It's worth remembering that, when looking for a name one should search for every possible variation: in this case there is COCKS (common in Cornwall), COCKES, COCK, COOK, COOCH. I always use wildcards and found that, when being a volunteer researcher for CFHS, I often turned up a 'lost' surname through doing this. Mind you, you may have to wade through unwanted names but it can be worth it. One should remember that people not only couldn't spell but seemed unable to hear either! Another ploy is to say the name in a 'praper Cornish' accent & 'tis amaazin' how it do sound me 'ansome. So try variants on CARKS. Stephen > Message: 1 > Date: Sun, 12 Oct 2014 09:57:52 +0100 > From: "Jon" <berksmon@outlook.com> > Subject: [CORNISH-GEN] John COX - Cornwall to Wales > To: <cornish-gen@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <DUB111-DS10B25F8B8EBFBAF64545CDDAF0@phx.gbl> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8" > > Hi everyone, > > My great great great grandfather was John COX, born in the early 1790?s in > Cornwall, (1792 according to the 1851 census, and his burial index on 26 January > 1860 gives his age as 69, so a birth year of approx 1791). > > He married Ann Thomas at Caerleon, Monmouthshire on 6 December 1824, and a few > years later they moved up the Welsh Valleys to the Llanwenarth area where their > daughter/my great great grandmother Hannah was born in 1839. > > In the 1841 and 1851 censuses as well as on some burial records, John is > recorded as a Cordwainer or Shoemaker. So far I?ve had no success in finding his > parents. There could be a clue in their only son, named John James COX who was > born in 1840 and who died in 1844. As Ann?s father was also John, it made me > wonder if John COX?s father might have been James, John James then being named > after both his grandfathers. > > I?ve noticed a few John Cox?s in the censuses who were born in Cornwall around > the same time as my John, but searching with help from a friend, there appears > to be no baptisms of any John COX?s in Cornwall through the 1790?s, in fact, I?m > told no baptisms of a John COX prior to 1802. > > Are there any COX family researchers out there who may be able to shed some > light on my John?s family please? > > Many thanks in advance, best wishes to all, > > Jon > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2014 14:54:12 +1100 > From: "Irene Marlborough" <imarlb@sbcglobal.net> > Subject: Re: [CORNISH-GEN] John COX - Cornwall to Wales > To: "Jon" <berksmon@outlook.com>, > <cornish-gen@rootsweb.com> > Message-ID: <80E37BFEA8064AA2874C65452A62FCF3@IrenePC> > Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1"; > reply-type=original > > Hello Jon: > > Having both Cornish and Welsh ancestors myself, I was pondering the > possibility that your man's surname might have been COCK when he lived in > Cornwall. You may know that this is a very common surname there. In > addition, the Welsh had only recently emerged from a patronymic naming > system and many surnames acquired a final 'S'. The purpose would be to > change a patronymic like Evan (ap) ROBERT into a surname to be passed on - > Evan ROBERTS. I can quite believe that COCK could morph into COX given the > right circumstances. > > Just a thought... > > Best wishes, Irene > > > > > ------------------------------ > > To contact the CORNISH-GEN list administrator, send an email to > CORNISH-GEN-admin@rootsweb.com. > > To post a message to the CORNISH-GEN mailing list, send an email to > CORNISH-GEN@rootsweb.com. > > __________________________________________________________ > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > CORNISH-GEN-request@rootsweb.com > with the word "unsubscribe" without the quotes in the subject and the > body of the > email with no additional text. > > > End of CORNISH-GEN Digest, Vol 9, Issue 218 > ******************************************* >

Dear Stephen, Thanks so much for your reply, which I just spotted in my junk folder! Aarrgg! I'd thought of phonetics, well the usual ones, cks instead of x etc, but I hadn't thought of Carks and the like, even though I'd thought of the accent. What would have been even more helpful was if in the 1851 census his birthplace had been more specific than simply "Cornwall"....so frustrating! I've found two possibilities. Working on my theory of his son, John James COX 1840-1844, a bapt of a John cock on 10 June 1792 at Breage, son of James and Mary. In the 1851 census John has a daughter Mary too, but that's hardly an unpopular name. Also I found another John Cock bapt 17 Aug 1792 at St Allen, the son of John and Catherine. The reason why this one jumped out at me is that John and his wife Ann had a daughter Catherine who appears to be their first child. I have to be honest, with the fact that his marriage was pre 1837 so no father's name recorded, and the only useful censuses where he was recorded was 1841 and 1851 where his birthplace was "N" and "Cornwall" respectively, there's slim chance I'll ever know where he came from or who his parents were is there! Are these negative feelings, or factual? They feel factual to me at least. :-) Thanks once again, Jon