Introduction

Reuben Cox lived with his parents in Hill End and worked as a blacksmith. He died young and remained single throughout his life. He attended Bible Christian meetings, and when he was 23, he and another young man were found guilty of assaulting a servant girl after leaving one of these meetings.

Birth

Reuben was born on 9 June 1839 at Hardington, the fourth of five children born to Thomas Gill Cox and his wife, Joanna (nee Cleal).[1] His father was a weaver who later became a farm labourer and ran a shop from their home at Hill End.

Occupation

By April 1861, Reuben was employed as a blacksmith, probably by Job Taylor. He continued in this occupation for the remainder of his life.[2]

Crime

Reuben Cox was one of the four young men accused of assaulting the nineteen-year-old Charlotte Frampton on Sunday, 15 February 1863, after leaving a Bible Christian meeting at Prospect Farm. At 23 years old, he was the oldest of the four and probably the main instigator. The next day, his father tried to buy Charlotte’s silence with two or three sovereigns, but her employer, Mrs Whebby, insisted that she proceed with the prosecution. The case was heard before two magistrates on 4 March 1863. They concluded that the evidence against the two younger men was insufficient, but fined Reuben and his accomplice, Simeon Abbott, 40s each, along with costs of 6 shillings and 6 pence, or three weeks in prison.^[3]

Final illness and death

In July 1864, Reuben suffered a ruptured blood vessel, which led to the onset of tuberculosis. He died on 5 April 1865 at the age of 25.[4]

Unfortunately, poor health affected most of his siblings as well. Maria died from “decline” on 30 December 1866 at the age of 31, while Letitia, the wife of Henry John Hooper, passed away from tuberculosis on 24 May 1871 at the age of 26.[5] Only Alfred lived to an old age, passing away around the age of 80.

References

[1] Birth certificate of Reuben Cox; one of Reuben’s siblings, also named Reuben, died in infancy before he was born.

[2] Death certificate of Reuben Cox.

[3]Western Gazette, 7 March 1863, p. 2; Sherborne Mercury, 10 March 1863, p. 2.

[4] Death certificate of Reuben Cox.

[5] Death certificate of Maria Cox; death certificate of Letitia Hooper.