Ann (Cox) Hussey (abt. 1694 - bef. 1745)

Born about 1694 in Berkshire, England

Ancestors

Wife of Casparius Garretson — married 1712 (to 3 Dec 1726) in New Castle County, Delaware

Descendants

Died before Sep 1745 before about age 51 in Newberry Twp., York County, Province of Pennsylvania

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Lee Bain [send private message] and Bonnie Nilsen [send private message]

Biography

Ann was a Friend (Quaker)

Though it is not clear if William Cox and his wife were Quakers when they first emigrated to Delaware, but by 1710/1711 they seem to have been 'convinced' for the first gatherings of the Hockessin Monthly Meeting were held in their home.

According to her "Find A Grave" entry, which is only as reliable as the sources the person posting the information has, Ann Cox was born in 1692, and passed away in 1743. ^[1] The date of birth of 1694 is probably more accurate, because Ann had a sister, Amy, who was christened in 1692.

Shinfield Christening NOT Quaker John and Rachel's Ann

^[2]Shinfield, Berkshire, England: Ann Cox daughter of John and Rachel, christened 19 July 1696.
There are some who argue that Ann is the daughter of John Cox and Rachel Carr Cox based on this record from Shinfield, Berkshire, which is about 35 miles from Drayton, Berkshire where John and Rachel lived before emigrating to Pennsylvania in 1708. Aside from this one record there is no evidence that John and Rachel had a daughter named Ann.

Genealogical sources must be interpreted in light of the history and culture of their day. John and Rachel Cox of Abingdon/Drayton were convinced Quakers. From our 1st record of him in 1678 he was a Quaker, and it was clear then that he had been a Quaker for some time. He'd been a Quaker through the decades when being a Quaker meant potential imprisonment, even death. These were people who did took their faith seriously. So, while record of an infant being baptized is no big deal to us, looking at it through the lens of history, if we know what Quakers believed on the subject, we can reach a conclusion we might not otherwise know.

Quakers believed that the indwelling presence, or 'that of God' was in every person and that priests, pastors and the ceremonies and rituals of the church served only to come between us and the presence of God. This was a radical belief which got them into trouble with the church and the state - same thing because the church and the state were one. Cross one and you brought the wrath of both on you and your household.

One of the rituals Quakers did not believe in was water baptism, and they refused to christen or baptize their infants. In fact, having your baby christened by a priest was cause for disownment by their Monthly Meeting! Seen in this light we can say with absolute certainty that this couple is *not* the Quaker couple of Abingdon/ Drayton Berkshire, John Cox and Rachel Carr Cox. Aside from that there is no evidence that they ever had a daughter named Ann. There is not a single shred of actual, by that I mean not misattributed, evidence that John and Rachel had a daughter named Ann. Their only daughter was named Sarah. Cox is as common a surname as is Smith in England. Repetitions of the name are inevitable, which is why we have to be extremely careful when sourcing these older ancestors.

But there is plenty of evidence that William Cox and his wife Emmi Van der Coelen had daughters Ann and Amy. Ann married 1st Casarius Garrettson about 1712/1713 and 2nd Nathan Hussey in 1728.

^[3]From Quakers in Delaware in the Time of William Penn; Casparius Garretson and Ann Cox were married about 1712/1713. By the time Casparius died in December of 1726 they were parents of three sons, John, William and Joseph, a daughter Ann, and at least one more daughter.

Ann Cox married Casparus Garretson. In 1722 Casparus Garretson and William Cox Jr. bought land near each other a few miles east in Mill Creek Hundred Twp. When Ann’s husband, Casparus Garretson died in 1727, he specified legacies to his minor children, so when Ann proposed to marry her second husband, Nathan Hussey, in 1728, William Cox Jr. was brought in as some sort of trustee to represent the minor children’s rights, probably with regard to Casparus Garretson’s will.

After the death of Casparius Garretson, Ann (Cox) Garretson married Nathan Hussey, son of John Hussey, Jr. Casparius' brother Garret Garretson married Charity Hussey, a younger daughter of John and Rebecca Hussey. Thus the Garretson and Hussey families became much intertwined. Ann and Nathan Hussey moved to York County and had a daughter Susannah who married Joseph Updegraff. Ann (Cox) Garretson's children, Ann and John, married Nathan Hussey's siblings, Christopher (step-uncle) and Content (step-aunt), in New Castle, Delaware and promptly moved with Nathan to York County.

Kennett MM MINUTES 1686-1739, P. 198. 4-3 mo (May) 1728 Nathan Hussey and Ann Garretson appeared here and signified they continued their intentions of marriage and nothing appearing to obstruct the same they having consent of parents and the affairs of the estate is  ? By an obligation given into the hand of William Cox on behalf of the orphans. Therefore, we leave them to their liberty to accomplish the marriage according to truth and appoint John Richardson and John Trego to see the orderly accomplishment thereof.

On the marriage record, traditionally parents or close relatives of the bride and groom sign in the right hand column under the signatures of the bride and groom. The parents of Ann Cox Garretson and Nathan Hussey were not present, but Wm Cox signed in the right hand column of the marriage certificate as the first person representing the bride’s side. He also signed in that position on some of the marriages of the children of Ann Cox. These records imply, but do not prove, that Ann is the sister of William Cox, Jr., and thus daughter of William Cox and Amy.

One other point, it is inconceivable to me that Ann Cox would let John Cox and Rachel, live and die in abject poverty, if they were the parents of Ann. Both Casparus Garretson and Nathan Hussey were well to do.

I have a very large number of distant Cox dna matches, which would be consistent with a double descent from John Cox and Ann Cox. LJB

Death: Ann is said to have died Bef 25 September 1745 in Newberry Twp., York County, Pennsylvania

Sources

1. ↑ Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/51254391 : accessed 23 November 2017), memorial page for Ann Cox Garretson (1692–1743), Find A Grave Memorial no. 51254391, Find A Grave Memorial# 51254391
2. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J7M3-NHM : 11 February 2018, John Cox in entry for Ann Cox, 19 Jul 1696); citing , index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 88,393.
3. ↑ Quakers in Delaware in the Time of William Penn, by Herbert Standing, published 1982, p. 138-139: Online link

See Also

• SIX COLUMBIANA COUNTY, OHIO, PIONEER FAMILIES, Family 5. William Leech (1776-1865), and Jane Garretson: Ancestors and Descendants. by William Fetters, 1998 Online copy
• http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/QUAKER-ROOTS/1999-09/0936313106
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~gowenrf/husseyms_034.html
• http://www.pennock.ws/surnames/fam/fam06452.html