Samuel Cox, Sr.,
& Rebecca Osborne

Samuel Cox, Sr. ("Big Sam"), son of David COX, Sr., & Margaret Ann MCGOWAN was born Mar. 6, 1773, in Botetourt Co., VA, and died Nov. 8, 1864, in Grayson Co., VA. He married Rebecca Osborne, daughter of Enoch OSBORNE & Jane HASH. She was born Apr. 22, 1783, in Montgomery Co., VA, and died June 20, 1870, in Grayson Co., VA. Samuel and Rebecca Cox are buried at the Little Sam Cox Cemetery on Route 629, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.

Children of Samuel Cox & Rebecca Osborne:

1. +Nancy Cox, b. July 12, 1812, Grayson Co., VA; d. July 12, 1854, Grayson Co., VA; m. her 1st cousin, Samuel BLEVINS, son of John BLEVINS & Catherine COX, abt. 1836 (b. Nov. 23, 1802; d. Sept. 29, 1893); bur. Samuel Blevins Cemetery, Rte. 787, Sandy Flats, Grayson Co., VA.
2. Adeline Cox, b. Feb. 26, 1813, Grayson Co., VA; d. Mar. 21, 1899, Grayson Co., VA; m. her 1st cousin, John BLEVINS, son of John BLEVINS & Catherine COX, abt. 1835 (b. Aug. 4, 1785; d. Sept. 27, 1876); bur. John Blevins Cemetery, Rte. 626, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.
3. +Haywood Cox, b. June 10, 1814, Grayson Co., VA; d. Jan. 11, 1892, Grayson Co., VA; m. Frances JENNINGS, daughter of Solomon JENNINGS & Sarah FENDER, Dec. 25, 1852, Ashe Co., NC (b. Feb. 19, 1836; d. Dec. 11, 1910); bur. Little Sam Cox Cemetery, Rte. 629, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.
4. Alexander Cox, b. Jan. 12, 1820, Grayson Co., VA; d. aft. 1880; m. Mary Adeline "Polly" OSBORNE, daughter of Zachariah OSBORNE & Jincy BURTON, abt. 1853 (b. Apr. 1, 1832; d. July 28, 1896); bur. Little Sam Cox Cemetery, Rte. 629, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.
5. Jane Cox, b. Nov. 19, 1822, Grayson Co., VA; d. July 4, 1824, Grayson Co., VA; bur. Little Sam Cox Cemetery, Rte. 629, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.
6. Calloway Cox, b. Jan. 29, 1825, Grayson Co., VA; d. May 9, 1865, Grayson Co., VA; m. Nancy J. OSBORNE, daughter of Zachariah OSBORNE & Jincy BURTON, Apr. 18, 1858, Ashe Co., NC (b. July 27, 1842; d. July 8, 1925); bur. Little Sam Cox Cemetery, Rte. 629, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.
7. Samuel Cox, Jr., b. July 22, 1827, Grayson Co., VA; d. June 19, 1915, Grayson Co., VA; m. Phoebe H. OSBORNE, daughter of Zachariah OSBORNE & Jincy BURTON, Jan. 15, 1861, Grayson Co., VA (b. Jan. 6, 1845; d. Feb. 1, 1915); bur. Little Sam Cox Cemetery, Rte. 629, Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.

Notes

ccording to B.F. Nuckulls, Pioneer Settlers of Grayson County, Virginia (1914), Ch. IX, Samuel Cox was one of eleven sons of David Cox and his wife, "Miss McGowan" of Grayson County, VA. "Samuel, known as Sheriff Sam Cox, married Rebecca Osborne, and reared a large family on the New River farm. Two of his daughters married brothers, John Blevins And Samuel Blevins. Three of his sons married sisters, Alexander married Miss Polly Osborn; Calloway married Miss Nancy Osborn; Samuel, Jr., married Miss Phoeba Osborn, and lives at the old homestead where Samuel Cox, Sr., lived. They, and their families, live in the same neighborhood, near the mouth of Little River".

Henry M. Cox, The Cox Family in America (1912), pp.52, states that Samuel Cox lived for a few years in North Carolina and was elected High Sheriff of Ashe County, which at the time comprised the three present counties of Ashe, Alleghany, and Watauga; later, he returned to Virginia and became Sheriff of Grayson County.

Rebecca Osborne was the daughter of Enoch Osborne and Jane Hash, who came to the upper New River Valley with the Cox family. The following is from Paula Anderson-Green,"The New River Frontier Settlement" Virginia Magazine of History & Biography, Vol. 86 (1978):

"The Osborne clan is a typical example of the extended family that pioneered together, guided by the family patriarch, who in this case was Ephraim Osborne, Sr., a fur trader for some years in the Yadkin Valley of North Carolina. He arrived at the New River frontier with his wife, some daughters, and five sons: Ephraim, Jr., Enoch, Stephen, Jonathan, and Solomon. One of the daughters, Eleanor Osborne, was married to William Hashe; her brother Enoch was also married to a Hashe. According to oral family history as told in Southwest Virginia, the Hashe and Osborne families had lived near each other in Philadelphia, and then had traveled south together. That oral tradition has been substantiated by land and tax records of Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania, which show the Hashe and Osborne names listed in the townships of Upper Dublin and Whitemarsh, Philadelphia County, along with other surnames (Cox, Phipps, Livesay, Howell that later appeared on the New River frontier. [¶]The Osborne, Hashe, and Cox families took up lands near each other along the New River in Virginia, near the border of North Carolina. The Hashe land was located where Bridle Creek empties into the river; the Osborne tract was between Bridle and Saddle Creeks, opposite the Baker site across the river; and the Cox land a little further south toward the state line. In some cases the tracts of land crossed the state boundary."

Samuel Cox died Nov. 8, 1864, at the age of 92, according to the Grayson County, VA, Death Register. The cause of death was "gravel," a term for kidney or bladder stones. Samuel Cox and his wife Rebecca are buried at the buried at the Little Sam Cox Cemetery on Route 629 (Old Baywood Road), Peach Bottom, Grayson Co., VA.

Records

Much of the following information is from sources posted on New River Notes

1794 Personal Property Tax List, Grayson Co., VA:
SAMUEL COX, 1 white male over 16, 1 horse.

1799 Land Tax List, Grayson Co., VA:
SAMUEL COX, 94 acres, value $31.33, tax $0.15

1800 Personal Property Tax List, Grayson Co., VA:
SAMUEL COX, 0 males over 21, 2 horses.

1805 Personal Property Tax List, Grayson Co., VA:
SAMUEL COX, 0 white males over 16, 5 horses, tax $0.60

Note: The 1800 and 1805 tax lists indicate that Samuel Cox had property (horses) in Grayson County, but was not actually living there, since the number of adult white males is listed as "0." He may have been living across the state line in North Carolina.

May 1808. Samuel COX was elected Sheriff of Ashe County and entered bond of £1,000 bond with Joshua COX, Jesse REEVES, John MCMILLAN, and William REEVES as securities. (Ashe Court Minutes.)

June 23, 1812. A deed from Rankin COX & Polly his wife to Samuel COX was proven in court by David COX a subscribing witness. (Grayson Court Order Book.)

May 15, 1815. Samuel COX and Thomas WILKINSON were charged with breaking the peace "for fighting together on the 25th day of April law on the information of John AUSTIN and Mahlon COLLINS". (Grayson Court Order Book.)

1820 Census, Grayson Co., VA, p.46: SAML COX

2 w/m under 10	2 w/f under 10
1 w/m over 45	1 w/f 26-45

Oct. 15, 1821. Samuel COX served on a jury. (Grayson Co., VA, Court Order Book.)

Oct. 16, 1821. Samuel COX was being sued for debt by Joshua COX, assignee of William TERRILL.  Samuel COX, Jr., came into court and undertook that he would pay the judgment for Samuel COX. (Grayson Co., VA, Court Order Book.)

May 13, 1822. Samuel COX served on a jury. (Grayson Co., VA, Court Order Book.)

1824 Personal Property Tax List, Grayson Co., VA: SAMUEL COX, Esq., 1 white tithe, 3 horses, tax $0.36.

March 1826. Samuel COX, Ezra NUCKOLLS, & James ANDERSON, Sr., were appointed Deputy Sheriffs by Shadrack GREER, Sheriff.  Samuel COX also served as a justice of the peace for Grayson County in 1826. (Grayson Court Order Book.)

Apr. 1826. Samuel COX, Sr., James COX, Spencer ISOM, and Andrew HAMILTON ordered to "view the best ground for an altercation in the road from the fork near John ROBINSON into the Elk Creek road leading to the Blue Springs and make report thereof to Court." (Grayson Court Order Book.)

1828 Personal Property Tax List, Grayson Co., VA: SAMUEL COX SR., 1 white tithe, 7 horses

1830 Census, Grayson Co., VA, p.254: SAML COX

1 w/m under 5	1 w/f 10-14
1 w/m 5-9	1 w/f 15-19
1 w/m 10-14	1 w/f 40-49
1 w/m 15-19
1 w/m 30-39
1 w/m 50-59

1835 Tax List, Grayson Co., VA: SAMUEL COX, D.S. [Deputy Sheriff?], 1 white tithe, 4 black tithes, 8 horses, tax $1.48.

1840 Census, Grayson Co., VA, Western Dist., p.321: Samuel COX

1 w/m 10-14	1 w/f 50-59
1 w/m 15-19
2 w/m 20-29
1 w/m 60-69

1850 Census, Grayson Co., VA (HH#873):
SAMUEL COX, 77, farmer, $4000, VA

-- Rebecca, 67, VA
-- Alexander, 27, VA
-- Caloway, 25, VA
-- Samuel, 20, VA
WHITE, Nancy K., 20, VA
ANDREWS, Starling, 10, VA

1860 Census, Grayson Co., VA, Peach Bottom P.O., p.1/p.185 (HH#1):
SAMUEL COX, 87, farmer, $2000, $2000, VA

-- Rebecca, 77, VA

Deed Abstracts