REMEMBERING

Remembering those of my family who I knew

And have passed from this life

Corina Cox, my Great-Grandmother, 1864 to 1956

Lived to be 92 years old, but never married until she was 70 years old. She took with her to the grave the name of my Great-Grandfather who none of us know. Her only son, my Grandfather Roda H. Cox was born in 1888 when she was 24 years old.

Roda H. Cox Sr, my Grandfather, 1888 to 1977

Lived to be 89 years old when he passed from this life. Some things my Grandfather and I had in common were, both of us chose the trade of being electricians and both of us retired from work when we were 55 years old. My Grandfather married my Grandmother Ella Partlow when he was 23 years old.

Ella Cox, my Grandmother, 1888 to 1966

Lived to be 78 years old when she passed from this life. I was raised by my Grandparents most of my life because of the separation of my parents. She was truly devoted to serving the Lord and not a day that I remember passed by that she failed to kneel by her bed in prayer before retiring at night. The Minister that conducted her funeral made the statement to the effect “if anyone ever enters into Heaven, she will”.

Roda H. Cox Jr, my Father, 1913 to 1972

Lived to be 59 years old when he passed from this life. He worked most of his life for the City of Jeffersonville in various jobs including being a police officer. He married my Mother when he was 21 years old and after many years of being separated, remarried to be together for the rest of their days.

Thelma M. Cox, my Mother, 1914 to 1989

Lived to be 75 years old before passing from this life. My Mother along with her sister and brothers were raised in an Orphanage due to the disability of her father and her mother having to work being unable to care for her children. My Parents had only one child which was myself being born in 1935.

Ronald Lee Cox Jr, my only Son, 1956 to 1997

Lived to be 41 years old before passing from this life due to serious illnesses. He was born with kidney problems and had to have a catheter placed in his bladder until he was about 12 years old for drainage purposes. Later he was placed on dialysis for many years before going through two kidney transplants which would preserve him for a limited number of years. Fortunately my Son got to know the Lord before his ailments led to his demise as a young man and went to be with the Lord.

Last, but not the least of the most recent lose in our family:

Tom Price, my Son-in-Law, 1973 to 2012

Lived to be 59 years old before passing from this life. Tom was a great and loyal help to his wife’s parents and passed from this life with much to live for at too early an age. Devoted to his wife, children and Grandchildren and as hard a working man that I have ever seen. Though not in the blood line of the Cox family, he certainly deserves a place of remembrance as much as anyone else because of his devotion and kindness.

Remembering lest we forget where we came from:

For Posterities Sake

What's in a Name

Sometimes I think that I am living a lie because I wonder who I really am. What I mean is that my last name, the last name of my Father and the last name of my Grandfather may not have really been Cox.

It all began back in 1888 when my Grandfather, Roda H. Cox Sr. was born to my Great Grandmother Corine Cox who at the time was unmarried. Because of that, the identity of my Grandfather's biological Father is not known and his last name could have been anything. In that case, my last name could have been Smith or Jones or anything else. Oh I know that it is possible that my Grandfather's biological father could also have been Cox, but I believe that it is unlikely and I believe that she just gave him the last name of Cox because that was her unmarried last name.

So who am I really? Does it really make any difference? After all, what's in a name?

Well for me it's very important, because I believe I have a right to know what my last name could have, or should have been and where my bloodline through my Father and Grandfather really originated from.

One example that should be considered is, if my last name could have been Smith instead of Cox and I married a girl with the last name of Smith, we might very well be related. We could be cousins or even brother and sister without knowing it. This could be a problem.

At the time I began to research the genealogy of my family I came across this dilemma that I was faced with, about who my Grandfather's biological Father was and those who might have had the answer to it had already passed away.

It is my opinion that a person should be known by the legitimate last name of their biological father, instead of using a name that was convenient for them to be associated with. It is also my opinion that a woman should maintain their last name, instead of assuming the last name of their husband, if only for the reason of maintaining their true identity and not losing it because of marriage.

I have found it to be very difficult while tracing the genealogy of a woman because of the last name change, but does not hold true for a certain man.

For myself, the real last name of a person is important and valuable and should be maintained for their true identity and not be lost due to a marriage, a divorce or because of a birth out of wedlock, or for any other reason.