The Cobbs of Lincoln
County, North Carolina
(And the surrounding area)
Chapter Two - 1850
Contents (In Chronological Order):
1850 Census – Lincoln County,
North Carolina
1850 Census – Gaston County,
North Carolina
1850 Census – Cleveland County,
North Carolina
1850 Census – Catawba County,
North Carolina
Sidenotes & Mysteries:
Cass County, Georgia
Lumpkin County, Georgia
York District, South Carolina
Beginning with this enumeration, each person in a household was listed
by name, rather than simply categorized by age and sex. In a way, it seems that should make all this
easier. Yes and No. Especially in the case where a common name is
found ... like William, John, Mary, etc --- many researchers have claimed the
same person.
It will be noted also that by 1850, many of the descendants of Ambrose
Cobb (Sr) from the 1790 census have left the area or grown up and started
families of their own, and we are now dealing with an almost entirely new Cobb
population.
Finally, before we begin the reader is reminded there were three new
counties created from Lincoln
since the previous census in 1840 ... Catawba, Cleveland, and Gaston. Many families did not move an inch, but
overnight found they were then living in a different county.
LINCOLN COUNTY, NORTH
CAROLINA
17
July 1850 – Township not given
|
John Cline
|
|
Age
|
54
|
Born
|
NC
|
|
Elizabeth
|
|
|
55
|
|
NC
|
|
George M.
|
|
|
22
|
|
NC
|
|
Harriet
|
|
|
18
|
|
NC
|
|
William
|
|
|
16
|
|
NC
|
|
M.A. Cobb (f)
|
|
|
27
|
|
NC
|
|
Wm W Cobb
|
|
|
03
|
|
NC
|
The female “M.A.” was Margaret Adline, daughter of John
and Elizabeth Cline, and widow of William W. Cobb. He was the son of William Halsey Cobb and
Jane Connely, and the grandson of Clisby Cobb and wife Margaret Halsey
Young. William W. Cobb Sr was born 25
March 1820, and died 08 September 1845.
He is buried in the Methodist Church Cemetery
in Lincolnton, North Carolina.
Margaret married Jacob Frederick Heim within five years
after this census. She had two children
by Jacob ... James B. and Jane, apparently twins born about 1855. By 1870, Jacob was also deceased, and Margaret
was listed as the head of her own household on the census taken that year. She and her three children were living in the
Ironton Township
of Lincoln
County.
William W. Cobb Jr was still single and living with his
mother in 1870. About 1875, he married Adelaide E. “Addie”
Cansler (sic). They had five children;
Samuel H, Hampton, Mamie, Addie, and William.
By 1880, this family had moved to Oconee
County, South Carolina.
17
July 1850 – Township not given
|
Joseph C. Cobb
|
|
Age
|
24
|
Born
|
NC
|
|
Margaret E.
|
|
|
23
|
|
NC
|
|
B.C. (m)
|
|
|
02
|
|
NC
|
This was Joseph Cameron Cobb, another son of William
Halsey Cobb, and grandson of Clisby Cobb.
He was born 08 May 1822, and died 16 September 1895. He is buried in St Luke’s Episcopal Cemetery
at Lincolnton. His wife was Margaret
Eliza Butts, who he married on 25 October 1847, in Lincoln County. She was born 23 July 1827, and died 29 May
1897. She is buried beside her husband.
In his book, “Annals of Lincoln County”,
William L. Sherrill commits an error with reference to Joseph Cameron
Cobb. The 1870 census of Lincolnton
shows the household of this Joseph Cobb.
With him is an 85-year old widow named Elizabeth.
Sherrill claims this person was Elizabeth Miller, who married Robert
Cobb in Lincoln County in 1818, and that she was the mother of Joseph
Cobb. This is incorrect for two reasons:
First, a close examination of the census enumeration shows that the widow
Elizabeth was named Butts, and thus she was the mother of Joseph’s wife. Second, the Robert Cobb who married Elizabeth
Miller had moved to what is now McMinn
County, Tennessee by
1830. As stated above, Joseph Cameron
Cobb was the son of William Halsey Cobb, who incidentally was a younger brother
of the Robert Cobb that Sherrill claimed was Joseph’s father.
The child listed on this enumeration was son Beverly
Cameron Cobb, born August 1848, and died 1902-1910, probably in
Lincolnton. He lived in Lincolnton all
his life and was enumerated on every census taken there from birth to
death. He was an Attorney by
profession. He was married twice: (1st)
Jane McBee, daughter of Vardry Alexander and Mary (Sumner) McBee. Jane was born 22 March 1850, and died 12
December 1881. She is buried at St Luke’s
Episcopal in Lincolnton. (2nd) May “Last
Name Unknown” before 1893. This marriage
produced four children ... Margaret 1891, Catherine 1895, Mary 1899, and
Beverly Jr 1902. May was last enumerated
on the 1910 census of Lincoln
County.
Joseph Cameron Cobb and Margaret Butts had one more child
after the 1850 census, son John L. Cobb.
He was born 16 April 1854, and died 14 June 1926. He is buried at St Luke’s Episcopal in
Lincolnton. He lived in Lincolnton all
his life and was listed on every census taken there from birth to death. He married Lucy Schenck sometime after
1880. They apparently had no
children. Lucy was born 20 November
1862, and died 29 August 1892. She is
buried beside her husband.
15 August 1850 – Township not given
|
Rufus Cobb
|
|
Age
|
21
|
Born
|
NC
|
|
|
Martha
|
|
|
20
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Charlotte V/N
|
|
|
10M
|
|
NC
|
|
This was William Rufus Cobb, son of Robert Cobb and Eleanor
Phillips, grandson of James Cobb and Sarah
“Sally” Beach,
and great grandson of Ambrose Cobb (Sr) from the 1790 census. He was one of the very few Ambrose Cobb
descendants remaining in the area by 1850.
He was born 14 January 1828. He
moved to Catawba County before 1860, and died there 11
February 1902. He is buried in the
Wesley’s Chapel Methodist
Church Cemetery
in Catawba County.
Rufus was married twice: (1st) Martha “Patsy” Linebarger
about 1848. There were five children
produced from this marriage ... Charlotte Virginia 1849, Luther 1851, Nancy
1853, James 1854, and Araminta 1858.
Martha was born 02 March 1829, and died 23 March 1862, and was buried at
Concord Methodist
Church in Catawba County. (2nd) Sophia P. Abernathy on 20 July 1862 in Catawba County.
There were seven children produced from this marriage ... son Avery
1866, Susan 1867, Ella 1868, Henry 1871, Lucy 1873, Ina 1877, and Junius
William 1879. Sophia was born 05 August
1841, and died 09 October 1926. She is
buried beside her husband at Wesley’s Chapel.
GASTON COUNTY, NORTH
CAROLINA
15 October 1850 – Township not given
|
Robert Cobb
|
|
Age
|
22
|
Born
|
NC
|
|
Leanah
|
|
|
23
|
|
NC
|
|
Ellen
|
|
|
85
|
|
NC
|
|
Harriet
|
|
|
05
|
|
NC
|
|
Lawson
|
|
|
02
|
|
NC
|
|
Sarah
|
|
|
01M
|
|
NC
|
This was Robert Cobb, son of Robert Cobb and wife Eleanor
“Ellen” Phillips, grandson of James Cobb and Sarah “Sally”
Beach, and great grandson of Ambrose
Cobb (Sr) from the 1790 census. The
census taker erred recording the age of all three adults in this
household. Robert and his wife were
actually about thirty by 1850, while Robert’s mother Ellen was actually about
sixty. Robert had married Leanah Hope in
Lincoln County on 14 December 1841. They had a total of six children ... the
three shown here plus Wesley 1851, Georgiana 1858, and John 1865. Sometime after this census, Robert moved his
family back to Lincoln
County where they are
found in 1860 and 1870. By 1880, they
were back in Gaston
County. The elderly Ellen Cobb was still living in
1870 with daughter Martha and her husband Wesley H. Moore. Robert’s final fate is not known, but some
information about his wife provides a clue.
Leanah Hope was born 17 March 1821, and died 30 March
1883 in Cherokee County, South
Carolina. She
is buried in the Old
Blacksburg City
Cemetery beside her
daughter Harriet who had died just nine days before.
16 August 1850 – Township not given
Mary A. Cobb Age 12 Born
NC
She was living in the household
of 65-year old widow Jane McCade. This
child is not identified. There were no
familiar sounding names living nearby.
07 August 1850 – Township not given
|
Margaret Cobb
|
|
Age
|
50
|
Born
|
NC
|
|
Margaret E.
|
|
|
16
|
|
NC
|
|
Sarah J.
|
|
|
13
|
|
NC
|
|
Mathew Hay
|
|
|
75
|
|
NC
|
This was Margaret Dickson McCarter, widow of Clisby Cobb
Jr, son of Clisby Cobb Sr and Margaret
Halsey Young. Margaret was born 30
November 1799, and died 17 January 1865.
She was buried beside her husband who had died 09 September 1848, in the
Bethel Presbyterian
Church Cemetery
in York District, South Carolina. He was born 25 May 1792. Margaret and Clisby married about 1815, and
apparently had only the two daughters listed on this census.
Margaret E. Cobb was born 05 November 1834, and died 17
February 1856. Sometime after the 1850
census she married one R.L. Simmons. She
is also buried at Bethel
Presbyterian Church with her parents.
Sarah Jane Cobb was born 06 January 1837, and died 17
April 1915. She married Charles Q. Petty
on 28 December 1852, in York District,
South Carolina. The Petty’s were a notable family, Charles
serving as Major of the 49th North
Carolina Infantry Regiment during the War Between the
States. They are also buried at Bethel Presbyterian
Church. Their marriage produced eight
children.
CLEVELAND COUNTY, NORTH
CAROLINA
25 September 1850 – Township not given
|
William Cobb
|
|
Age
|
46
|
Born
|
NC
|
Occ: Shoemaker
|
|
Martha
|
|
|
41
|
|
NC
|
|
|
James
|
|
|
22
|
|
NC
|
Occ: Carpenter
|
|
Anderson
Linn
|
|
|
23
|
|
NC
|
Occ: Millwright
|
|
Elizabeth Linn
|
|
|
20
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Mary Cobb
|
|
|
17
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Julia A. Cobb
|
|
|
13
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Harmon Cobb
|
|
|
12
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Nancy Cobb
|
|
|
09
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Wilson Cobb
|
|
|
06
|
|
NC
|
|
|
George Cobb
|
|
|
04
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Jerry Cobb
|
|
|
02
|
|
NC
|
|
|
Martha J. Cobb
|
|
|
01
|
|
NC
|
|
This is William Cobb and his wife Martha Harmon, who he
married in Lincoln
County on 15 February
1827. They were not enumerated in their
own household in 1830, thus they were evidently living with her parents. The first positive identification of this family
is the 1840 census of Lincoln
County.
DNA analysis of multiple proven
descendants has now shown that this William Cobb had a common ancestry with
Ambrose Cobb (Sr) from the 1790 census.
Thus far I have been completely unable to comfortably fit him to any of
the sons of Ambrose Cobb.
This enumeration shows William, his wife Martha, and all
ten of their children. Elizabeth Linn
was their daughter who died in 1855.
Wife Martha died in 1868, and William married a second time before 1870,
to a widow Catherine Collins who had three children by her first husband Thomas
Howell. Then William and Catherine had
two children of their own ... Florence
1872, and Thomas L. 1875. The exact date
of death and place of burial for William and Catherine are not known, but they
were still living in 1880 in Cleveland
County.
19 October 1850 – Township not given
|
Nancy Cobb
|
|
Age
|
40
|
Born
|
SC
|
|
Elizabeth
|
|
|
19
|
|
NC
|
|
Samuel / Lemuel
|
|
|