Continuing from the last post; Allen Erp sent a letter from Murfreesboro, TN in 1863 to Emberson & Millie Cox. He called them “brother & sister” in his letter. The thought is that since Allen & his wife, Sarah, could not read or write, someone wrote the letter for him & he sent it to a family member.

Walter Emberson Cox (1822-1879) was married to Millie Alexander (1834-1921). They lived in Sugar Creek Twp. of Clinton County, Indiana. They are buried in Hills Baptist Church Cemetery. Walter served in the US Army, Company F of 30^th Indiana Infantry from October 26, 1864 to August 15, 1865.

Allen Erp was married to Sarah Alexander, so Millie and Sarah were sisters. Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

However, there is some confusion out there about the Alexander families.

From what I have found, the father of both Sarah and Millie was William P. Alexander (1810-1863), his wife was Elizabeth Stogsdill. William P. is buried in Hills Baptist Church Cemetery.

William P.’s father was William Alexander (ca1777-1855), wife was Mary Hargis.

William & Mary had several children, how many is not clear. He is also often listed as Sarah Alexander’s father. I’m not sure what sources people use for this information, but it is the predominant theory. One problem is that the first Census to name all members of the household was the 1850 US Census and by then Sarah is married to Allen Erp and out of her father’s household.

The 1850 US Census for Clinton Co, IN has several Alexanders listed, including a few Williams and another Sarah Alexander of about the same age as my Sarah (she fits as being a wife of one of the Williams). And again, Sarah and Allen are already married by 1850 and show up in the same area of Clinton County as many of the Alexanders.

Also, the US Census record for William P. Alexander in Clinton County, IN, shows him and his wife Elizabeth; a 19 yr old daughter, Mary; 10 yr old daughter Oma A; and another 4 yr old girl named Sarah “Leioel”. So I guess people figure that this Sarah would be William P.’s daughter and it wouldn’t make sense to have another daughter named Sarah. The Census record is very difficult to read. But I did notice that the enumerator only listed 2 names when he was indicating first and last names, otherwise he used first name and an initial. So perhaps Sarah “Leioel” was a neighbor or family member who was visiting the home. I can’t find any similar names in the rest of the local Census region yet. So, still looking.

1850 US Census, Clinton County IN, Sugar Creek Twp.(from Ancestry.com)

• William P Alexander 40
• Elizabeth 44
• Mary 19
• Oma A 10
• Sarah “Leioel” 4
• Allen Erp 22
• Sarah 21
• William 5
• Hannah 2
• Andrew 2/12
• Walter E Cox 24
• Milla (Millie) 15

The Erps and Alexanders came from Pulaski Co, KY and moved to Clinton Co, IN.

Anyway, William P. and Elizabeth are listed as Sarah Alexander Erp’s parents in the family Bible record of her marriage, on her Death Certificate and in her obituary. Millie Cox is listed as her sister in the obit. Millie was still alive when Sarah died in 1912, so I doubt this listing was a mistake.

So, Walter Emberson Cox was Brother-in-law to Allen and Sarah, with Millie being Sarah’s sister.

Sarah and Millie had other siblings: Mary (1831-1907) who married Sam Boyer, Sr.; Nancy (ca 1833-1900) who married Nelson Louks; Malinda A. (1837-1848); Naomi America (1840-1857); then the mysterious Sarah “Leioel”.

Not much of a story here except a learning experience researching the family history.

So adding a few generations to the tree: William & Mary (Hargis) Alexander—son William P. & Elizabeth (Stogsdill) Alexander—dau Sarah Alexander & Allen Erp—dau Sarah Alzada Erp & Alva Boone—dau Mary G. Boone & Arza Millikan—dau Margaret P. Millikan & Loran McKinley—son (my father)–me.

© MJMcK 2016