Family of WILLIAM  and MARY (JOSSELYN) COX of Chatham, New Hampshire.

Compiled by David A. Crouse, 1999, from (1) "New England Cox Families,"
by Rev. John H. Cox, 1903;  (2) "Norway In The Forties," [Norway, Maine,
in the 1840's] written by Dr. Osgood N. Bradbury between 1886 and 1897,
and edited by Rev. Don L. McAllister, 1986; and (3) other miscellaneous
sources.



WILLIAM COX;
son of William and Mary (Ramsdell) Cox;
born 1730 (gravestone) or about 1740 (Cox Genealogy), probably at
Pembroke, Mass.
died about 1 August 1817, at Harrison, Maine; buried with first wife at
Chatham Center (NH) Cemetery (Cox Genealogy says he is buried in
Harrison, ME);
married (1), 21 January 1762, at Pembroke, MA:

MARY JOSSELYN;
daughter of Abraham and Mary (Soule) Josselyn of Pembroke, MA;
born 8 February 1742; at Pembroke, MA;
died 19 June 1816, at Chatham, NH; buried at Chatham Center Cemetery.

William married (2), 17 June 1817, in Harrison, ME, MARY (or Polly) LEWIS
of Harrison, ME., whose family was living near the Cox farm in Chatham at
that time.  She was probably related to Rev. Samuel Lewis, a Free-Will
Baptist minister, who was living at Chatham about 1815 (See McLellan:
"History of Gorham, ME; pp. 484, 485 & 616.).

William Cox was a veteran of the American Revolution, serving eleven days
on a march from Pembroke to Scituate and Marshfield, under Capt. James
Hatch, on the alarm of April 19, 1775.  The History of Carroll County
indicates that William came to Chatham to avoid military service, but
that information appears to be erroneous.

William and Mary Cox settled first in their native town of Pembroke,
Massachusetts; then, according to Dr. Bradbury's work, cited above, they
removed to Plymouth, New Hampshire, sometime before 1774.  However,
Bradbury's information seems to be in error on this point, for the vital
records of Pembroke, MA, definitely record the birth of William's
daughter, Nancy, on
Feb. 17, 1779; and the military records of Massachusetts indicate that
William was of Pembroke  in 1775.  Nevertheless, about 1781 they settled
in Chatham, on "Langdon's Location" at Chatham Center.  William also
purchased an adjacent tract of land of three hundred acres in Fryeburg
Addition (now Stow, Maine), on which his son, William, Jr., settled about
1802.  After the death of his first wife in 1816, William appears to have
moved to Harrison, Maine, the native town of his second wife, leaving his
property in Chatham to his son, Isaac.


CHILDREN of William & Mary (Josselyn) Cox:

(1)  MARY COX, born 13 May 1763, in Pembroke, MA; died 4 February 1812,
in Chatham, NH;
married, 11 March 1781, in Pembroke, INCREASE ROBINSON (See further under
family of Increase Robinson).

(2)  ISAAC COX, son of William & Mary, born 20 September 1765, in
Pembroke, MA; died 3 December 1851; buried in his daughter Mary's lot at
Burnt Meadow Brook Cemetery in Brownfield, ME; married SUSANNA WALKER,
who was born about 1768 and died 15 September 1827 at Chatham and is
buried at Chatham Center Cemetery.  Susanna "was a woman of energy,
endurance and education.  She understood surveying and ran many of the
lines [in Chatham]."  Isaac inherited his father's property in Chatham
and gave one quarter acre of it to the town on November 12, 1825, for a
cemetery [the Chatham Center Cemetery].
Children of Isaac and Susanna include: 

 (2.1) MARY or POLLY COX, dau. of Isaac & Susanna, b. 7 Feb. 1796; d. 27
October 1843 (buried with father and husband at Burnt Meadow Brook Cem.;
Brownfield, ME); m., 28 Sept. 1815, in Chatham, ABNER GEE of Chatham (b.
1795, in Three Rivers, Oue., Canada; d. Apr. 1884, in Northfield, MA or
Bridgton, ME).  Abner was "one of the best violin players of his day."
He left home at the age of nine "to seek his fortune" and at the age of
20 he bought a farm
[probably in Chatham] and improved it, then sold it at a profit.  He then
bought a farm in Brownfield, ME, where he lived for several years, then
moved to Northfield, MA.  Abner and Mary/Polly had five children:  Albion
(d. young); Caroline; Francis; Albion B. (b. 4 March 1830, in Chatham);
and Mary.    

(2.2) BETSY COX, dau. of Isaac & Susanna, m., 25 Dec. 1816, in Chatham,
WILLIAM ROUNDS; lived in Chatham, NH and Bangor, ME; and had five
children.

(3)  WILLIAM COX, son of William & Mary, baptized at Pembroke, MA, 14
November 1767; died before 1774.

(4) LYDIA COX, dau. of William & Mary, born 29 August 1768, in Pembroke,
MA; died before 1786.

(5) WILLIAM COX, son of William & Mary, born 7 September 1774, in
Pembroke, MA; died 7 April 1847, in Norway, ME (Buried in Norway);
married, 7 February 1802, in Chatham, ELIZABETH PHIPPS, daughter of
Samuel & Mary (Maxfield) Phipps.  Elizabeth was born 31 August 1784, in
Chatham, and died 18 February 1854, in Norway, ME.  After their marriage
William and Elizabeth settled on land belonging to his father in Stow,
ME; but in 1807 they
removed to Norway, ME, where William went into business with his nephew,
Increase Robinson, Jr. (See family of Increase Robinson).  William and
Elizabeth had fourteen children: 

(5.1) MARY ANN COX, dau. of William & Elizabeth, b. 16 Dec. 1802, in
Stow, ME; d. 5 January 1803, in Stow, ME.  

(5.2) ABRAHAM JOSSELYN COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 4 Nov. 1804,
in Stow, ME; d. 28 July 1884, in Bath, NY; m., about 1830, in Albany, NY,
Mrs. ANNA ELIZA (DRAKE) BRADT of Albany, NY; and had six children.  

(5.3) THOMAS JEFFERSON COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 6 (or 25) June
1806, in Stow, ME; d. 13 May 1885, in Dixfield, ME; m(1), 25 Jan. 1831,
in Norway, ME, ALMIRA MILLETT (1807-1868/9) of Norway; m(2) Mrs. MARY S.
(MILLETT) WHITE, sister of his first wife. Thomas and Almira had seven
children, all born at Dixfield, ME.  Thomas was a merchant in Dixfield,
represented the town in the State Legislature in 1848 and 1849, and for
five years was the proprietor of the Augusta House hotel in Augusta, ME.
 

(5.4) WILLIAM COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 23 Aug. 1808, in
Norway, ME; d. 11 March 1897, in Norway, ME; m., 3 Sept. 1839, ELIZABETH
S. MILLETT (cousin of his brother's wives); and had eight children.  

(5.5) CAROLINE ELIZABETH COX, dau. of William & Elizabeth, b. 23 March
1810, in Norway, ME; d. 16 May 1895, in Boston, MA; m., 16 July 1832, in
Portland, ME, Capt. WILLIAM HENRY SWEETSER of Cumberland, ME, son of
Prince & Lucy (Pratt) Sweetser (b. 1807, No. Yarmouth, ME; d. 1872,
Newton, MA); four children.  

(5.6) MARY ANN COX, dau. of William & Elizabeth, b. 19 Feb. 1812, in
Norway, ME; d. 9 Feb. 1888, in Bloomington, Illinois; m., 24 Sept. 1835,
in Norway, AMMI PRINCE SWEETSER, brother of her sister Caroline's husband
(b. 1809, No. Yarmouth, ME; d. 1864, Chesterfield, Indiana); five
children.

(5.7) SAMUEL PHIPPS COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 23 Nov. 1813, in
Norway, ME; d. 2 June 1895, in Bloomington, Illnois; m(1), 17 Nov. 1841,
in Atlanta, Illinois, MARY TURNER (1819-1879); m(2), 26 Oct. 1882, in
Bloomington, ARKIE LUCINDA BANDON; six children.

(5.8) GEORGE WASHINGTON COX, son of Willam & Elizabeth, b. 22 Oct. 1815,
in Norway, ME; d. 30 June 1874, in McLain County, Illinois; m(1), 24
March 1842, in McLain County, NANCY JANE LOVING (d. 1863); m(2), 12 Aug.
1863, Mrs. NANCY POTTER of Kappa, Illinois; five children.

(5.9) LOUISA ANN COX, dau. of William & Elizabeth, b. 14 May 1816, in
Norway, ME; d. 16 Feb. 1874, in Colebrook, NH; m., 24 Feb. 1839, in
Norway, Dr. AUGUSTUS HARRIS (b. 29 Sept. 1811, Paris, ME; d. 20 Apr.
1874, Colebrook, NH), son of Amariah & Abigail (Daniels) Harris; two
children.

(5.10) ABIGAIL PHIPPS COX, dau. of William & Elizabeth, b. 29 Dec. 1818,
in Norway, ME; d. 1 Oct. 1853, in Bloomington, Illinois; m(1), 2 Nov.
1842, in Norway, LEONARD BROWN of Oxford, ME (d. 1844); m(2), 12 Sept.
1850, in Bloomington, WILLIAM MATTHEWS (b. 1810, Rochester, VT; d. 1904);
two children.

(5.11) EDWIN STEDMAN COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 31 Aug. 1820, in
Norway, ME; d. 17 Feb. 1840, in Memphis, Tennessee.

(5.12) JAMES HOOPER COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 21 April 1822, in
Norway, ME; d. 9 May 1900, in Hudson, Illinois; m., 5 Feb. 1846, in
Waterford, ME, MARY ANN CHADBOURNE (b. 6 Oct. 1825, in Harrison, ME; d.
22 Dec. 1891, Hudson, Ill), dau. of James H. & Mercy (Scribner)
Chadbourne of Waterford, ME; five children.

(5.13) ROWENA COX, dau. of William & Elizabeth, b. 7 Oct. 1824, in
Norway, ME; m., 9 May 1843, in Norway, CLAUDIUS AUGUSTUS NOYES (b. 17
Oct. 1820, Norway), son of David & Mary Shedd (Needham) Noyes; 6
children.

(5.14) ALGERNON PRESCOTT COX, son of William & Elizabeth, b. 4 Sept.
1826, in Norway, ME; d. 15 Sept. 1832.

(6) NANCY COX, dau. of William & Mary, born 17 February 1779, in
Pembroke, MA; died 20 September 1821; married, 11 October 1798, JOHN
WALKER.   See further under Family of John Walker of Stow, Maine, at:
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Grove/9111

(7) LYDIA COX, dau. of William & Mary, born 6 June 1786, in Chatham; died
17 Feb 1828, in Lovell, ME; married, 17 Dec. 1801, in Chatham, LEVI
STEARNS of Lovell, ME, son of John & Sally (Cate) Stearns.  He was b.
about 1765, in Billerica, MA; d. 8 Nov. 1857, in Lovell; and after the
death of Lydia he m(2), in 1827, Mrs. Susan (Durgin) Eastman, widow of
Abiather Eastman of Conway, NH.   Lydia and Levi Stearns had eight
children:

(7a) WILLIAM COX STEARNS, son of Lydia & Levi Stearns, b. 9 Dec. 1802;
apparently died before 1870; m. Betsey Heald of Lovell, ME; resided in
Lovell, and had eight children.

(7b) MARY JOSSELYN STEARNS, dau. of Lydia & Levi Stearns, b.13 Feb. 1805;
d. 25 Aug. 1895; buried with husband at No. 4 Cem., Lovell, ME; m. THOMAS
WATSON of Lovell, who was b. 22 Sept. 1802, in NH, and d. 29 March 1878;
resided in Lovell; and had at least three children.

(7c) JOHN PENDEXTER STEARNS, son of Lydia & Levi Stearns, b. 19 August
1808; d. 30 Apr. 1881, in Marion County, Ohio; m(1), 1832, Roxanna BARKER
of Lovell, ME (She d. 1848, leaving four children); m(2), 1852, LENORA
CLOUGH, by whom he had nine children.  He was a mason and contractor in
Cardington, Morrow County, Ohio.

(7d) LEVI STERANS, JR., son of Levi & Lydia Stearns, b. 4 April 1809; d.
1890 (No.4 Cem, Lovell, ME); m., 5 Apr. 1840,  JUDITH B. SWAIN
(1819-1918); resided in Lovell, ME; seven children.

(7e) LYDIA STEARNS, dau. of Levi & Lydia Stearns, b. 22 Feb. 1811; m.
HANIBAL H. KNEELAND.

(7f) SARAH (or SALLY) STEARNS, dau. of Levi & Lydia Stearns, b. 18 June
1813; m., 14 Apr. 1832, LIBERTY HOLDEN.

(7g) ABSOLAM STEARNS, son of Levi & Lydia Stearns, b. 1 March 1815.

(7h) CELIA STEARNS, dau. of Levi & Lydia Stearns, b. 11 January 1820; m.,
19 January 1839, in Waterford, ME, JOHN C. POLAND.