The Cox and Gipson Families, Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana Submitted to the USGenWeb Archives by Sandra McLellan, Oct 2006 Special thanks to Jim Perrin for donating it to the archives. ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ************************************************ THE COX AND GIPSON FAMILIES BY JIM PERRIN, Local Historian A broken marble obelisk, and a simple concrete marker with two names lie in Wetmore Cemetery, reminding us of two early Wadesboro families who helped develop that river community. Aaron Cox, born about 1797 in North Carolina, and his wife Lavinia Isom, born about 1818 in Kentucky, were among the settlers who located at the small but busy port of Wadesborough. Aaron Cox, said to be from New Orleans, purchased half of a five acre tract of land in Wadesborough from a local merchant named Christian Grenes in 1858. Aaron had moved to Louisiana by the 1840's but had first settled in Plaquemines Parish, where he farmed on the rich delta soil. When the 1850 census was conducted Aaron and Lavinia's family included a son Pliny, age 5, and daughters Rebecca, Vesta, and Latona, aged 7, 3, and 1 respectively. Even though he had purchased land in Wadesborough, Aaron and his family continued to live in Plaquemines Parish, and by 1860 the family had been enlarged with additional children, Diana, Plato, and Elizabeth. The family was still in northern Plaquemines Parish in 1870, but left afterwards to move to their land at Wadesboro. After Aaron and Lavinia Cox moved their family to Wadesborough, Aaron died at the age of 84 {ca. 1880-1881} and was buried in the nearby Wetmore Cemetery. Aaron and Lavinia's son Pliny Cox died about 1887 at age 42 and their daughter Diana Cox died about 1891 at the age of 40. Both were buried near their father in Wetmore cemetery. While living in Plaquemines Parish, Aaron and Lavinia's daughter Vesta Cox had married 3 May 1862 to Basilio Armego {also spelled Armiji in some records}. Basilio died leaving Vesta with sons Edward Morrison (b. ca. 1868, d. 28 Aug. 1898, buried Wetmore Cem.), Leroy (b. ca. 1869-d. 29 Aug. 1899, buried Wetmore Cem.), and Louis Maxwell Armego (b. ca. 1875-d. 14 June 1944 at Biloxi, MS). Following Basilio's death Vesta Cox Armego married Edwin Trumble Gipson, 25 Nov. 1880 in New Orleans. Edwin T. Gipson was born in Indiana in 1840, being the son of William Gibson and Mary Ann Clark. William Gipson was a carpenter and Edwin learned much of this trade from his father while growing up near Aurora, Dearborn County, Indiana. Edwin served in the Union Army during the War Between the States rising to the rank of first lieutenant. During the war, Edwin had married 15 Nov. 1864 in Dearborn County to Alice L. Ball. He and Alice had children: Wallace, Jessie, and Elizabeth, all born in Indiana. Shortly after the birth of their daughter Elizabeth in Nov. 1869, the family moved to New Orleans, where they were living when the census was conducted in the summer of 1870. Edwin was listed as a carpenter on the census. What happened to Alice Ball Gipson and her children is unknown to this writer. Edwin married 25 June 1880 to the widow Vesta Cox Armego, and they are shown shortly thereafter on the 1880 census in New Orleans, where Edwin was then working as a cooperage manager. Vesta's three Armego sons are listed as Gipson on the census schedule and went by the name Gipson for the rest of their lives. In June 1886, Edwin purchased about fifty acres of land on the Ponchatoula River adjoining Wadesborough and moved his family to Tangipahoa Parish. When the 1900 census was conducted Edwin and Vesta Cox Gipson were farming at Wadesborough. They had started their own family with the births of sons William E. Gipson, b. 11 Nov. 1883, and Henry A. "Harry" Gipson, b. 28 Jan. 1885. Their first born son Stephen Gipson had been born 13 Dec. 1882, but had died at birth. Also living with the family in 1900 was Vesta's widowed mother Lavinia Isom Cox. Lavinia Cox died 1 August 1902 and was buried beside her husband Aaron in Wetmore Cemetery. Besides their daily farming activities, Vesta and Edwin also became federal government employees. Vesta served as the postmistress at the Gessen Post Office, which serviced the Benedictine monastery west of Wadesborough and the surrounding community from 1902 to 1903, and Edwin served as the postmaster of the Wadesborough Post Office from 1903 to 1904. Vesta Gibson became ill and went to the Touro Infirmary for medical attention. She died there 16 Dec. 1907, and was later buried in the family plot in the Wetmore Cemetery. Edwin Gipson continued to farm in Wadesborough. In 1910 he was listed with his son's family William E. Gipson, his wife Virginia H. Lavigne Gibson, and their daughter Gertrude Gipson. In 1920 Edwin was living with his son Henry in New Orleans. Edwin died in New Orleans 28 April 1921. His body was brought back to Ponchatoula by train and was buried beside Vesta in the Wetmore Cemetery. Edwin's burial marker completed the modest set of headstones which memorializes the presence of the Cox and Gipson families of Wadesborough, two more families who were part of our Hometown Ponchatoula. Anyone with questions, comments or suggestions for future articles, may contact Jim Perrin at 386-4476.