William Cox (abt. 1812 - abt. 1894)

Born about 1812 in Lochee, Forfarshire, Scotland [uncertain]

Died about 7 Sep 1894 at about age 82 in Perthshire, Scotland [uncertain]

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Biography

William was born about 1812. He passed away about 1894. William was the second son of James Cox and he formed Cox Brothers Ltd as a copartnery with his three brothers, James Cox, Thomas Hunter Cox and George Addison Cox in 1841. A fourth brother, Henry Cox was generally resident in Calcutta to manage business interests there.

The Cocks family, later Cox, was in business from at least the 18th century. The firm of Cox Brothers was established by the four brothers James, William, Thomas and George in 1841 and became a limited company in 1893. In 1849 the original site at Foggyley became too small and the firm moved to Camperdown Works. It amalgamated with other jute firms in Dundee in 1920 to form Jute Industries Ltd. Products included jute and hemp yarns, ropes and twines, bags and sacks, hessians, striped beddings, tickings, horse clothing and tarpaulins. It went into voluntary liquidation in 1933.

The Cox family is reported to have been connected with parish of Liff and Benvie since the early 17th century. Their connection with the linen trade in Lochee dates from the beginning of the 18th century when a member of the Cox family was a small manufacturer in Lochee, then an insignificant village. He died in 1741 and was succeeded by his son David, who extended the business until 1793, when his son, James, became its manager. He was a man of considerable enterprise and standing, and was one of the original shareholders and partners of the Dundee Banking Company, instituted in 1777. In 1816 the fourth generation of the Cox family took possession of the works, which had been greatly extended, with bleaching greens covering over 25 acres. Three years afterwards the business suffered a considerable loss when the works, including warehouses filled with finishing cloth, were almost consumed by fire. The buildings, though temporarily repaired in order to run out the lease, were never properly restored, and soon afterwards were razed to the ground. The proprietor then removed to the most populous part of Lochee, and turned his attention to weaving the different fabrics for which the district was famous. On these premises the first broad hessian for the Manchester market was woven in 1815, which, although only 45 inches wide, caused considerable curiosity and excitement.

The last-named proprietor was succeeded by his son, James Cox, in 1827. He formed a copartnery with his three brothers, William Cox, Thomas Hunter Cox and George Addison Cox in 1841. A fourth brother, Henry Cox was generally resident in Calcutta to manage business interests there. Hand-loom weaving became gradually superseded by power-looms and the firm were quick to adopt the most recent improvements. Cox Brothers also took advantage of the growing importance of jute and, following the construction of Camperdown Works, begun in 1849, ultimately became one of the largest jute manufacturing companies in Europe. In a short time every operation connected with the manufacture of jute was performed within their premises. The works covered an area of 25 acres and employed about 5,000 workers. One of the most prominent features of the works was the giant chimney stack built from 1,000,001 bricks. A branch railway ran into the works from the Caledonian line to Dundee. In the 1880s Edward Cox, James' son, became associated with Camperdown Jute Works, and on his father's death in 1885 he was given a directing hand in its affairs. Following the conversion into a Limited Liability Company, in 1893, he acted as Chairman. In 1899 J Ernest Cox, Edward's son, joined the firm of Messrs Cox Brothers. In 1920 Jute Industries Ltd acquired companies in the city, including Cox Brothers Ltd. From 1920 until 1948 J Ernest Cox was a chairman of Jute Industries Ltd and its subsidiary companies.In 1890 the firm presented a 25 acre public park to Lochee.

Dundee City records that the Cox family were the pioneers of the area’s spinning, dyeing, bleaching and manufacturing of linen which then allowed them to donate important facilities and buildings to the area throughout the 19th century, such as, the public library, leisure centre and in 1890 the firm presented a 25 acre public park to Lochee.

William Cox was married twice. On 20 Mar 1854 William Cox married his first wife Robina Methven (1831-1861) and had a child that passed away at 6 months but also had another child called Florence (B.1856-1952) (See image of Robina with daughter Florence.

William Cox's family was very closely linked with the Methven family. Two Brothers George and William married Methven sisters ( Eliza and Robina) and William’s youngest sister (Helen) married David Methven the brother of Robina and Eliza (see images). The Methven and Cox families are both interesting in their own right.

In c.1864 William Cox married his second wife Elizabeth Boase (1831-1916)

The MyHeritage website states the following:

Elizabeth Cox (born Boase) was born circa 1832 to Henry Trembath Boase and Elizabeth Valentine Boase. Elizabeth married William Cox in 1864, at age 32. They had 5 children: Annie Elizabeth Kennedy (born Cox), Rosamond Jane Maria Laing (born Cox) and 3 other children. Elizabeth passed away 1916, at age 84.

The ancestry.co.uk website states the following:

Born in Penzance, Cornwall, England on 25 Jul 1831 to Henry Samuel Boase and Elisabeth Valentina Stoddard. Elisabeth Cox nee Boase married William Cox and had 6 children.

• Florence Ellen Cox 1856-1952 • William Henry Cox 1865-1945 • Arthur James Cox 1866-1950 • Albert Edward Cox 1868-1937 • Annie Elizabeth Cox 1870-1970 • Rosamond Jane Maria Cox 1872-1944

Elizabeth Cox (born Boase) passed away on 29 March 1916 in Northgate, Regents Park, London.

Sources

• Family memory, records and with many thanks to Cox family members who collected and saved family records and to the creator of the website: “The COX Family - in Angus and Perthshire”. Unfortunately, as of November 2021 this website, which had so much useful information seems to now consist of one blank page - see: https://coxlochee.co.uk

• Article about the Camperdown Works and Cox family on Wikipedia

• Cox Brothers Ltd, Jute Spinners and Manufacturers, and Cox Family Papers held by the The University of Dundee Archive Service available online through the Jisc Archives Hub

• The Friends of Dundee City Archives holds a copy of the Old Lochee Book 1911. From "Lochee" - As it was and is - by Alexander Elliot – 1911. This book has a chapter (No. 10) on The Cox Family.

• The Dundee Heritage Trust online collections database has a copy of an article 'A Family Empire' by James Mair. This traces the rise of the Cox brothers and a business which in its heyday spanned continents. See: The Dundee Heritage Trust

• Dundee City Council Archive

• For more details of the Cox brothers background and history see: The Albert Institute (now the McManus, Dundee’s Art Gallery and Museum)

• University of Dundee Archives Services Catalogue

• Lochee Park was donated to Dundee city by the Cox Brothers in 1890. Click here to see map of Lochee Park