Untitled From the Biographical Record of the Counties of Rock, Green, Grant, Iowa and Lafayette, Wisconsin, publ. 1901- page 614-616

JAMES P. COX enjoys the double distinction of being a son of one of Wisconsin's pioneers, and a gallant veteran of the war for the preservation of the Union. He was born in the town of Potosi, Grant county, Jan. 11, 1836, his father being Judge James P. COX, one of the foremost pioneers of this section of the State, whose name is held in reverential esteem.

Judge COX was born in Philadelphia in 1802, and, being left an orphan at the age of eight years, was reared in a Quaker family, who gave him the ordinary advantages of rudimentary education and apprenticed him to learn the trade of a tanner. The occupation did not prove to his liking, and on reaching the age of twenty-two years, his mind was made up to seek fresh fields and pastures new in what was then regarded as the extreme West. Accordingly, in 1824, he came to Wisconsin, settling in that portion of the (then) territory which is now Grant county. By virtue of intelligence and industry, perception and probity, he soon forged to the front. During those early days when Wisconsin was yet a Territory, he held the office of sheriff, his official jurisdiction extending over the region which now embraces the counties of Grant, Iowa and Crawford. He was at Prairie du Chien, when the grizzled old veteran, Zachary Taylor, commanded the garrison and when Jefferson Davis, afterward the president of the extinct Southern Confederacy, was a successful suitor for the hand of Taylor's daughter. Judge COX was a soldier in the Black Hawk war, and his widow yet draws a pension for his services in that conflict. Mrs. (Judge James P.) COX was Miss Caroline DAWSON before marriage, and her birthplace was Shawneetown, in Southern Illinois. Judge COX finally settled on a farm near Potosi, Grant county, giving the place the name of Osceola, by which it is still known. He served in the territorial legislature, and was a man of wide influence, and was made one of the judges of influence, and was made one of the judges of the territory. He was a man of broad mind and deep convictions, to which he was inflexibly loyal. A Whig before the formation of the Republican party, he acted with the latter from the outset of its existence, and was one of its chief organizers in Wisconsin. An ardent patriot, he warmly supported the war policy of President Lincoln, and lived to see the triumph of the old flag and the restoration of the Union. He pre-empted 400 acres of government land in the township of Lancaster, Grant county, and passed his later years in farming. He passed from earth in 1866, leaving an unblemished record in every relation of life, both public and private, and his demise was widely and deeply mourned. He was the father of nine children, all of whom attained maturity, although only four are yet living. Two of his sons, James P., Jr., and Thomas D., served in the Union army during the war of the rebellion. Thomas D. was a member of company C (Captain McKee's command), of the 2d Wis. V.I., and was killed in the first battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861, two days before completing his twenty-first year; he was the first soldier from Grant county to lay down his life as a sacrifice upon his company's altar, and his memory is honored and preserved in the naming of the Grand Army Post at Lancaster "Tom Cox."

A brief mention of the other members of the family cannot fail to prove of interest. Those who have died were Mrs. Harriet R. CLISE, the eldest child, Mrs. Anna M. CLISE, Henrietta and Rufus W. Besides Mr. James P. COX there are yet living Charles, whose home is near his brother James P., on the old homestead; John T., a resident of the township of Paris, Grant county; and Mrs. Elizabeth LANGUAGE, on an adjoining farm. Mrs. James P. COX, Sr., the mother of this family, is still living, at the age of ninety years.

James P. COX, the subject of this narrative, remained upon his father's farm until the outbreak of the Civil war. On Aug. 11, 1862, he enlisted as a private in Company H, 25th Wis. V.I. the regiment was mustered into service at La Crosse, and after taking part in the suppression of an Indian outbreak was dispatched to Columbus, Ky., proceeding thence to Vicksburg, Miss., where it participated in the celebrated siege of that city. After the surrender of the Southern stronghold, the young volunteer became ill, and was sent home on furlough. He rejoined his regiment, however, at Helena, Ark., in time to take part in the famous raid on Meridian, Miss. His health giving way a second time, he was sent to the hospital at Vicksburg, whence he was transferred to Jefferson barracks, in Missouri, and from that point to Prairie du Chien, Wis., where he remained until honorably discharged, at the close of his term of enlistment. His service as a soldier left him physically enfeebled, and he is yet a victim to those twin maladies of the old veterans - rheumatism and chronic diarrhea. In 1866 he was elected sheriff of Grant county, and filled that responsible office for two years. In 1868 he retired to his farm, where he yet resides, broken in health, but with mental faculties undimmed, and happy in the recollection of a life well spent.

He was married in 1874 to Miss Margaret H. McKENZIE, a daughter of the late James McKENZIE, one of the Grant county's honored pioneers, who was born in Philadelphia in 1794, a son of Alexander MCKENZIE, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, the story of whose life reads like a romance. While walking along the beach near his home, a mere youth, he was seized by the hated and dreaded "press gang," and forced aboard a British man-of-war, where he did compulsory service for three years. During the war of the Revolution the vessel on which he was virtually a prisoner was cruising in American waters, and young McKENZIE, with eleven companions, resolved to make an effort to escape. The coast was seven miles distant, yet they jumped overboard and swam for shore. Of the party that made this daring plunge for freedom, only five regained their liberty, the others sinking beneath the waves through exhaustion, or being struck by shot from the vessel's guns, which, after the fact of the escape was ascertained, kept up a perpetual firing. After landing upon American soil Alexander MCKENZIE lost no time in joining the patriotic army, and after a service of four years, had the pleasure of seeing the independence of the colonies recognized by the Crown. The remainder of his life was passed near Philadelphia, and there he died while his son James (the father of Mrs. COX) was yet a child. He was the son of a royal house in Scotland, but unfortunately Mrs. COX does not know its history well enough to relate it. James McKENZIE was one of a family of five children, three of whom were sons. The eldest child is Mrs. Elizabeth ELLISON, of Philadelphia; the second, Mrs. Margaret HANLEY, resided with her husband on a large plantation in Kentucky, and died there many years ago; Thomas (also deceased) was an esteemed citizen of Terre Haute, Ind.; Alexander, a twin brother of James, lived and died on a Kentucky plantation, adjoining that of his sister.

James was apprenticed to the trade of cabinet maker while a youth, but before the close of his apprenticeship had expired he enlisted in the army to take part in the war of 1812. He served as second lieutenant in the regiment commanded by Col. Cadwallader, and at the close of the struggle was given the honorary title of colonel, by which he was known during the remainder of his life, and his figure and martial bearing well substantiated his claim to the distinction. The name was long known and honored in both Kentucky and Wisconsin. It was in Kentucky that he married Lucintha ROUNDTREE, and it was in the early days of their married life (in 1836) that the young couple removed to the Territory of Wisconsin, becoming the first settlers in what is now the township of Ellenboro. He erected a sawmill and a flouring mill there, and "McKENZIE's mill" soon became famous far and near. He was a man of quick intelligence, kindly disposition and absolutely unflagging energy. He was eminently social, a genial host, and while remarkably successful in business, his native generosity was a constant bar to this accumulation of wealth. He was a Mason of high degree, and in no relation of life was he ever found derelict. In 1850 he made a trip to California, returning after an absence of two years. In early life he was a Whig, but two affiliated with the Democratic party. He died upon his farm in Ellenboro Aug.21, 1881, having rounded out a life of earnest perseverance and good work, honored by the community whose best interests he had labored to advance, and sincerely mourned by the many friends who had learned to love him for his many virtues, not the least of which was his quick, tender sympathy for all who were in distress.

To James McKENZIE and his wife were born seven children, three of whom are deceased. Henry, the eldest son, died at Ellenboro in 1885. The youngest son, Harrison MCKENZIE, enlisted in May, 1861, in Company C, 2d Wis. V.I., and lost his life on the field of Antietam, Sept. 17, 1862. John, whose home was near Stockton, Cal., died there at 6 o'clock on the morning of Jan. 4, 1901. Those of the family who yet survive, besides Mrs. COX are Mrs. BARNETT, of Milwaukee, Mrs. Nancy CLISE, of Seattle, Wash., and Mrs. Belle SPENCER, of Minneapolis.



This biography generously submitted by Carol Holmbeck