1870 Census, Greene County, Tennessee

1870, Greene County, Tennessee, page 238a

George Jackson Cox age 7 was my great grandfather.  He married my great grandmother Clarissa Loretta (Retta or Rett) Nichols on 9 Dec 1883 in Greene County.

John Tivis Cox age 29 and Nancy Ann Pierce age 29 were my second great grandparents.  They were married on 23 Sep 1860 in Greene County.

John Tivis Cox was the son of Riley Cox and Frances (Franky) Price.

Nancy Ann Pierce was the daughter of James E. Pierce and Anny Green.

Reuben Cox was my fourth great grandfather.  His parents are not known for sure, but he is strongly suspected of having been the son of a Thomas Cox.  In 1870, Reuben was a widower, his wife Susannah Padgett having died in 1864.

Mary (Polly) Cox age 55 was the daughter of Reuben and Susannah.  In 1870, Polly was the widow of Smith Wheeler who died before 1850.

Joel/Joseph R. Waits age 7 later married Frankie A. Cox.  Frankie was the daughter of my second great grandparents John Tivis Cox and Nancy Ann Pierce.  As such, Frankie was the sister of my great grandfather George Jackson Cox.

The Waits children were the children of Jacob Waits and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Beals.  Lizzie was apparently widowed and living with her mother Patience Phillips.  Patience was the widow of Solomon Beals.  George, Sarah, and Jesse were Elizabeth's siblings.

Riley Wheeler was the son of Smith Wheeler and Mary (Polly) Cox.  Polly Cox was the daughter of my fourth great grandparents Reuben Cox and Susannah Padgett.  As such, Polly Cox was the sister of my third great grandfather Riley Cox.  It seems extremely likely that Riley Wheeler was named for his Uncle Riley Cox.

Riley Wheeler's wife was Rebecca Garrett.  They were married in Greene County, Tennessee on 5 Aug 1856, and they moved to Georgia shortly after the marriage.

The 1880 census says that Henry H. Wheeler was born in Tennessee with all the older children having been born in Georgia.  I don't know for sure if Henry was born in Georgia or born in Tennessee, but it does seem very likely that Henry was born just before or just after the family returned to Tennessee from Georgia.

Riley Cox age 58 was my third great grandfather.  He was the son of Reuben Cox and Susannah Padgett.  Riley's first wife Francis (Franky) Price died on 1 Apr 1860.  Riley married second Mary Marinda (Marinda) Pierce on 11 Sep 1862.

Marinda Pierce was the daughter of my third great grandparents James E. Pierce and Anny Greene.  As such, Marinda was the sister of my second great grandmother Nancy A. Pierce.  The sisters Marinda and Nancy married a father and son, with Marinda marrying Riley Cox and Nancy marrying John Tivis Cox.

Riley's blindness is well known in oral family history.  It's good to see oral family history confirmed in census records.

Claudius Cox was the son of Aaron Cox and Experience (Spriddy) Wells.  Thomas Mitchell was Experience Wells' first husband.  Aaron Cox was Experience Wells' second husband.  James E. Pierce was Experience Wells' third husband.  Experience Wells and James E. Pierce were married in 1850 and were enumerated as husband and wife in the 1850 Greene County, Tennessee census.

The 1850 and 1860 census entries for James E. Pierce and Experience (Spriddy) Wells list Claudius as Claudius Mitchell.  But Claudius was born in 1846 and Experience Wells married Aaron Cox in 1845.  The 1870 census is the first one where Claudius was (correctly) identified as Claudius Cox.

James E. Pierce was my third great grandfather, but my third great grandmother was his first wife Anny Green rather than his third wife Experience (Spriddy) Wells.  Aaron Cox was the brother of my third great grandfather Riley Cox, and Claudius Cox was the first cousin of my second great grandfather John Tivis Cox.

James Pierce was my third great grandfather.  He was married at least three times and possibly four.  My third great grandmother Anny Green was his first wife.  His third wife was Experience (Spriddy) Wells.  Elizabeth from this census entry was either Experience Wells, with a misspelled name (the age is about right), or else was a fourth wife.  There was a Greene County, Tennessee marriage James Peerce to Elizabeth Cruraty, 13 Aug 1865.  It seems at least possible that Experience Wells died giving birth to Daniel Pierce (or shortly thereafter), and that James Pierce remarried in 1865.  It also seems possible that Elizabeth age 49 was really Experience Wells.

Alexander Pierce was the son of Richard Pierce and Mary Jackson.  Alexander Pierce's wife was Agnes English.  They were married 5 Mar 1866 in Greene County, Tennessee.

Josiah Harrison was the son of Isaiah Harrison and Elizabeth Whittenburg.  As such, Josiah was the nephew of my fifth great grandmother Lydia Donnell Harrison.

Sarah C. Woolsey was Josiah's second wife.  They were married 1in 1857.  Malissa V. Harrison age 18 appears to have been an out of wedlock child of Sarah C. Woolsey from before Josiah and Sarah were married.  In fact, Malissa's name was listed as Melissa Woolsey in the 1860 census.  John C. Harrison age 11 and Josiah Harrison age 7 were children of Josiah and Sarah.