Updated November 15, 2022 and August 29, 2023

Additional information provided by Claudia Davenport-Sullivan leads me to believe my original theory of Amy (Emmetje) Cox being Emmetje Van der Culen (VanderCulin) is mistaken. The edited post removes info related to my original hypothesis. I will note any future edits as the quest continues to identify my 6th great-grandfather’s parents.

We know the elder William was likely Quaker as the younger William and his wife Catherine Kinkey were instrumental in founding the Hockessin (Delaware) Friends Meeting. The Quaker-William Penn-Pennsylvania/Delaware connection is a potential clue.

Evidence Related to Penn, the Quaker Migration, a William Cox

Hints in Land Transactions

In 1699, Penn divided 30,000 acres to be given to his children. Son William Jr. received 14,500 acres in Chester County and Mill Creek Hundred. The remaining 15,500 acres, described as ”a certain tract of land situated on the south side of the Brandywine Creek, in the province of Pennsylvania,” was given to Letitia. Letitia would later marry William Aubrey of London and return to England. Sales of her land were handled by a third party.

William Cox is recorded in several land transactions in the early 1700s. One record refers to him as “yeoman William Cox” meaning he was a farmer of land he owned. In 1713, William Penn’s daughter, Letitia Aubrey, conveyed a 300-acre tract of land located in Mill Creek Hundred, New Castle County, to William Cox (Cocks). (The date of the conveyance is recorded as February 8, 1713, but some historians note this is the date Letitia authorized legal representatives to conduct transactions on her behalf.) This is notable as my 6th great-grandfather William Cox was born in 1692. Was he acquiring this land, or was this his father? The latter seems most likely.

A 1955 book entitled Descendants of Solomon Cox of Cole Creek VA lists Solomon as a son of my 6th GG William Cox and brother of 5th GG Harmon Cox (and Thomas). The author/genealogist writes that Solomon’s father William was in the area by 1719: “New Castle County, Delaware, Deeds, S. I. 32. 25th of May 1719. William Cox, yeoman Newcastle County, conveys to Jacob Stilley of same, land on the north side of Christiania Creek.” Christiania Creek was located in Christiania Hundred, part of which later became known as Mill Creek Hundred.

The 961 acres purchased in 1726 by William McMechen is noted as adjoining lands of Henry Dixon, William Cocks, Thomas Hollingsworth and Thomas Yeatman. Dixon and Hollingsworth were neighboring landowners to my 6th GG William Cox and wife Catherine in the 1720s, 30s and 40s. In fact, a William Cox purchased 50 acres from Henry Dixon in 1725, and 6th GG William’s daughter married a Dixon. Also, William, Dixon, and Hollingsworth collaborated in providing land for the Mill Creek Friends Meeting in Hockessin in 1737. I have to conclude the 300 acres acquired by William “Cocks” in 1713 was in the hands of William Sr. by 1725.

In December 1734, William Cox of New Castle County was a party to a land transaction described as “on the west side of the Delaware, north side of Christiana Creek. . . “originally owned by Reynier Vander Coolin who by deed dated 17 Dec 1695 sold to Luke Embly late of White Clay Cr. . . it fell to sons John & Thomas Embly at their father’s decease . . . then to William Cox of Newcastle, Laborer, who paid £35 for same.” [Delaware, Land Records, 1677-1947, New Castle 003, Vol K 1, pg 293]

Amy or Emey

I originally thought the 1734 transaction might be a connection to Amy, Wiliam’s wife. References attributed to 1800s Quaker historian Gilbert Cope of Chester County, PA suggested Amy was a “Van der Culen.” The wife of a Reynear Van der Culen/Coelen, Catherine, sold land in the Hockessin area to pay her husband’s debts after his death in 1677. There is a will dated April 24, 1695, in New Castle records for another Reynear, maybe a son and Amy’s brother, I now believe my initial hunch was incorrect.

The search continues….

Notes on the Children of William and Amy

Records show William and Amy as having six children. In addition to my 6th GG William (the first born), there was Thomas, Richard, John, Ann, and Amy.

1. Thomas Cox married Elizabeth Fincher in 1722 at the Marlboro Meeting in Chester County, PA. The marriage was witnessed by John & Mary (Garretson) Cox and Richard Cox. Following the death of Elizabeth in 1729, Thomas married Mary Cooke in 1730 according to records of the London Grove Preparative Meeting.
2. Richard married Elizabeth Scarlet on Dec 15, 1726, at Chichester Meeting in Pennsylvania.. The marriage record states: “Richard Cox, yeoman of London Grove to Elizabeth Scarlet, spinster of Chichester.”. William and Thomas Cox are among the witnesses. )
3. John Cox administered the estate of his father William Cox in 1743. He was married to Mary Garretson, daughter of Johan/Jan and Ann Garretson. One of their children was a daughter named “Emey.”
4. Ann Cox married Casparus Garretson (brother of Mary above) in 1713 at the Hockessin Meeting. Casper’s brother Cornelius Garretson is mentioned in the 1743 estate documents of William. Ann & Casparus Garretson also had a daughter Emey who married first cousin William Cox in 1748 in York County, PA. (William’s parents were John Cox and Mary Garretson, sister of Emey’s father Casparus). Casparus Garretson died in 1727. His will is recorded in Delaware Wills, Miscellaneous Book 1, page 90, and mentions William Cox in whose home the first meetings of Hockessin were held in 1730.
5. Emey (anglicized to Amy) Cox married John Allen (1694-1771) and is recorded by Kennett Meeting May 2, 1719, John immigrated to America from Ireland around 1714, but is most likely English. There will be more Cox-Allen marriages in subsequent generations.

More Family Notes and Connections

• Thomas Cox is mentioned in the 1746 will of first wife Elizabeth’s father, John Fincher: “To Thomas Cox living over the Susquehanna £5 for the use of his daughter Rebecca wife of James Fraiser.” This suggests Rebecca provided some level of care or housekeeping before Fincher’s death. (#1 bullet above)
• Hermon Husband married Emey, daughter of John Allen, Jr. and wife Phebe (Scarlett) Allen in 1766. Phebe is the niece of Elizabeth Scarlett, wife of Richard Cox. (#2 bullet above)
• The children of John and Emey (Amy) Allen included a daughter named Emey (who married Philip Ward in 1743) and a daughter Rebecca (Alexander Moode) had a daughter Emey Moode.

Sources of note:

• William Penn and the Quaker migration to Pennsylvania
• Descendants of Solomon Cox of Cole Creek, VA.
• Immigration of Irish Quakers into Pennsylvania
• Delaware American History and Genealogy Project
• Cox Family Outline (1977 Elizabeth Berry Buffa)