Cox Characters
Conclusions to Confusions
Part 5: Appendix 4
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Geography Section |
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Early 19th-century |
"Stone-kicking" as my father calls it, involves scouting cemeteries and careful examination of tombstones, which as we all know, contain a wealth of information about the resources, beliefs and family traditions. This book (turned website) includes old maps as well as maps specially re-drawn to help researchers and curious readers to go to locate or reach the places mentioned in this book. As the maps are scattered throughout these pages, it would be tedious to unite them all here on one page without their context which helps place the mass of information into its proper geographical, as well as historical perspective. Therefore, only a few maps not appearing elsewhere are given in this appendix. Unless otherwise indicated, the maps that I have drawn are not to scale. Political boundaries in the early frontier period of American history were not as fixed and definite as one would expect. Nor was the frontier as fixed as most people commonly believe. Michael Cox, Sr., lived for 46 years in what is now Brownsville, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. But his "address" changed many times, though the farm never moved. Before his arrival, the region was hotly disputed frontier territory. The French and Indian War ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris, but skirmishes were to continue in the region for years to come. Michael earned a reputation as a valiant Indian fighter. When Michael and his family arrived in 1769, his Fruit Hill farm was in territory claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia's District of West Augusta. Virginia eventually gave it up to Pennsylvania. From then on, Pennsylvania authorities redefined county lines as populations moved, migrated and changed the face of America's frontiers. Hopefully our maps will be an invitation to head on out and enjoy some serious stone kicking! |
MAPS ON THE INTERNET
Kudos to the US Library of Congress for its map collections made available over the Internet. A wealth of information is available on your own desk with a few clicks by visiting their site. I highly encourage you to go explore. At the time of this writing the web site's name is The Library of Congress: American Memory. The address is http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/ammemhome.html. Check their link for 19th century panoramic maps. They are wonderful!
The District of West Augusta
disputed territory
Virginia Land Grants in Pennsylvania
Southwestern Pennsylvania was claimed by both Pennsylvania and Virginia at the time of the Revolution. Pennsylvania began giving land grants in 1769. This came to an end about 1774, when the dispute with Virginia heightened. In 1779 and 1780, Virginia granted land certificates to settlers in the disputed territory.
Nearly 830 were granted in
what is now Pennsylvania. The certificates (mostly for 400 acres) listed
the name of the applicant, date of certificate, date of settlement and
location (generally by name of stream). After the boundary dispute was
settled Pennsylvania resumed land grants about 1784. Two types of grants
were made: those based on Virginia Certificates, which were honored by
Pennsylvania if there was no prior claim, and those granted directly based
on Pennsylvania claims.
In 1776, Virginia had set up three counties: Yohogania, north of a line
drawn from Follansbee to Washington to Brownsville to Uniontown: Ohio,
south of Yohogania and west of a fine drawn from Washington slightly southwest,
and Monongalia, south of Yohogania and east of Ohio [these three counties
made up the District of West Augusta].
In granting certificates to settlers in these counties in 1719 and 1780, Virginia required the settlers to list the bona fide date of settlement on the land. The original list of certificates for Yohogania and Ohio counties is preserved at Morgantown in the West Virginia Collection at West Virginia University Library.
The Monongalia list apparently was destroyed by fire before 1800. A reconstructed list for the Pennsylvania part of Monongalia County has been made from the township warrant maps of Greene, Washington and Fayette counties (W. F. Horn, The Horn Papers, vol. 3 [Waynesburg, Pa., Greene County Historical Society, 1945]). It has not been possible to find the dates of settlement, and townships have been published in The National Genealogical Society Quarterly, vol. 45 (1957), pp. 132-36.
A study of the dates of settlement as listed for Ohio and Yohogania counties is interesting. For Ohio County they are:
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[* This Peter Cox is apparently not one of our ancestors]
Map 18:
The Mason-Dixon Line
per state boundaries in 1784
THE MASON AND DIXON LINE
Uniontown and Fayette County Pennsylvania
The Mason and Dixon line is one
of the imperishable names in the American experience. Conceived to settle
a colonial boundary dispute, it has passed into history and folklore as
the traditional dividing line between North and South. And it wasn't accomplished
without trouble in this area.
The line is the southern boundary of Fayette and Greene counties, separating
Fayette from Garrett County in Maryland, and Preston and Monongalia counties
in West Virginia, and Greene from Monongahela.
The Mason and Dixon Line originated as a means to settling a border battle
between Pennsylvania and Maryland. Two young English astronomers and mathematicians,
Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon were called upon in 1763 to survey the
line.
They started with a circle drawn on a 12-mile radius from New Castle,
Delaware, which had been designated as the northern boundary of Delaware.
From there, they headed on a straight line to the west, first through
settled farmland but soon into the wild country, "shooting the stars"
and keeping a wary eye out for Indian attacks.
Their destination was a point in the wilderness "five degrees of
longitude: west from the Delaware River, which had been declared in the
original land grant to the Penns as the western limit of Pennsylvania."
The little expedition toiled over the mountains, all going reasonably
well until they reached the Monongahela River. At that point, their escort
of friendly Iroquois began to get nervous about encroaching on lands claimed
by the Delawares and Shawnees, even though they were the overlords of
the other tribes.
The surveyors proceeded nevertheless, as far as Dunkard Creek (whose meandering
course they crossed three times) at the present site of Mount Morris to
Greene County. Hostile Indians stopped them there, 232 miles along in
their journey but 23 miles short of their objective.
Indians weren't the only people who took a dim view of the boundary survey.
Maryland acquiesced readily enough, settling the border all the way to
the point where the three states of Pennsylvania, Maryland and present
day West Virginia meet just south of Markleysburg.
Virginia was another matter. Its leaders, who had originally sent George
Washington out in 1753 to stake their claim, said that this section was
theirs -- and they were unhappy about Pennsylvania surveyors running a
line through it. Virginia claimed the land now covered by Fayette, Greene
and Westmoreland counties, and parts of Allegheny and Beaver. They first
set up the District of West Augusta, then the counties of Monongalia,
Yohogania, and Ohio.
Pennsylvania countered by establishing Westmoreland County and for several
years parallel courts and county offices were conducted, punctuated by
sharp clashes between rival groups of settlers. The dispute was finally
settled in 1780, when Virginia accepted the Mason and Dixon Line and the
prospect of long frontage along the Ohio River. But the fussing wasn't
over yet.
In 1782, Col. Alexander McClean, the noted surveyor from Uniontown, who
had worked as an assistant under Mason and Dixon in the original survey,
was commissioned to complete the line. At Dunkard Creek, he ran into an
irate mob of Virginians who had settled in the present Greene County area.
Many Virginians had moved northward into the present area of Greene and
Washington, following rumors that the western boundary of Pennsylvania
would be the Monongahela River.
Greatly annoyed, McClean appealed for militia (that day's equivalent of
the National Guard.) They stopped the rioting and the settlers were pacified
when Pennsylvania promised to recognize their Virginia land grants. (Another
move by settlers in what is now Washington County to create a new state,
out of parts of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio, with the capital at Pittsburgh,
was short-lived.)
In 1784, McClean completed the Mason and Dixon Line to its original destination,
the point that is now the southwestern corner of Greene County.
From there, McClean turned due north to the Ohio River west of Pittsburgh
-- thus creating the Virginia (now West Virginia) Panhandle. He didn't
stop there but continued surveying on a line north to Lake Erie, delineating
the entire western boundary of Pennsylvania (except for one small portion
which had previously been mapped.)
The Mason and Dixon Line was resurveyed in 1863, after West Virginia became
a state during the Civil War, and again in 1902. No serious discrepancy
was found in either case -- the Mason and Dixon Line was an extraordinary
accomplishment, as was McCleans follow-up work.
The Great Fire in Ardmore, Indian Territory
My father, Kenny Ray Cox, suspects that his great-grandparents may have mysteriously disappeared for a certain time, in a tragedy such as the great 1895 fire in Ardmore. While this is plausible, numerous questions remain unanswered. For example, could they have been in Ardmore that night? The newspaper article below, recounts the pain and anguish of "a city in ruins." Unfortunately, it does not contain any information on the whereabouts of our ancestors, but it does offer valuable information for genealogists interested in the Ardmore, Oklahoma area. The devastating blaze caused damage to J. A. Cox's racket store and to Shaddick & Cox's blacksmith shop. Who were these individuals named Cox? It seems most unlikely that they of any relation to William N. and Ellen Cox.
PURCELL REGISTER
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Map 19:
Caddo, Oklahoma and towns
where our Coxes settled
The Town of Caddo, Indian Territory
This is a brief history of Caddo and excerpts taken from
the newspapers printed at Caddo, Choctaw Nation starting in January 1874.
Caddo received its post office in 1872 when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas
railroad built through Indian Territory. It was a typical boomtown, invaded
with a flow of settlers from the Old South and Texas, as well as European
immigrants (Swedes, Germans and Irish).
The route of the Butterfield Stage Coach was only six miles west of Caddo
at Nail's Crossing over Blue River and ten miles north at Boggy Depot.
With the coming of the railroad, families who lived near Nail's Crossing
and Boggy Depot moved to Caddo.
The Choctaws prospered in agriculture. Wilson N. Jones was one of the
wealthiest men in the territory and was principal chief of the Choctaws.
His home was twelve miles east of Caddo at Cade. Sympathetic with the
South during the Civil War, the Choctaws joined the Southern Confederacy.
The Confederate army occupied the Choctaw Nation with troops stationed
at Boggy Depot, Fort Washita, Fort McCullough and other points near Caddo.
The following were businesses at Caddo in 1874: C. E. Harkins, Attorney;
C. J. Williams, M.D. Physician and Surgeon; D.A. Folsom, Groceries; U.M.
Cooper, Photographer; J.B. Jones, Surgeon & Physician; Walner &
Welch, General Merchandise; Marchand & Fenlon, General Merchandise;
Frank Fox, Gro. & Notions; M. Haller, Boot & Shoe Shop; Hancock's
Gro.; M. M. Impson & Co.; Meat Market; G.W. Harlan & A. A. Conine,
Blacksmith & Wagon Shop; A.D. Chase, Nursery; O.W. Brown, Carpenter
& Builder; Dr. Jones, City Drug Store.
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