and Malinda’s children were listed as Rebecca H., born April 25, 1850 and Harmon J., born December 11, 1851. Their son, also named Harmon, died August 25, 1852 and was also buried at Fairfield, [Franklin County,] Indiana. According to a Morgan County, Indiana record, Joseph [R.] Cox and Melinda Hadley were married November 14, 1844 by John H. Richards a Justice of the Peace.

The 1850 US Census for Guilford Township, Hendricks County, Indiana list Joseph [R.] Cox’s age as 25 and his wife Melinda’s age as 22. The children are named: Martha Ann, age 4, Mary Jane, age 2 and Rebecca H., age 3/12. All were listed as born in Indiana. [I note the children discrepancy between the 1850 Census and the Quaker Records. Martha Ann Cox may have been an orphaned cousin, or a daughter born outside the Quaker Religion or, less likely, at another Friends meeting place.]

An undated letter written by a descendant of Rebecca Harmon Cox indicates that after the death in 1852 of her first husband Joseph R. Cox, Malinda Hadley Cox remarried in 1853 to Ambrose Secrest, born 1821, IN. They are listed on the 1860 US Census for Baytown, Washngton County, Minnesota.

Malinda Jane [Hadley Cox] Secrest is listed as a child of George Hadley in his Findagrave memorial. The Alamance County, North Carolina, Cane Creek Monthly Meeting Quaker Records show George Hadley married Deborah Cox, the daughter of John William Cox and Lydia [Littler.] According to the Randolph County, Holly Springs Monthly Meeting Quaker Record, John William Cox was the son of Samuel Cox and Hannah Wierman. Samuel’s and Hannah’s Quaker Marriage Intention (Chester County, Pennsylvania Uwchlan Monthly Meeting Minutes) and Quaker Marriage Records (Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Sadsbury Monthly Meeting) list Samuel Cox as the son of John Cox. The ancestry of the John Cox with a son Samuel who married Hannah Wierman can be found listed in the Brandywine Cox Family Tree. My DNA test results indicate that I also descend from this John Cox, better known as John Cox, Jr.. John Cox, Jr. was my 5^th great grandfather. Joseph R. Cox’s wife Malinda Jane [Hadley Cox] Secrest was my third cousin-thrice removed.

As I wrote earlier, the Morgan County, Indiana West Union Monthly Meeting Quaker Records indicate that Joseph R. Cox was the son of Harmon Cox and Martha Cox. As listed in the Indiana Marriage Index, Harman Cox married Martha Cox on November 14, 1818 in Wayne County, Indiana.

A book titled The Cox Family in America written by Rev. Henry Miller Cox and published in 1912 lists the family of Harmon Cox on page 268. Martha Cox was Harmon’s first wife. The passage lists two more wives for Harmon, sisters: Rebecca and Rachel Small and all of his children: Dinah [Diannah] Cox, Stephen Cox, Amy Cox, Joseph R. Cox., Ezrah H. Cox, Adon L. Cox, Sally V. Cox, and Harmon B. Cox. The book also identifies the father of Harmon Cox’s first wife Martha Cox as Joseph Cox and Martha Cox’s grandfather as Benjamin Cox.

Harmon Cax is listed on the 1820 US Census for Wayne County, Indiana: 1 male aged over 25 but not yet 45, 1 female aged under 10, and 1 female aged over 16 but not yet 26. Although not adjacent, but listed on the same page was Jeremiah Cox. According to Rev. Miller’s book, Harmon Cox walked from North Carolina to the Richmond, [Wayne County,] Indiana area with his cousin Jeremiah Cox.

According to the Brandywine Cox Family Tree, my ancestor John Cox, Jr. had a son named Benjamin Cox, born 1723, Chester County, PA who married Martha Garretson. Benjamin’s and Martha’s son Joseph Cox, born 1759, Guilford, NC married Dinah Rich. This is confirmed by the Center, Guilford County, NC Quaker Records that list the December 6, 1781 marriage of Joseph Cox, son of Benjamin and Martha Cox of Cane Creek and Dinah Rich, daughter of John and Sarah Rich of Center, Guilford County, NC.

The 1820 US Census for Wayne County, Indiana lists the following Cox families

Wm Cox, Sr 200010 30000 5/57

Joseph Cox 320020 10000 6/57

Jeremiah Cox, Sr. 300010 30001 11/57

Peter Cox 110001 01000 19/57

Isaac Cox 200010 11001 22/57

William Cox 100010 00010 28/57

John Cox 000011 00001 30/57

Jeremiah Cax 420101 01100 47/57

Harman Cax 000010 10100 47/57

In 1820, Joseph Cox who was born in 1759 would have been listed on the US Census as aged over 45. He doesn’t appear to be listed on the US Census for Wayne County, Indiana. In 1816, the BLM Land Records patents list a Joseph Cox of North Carolina as the owner of Quarter Section 12, Township Sixteen, Range 13. The History of Wayne County, Indiana, Volume I, published in 1884 mentions a Joseph Cox several times commencing in 1817 with his appointment as a Grand Juror. There was a least one other Joseph Cox in the area who was from Virginia and who arrived before 1807 with his father John Cox.

Joseph Cox of Wayne County, IN signed a last will and testament on July 3, 1828 that listed his heirs as: William Cox, Joseph Cox, Benjamin Cox, Miriam [Cox] Moffett, Dinah [Cox] Hill, Martha [Cox] Cox, and Sarah [Cox] Brown. Not mentioned in the will but included in the book, The Cox Family in America, page 267 are sons: Moses, Nathan, and John. His wife is also not mentioned in the will; however the Quaker Wayne County, IN Quaker Records list the death dates and age at death for Joseph: August 18, 1828, 68 years-6 months-9 days, and his wife Dinah Cox: April 5, 1826, 66 years, 5 months-22 days.

Joseph bequeath land to his sons: “…bequeath to my son Joseph Cox, the West half of the North east quarter of Section three in Township fourteen of range eight and also twenty one acres of the east side of the east half of the north west quarter of Section three in Township fourteen of range eight…bequeath to my son Benjamin the balance of the east half of the northwest quarter of Section three in Township fourteen of Range eight…” According to the BLM 1826 land grant, the patents lists Joseph Cox of Wayne County, Indiana as the owner. The two tracts of land are south of Wayne County in present-day Rush County, Indiana which was created in 1822. The complete proof is not here, but for the purposes of this exploration study, I’m willing to argue that Joseph and Dinah Cox of Wayne County, IN were likely the parents of Harmon Cox’s wife Martha, that she was the grandaughter of Benjamin Cox and the great-granddaughter of John Cox, Jr. If that is true then I am her second cousin-four times removed.

[I should note without pursuing, that according to the Brandywine Cox Family Tree, the mother of Benjamin Cox’s wife Martha Garretson was Ann Cox, born 1794 in England.]

In addition to Joseph Cox, Benjamin Cox and Martha Garretson had another son named Jeremiah Cox who settled in Wayne County, Indiana. His life and that of his son Jeremiah Cox, Jr. are detailed in both of the books mentioned above: The History of Wayne County and The Cox Family in America. Jeremiah Cox, Jr. is likely the cousin who Harmon Cox traveled with while walking from North Carolina to Wayne County, Indiana.

The sons of Benjamin Cox and Martha Garretson had an older sister named Amy who married Thomas Cox. The Cox Family in America details the family of Amy Cox, born 1758 on page 274. Amy was married twice, first to Thomas Cox then to Levi Lane and died near Fairfield, Indiana. Her children were Stephen, Mary, William, Martha, Thomas, Amy, Harmon, Benjamin, Abel, and Ruth.

The family for Thomas and Amy Cox’s son Harmon Cox, born 1793 is detailed on page 268. of the book. Joseph R. Cox was the son of this Harmon Cox, born 1793 and Amy Cox, the daughter of Benjamin Cox and Martha Garretson. Through Joseph R. Cox’s mother Amy, I am his second cousin-four times removed.

Amy’s family can also be found on the Brandywine Cox Family Tree. Her husband, Thomas Charles Cox, born 1753, was the son of Harmon Cox, born 1723 in New Castle County, Delaware and his wife Jane John[s], born about 1728 in NC. According to the Brandywine Cox Family Tree, Harmon Cox, born 1723, was the son of William Cox, born 1692 in New Castle County, Delaware and Catherine Kinkey, born 1716 in Cecil County, Maryland. The parents of William Cox, born 1692 were William Cox, born 1657 in England and Naomi (Amy) Cantrell, born in 1660. I am aware that I have an undefined Cantrell heritage that may connect to Naomi (Amy) Cantrell’s line, but I’ve not yet found a paternal Cox line connection to Joseph R. Cox.

I’ll conclude this study that covers the heritage of Rebecca Harmon Cox, the daughter of Joseph R. Cox and Malinda Hadley by noting while my paternal Cox line connection to Joseph R. Cox paternal Cox line, if any, is likely 9 generations or more back, perhaps beyond the scope of Autosomal DNA results. However, the possibility of my paternal Cox line connection to Joseph R. Cox’s wife Malinda, to his mother Martha, and to his grandmother Amy is much closer and well within the range of the 10 centi-Morgan DNA segment.

I have Cox cousins who still believe our great-grandfather Joseph Cox, born about 1836 in Indiana is more properly named Joseph R. Cox. They still think this despite knowing that both the 1850 US Census for Guilford Township, Hendricks County, IN and the West Union, Morgan County, Indiana Quaker Meeting Records indicate that Joseph R. Cox was born about 1825 in Indiana and additionally, the Quaker Records list the Joseph R. Cox who married Malinda Hadley, died August 25, 1852, and was buried at Fairfield, [Franklin County,] Indiana. I studied Joseph R. Cox years ago. After looking at the US Census and old Quaker records mentioned above, I quickly realized that he didn’t ‘fit’ for my great-grandfather because our Joseph’s children, my grandfather Christopher Columbus Cox and his sister Martha Cox were born after August 25, 1852.

I knew from our family genealogists and our family traditions which are backed by US Census records that in 1870 and 1880 our Cox family lived near Coatsville, a town in Schuyler County, Missouri located near the Iowa border. Mary, our Joseph’s wife, was born in Pennsylvania, his children Christopher and Martha were both born in Illinois and our Joseph’s step-daughters, Elina and Eliza Pennington were born in Pennsylvania. The 1860 US Census for Joshua Township, Fulton County, Illinois lists the family of Joseph and Mary Cox. Elina and Eliza Pennington had a younger brother named William and my grandfather [Christopher] Columbus Cox was just one year old. On that census, Joseph Cox listed his age as 24 which meant a birth year of about 1836. A decade earlier the 1850 US Census for Joshua Township lists a Joseph Cox, age 14, born in Indiana, an apparent orphan because he is living in a non-Cox household. The Fulton County, Illinois records show that Joseph Cox married Mary E. Pennington on May 13, 1858. Mary Ellen Allison Pennington was the widow of John Pennington from Pennsylvania. Later, I learned through the genealogical studies of a cousin that the 1883/1884 Appanose County, Iowa [adjacent, just across the state border from Schuyler County, Missouri] marriage registry for my grandparents Christopher C. Cox and Lillie M. Farnsworth listed Christopher’s father as Joseph E. Cox.

Using Autosomal DNA Triangulation, I have proved that Joseph E. Cox was the grandson of Stephen Cox, b. 1779, VA and Mary Robertson, born 1871. During the process, I discovered and proved a connection with several descendants of Joseph E. Cox’s brother Thomas B. Cox, born about 1826 in Ohio. By 1900, Thomas B. Cox was living in Cherokee County, Kansas. My newly-found cousins helped me complete the family proof which also includes descendants of Martha Cox Lee. Joseph and Thomas may have other siblings yet to be identified.

Fortunately, Stephen Cox’s family is well-documented by the folk at Brandywine Crucible, Inc. The next step was to determine which son was the father of Joseph and Thomas. Both Stephen and his wife were born in Virginia where they married and started their family. Shortly after 1800, the family moved to Knox County, Kentucky. In the US Censuses, Joseph E. Cox consistently identified Virginia as the birth state for his father. Stephen’s and Mary’s first son John Cox, born about 1800 was the only son born in Virginia. The 1840 US Census for Joshua Township, Fulton County, Illinois lists a John Cox household with suitable ages for my ancestor and his family.

Census Data for William S. Skelton, son of Jonathon Skelton and Elizabeth Cox

1850 Subdivision 18, Blount, Alabama
William Skelton 40 [1810, GA]
Catherine Skelton 34 [1816, SC]
John Skelton 13 [1837, AL]
Edward Skelton 11 [1839, AL]
Sarah Skelton 7 [1843, AL]
Washington Skelton 5 [1845, AL]
Greenberry Skelton 3 [1847, AL]
Lewis Skelton 1 [1849, AL]

1860 Division 1, Blount, Alabama
Wm Skelton 50 [1810, GA]
Charity Skelton 43 [1817, SC]
Jas Skelton 17 [1843, AL]
Wm Skelton 15 [1845, AL]
Lewis Skelton 13 [1847, AL]
Francis Skelton 11 [1849, AL]
Susan Skelton 9 [1851, AL]
Jonathan Skelton 6 [1854, AL]
Constantine Skelton 2 [1858, AL]
Mary Skelton 1 [1859, AL

JohnH. Skelton 24, AL adj to William [1836, AL]

Elizabeth Skelton 73, GA in HH275/275 page back [1787, GA]
with B. A. and Hattie G. Harbin

1870 Township 13 Range 1, Blount, Alabama
William Skelton 59 [1811, SC]
Catharine Skelton 52 [1818, SC]
Frances Skelton 20 [1850, AL]
Catharine Skelton 17 [1853, AL]
Lancer Skelton 12 [1858, AL]
Catharine Skelton 12 [1858, AL]

William remarried in 1876 to Elizabeth Hufstutler Reid (mar. 1868). Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry Hyfstutler and Delia Skelton. Delilia was the daughter of Standwick Skelton, b. 1887) anf Elizabeth Mullen [Dorothy Scarborough-ancestry.com] Hufstutlers were neighbors of William.

1880 Township 13 Range 1, Blount, Alabama
William Skelton 70, GA, GA, SC [1810]
Elizabeth 50, AL, TN, AL [1830]
Francis 11, AL, AL, AL [1869]

COX, GIDEON 7/10/1832 IN 2nd PM 023N – 008W E½NE¼ 26 Warren
COX, GIDEON 7/10/1832 IN 2nd PM 023N – 008W W½NW¼ 22 Warren
COX, JOHN 3/15/1826 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W E½SE¼ 21 Warren, from Montgomery Co., OH
COX, JOHN 3/15/1826 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W NE¼ 27 Fountain, Warren, from Montgomery Co., OH
COX, JOHN 1/3/1828 IN 2nd PM 022N – 008W E½NW¼ 32 Warren, from Bartholomew, IN
COX, JOHN 11/2/1829 IN 2nd PM 023N – 008W W½NE¼ 34 Warren
COX, JOHN 9/26/1831 IN 2nd PM 023N – 008W E½NE¼ 34 Warren
COX, JOHN 7/10/1832 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W NW¼ 21 Warren
COX, JONATHAN 3/15/1826 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W W½SW¼ 22 Warren
COX, JONATHAN 9/1/1826 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W E½NW¼ 28 Fountain, Warren
COX, JONATHAN 9/1/1826 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W E½SW¼ 22 Warren
COX, JONATHAN 3/30/1837 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W SE¼NE¼ 20 Warren
COX, JOSEPH 7/25/1826 IN 2nd PM 022N – 007W NE¼ 28 Fountain, Warren
COX, JOSEPH 1/30/1828 IN 2nd PM 021N – 008W SE¼NW¼ 23 Fountain, Warren

In Part 1, I discussed Benjamin Duke and his wife Mary, the first Duke settlers of record in the Camden District along the Wateree River.

Part 2 ends the argument. I’ve combined it with a revised Part 1 to provide a complete document for my web page. The new document is called:

     Selected Families in the Camden District, SC with the Duke Surname.

Genealogists have struggled unsuccessfully for over a century to prove the ancestors of several apparently interconnected families of the Duke-Dukes surname who lived between 1750 and 1850 along the Wateree River and two of its main tributaries, Sawney Creek and Twenty-Five Mile Creek. Their homesteads resided in the Camden District of the South Carolina Colony. Today the area is known as the counties of Lancaster, Kershaw, Fairfield, and Richland, South Carolina. As the Wateree flows through the area from north to south, it is known progressively as the Catawba River, Wateree River, and finally below Twenty-Five Mile Creek, as the Santee River. Also, later records will sometime refer to Twenty-Five Mile Creek as Rice Creek.

Now, in the waning years of my genealogy studies, I will add my name to the list of strugglers with my own weak argument of several parts, each one starting with some of the scant historical data. Scant is a good descriptive adjective to use considering the depredations of time and fire. Richland and Lancaster are considered ‘burnt’ counties.

I’ll present the historical data using links to pdf excerpts from my existing studies then follow it by ‘experience’-based interpretations and assumptions that present my Duke ancestor argument. This allows me to express my opinions while preserving the integrity of my earlier studies. My hope that is by doing so, my efforts will provide a starting point for future generations who will either prove or disprove them.

I will argue that Benjamin Duke, deceased before 1770, SC of the Wateree River, Lancaster County/Camden District, SC was the paternal ancestor of those Camden District Duke families.

Benjamin Duke of Camden District, SC

The 1778 lease and release conveyance of Benjamin Duke’s land from John Chesnut to James Perry give us the first name for Benjamin Duke‘s wife. Mary.

It’s hard to say definitively that Benjamin was deceased before 1770, but the dearth of deed transfer information in the colonial journals on his property makes me suspect that the transfer of ownership happened in a will. Official registration of deed transfers between family members was sometimes delayed for years, often until the land was transferred outside the family.

The succession of ownership listed in the 1778 conveyance leads me to suspect that Robert Humphries was a son-in-law of Benjamin Duke. The next owner, Nehemiah Joiner, Junior had an unusual given name, one present in this Duke family. Perhaps it is significant.

Robert Humphries also witnessed a lease and release between William Harrison with wife Ann/Nancy to John Dukes. The Harrison land that John Dukes bought in 1753 was on the Wateree River, the same side, and about 5 miles northwest of Benjamin Duke’s land.

I’ve been on a genealogical hunt for my great grandfather Joseph Cox for fifty years. Not continuously, obviously, but in sprints where I search hard, get fraustrated then put it aside for other pasttimes. The aside intervals sometimes stretched over multiple years.

I’ve done the Y-DNA test with familytreedna.com and know who Joseph’s distant ancestors were, but I’ve been unable to follow the historical record trail to connect the dots to his father and to the grandfathers that stretch between him and our first US emmigrant ancestor Thomas Cox, vintner, born 1641 in England.

My Joseph Cox first appears in the historical records on the 1850 US Census for Joshua Township, Fulton County, IL. He is listed as a 14 year old in the household of Henry S. Marvial [sic. Marvel]. I’ve been unable to connect him genetically to the Marvel family or to their spouses’ families or to any Cox family listed on the 1850 Census. I’ve found no probate or land deed records in Fulton or surrounding IL counties that imply a connection to Joseph. The only result of my years of searching is an arguable link to a John Cox found on the 1840 US Census for that township. The argument rests weakly on two facts. The John Cox listing enumerates three males under the age of 5, born about 1836, Joseph could have been one of them. Also, many of the household names that closely bracket the 1840 John Cox listing can be found on the 1850 US Census closely bracketing the Marvel listing.

My study of the Marvel family indicates they arrived in the area circa 1845, living for a while at Rapatee, Knox Couny, IL before moving to Joshua, Fulton County, IL.

There was an additional Cox/Marvel connection found by Cathy Parsons, a Fulton County, IL genealogist. According to a Fulton County Marvel family history, a younger brother of the Henry Marvel mentioned above, Marmaduke Marvel, his wife, and newly born daughter in 1857 “with the brother Francis Marvel and a friend, Nathan Cox, started for the state of Texas.” In 1859, Marmaduke and family returned to Fulton County from Alvarado, Johnson County, TX. The 1860 US Census for Alvarado, Johnson County, TX lists a Nathan Cox, age 27, born in IL, a farm laborer living with the Richard Graves household. There are no other Cox listings for that county.

From the Ancestry.com family trees, we learn that William Marvel‘s parents were Robert Marvel and Mary Smith. William had one known brother who died in Hendricks County, IN, 1889.

Robert Marvel, b. 1762, Sussex, DE, m(1). 1798 Sussex, DE, d. 1824, Sussex, DE
+Mary Smith

• William Marvel, b. 1803, Sussex, DE, m. 1825, OH, d. 1852, Fulton, IL
  +Sarah Gregory Story
• Robert Marvel, b. 1804, Sussex, DE, d. 1889, Hendricks, IN
  +Sarah Wilkins

According to the birth states of Robert Marvel‘s children listed on the Brown, Hendricks County, IN 1850 US Census, he had moved from OH to IN between 1834 and 1837. A matching Robert Marvel is listed on the 1840 census for Hendricks County, IN.

The father of William Marvel‘s wife Sarah was Marmaduke Story. Sarah had a brother, Marmaduke D. Story, who moved to Knox County, IL about the same time, or shortly after, the Marvels moved to Fulton County, IL. The families lived about 12 miles apart.

Marmaduke Story, b. 1772, Sussex, DE, m. 1797, Sussex, DE, d. 1856, Franklin, OH
+Rachel Baggs, 1768-1846

• Sarah Gregory Story, 1805-1872
• M. Henry Story, 1805-1857, OH
• Joseph W Story, 1808-1891, OH
• Marmaduke D Story, 1811-1897, Franklin, OH, Knox, IL (1850), Washington, IA

+Diana Ingram

• Samuel C. Story, 1814-1899, Washington, IA

1850 US Census Township 9 N 3 E, Knox, Illinois
M D Story abt 1812 Delaware Male

• Diana Story abt 1816 Virginia Female
• Van Buren Story abt 1837 Ohio Male
• Sarah E Story abt 1839 Ohio Female
• Salathiel B Story abt 1841 Ohio Male
• Hannah Story abt 1844 Ohio Female
• Marmaduke D. Story abt 1847 Ohio Male
• Geo C Story abt 1849 Illinois Male

Marmaduke D. Story, brother of Sarah Gregory (Story) Marvel, arrived in IL between 1847-1849 and settled in Knox co., IL. In 1850 M. D Story was listed in the IL township 9N, 3E. The Marvels lived within 12 miles south of them in the IL township 7N, 3E. Neither men can be found in the BLM land grant records.

The connections by marriage yield these surnames: Marvel, Story, Baggs, Ingram, Byers, and Creath. The search for a Cox marriage in OH, IN, IL using the surnames was negative.

Our Joseph Cox is listed on the Joshua Township, Fulton County, IL 1850 US Census in the Henry S. Marvel household.

William Marvel, living in Sussex County, Delaware by 1820, and likely of Quaker origins, the ages of their children listed on the US Census records show us the extended Marvel family, father William and sons William and Henry moved from Ohio, likely from Franklin County, to Joshua Township, Fulton County, Illinois after 1843 and prior to 1848.

1850 US Census for Joshua Township, Fulton County, IL, 16OCT1850
HH 88/90 William Marvial, age 22, M, Farmer, born in OH

• Mary Ann, age 20, F, OH

HH 89/91 William Marvial, age 66, M, Farmer $2500, born in DE

• Sarah, age 44, F, born in DE
• Marmaduke, age 18, M, born in OH
• Hestor, age 15, F, born in OH
• Robert, age 14, M, born in OH
• Rache, age 11, F, born in OH
• Samule, age 8m M, born in OH
• Frances, age 6, M, born in OH
• Lewis C., age 2, born in IL

HH 90/92 Henry S. Marvial, age 25, M, Farmer, born in OH

• Rachel, age 23, F, born in PA
• Sarah, age 2, F, born in IL
• Joseph Cox, age 14, M, born in IN

( From Ancestry.com Family Tree and others)
William Marvel b. 1803, Sussex, DE, m. 1825, Pickaway, OH, d. 1852, Fulton, IL
+Sarah Gregory Story, b. 1806, Sussex, DE

• Henry Story Marvel, b. 1825, OH (Circleville–Franklin–Pickaway]
  +Rachael Byers, b. [abt. 1827, PA, d. after 1850]
  +Malinda Robinson
• William Marvel, b. 1827, OH
  +Mary Ann Creath. b. 1830, OH

[Note: Birth year descrepancies with 1850 US Census. If the family tree data is correct, then a familial relation between Joseph Cox and the Marvels is not indicated. A connection through the Story, Byers, or Creath family has not been ruled out. Joseph Cox married after his 21st birthday. This argues for Joseph Cox being indentured to a member of the Marvel family.]

(From US Census)
William Marvel 1820 00210 31010 Broad Creek Hundred, Sussex, DE
William Marvel 1830 30001000000 1000200000000 Pleasant TWP, Franklin, OH
W. Marvel 1840 11210010000 1100010000000 Pleasant, Franklin, OH

[Note: In 1840, 1 male child under 5, probably Robert, b. abt. 1836)]

According to probate papers, John Cox rented eight acres of Fulton County, Illinois land from James Cox. The BLM records list the following Cox land grants in the area:

Nathan Turner, SESW S32, 09N, 01E, 4 11/03/1840, KNOX, IL
Benjamin B. Cox, E2SE S33, 10N, 03E, 4 11/03/1840, KNOX, IL
James Cox, W2SW S33, 09N, 01E, 10/10/1840, KNOX, IL
Nathaniel Turner, NWSW S30, 03N, 02E, 11/03/1840, FULTON, IL
James Cox, NENE S08, 08N, 01E, 11/03/1840, FULTON, IL
Jesse Cox, SENE S29, 04N, 01E, 11/05/1843, FULTON, IL
Thomas S, Cox, NE S26 12N, 04E, 11/29/1817, KNOX, IL [warrant]
John Cox, NW S22, 08N, 01W, 09/19/1818, WARREN, IL [warrant]
Nathaniel D Cox, NW S23, 08N, 03E, 01/01/1818, FULTON, IL [warrant (Maine)]
Edward H. Cox, NW S23, 08N, 03E, 01/01/1818 FULTON, IL [father/heir of Nat.]
Abner Cox, W2SW S19, 06N, 03W, 10/10/1840, MCDONOUGH, IL
Abner Cox, W2NW S30, 06N, 03W, 10/10/1840, MCDONOUGH, IL
Covington Cox, S2NW S19, 07N 03W, 12/21/1850, MCDONOUGH, IL [warrant, *heir]
Covington Cox, N2SW S19, 07N, 03W, 12/21/1850, MCDONOUGH, IL [warrant, *heir]
John Cox, SE S19, 06N, 02W, 01/03/1818, MCDONOUGH, IL [warrant]
Phillip Cox, S2NW S19, 07N, 03W, 12/21/1850, MCDONOUGH, IL [warrant, *heir]
Phillip Cox, N2SW S18, 07N, 03W, 12/21/1850, MCDONOUGH, IL [warrant, *heir]
Robert Cox, SW S22, 04N, 02W, 02/14/1818, MCDONOUGH, IL [warrant
[Warrants for service in the War of 1812.

The bounty land warrants were for service in the War of 1812. John Cox (S22 08N 01W) served in Capt. Paige’s Company of the 13th Regiment. John Cox (S19 06N 02W) served in Romayne’s Company, Corps Artillery. Most of the warrants were for New England veterans. I haven’t succeeded in locating Captains Paige and Romaynes Companies.

The 1820 Illinois US Census, no Cox families were listed in the four county area

The 1830 Illinois US Census lists (only in the area):
James Cox 1830 0000100000000 0000100000000 Fulton Co., IL
Levi Cox 1830 0000100000000 0000000000000 Fulton Co., IL

The 1835 Illinois State Census lists:
Abner Cox 1835 0000100000 0000000000 Fulton Co., IL
James Cox 1835 0010000000 2010000000 Fulton Co., IL

And the 1840 Illinois US Census lists:
Caleb Cox 1840 0000200000000 0000100000000 4N1E, Vermont, Fulton Co., IL
David Cox 1840 0100100000000 2000100000000 7N5E, Fulton Co., IL
James Cox 1840 0000010000000 0200010000000 8N1E, St. Augustine, Fulton Co., IL
John Cox 1840 3000010000000 0110100000000 7N3E, Joshua, Fulton Co., IL
John Cox 1840 0110001000000 1011010000000 5N2E, Bernadotte, Fulton Co., IL
Jessee Cox 1840 0300010000000 1000100000000 4N1E, Vermont, Fulton Co., IL
John B. Cox 1840 0000100000000 1001000000000 9N?W, Warren Co., IL
Matthew I Cox 1840 0111100?00000 0100101000000 9N?W, Warren Co., IL
Peter Cox 1840 1121010000000 0110010000000 8N1W, Warren Co., IL
Benjamin Cox 1840 0101101000000 2212001000000 11N2E, Knox Co., IL
Nathan Turner 1840 1100010000000 0010010000000 Knox Co., IL
Andrew Cox 1840 0010201000000 1100110000000 McDonough Co., IL

According to the 1850 Census, the Vermont Township household heads were born in PA. Other records indicate the Vermont Township had a large number of Quaker settlers. St. Augustine is in the Union Township near the border between Knox County and Fulton County. Peter Cox is listed in the township where a John Cox was given a War of 1812 service land grant in 1818.

The 1850 US Census:
1850 US Census for Union, Fulton County, IL, 19AUG1850
HH 31/31 James Cox, age 42, M, born in KT
Elenor Cox, age 40, F, born in PA
Nancy Cox, age 18, F, born in IL
Lannis Cox, age 10, F, born in IL
James L. Cox, age 7, M, born in IL
Sarah Cox, age 4, F, born in IL

Indiana Marriage records list a James Cox who married Eleanor Babbitt, 15OCT1829 in Scott County, IN. This would be consistent with the Census records if they moved immediately to Illinois.

Also in the 1950 US Census for Fulton County Illinois:

1850 US Census for Canton, Fulton County, IL, 06SEP1850
HH 299/299 Nathan Turner, age 45, M, gunsmith, born in KT
Rachel Turner, age 44, F, born in OH
Robert Turner, age 21, M, born in OH
Moses Turner, age 11, M, born in IL
Christena Carey, age 3, F, born in IL

1850 US Census for Union, Fulton County, IL, 21AUG1850
HH 69/70 Joseph Cox, age 24, M, born in IN
Jane Cox, age 23, F, born in KT
John Cox, age 9/12, M, born in IL
Mary Jones, age 36, F, born in IN
Mary Jones, age 16, F, born in IN
Martha Jones, age 15, F, born in IL
John Jones, age 13, M, born in IL
Isaac Jones, age 10, M, born in IL
Harriet Jones, age 3, F, born in IL

Note Joseph has an infant son named John. I was lucky enough to find this:

1850 US Census for Nodeway Township, Andrews County, MO, 28SEP1850
HH324/323 James Hobson, age 24, M, born in IN
Kisiah Hobson, age 24, F, born in IN
Mary Cox, age 20, born in IN
Rebecca Cox, age 19, born in IN
James Laird, age 15, born unknown

I argue this is a listing for John’s daughter Kaziah and her two youngest sisters. That particular sequence of feminine names, ages, and birth states without a parent nearby is unlikely. The only other explanation would be the family of a close brother or cousin of John Cox, deceased 1838, IL. I agree more study is required to trace their path from IL to MO.

One household away, HH326/325, was John F Cox, age 52, born in KY, wife Matilda, age 48, born in KT with one child, John F., age 24 born in KT and next Eli, age 22, born in MO. The relationship, if any, is unknown. The enumerator is another Cox; S. L. Cox, a 44 year old doctor.

According to the Ancestry.com Public Family Trees, the parents of James Hobson were George Hobson, born 1790, Chatham, NC, married 1807, Henry, IN, died 1848, Andrew, MO and Sally Colburn, born 1789, died 1845. James and his siblings were born in Henry Co., IN.

George Hobson 1830 1110310000000 1120010000000 Henry Co., IN
George Hobson 1840 0111101000000 1111101000000 Henry Co., IN

Peter Cox, thought to be a close relative given his willingness to be a co-guardian of the Illinois orphans, was living several, less than 10, miles away from the John Cox family and is listed on the 1840 census, 30-40 years old, wife in the same age range, a boy less than 5, a boy less than 10, two boys less than 15, one less than 20, a girl less than 10, and a girl less than 15.

Peter Cox 1840 1121010000000 0110010000000 8N1W, Warren Co., IL

Ten years later we find:

1850 US Census for Marion County, Oregon Territory, 06FEB1850
HH 503/503, Peter Cox, , born in VA
Isabella Cox, , born in VA
Peter Cox, , born in IN
Francis, , born in IL
HH 505, 505, Elias Cox, , IN

Note the last entry, Francis, born in Illinois. Francis is listed on four more US census as F. M. or as Francis M. One census lists his birth state as Iowa; the rest list Illinois in 1840. Peter consistently lists his birth state as Virginia and in the year 1802 or 1803. The Ancestry.com public trees commonly list his birth date as 07MAY1803, birth place as Knox County, Kentucky despite the consistency of the US census listings. His marriages are listed as Jane Raines, 29JUN1820, Jackson, IN, Isabella Marlatt, 25DEC1834, FountainCity, Fountain, IN, and Emily DeHoney, 08JUN1854, Marion, Marion, OR. From the US census reports, we know Peter Cox was in Fountain County, IN by 1830 and that he’d moved on by 1840..

1830 US Census
Nancy Cox 1830 1200000000000 0010001000000 Fountain Co., IN
John Cox 1830 0010010000000 0101000000000 Fountain Co., IN
Joseph Cox 1830 0100010000000 2120010000000 Fountain Co., IN
Thomas Cox 1830 1101010000000 1130010000000 Fountain Co., IN
Gideon Cox 1830 1000100000000 1000100000000 Fountain Co., IN
Peter Cox 1830 2100100000000 1000100000000 Fountain Co., IN
Peter M Cox 1830 1000010000000 1001010000000 Fountain Co., IN
John Cox 1830 0100011000000 4000010000000 Bartholomew Co., IN
Samuel Cox 1830 0120001000000 2110010000000 Bartholomew Co., IN
John Cox 1830 0001001000000 1110010000000 Bartholomew Co., IN
John Cox 1830 1000010000000 2100100000000 Jackson Co., IN
Harmon Cox 1830 1020010000000 0020010000000 Jackson Co., IN

The 1830 Fountain Co., IN listing for John Cox is not a good match for John Cox deceased 1838, IL. The John Cox in Bartholomew Co. IL is a good maybe. He’s not there in 1840. The Peter Cox in Fountain Co., IN is a good match for the Peter Cox found on the 1840 US Census.for Warren Co., IL.

Peter Cox 1840 1121010000000 0110010000000 8N1W, Warren Co., IL

Fountain Co., IN Marriages
COX, ELIZABETH POLLY, PETER 3-26-1829
COX, GIDEON COFENBERRY, SUSANNAH 2-8-1827
COX, HARMAN CONAWAY, REBECCA 6-22-1843
COX, HARRIET WARD, PATRICK 8-11-1831
COX, JOHN COOPER, ELIZABETH 12-12-1829
COX, JOSEPH PARKER, ELIZA 12-13-1832
COX, JOSHUA ISLER, MARGARET 12-16-1837
COX, MARY EDWARDS, LURIS 11-3-1835
COX, MARY MARLATT, PETER 8-18-1831
COX, PETER MARLATT, ISABELLA 12-25-1834
COX, POLLY GIBSON, JOSEPH 1-20-1835
COX, WILLIAM ORR, MARTHA ANN 7-15-1847

The marriage listing is a good match for the Peter Cox found in Oregon in 1850 with wife Isabella. Peter Cox is not found on the 1840 US Census for Fountain Co., IN. Nor is he with his brother Gideon in Platte Co., MO

1840 US Census
James Cox 1840 0002101100000 0030100000000 Cain, Fountain Co., IN
John B Cox 1840 2000010000000 1000100000000 Wabash, Fountain Co., IN
Joshua Cox 1840 1000100000000 0000100000000 Shawnee, Fountain Co., IN
Nancy Cox 1840 0001000000000 0001001000000 Troy, Fountain Co., IN
Gideon Cox 1840 0200010000000 3210010000000 Platte Co., MO
James Cox 1840 1100100000000 1001000000000 Platte Co., MO

Joseph, age 24, IN
Kiziah (Kaziah), age 24, IN
Mehetable (Hettie),
Elizabeth (Betsy),
Mary, age 20, IN
Rebecca, age 19, IN
Nathaniel.

In conclusion. This is not the family of my Joseph Cox, born about 1836. There may be a distant family connection, but it’s not made here. The data suggest a strong family connection between John Cox, deceased 1838, IL and Peter Cox, deceased 1876, OR. Peter Cox agreed to be the co-guardian of John’s seven minor children. This is a serious financial and moral commitment that usually indicates a close family tie. The co-guardianship argues for John Cox, deceased 1838, IL to be descended from Peter’s emigrant ancestor thought to be William Cox, deceased 1742, NC and Naomi Cantrell, deceased 1742.