George Cox

BALDWIN, COX, JONES, KILLION, MILLS, OSBORNE

Posted By: Judy Wight Branson (email)
Date: 8/15/2004 at 13:23:44

George Cox, a leading carpenter of Winterset, was born in Clinton county, Ohio, on the 6th of August, 1850, the third in order of birth of the twelve children born to Eli and Mary (Mills) Cox, natives respectively of Clinton county, Ohio, and Tipton county, Indiana. The birth of the father occurred in August, 1825, and that of the mother in 1826. Eli Cox was reared upon a farm and as he grew to manhood his knowledge of agricultural work increased. When twenty years of age he learned the carpenter's trade and while still living in Ohio erected a number of barns and other buildings. In 1856 he came overland with his family to this county, settling on section 36, Madison township. Returning to Cincinnati, he there had a sawmill built, which was shipped to Keokuk and thence hauled by ox teams to North river, where it was put up in 1857. It was the only sawmill in that region and did a large business. Mr. Cox engaged in contracting and erected a number of the early bridges in this county. During the last years of his activity in that line he built two of the finest barns in the county, one for David Mills in Madison township, and the other for George Miller in Jefferson township. The Cox family only resided in Madison township for about a year, as in 1858 they removed to section 5, Union township, where the father owned about eleven hundred acres of land. He hired others to cultivate the fields and care for the stock, while he devoted his time to contracting. He was affected by the hard times of 1856 and 1857 but later retrieved his losses. He held a number of local offices and in the late '60's served as county supervisor from Union township. His religious faith was that of the Quakers. His demise occurred in 1885 and he was survived for many years by his widow, who passed away in 1909.

George Cox attended the pioneer schools of this county, the schoolhouse being built of logs, the furniture and curriculum being equally primitive. When eighteen years of age he began to assist his father in the operation of the latter's sawmill and continued to conduct the mill after the father's death until 1895. He has much mechanical ability and, being a skillful workman himself, he refuses to tolerate any slipshod work from those in his employ. As a contractor he has erected many of the better structures in the county and in 1894 and 1909 served as foreman of the county bridge gang. For many years he lived in Union township, where he owned land, and he gave some attention to farming, although that occupation is not at all congenial to him, and most of the time he left the operating to others. In I908 he removed to Winterset, where he is still residing.

On the 6th of January, 1878, Mr. Cox was united in marriage to Miss Rebecca Mills, who is a native of Jefferson county, Iowa and a daughter of Enos and Elizabeth (Baldwin) Mills, both bornin the Hoosier state, the former in 1819 and the latter in 1821. Mr. Mills, who was a carpenter by trade came to Madison county in 1850 but found conditions so much those of the frontier he started to return to Indiana. Stopping off in Jefferson county, Iowa, he lived there until 1857, when her returned to Madison county and settled in Douglas township upon the place that he had selected as a location in 1850. He farmed and worked at his trade in this county until 1866, when he removed to southwestern Missouri where he remained until ,1873. He then took up his residence in Achison, and later went to Rice county, Kansas, where he again turned his carpentering. He was working at his trade with his son when he met death by accident. He was a very active member of the Church of Christ and quite frequently preached. He passed away in 1886, having survived his wife since 1859.

Mr. and Mrs Cox have six living children: Viola, the wife of Jed Osborne, a farmer of Walnut township, by whom she has two children, Mildred and Lorraine; Letta, the wife of E. W. Jones, a fanner of Nebraska by whom she has four children, Millard, Doris, Donald and Eldridge; Sylvanus, a farmer of Nebraska, Casper, who is following agricultural pursuits in Walnut township this county, Elsie, who gave her hand in marriage to H. I. Killion, a farmer and school teacher of Bourbon county, Kansas, and Herman who was born on the 4th of July, 1894 and is associated with his father in the contracting business. He married Miss Beulah Light and they have a daughter, Iva Viola.

Mr. Cox is a republican and has held a number of township offices. Fraternally his affiliation is with the Masonic order, belonging to both the blue lodge and chapter of the York Rite. He has a deservedly high reputation as a contractor and he is equally esteemed as a citizen and as a man.

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