Moses Cox, Sr.

Moses Cox

• aka Coxe, Cocks
• Born about 1594 in England
• Died 28 May 1687 Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire
• Buried Hampton, Rockingham, New Hampshire
• Father (Unknown) Cox, b. Abt 1565, (Unknown), , England

Biography

planter, Ipswich, rem to Hampton about 1638. Margaret, wife of John Stubbin or Watertown, Mass testified 19 (7) 1640 to purchasing of him "tried suet about the month of October last was twelve month, when he was going from Ipswich to live at Hampton first". Proprietor, herdsman, selectman. He M 1. Alice____; she and her son John were drowned in teh wreck of a vessl that sailed from Hampton for Boston Oct 20, 1657. He m. 2, Prudence, dau of Wiliiam Marston. Ch.: John, Mary, Sarah, Rachel, Moses, b. 2 (9) 1649, Leah b. 21 or 25 (2) 1661 (m James Perkins).He died May 28, 1687 "very aged"; beq. to wide Prudence, son in law James Perkins and dau. Leah, his wife; daus. Mary Godfree, Sarah Norris and Rachel Rawlings, Inventory 18 July 1687.

Moses Cox was born about 1594, and died 28 May 1687 at the age of 93 in Hampton, NH. His will was dated 1 Nov. 1682, and probated on July 18, 1687. In 1640, when he was appointed the first herdsman for the town of Hampton. In 1662 he was a selectman. His house stood a few rods from the "mill road," on the westerly side. He first married Alice Wise about 1636 in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Alice Wise was born about 1620 in Hillmorton, England and was the daughter of Humphrey Wise and Susannah Tidd. [Unproven] She and her son John were drowned in the wreck of a vessel that sailed from Hampton for Boston Oct. 20, 1657, along with six others including William Swayne, whose widow, Prudence, Mr. Cox married the following year. He married Prudence (Marston) Swayne, the daughter of William Marston, on June 16, 1658.

Family

Children of Moses Cox and Alice are:

• 1. John (Coxe) Cox, born about 1638 in Hampton, NH; died 20 Oct 1657 in At Sea.
• 2. Sarah Cox, born about 1642 in Hampton, NH; died after 1682; married Nicholas Norris 21 Jan 1663/64 in Hampton, NH.
• 3. Rachel Cox, born about 1644 in Hampton, NH; died after 1705 in Rockingham Co., NH; married Thomas Rollins about 1670 in Exeter, NH.
• 4. Mary (Coxe) Cox, born 26 Jun 1644 in Hampton, NH; died after 14 Aug 1707; married John Godfrey 6 May 1659 in Hampton, NH; born about 1632; died 19 Mar 1696/97.
• 5. Moses (Coxe) Cox, Jr., born 2 Nov 1649 in Hampton, NH; probably died young.

Child of Moses Cox and Prudence Marston:

• 6. Leah, born April 21, 1661; married James Perkins; died February 19, 1749. She was her father's principal heir, and, with her husband, succeeded to the paternal estate, and lived on a part of the homestead, which has ever since belonged to the Perkins family, and is now held by Dea. James Perkins, of the fifth generation.

Family comments

Moses Cox's marriage to Alice Wise is not documented at this time. According to Torrey, he married Alice ____ by 1640 in Hampton. The birth record for his son Moses gives his wife's name as Ann, not Alice.

Notes His will, dated November 1, 1682 and proved July 28, 1687, indicates he has a son in law Jeames (James) Perkins and his daughter Leah his wife. It also lists daughters Mary Godfree, Sarah Norris and Rachel Rawlings (Rollins). It said says the will was "put to my hand and sealed this first day of November in ye yeare of our Lord Sixteen Hundred & Eighty two............Henry Dow,Samuel Dow and Moses Coxe."

Notes

From JOSEPH DOW'S HISTORY OF HAMPTON (From it's Settlement in 1638, to the Autumn of 1892) found online at http://www.hampton.lib.nh.us/hampton/history/dow/dowtoc.htm:

The people of Hampton, at an early period, appear to have given considerable attention to the raising of cattle, of which in a few years they had four hundred fifty head, and cattle at that time bore a very high price. For the means of wintering so large a stock, they were much indebted to their extensive salt marshes. In summer they had no lack of pasturage. As yet, however, they had enclosed but few, if any, pastures, and were consequently liable to lose their cattle in the swamps and forests, and to have their sheep destroyed by wolves and other wild beasts that prowled the woods.

To preserve their sheep and cattle,--and acting on the principle, that a division of labor promotes the general good,--the town authorities appointed shepherds and herdsmen, to whom was committed the care of the flocks and herds. The first herdsman mentioned in the records is Moses Coxe, who was appointed in the spring of 1640. From a contract made with him by the selectmen, we are informed as to his compensation and duties. "All the other beasts wthin the town, except such as have calves sucking them," were to be entrusted to his care, and he was to keep them from doing and receiving hurt by day till "foddering time" in the succeeding autumn. It was no part of his business too collect the cattle from their owners in the morning nor to return them in the evening. The town had caused a fence to be built around that portion of the Green near the Meeting-house, and to a considerable distance along the roads proceeding from it, and gates to be set up across these roads. To the Green, or common, the cattle were driven by their owners in the morning, and delivered into the care of the herdsman, who returned them to the same place in the evening, and was then released from all care of them for the night.

In full compensation for his services for the season, Goodman Coxe was to receive £20 to be paid in three instalments, viz.: 12d. per beast in hand; a like sum at the end of seven weeks, and the remainder when his work was done. The records give no information as to the number of cattle under his care.

There were no Coxe references in The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Mass by David W. Hoyt.

There were no Coxe or Norris references in Vital Statistics of Hampton Falls, NH Through 1899 - lots of Batchelders though!

From The History of the Town of Hampton NH from its settlement in 1638 to Autumn of 1892, p. 21 :

...since the cattle needed care on Sundays also, it was arranged by the town that Thomas Jones and Moses Coxe should take turns on Sundays "after having joined awhile at the beginning to go forth aboute half an hour before after sunrise" each Sabbath.

p. 18 - In 6/1640, grants of land were made by the town of Hampton to Moses Coxe (amongst others). These grants were small house lots of 10 acres or under.

His first wife, Alice, and their son John were lost at sea in the catastrophe of 10/20/1657.

Sources

• birth seen as Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, England without citation
• Hampton town record of his death: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-899K-QZMP?i=79&cc=...
• 1 "American Genealogical-Biographical Index" (Godfrey Memorial Library, On-Line, Provo, UT).
• 2 Edmund West, "Family Data Collection - Births" (Provo, UT 2001).
• 3 "Passenger and Immigrations Lists Index 1500-1900".
• 4 Edmund West, "Family Data Collection - Death" (Generations Network, Inc 2001).
• 5 Henry Fitz-Gilbert Waters, "The New England Historical and Genealogical Register" (NEHGS).

1. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cox-6585 cites
   1. Anderson, Robert Charles, "The Great Migration Directory", Boston, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015, page 81.
   2. Torrey’s New England Marriages Prior to 1700. (Online database. AmericanAncestors.org. New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2008.) Originally published as: New England Marriages Prior to 1700. Boston, Mass.: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015.NEHGS NEHGS
   3. New Hampshire: Births to 1901, Deaths and Marriages to 1937. (From microfilmed records. Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2014.) NEHGS
   4. Hampton New Hampshire Vital Records to 1900, www.americanancestors.org (gives name of wife as Ann, not Alice)
   5. Dow, Lucy Ellen, "History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire: From Its Settlement in 1638, to the Autumn of 1892, Volume 2", Salem, MA, Salem Press, 1894, page 649, Google Books
   6. Thomas Lechford’s Note Book- quoted by Charles Henry Pope in The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire- Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, 1965- pp.46-7
   7. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire- Joseph Dow, Salem Press, Salem, MA, 1893- Vol. II, p.649
   8. Hampton Town Record; more details sought
   9. The Poetical Works of John Greenleaf Whittier- Ward, Lock & Co., London, 1881- pp. 240-2
   10. Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England- James Savage, Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, 1965- Vol. I, p.467
   11. Genealogical Dictionary of Maine & New Hampshire- p.167
   12. Joseph Dow, History of the Town of Hampton, Vol. II, p.766
   13. Provincial Papers of New Hampshire- Albert Batchellor, Ed., John Clarke, Printer, Manchester, 1891- Vol. XIX, pp. 658-9
   14. Probate Records of the Province of New Hampshire- Vol. I- State Papers Series- Albert Stillman Batchellor, Ed, Rumford Printing Co., Concord, 1907- Vol. XXXI, pp. 261-2
   15. See also: Thomas Lechford’s Note Book- quoted by Charles Henry Pope in The Pioneers of Maine and New Hampshire- Genealogical Pub. Co., Baltimore, 1965- pp.46-7
   16. History of the Town of Hampton, New Hampshire- Joseph Dow, Salem Press, Salem, MA, 1893- Vol. II, p.649
   17. Early Records of New Hampshire Families- NEHGR- Vol. 7, p. 117 (Apr. 1853)
   18. Find A Grave: Memorial #131657283 https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/131657283