Fox, Henry

An Outline of Four Generations of the Family Of Henry Fox (1768-1852)
and His Wife, Sarah Harrell Fox (1772-1848), of South Carolina and Mississippi
  
By  Shirley Faucette and William D. McCain, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 1971
 
Preface
 
The descendants of Henry Fox (1768-1852) and Sarah Harrell Fox {1772-1848) organized and held their first reunion on October 16, 1955, in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Building, Grenada County, Miss.
 
Shirley Faucette, a descendant of William Fox, the first child of Henry Fox and Sarah Harrell Fox, was elected family Historian. She did a magnificent work in collecting information on the Fox family and in assembling the results of her research into usable form. In October, 1964, she issued an Outline of Fox Family History, a mimeographed publication of thirteen pages. She gave special credit to Joseph E. Steadman, Sr., Batesburg, S.C.; Z. F. Shelton, Montgomery, Ala.; James C. Fox, Monticello, Ark.; Mrs. Bessie Fox Truly, Natchez, Miss.; and Mrs. Emma Shirley Fox Faucette, Clinton, Miss., for the research they had done on the Fox family. There, of course, were many other people who helped the first Historian of the family and there are many who have helped the second Historian.
 
Three of those who helped the present Historian are Mrs. Jimmie Ruth Dunham Eash, San Antonio, Tex.; Mrs. Marye William Fox Goodhart, Grenada, Miss.; and Mrs. Lillian Jewell Fox Pryor, Grenada, Miss.
 
The fact should be mentioned that the most faithful assistants in this genealogical research have been the great-great-great-great-grandsons of Unity Fox Pryor, William David McCain, III, and John Woodward McCain, II. They have been joined by their father, Dr. William David McCain, Jr., by their sister, Anne Leicester McCain; and even by their grandmother, Mrs. William David McCain (Minnie Leicester Lenz McCain).
 
The Shirley Faucette Outline of Fox Family History contains information on Henry Fox and Sarah Harrell Fox and their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. One purpose of the present Historian is to add in this volume another generation so as to include the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren of this pioneer couple. The first Historian had compiled information on the great-great-grandchildren, but had not published it. Another objective of the present Historian was to make at least one thousand additions of dates, names, and other information to the material collected by the first Historian on these four generations. He has far exceeded that number.
 
The fact should be made clear that there are errors in this volume. Members of the family should send in corrections and additional information to the present Historian. It is his purpose eventually to issue a volume which will contain basic information on the member of all known generations of this family.
 
Specific information on Henry Fox, who was born on June 12, 1768, and who died on January 18, 1852, and his wife Sarah Harrell Fox, who was born on July 30, 1772, and who died in 1848, was printed in Shirley Faucette, Outline of Fox Family History, and is quoted as follows:
 
“Henry Fox was born in Richland Dist., S. C., and was married there to Sarah Harrell, the daughter of William Harrell. William Harrell was married in N.C. in the mid 1700’s to Unity Fox, who may be the ‘Noona’ shown as daughter of William Fox of Brunswick County, Va., (later Charleston, S.C.) and his wife Sarah Avent.
 
“In South Carolina Henry Fox settled on or near his father’s place in Richland County and remained there until about 1814, when he moved to Cooke County, East Tenn. It is said that this was very rough country and that after seeing a fight between two women at a public gathering, he moved to Tuscaloosa Co., Ala., and settled on Sypsy River, 13 miles north of Tuscaloosa, probably about 1819. All of their children, except possibly Dorcas, were born in S.C., and several of them had married and had children before leaving there.
 
When Henry Fox emigrated from S.C. to Tenn. the group included his children and their families; Mrs. Nancy Johnson, the widow of Benjamin Johnson (will filed 1805 in Richland Dist., S.C., Book D) and children Unity Johnson Brent, Dorcas Johnson Hughes and family, Joseph Johnson, and John C. Johnson; and the Wooten family. Benjamin Johnson is speculated to have been the son of Benjamin Johnson and Mary Claiborne Fox.
 
“About 1835 he moved to what was then Choctaw County (formed 1833) and settled near Slate Springs on the edge of what later became Webster County. His oldest son William had previously settled at DeKalb, his sons John and Jacob and daughter Dorcas remained in Ala., but the remainder settled near him in Miss., and Jacob came about 1866. He and his family were charter members of Bethany Baptist Church organized in 1836, and he and several sons were among the first deacons and were prominent members. He, his wife, and several of the children are buried in the family cemetery on his homeplace near Slate Springs. A historical marker was placed at the site in 1960 by the Fox Family Reunion members.”
 
The present Historian had a great amount of assistance from many people in compiling and publishing this volume. Three members of his official staff deserve special gratitude and consideration for their faithful services. Mrs. Pauline Rogers Stout did a great amount of work in placing the third generation in proper alignment with the first two and in attending to many details of the work of the Historian. Miss Barbara Thompson was most helpful in devising a format to fit the style and organization formulated by Shirley Faucette and she was most patient and careful in preparing the manuscript. Mrs. James D. Mawk (her husband is a descendant of Mary Fox Denton and David Denton) carefully and meticulously prepared the index. These ladies made it possible for this volume to appear.
 
William D. McCain
Fox Family Historian
Southern Station, Box 1
Hattiesburg, Mississippi
October 10, 1971

Table of Contents
 
Preface ii
 
I. William Fox 1
 
II. John Fox 18
 
III. Thomas Fox 19
 
IV. Henry Fox 43
 
V. Winnie Fox 58
 
VI. Joseph Carroll Fox 59
 
VII. Ann Fox 93
 
VIII. Mary (Polly) Fox 94
 
IX. Jacob Fox 104
 
X. Unity Fox 141
 
XI. Agnes Fox 175
 
XII. James Thigpen Fox 176
 
XIII. Dorcas Fox 185
 
Index 193
 

59
 
VI
JOSEPH CARROLL FOX
 
Joseph Carroll Fox, b 1-25-1802, Richland District, S.C.;
d 6-30-1879, Slate Springs, Miss.;
m Margaret M. Crosslin (Crossland),
b 5-19-1805, Tenn,; d 5-30-1876, Slate Springs, Miss.
 
Children:
 
6-A William (Billy) Fox
b 1826
d 12- -1864
m 1 - - 1850
Mary Ann Hearn
b 10-10-1830
d 9-23-1901
 
Children:
 
6-A1: Mary Edna Fox
 b 8-7-1861
d 4-9-1904
m 1-27-1881
John Robert Skelton
b 10-30-1858
d 1-8-1940
 
children:
 
6-A1-1 Margaret Ann Skelton
b 10-28-1881
d 7-27-1956
m 12-16-1900
Byron Leslie Vance
b
d
 
6-A1-2: Scott Braden Skelton
b 1-31-1883
d 1-9-1932
m 12-2-1906
Edgie Vance
b 1-3-1887
d 4-26-1966

79
 
VI
JOSEPH CARROLL FOX
 
 
Children:
 
xx-E1: William Joseph Vance
b 10-17-1846
d 1-9-1907
m
Welarga (Wealtha) Mitt Moore
b 4-28-1848
d 3-27-1912
 
Children:
 
6-E1-1: Lyda (Lida) Vance
b 12-13-1878
d 12-13-1964
m
James Edgar Taylor
b 10-1-1873
d 10-26-1937
 
6-E1-2: Sallie Vance
b 10-27-1879
d 3-8-1957
 
6-E1-3: Mattie Vance
b 7-9-1881
d
 
6-E1-4: Litha Vance
b 3-5-1886
d 12-23-1918
m
Burt S. Ward
b
d
 
6-E1-5: James Burris Vance
b
d
m
Velma Rogers
b
d