John C. Cox, one of the representative farmers and highly
esteemed citizens of Mount Olive township, Macoupin County, the owner and
operator of a fine farm of 80 acres, situated in section 10, Mount Olive
township and section 21, Staunton township, was born January 15, 1845, in
Macoupin County, Illinois. He is a son of Andrew Jackson and Elizabeth
(Hargrove) Cox, members of old Tennessee and Kentucky families,
respectively.
Andrew Jackson Cox, was born January 1, 1817, and was
a son of Ezekiel and Mary Cox, the former of whom died in 18 15, leaving
children as follows: Jeremiah, Mrs. Jensy Stilley, Mrs. Elizabeth Colson,
Emanuel and Andrew Jackson. The last named married Elizabeth Hargrove, a
daughter of Willis and Rachel Hargrove, born in Trigg County, Kentucky,
January 1, 1823, and deceased April 23, 1874. Their children were: Virgil
T., who died in 1865; Green,, who died in Texas in 1872; John C, of this
sketch; Jane, who died of smallpox; Irving, a resident of Missouri; George,
a resident of Arkansas; Elizabeth, who died at the age of nine years; and
Mrs. Mary Morrison, a resident of Edwardsville, Illinois. Virgil T., the
eldest member of this family, was a paroled prisoner of war at the time of
his death. He was a member of Company I, 122nd Reg., Illinois Inf., under
Capt. Stephen Sawyer, and was taken prisoner at Trenton, Tennessee.
Mr. Cox was reared and educated in Macoupin County, where he assisted his
father in farming until he enlisted for service in the Civil War. His father
had come to Illinois in 1836 and settled in Mount Olive township, where he
owned 265 acres of land, and where he died in 1859, aged 42 years. He built
a cabin, 16 by 18 feet in dimensions, with a rock chimney, when he first
settled here, to which pioneer home he brought his bride, and here our
subject was born. Hard work and exposure occasioned his death in middle
life. Politically he was a Democrat. The land which he worked so hard to
clear and cultivate is the present site of the city of Mount Olive.
On March 18, 1865, our subject enlisted from Staunton, in Company H, 28th
Reg., Illinois Vol. Inf., under Capt. B. F. Cowell and Col. Richard Ritter,
1st Brigade, 3rd Division, 13th Army Corps, Army of the Cumberland, and took
part in the battles of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakely, Alabama, and then
accompanied his regiment to Fort Mobile and Whistler, Alabama. The regiment
then encamped for a short time near Mobile and then went to Brazos Island,
Texas, at the mouth of the Rio Grande River and thence to Brownsville, where
he was mustered out March 8, 1866. He returned to Macoupin County by way of
New Orleans and St. Louis. Soon after he married, and removed to Madison
County and engaged in farming there for five years. Upon his return to
Macoupin, he engaged in farming near Staunton until 1875, removing then to
the property in section 10, Mount Olive township, where his residence is.
The first marriage of Mr. Cox was to Mary Cornelius, who died in
Madison County, Illinois, aged 23 years, leaving one daughter, Emma, who
died in Texas, aged 18 years. On November 24, 1875, Mr. Cox married Matilda
E. Hoxey, who was born February 28, 1852, in Madison County, Illinois, and
is a daughter of Christopher C. and Elizabeth (Riston) Hoxey, natives of
Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, who located in Madison County among
the early pioneers. Mrs. Hoxey died in 1872, agd 50 years, but, Mr. Hoxey
still survives, aged 84 years. The children in the Hoxey family were as
follows: John and Joseph, both deceased; Mrs. Nancy White, of Joplin,
Missouri; Matilda E. (Mrs. Cox); Sinai T., deceased; James, of Madison
County, Illinois; Edward, of Kansas; Henry, of Iowa; and Mrs. Carrie
Phillips, of Madison County, Illinois.
These children were born to
our, subject and wife: Thomas, born February 9, 1877, who was killed in a
coal shaft, January 15, 1904 — a distressing accident in which the family
had the sympathy of the community; and Carrie, William, Lily, Charles and
Christopher, all of whom are at home.
Mr. Cox has been a lifelong
Democrat. While taking a deep interest in public matters, he has accepted
very few official positions, serving at present as a trustee of the cemetery
and for five years was a member of the Board of Education of Mount Olive.
The family belong to the Christian Church. Mr. Cox is a man who receives as
he deserves the respect and esteem of his fellow citizens.
Extracted 2018 May 08 by Norma Hass from Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Macoupin County, Illinois, published in 1904, pages 358-360.
Macoupin County ILGenWeb Copyright
Design by
Templates in Time
This page was last updated
07/01/2022