John was the youngest of 7 children of John Cox and Mary Rankin. He was born at McDowells Mill in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and died at his home near Scottville, North Carolina. He married Margaret Davis in 1762. They had 8 children, including James (1763-1842), Catherine (1768-1847), Mary Elizabeth "Polly" (1771-1820), Joshua (1773-1860), Anna Amanda (1775-1848), Sarah "Sally" (1777-1840), Jane (1777-1860), and Cynthia (1782-1864). In February 1756, when John was 17 years old, Delaware Indians attacked and burned the Cox home near McDowell's Mill, in what is now Franklin County, Pennsylvania, then part of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. John and older brother Richard were taken prisoners. John Craig, their brother-in-law, was also captured while trying to rescue John and Richard. All three escaped in Aug. 1756. The Coxes left Pennsylvania soon after this ordeal and traveled to Virginia. They arrived in the upper New River Valley region of southwest Virginia during the 1760's, which was then part of Botetourt County, VA. John was one of the three men named county commissioners at the creation of Ashe County, North Carolina, in 1799. During the Revolutionary War, John became captain of a militia group and commanded a fort on the New River. He led a militia company and was captured during the Tory insurrection in 1779. He acquired thirty-nine separate plots in Ashe County by 1815, embracing over 8,000 acres of land.
John was the youngest of 7 children of John Cox and Mary Rankin. He was born at McDowells Mill in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and died at his home near Scottville, North Carolina. He married Margaret Davis in 1762. They had 8 children, including James (1763-1842), Catherine (1768-1847), Mary Elizabeth "Polly" (1771-1820), Joshua (1773-1860), Anna Amanda (1775-1848), Sarah "Sally" (1777-1840), Jane (1777-1860), and Cynthia (1782-1864). In February 1756, when John was 17 years old, Delaware Indians attacked and burned the Cox home near McDowell's Mill, in what is now Franklin County, Pennsylvania, then part of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. John and older brother Richard were taken prisoners. John Craig, their brother-in-law, was also captured while trying to rescue John and Richard. All three escaped in Aug. 1756. The Coxes left Pennsylvania soon after this ordeal and traveled to Virginia. They arrived in the upper New River Valley region of southwest Virginia during the 1760's, which was then part of Botetourt County, VA. John was one of the three men named county commissioners at the creation of Ashe County, North Carolina, in 1799. During the Revolutionary War, John became captain of a militia group and commanded a fort on the New River. He led a militia company and was captured during the Tory insurrection in 1779. He acquired thirty-nine separate plots in Ashe County by 1815, embracing over 8,000 acres of land.
Bio by: Old Hokie
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