We were muddling through this part of the family tree.  First we needed to make sense of this information that Captain John Fox married his cousin Catharine.  The information came from the Cornerstone Genealogical Society and it was some hefty clues.


Henry Fox (born about 1832) married Clarissa (nee Long).  Henry Fox's parents were...cousins.

"...Henry Fox was a son of Catherine Fox and John 'Captain John' Fox.  This family did appear in the 1850 Census for Perry Township.  It appears that his parents were cousins.  Catharine was the daughter of Peter Fox and Mary Thomas, and 'Captain John' was the son of Joseph Fox and Jane 'Jennie' Wilson" (Correspondence Cornerstone Genealogical Society, 13 JUNE 2011, Yeager to Lane).

So Catharine's parents were Peter Fox and Mary Thomas.

And Capt. John's parents were Joseph Fox and Jane "Jennie" Wilson.

So Catharine and John were NOT siblings, but Catharine's father and John's father WERE brothers.


We found some ancestral file information on FamilySearch which we need to compare more thoroughly to whatever civilized records we can find.

The file information tells us that Captain John was married twice in his eighty-two years of life.

He married Clarissa Jones DYE of Greene County who was also born in the new century year 1800.

But he also married his cousin Catharine Fox, 20 years his senior.

While the ancestral file tells us that he and Catharine had one child:

James FOX born 25 Feb 1836 Greene Co, PA


We seem to find these people with a house full more in the census of 1850.

There they've got...

An 18 year old HENRY (born in 1832, we believe this is OUR Henry who went on to marry Clarissa Long).

Fifteen year old Eti.

James is 14.

Luerettia, twelve.

Maryann is ten.

Malissa only six.

And then there's Mary.  She's 22 years old and she's written down as "idiotic."

The 1850 Census does not show us relationship to head of household so we shouldn't assume that the seven young people are the children of JOHN & CATHARINE. But we did receive word from the people at Cornerstone Genealogical Society that HENRY was the child of Captain John and Catharine.

The story fills in with the ancestral file information.  While Captain John's father was Joseph Fox, Catharine's was PETER FOX (born 1755 to John Peter and Elsi Tate FOX).  Peter married Mary Thomas.

PETER & MARY had seven children:  Margaret, Elizabeth, William, Mary, Peter, CATHARINE (born 5 MAY 1801, died 30 APRIL 1858), and Henry (born in April of 1803, NOT our Henry who married Clarissa).

If Catharine was born in MAY of 1801 and Captain John was born in JUNE of 1800, well that makes them almost the same age!  So...maybe we're reading the US CENSUS 1850 wrong OR somebody listed her age incorrectly OR this is the wrong Fox home to be thinking of as family unit which is most likely the case.

Have a look...

Clearly you can see that there are two Peter Foxes and you can see a Susannah next door to Henry about the same age...these may be the Henry Fox and Susannah (Dulaney) who married and who produced the children which includes Dennis Fox.

We're in it up to our eyeballs with Fox cousins getting married because that pegs the responsibility for sorting out this thicket on us through two of the three brothers.

That's right. Peter and Joseph had one other brother--Phillip.  Phillip was born in 1760. JOSEPH in 1753. And Peter in 1755.  According to the "ancestral file" information on familysearch.org and these were the children of JOHN PETER & ELSI (TATE) FOX. And all three boys were born in New Jersey.

That part of New Jersey which was the winter camp site of the Continental Army in 1779 and again in 1779/80. That part of New Jersey was named Morris County on the 15th of March 1739 and then in 1753 Sussex County was created out of Morris County land.

John Peter Fox was born in 1720 in "German Valley" later Morris County, New Jersey. And the file tells us that Elsi Tate was born the same year. Since their first child Phillip was born in 1753 we can figure that John Peter and Elsi (Tate) probably got married around that time or at least probably before 1753. And that these brothers were born in New Jersey shows that this was the generation of Fox that came to Greene County from New Jersey as mentioned in Dennis Fox's biographical sketch in Bates' History.

The ancestral file gives us the names of the parents of John Peter: Johannes Pieter FUCHS (FOX) born around 1679 & Anna Margartha Maria FUCHS (FOX), born prior to 1713. This couple had three children: Elizabeth, born 14 Feb 1713 Fox Hill, Morris, New Jersey; George, born 1700, Palatinate, Germany, DEATH 27 Apr 1751, Hunterdon Co., New Jersey; JOHN PETER, born 4 Mar 1720 German Valley, Morris Co, N.J., DEATH 17 Mar 1783, Sussex, NJ, BURIAL 10 Mar 1783.

The file says Anna Margartha Maria Fox died after 1720 which is the year that JOHN PETER was born.

JOHN PETER died the 17th of MARCH 1783 in then Sussex County, New Jersey. But at least two of his sons, so far as we can see, Joseph and Peter moved to and eventually died in Greene County, Pennsylvania.

"Ancestral files" are "compilations of entries submitted by individuals (not just Latter Day Saint Church members) listing their relatives. Living individuals are shown only if they are LDS members and specifically give permission. Your distant relative may have submitted your mutual relatives to this file" (45, Anderson and Thode).

Anderson and Thode also report that many Germanic given names were Saint's names, but not all.

And..."In a few regions, there may be a pattern of the oldest son being given the father's father's name; the oldest daughter being given the mother's mother's name; the second son being given the mother's father's name; and the second daughter being given the father's mother's name. In other areas, the first baptismal sponsor ("godfather") provides the first given name; the second one, the second given name. Baptismal sponsors were generally, but not necessarily, related to one of the parents. Be aware that possible regional and religious idiosyncrasies may occur" (17 A GENEALOGIST'S GUIDE TO DISCOVERING YOUR GERMANIC ANCESTORS).

Baptisms of the three official religions (Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed) took place within a few days of birth and involved "christenings" while splinter religions re-baptized their members as adults when the choice regarding baptism was morally made by the individual.

During John Peter's lifetime the Revolutionary War took place and it was in his place in Jersey where the Continental Army camped during the brutal winters of 1777 and '79-'80.  But it's directly through John Peter's sons, Peter and Joseph, that we take on the brunt of this story in this blogspace.

__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __

So we need to look at Captain John Fox as married to three different women.

And through a closer reading of a couple different pedigree chart files and some ancestral files we know that...

Clarissa Jones Dye was born abt 1800.

Clarissa Jones Dye was born 2 JAN 1830.  And she died on the 26th of April 1887.

Catherine Fox who married Captain John Fox abt 1820 lived from 1801-1858.  Catherine Fox was Captain John's first wife.  Her proper vital statistic dates seem to be (1 MAR 1801-30 APR 1858) and so she is ascribed as the mother of Captain John's children born between 1800-1860 to be on the safe side.  These children of Clarissa married to Captain john included:

John Hudson Fox (9 FEB 1863-1938)
Ulysses S. "Grant" Fox (15 JAN 1864-16 MAR 1949)
Samuel Fox (born 1866
Deford Fox, born 13 MAY 1867
Lindsay Fox, born 7 AUG 1869, died 1948


So to Captain John's second spouse, Clarissa, is the tentative list...

Samuel D. Fox (1861-after 1880)
John Hudson, Jr Fox (9 FEB 1863-1938)
Ulysses S. Grant Fox (15 JAN 1865-16 MAR 1949)
Deford F. Fox (13 MAY 1867 -July 1966)

This IGI information, the list ascribed to Clarissa are the children born to John Hudson Captain Fox (Born 15 JUNE 1800 at Fox Run, near mount Morris, Greene County, PA---Died 22 MAY 1882, Greene County, PA).

The John Fox who is on an ancestral file list of children of Joseph Fox when he was married to "Jennie" jane Wilson (Martin Fox born 1790, Isaac Fox born 1793, Rebecca Fox born 1794, John Fox born 1800, James Wilson Fox born 1803, Charity Fox born 1805, Mary Fox born 1807, Elizabeth born 1809.

And there is a pedigree chart file which gives us further information about Jane "Jennie" Wilson.  She was born in 1764 in Tennent Township, Monmouth County, New Jersey and died 1834 in Perry Township, Greene County, PA.  Jane's parents were James Wilson (born 5 July 1721 Middlesex County, NJ) and Margaret Perrine (born 1728 Perrinville, Monmouth, New Jersey---Married to James Wilson 3 MAR 1743 in Perth Amboy, Middelsex, New Jersey---Died 24 JAN 1779.

The Jane Wilson who married Joseph Fox, married the Joseph Fox (1753-1847) whose parents were Elsie Tate (1720-1770) and John Peter Fox (4 MAR 1720-10 MAR 1783).  This couple came from New Jersey and settled in Greene County, PA.

Then their son John Hudson Captain Fox was born on the 15th of June 1800 at Fox Run, near Mount Morris, Greene County, PA.

His spouse to be...Catharine Fox (born 5 MAR 1801, married Capt. John abt 1820, died 30 APR 1858).  Their children: 
William Fox (14 SEPT 1821-24 JULY 1911)
Josephus or Jocephas Fox (died 19 FEB 1901)
Lewis Fox (Sept 1829-after 1880)
Henry Fox (4 MAR 1831-12 JAN 1898)
Eli Fox (7 FEB 1834-14 DEC 1913)
James Fox (25 FEB 1836-31 MAR 1928)
Lucretia Fox (28 FEB 1838-29 MAR 1879)
Mary Ann Fox (born abt 1840)
Frank Marion Fox (born abt 1840, died 1911)

We can compare all this information to Census Records and see...

In Perry Township 1850:
Catharine Fox, age 49
John Fox, age 29 ? 49 ?
Eti Fox (probably Eli) age 16
James Fox, age 14
Luerettia Fox, age 12
Mary Ann, age 10
Malissa Fox, age 6
Mary Fox, age 22

And overlay the different types of information.



And we can look forward int he Census Records and see, for example,