I am also researching (somewhat inactively) the surname Cox in Portsmouth, and area. My forebear was Ann Cox (b. 3 July 1784 or 1789 at Southsea according to an entry in the Bray family Bible which I have only seen in notes by my grandmother's first cousin, Miss Edith Bray Robertson, of Newmarket, Ontario) who married William Bray at St Mary's Portsea on 3 Jan. 1809. I have yet to see the banns or original marriage entry for them. Ann Cox was supposedly the daughter of a farmer of Southsea, possibly named Tom or Thomas Cox. I say this because her younger son was called Tom Cox Bray (1815-1881), while her elder son William (1814-1882), is my forebear. There was one other child, a daughter, Ann born in 1810, who apparently died young. According to family lore written up by Miss Robertson in 1965, William Bray who married Ann Cox, was a Captain in the Royal Navy. This is, I think, rubbish. I find him listed as a cordwainer or cabinetmaker in his children's baptisms at St Thomas à Becket Church of England parish church, Portsmouth (now the cathedral church of the diocese of Portsmouth). Anyway, by marrying Ann Cox, William was supposedly disowned by his father (?Charles Bray), a wealthy shipowner and landowner, for marrying 'beneath himself'. More rubbish I think, but for what reason was it invented. I am unlikely ever to find out. I believe William was baptised at St Mary's Portsea on 11 July 1790, the son of George Bray and his wife Ann, née Waggett, who were originally from the Isle of Wight. I believe he is the William Bray buried at St Thomas à Becket, Portsmouth on 5 November 1816. This would account for there being no further children born to this couple after 1815. The family story, however, continues with grandfather Bray offering to take on the children of his widowed daughter-in-law Ann Bray (née Cox), after Capt. Bray's death at sea circa 1821. Ann refused naturally as the offer of support did not include her. My ancestor, the elder son, William, ran off to sea at age 12, after refusing his grandfather's offer to come and live with him. He eventually rose to the non-commissioned rank of gunnery officer, R.N., and stayed on in Upper Canada, after leaving the Royal Navy there while on posting to Kingston (Point Frederick) with a flotilla of the Royal Navy serving on the Great Lakes during the Upper Canada rebellion (1838-1839). Meanwhile, his younger brother, Tom Cox Bray, was reconciled to mean old grandfather Bray (depending on how you look at things!), and allegedly inherited shares in a shipping line. What I do know is that T.C. Bray went out to Adelaide, South Australia right after acquiring a wife, Sarah Pink, whom he had married in St Mary's Portsea in 1838. He was a shoemaker, which means he followed in his father's true footsteps;). Later he returned to England a wealthy man, but how he actually became well-to-do is a mystery, as he certainly didn't get rich making shoes. Supposedly his grandfather's will had made him rich in the interval. His elder son went up to Cambridge, and became a parson. His younger surviving son stayed on in Adelaide and became a barrister, and eventually the first native-born premier of South Australia, Sir John Cox Bray (1842-1894). His grandson, Dr John Jefferson Bray (1912-1995), was Chief Justice of South Australia, and Chancellor of the University of Adelaide. My branch didn't fare quite so well where they settled, Adelaide village, Adelaide township, Western district (later Middlesex county), Canada West, United Province of the Canadas (later the province of Ontario), though the eldest son of the gunnery officer, Dr John Lang Bray (1841-1915), had an interesting medical career after graduating from Queen's University in Kingston in 1863. He joined the Confederate Army Surgeons Corps in Richmond, Virginia, C.S.A., and after the war returned to Canada, where he eventually became president of the Canadian Medical Association. His younger sister was my mother's maternal grandmother, Blanche Louisa Bray (1945-1934), Mrs James Large, maternal aunt of Miss Robertson, the compiler of the Bray and Cox notes, whom I met in the summer of 1973 on a trip across Canada with my mother during the summer holidays, and who left me a small legacy when she died aged 94, the following year. From that trip began my interest in genealogy. Finally, Ann Bray, née Cox, remarried to a Mr Winship. I havent found the marriage entry. She died on 30 March 1840 according to an newspaper death notice found by a researcher in Australia. Her residence was St George's Square, Portsea. She was buried in Portsea Island General cemetery on 3 April 1840. I don't know if her second husband or other relatives are buried there too. When her son William Bray was born in 1815 the family were living in Greek Street, Portsea, according to his naval record. Later on, they lived in White Horse Alley, Portsea. I hope that this is of interest. I don't know enough about the Coxes or Brays to say if there is a connexion or not. It would, of course, be great to find any additional information on the Cox and Bray families. BTW, the Bray lineage as recorded in "Burke's Colonial Gentry" (vol.2, p. 222), under 'Bray of Adelaide', is terribly garbled. The version given in the American supplement (1939) to Burke's Landed Gentry (1937), under Bray (submitted by Dr J.L. Bray's nephew, Professor William Crowell Bray, of U.C. Berkeley) is little better, and is based on the same family lore recorded by Miss Robertson that has been largely disproved through research. Richard Bray Carruthers, M.A. (Oxon.) Vancouver, British Columbia, CANADA. -----Original Message----- From: Heather Brown [mailto:heatherhosking@blueyonder.co.uk] Sent: June 3, 2005 2:20 PM To: ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT] COX - Portsmouth Hello List, Is anyone researching the surname COX from Portsmouth? Caroline COX married into my HOSKING family in Kent in 1846. From details of the Kent 1851 census, Caroline states her place of birth as Portsmouth, Hants. >From the marriage certificate, her father was JOHN COX a mariner, and one of the witnesses was ANGELINE/A or AUGUSTINE COX. If anyone can make a connection with this family, then I would love to hear from them. Also does anyone know if there is a surname index to purchase for the Portsmouth 1841 census? Many thanks and best wishes Heather ==== ENG-HAM-PORTSMOUTH-GOSPORT Mailing List ==== Don't go barking up the wrong tree be like a good chef and ALWAYS check your SOURCES ============================== Search Family and Local Histories for stories about your family and the areas they lived. Over 85 million names added in the last 12 months. Learn more: http://www.ancestry.com/s13966/rd.ashx