Silas A. Cobb (1799 - bef. 1850)

Born 1799 in Massachusetts, United States [uncertain]

Husband of Constance F. (Hutt) Cobb — married 11 Oct 1826 in Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia

Died before 1850 before age 51 in Kanawha, Virginia, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Dee Christophel D'Errico [send private message]

Biography

I first became interested in Silas A. Cobb after canvassing the area of Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia for any Cobbs who could possibly be the two children from Philena Cobb's first marriage. The only one I could find whose parents were not in evidence was Silas A. Cobb. Neither of the two children mentioned in the Diary of William Whitteker were identified by gender nor name. Only their existence was mentioned, without any detail whatsoever. I had no proof that Silas was her child; but, the name stayed in my memory.

I checked the 1810 US Census for Kanawha County, Virginia. William and Philena had moved to Kanawha County in 1806, immediately after their marriage in September in Boston. Their first child, my great great grandfather, Norris S. Whitteker, was born there in February 1807. Their next child, William F. Whitteker was supposedly born in December of 1809; but, this information came from a D.A.R. application of Edna Skinner and no source was given, so it is in question. The next child was Philena V. Whitteker, born in 1812, with Henry following in 1814, and finally Alfred in 1817. The 1810 Census shows 2 males under 10 years of age and one female 10-15 years of age in the household. I believe one of the two males to be Silas and the other to be Norris. Therefore, it appears that the remaining female should be the other Cobb child. However, since there are no other supporting census "clues" of this nature, I do not believe this idea to be concrete. Subsequent census documents show that other male and female adults were living in the household with William, possibly his brothers and their wives when they first came to Virginia. Because of this, the tallies of individuals in the household cannot be totally figured out.

During a visit to Charleston, Kanawha County, West Virginia, I visited the Kanawha United Presbyterian Church. I went through the old records of the very first Presbyterian church in Charleston, looking for any information I could find about Philena Cobb. While doing this, I noticed that Silas A. Cobb was the only Cobb who was also a member of this church. Not only that; but, when the rolls were taken, he was listed right underneath the Whittekers as though he may be a part of the family. Here I found that he had married Constance F. Hutt, the daughter of William Hutt, who was a founding member of the church just as William and Philena Whitteker were. Silas was a member of this church, listed in the rolls up through 1840, although, he was not present as much after the year 1827. This fits in with the story of how Philena's son, William's step-son, had gotten his mother in trouble in 1827 by having a dancing party while his step-father was away on business.

The next piece of evidence came in the form of Kanawha County Court Case No. 1821-32: Walter and Horace Curtis -vs- William Whitteker and Silas A. Cobb. They were being sued for a debt. The only piece of paper which survived in this case, was the summons, listing an amount of $114.20. However, it was one more piece of evidence showing a close relationship between Silas A. Cobb and William Whitteker.

I then decided to check the deeds in Kanawha County to see what might be there. I was pleasantly surprised with a deed from Silas A. Cobb to William F. Whitteker on pages 399-400 of the deed book, showing that he transferred a lot in Charleston to William for $1.00, for which he himself had paid $250.00. I believe that this shows a definite connection and that William F. Whitteker was, indeed, his half-brother.

I followed this with a search of the index cards to the Kanawha County Courts. Here I found more evidence of a connection. In Circuit Superior Court of Kanawha County Case No. 1840-15 was the case of James M. Laidley -vs- Silas A. Cobb, Charles L. Shrewsbury, Joel Shrewsbury, Jr., William Shrewsbury and Henry C. Anderson; Henry C. Anderson being the husband of Philena V. Whitteker, the half-sister of Silas A. Cobb. Another Superior Court Case No. 1825-11 of Matthew Brown -vs- Silas A. Cobb and William Whitteker for Breach of Covenant, as well as one numbered 1823-13 encompassing the same people. There were many; and, it seemed that Silas had been conducting some type of business as not only he was being sued for debts; but, he himself was suing for debts owed him. Another came in the year 1842 in the Circuit Superior Court of Kanawha County, under file number 1842-10 for Mary Bream (executor) and James Bream (deceased) -vs- Silas A. Cobb and William F. Whitteker. The last cases filed were in the year 1847. So, Silas must have died between 1847 and 1850 when his estate was settled.

It is interesting that Silas served as Postmaster of the Paint Creek Post Office in the year 1847, starting on 01 Apr 1847. He was postmaster until at least 30 Jun 1847 as the Postmasters for Virginia listed in the following book served until that date. This information appears in the "Register of All Officers and Agents, Civil, Military and Naval in the Service of the United States on 30 th September 1847", J & GS Gideon, Washington, 1847, on page 197. It appears to have been a regularly published listing; but, I have not yet checked any subsequent years to see if he continued in this capacity. It is interesting, indeed, because both William Whitteker, who was appointed by President Thomas Jefferson, and Norris S. Whitteker, who was appointed by President Abraham Lincoln, served as Postmasters in Kanawha County, Virginia, as well. ^[1]

Birth

from 1790 to 1800

of Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia

Death

from 30 Jun 1847 to 1850

Kanawha County, Virginia

There is a possibility that Silas A. Cobb was one of two children born to Mrs. Philena Cobb of Boston, Massachusetts. Philena married William Whittiker of Massachusetts and they soon after moved to Kanawha County, Virginia. See separate listings for their known history. Silas Cobb was a common name in the Quincy, MA area.

1830 Charleston, Kanawha Co., Virginia census: 1-0-0-0-1-1-1: 1-0-0-0-1, page 222

1 male 0-5

1 male 20-30

1 male 30-40

1 male 40-50

1 female 0-5

1 female 20-30

***

1840 Charleston, Kanawha Co., Virginia census, p. 20:

1 male 5-10

1 male 10-15

1 male 30-40

1 male 40-50

1 female 0-5

1 female 5-10

1 female 10-15

1 female 30-40

no slaves, 2 persons employed in manufacturing and trades.

Silas A. Cobb was postmaster at the Paint Creek Post Office in Kanawha County from April 1, 1847 to June 30, 1847.

Marriage

FAM

ID: 5C16B7D0162CA742B2A56C7A73EC1ECDABF6

@I1328@

@I1327@

@I21141@

@I21138@

@I21140@

@I21137@

@I21139@

@I1329@

@I1330@

11 Oct 1826

Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia^[2]Married Wednesday the 11th inst., by the Rev. Nathaniel W. Calhoon, Mr. Silas A. Cobb to Miss Constance, daughter of Mr. William S. Hutt, all of Charleston.^[3] Married by the Rev. Nathaniel W. Calhoon, on the 11th of October, 1826.

October 18, 1826 - Married Wednesday the 11th inst., by the Rev. Nathaniel W. Calhoon, Mr. Silas A. Cobb to Miss Constance, daughter of Mr. William S. Hutt, all of Charleston. ["Western Virginian", abstracted by Gerald Ratliff and reprinted in the KVGS Journal, Summer 1997]

Sources

1. ↑ Entered by Dee Christophel D'Errico.
2. ↑ " Western Virginia" [Charleston, Kanawha County, Virginia] newspaper, October 18, 1826
3. ↑ "West Virginia Marriages, 1853-1970"

See Also:

• Diary of William Whitteker.
• 1810 US Census, Kanawha County, Virginia.
• Virginia Marriages 1740-1850.
• Ross B. Johnson, West Virginia Estate Settlements, 1978 Genealogical Publishing Co., 149.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Greg Newton for creating WikiTree profile Cobb-1974 through the import of huttgedcom.ged on Feb 12, 2013.

Thanks to Dee Christophel D'Errico for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Dee and others.