Cox, John, approximately 1754-1847

John Cox was a member of and preacher for the Society of Friends. Cox was born around 1754 to John and Abigail Cox of New Jersey. He married Hannah Smith, daughter of John Smith and Hannah Logan. After Hannah's death in 1783, Cox remarried, this time to Ann Dillwyn, and spent much of his life at a home in Burlington County that Ann had inherited from her father called "Oxmead." While he was recognized as a Quaker minister, Cox traveled little. Like many Quakers, he devoted much of his time to civil service and was particularly interested in helping maintain peaceful relations with the local Native American tribes. Cox served as clerk of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting in 1808 and from 1811 to 1816. He is said to have been a moderating influence at the troubled 1827 session of the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting that ultimately led to the schism of Friends into Hicksite and Orthodox branches. Cox died at Oxmead on April 5, 1847, at the age of 93.