Theodore Cox

COX, JOHNSTON, JONES, ZELLER

Posted By: Judy Wight Branson (email)
Date: 8/13/2004 at 11:31:07

Theodore Cox was one of the most prominent men among the early settlers of Madison county and his demise was a distinct loss to the county. He was born in Talbot county, Maryland, on the 23d of September, 1817, and as his father died when he was quite small he made his home for a number of years with an uncle. When sixteen years of age he went to Baltimore and there became an expert machinist. He worked in the shops which built the rolling stock of the first American railroad and helped to construct the first locomotive used on that road. His health failing, he removed to Lafayette, Indiana, and there engaged in the stock business. The following year, 1845, he removed to Keokuk county, Iowa, and in 1853 went to Mahaska county. The next year witnessed his arrival in this county and he purchased a claim in Scott township, two miles east of Winterset. There he passed the remainder of his life, giving his time and energy to farming and stock-raising. He frequently shipped stock to Baltimore and in the early days it was necessary to drive stock to Eddyville, which was the nearest railroad point. He usually went with the stock, seeing that it was cared for properly on the long journey to Baltimore. He accumulated a considerable fortune and was very generous in his support of public measures of value. When it was proposed to build a railroad from Des Moines to Winterset he was one of the first to strongly advocate its construction and probably gave as much both of time and money to the project as any man in the county.

Mr. Cox married Miss Sarah Johnston in Keokuk county in 1846. She was a Kentuckian by birth and was a woman of much ambition and industry and proved a valuable helpmate to her husband. They became the parents of six children, two of whom remained in this county, namely: Mrs. E. W. Jones and Mrs. E. R. Zeller, both of whom reside in Winterset, and a sketch of E R Zeller is found elsewhere in this work. The Cox home east of Winterset was for years famed for its generous hospitality and was in the early times a favorite stopping place for travelers and home seekers.

Mr. Cox was a democrat and was loyal in his support of that party in the times of its success and its defeat alike, losing no opportunity to champion its principles He held a number of local offices and usually presided over the county democratic conventions. He never ceased to take the keenest interest in the public welfare along all lines of activity and in many ways aided in the advancement of his township and county. He passed away on the i2th of July, 1891 and there are still many who remember his life and his many good works and cherish his memory.

Taken from the book, “The History of Madison County, Iowa, 1915”