John “Squire” Cock was a prominent citizen and his name appears in many early records. He was appointed as a constable in Grayson Co. Virginia in 1807, and later appointed Justice of the Peace. He served as the first clerk of the New Hope Church (1825) and was ordained in 1836.

He was the officiating minister for many early Carroll and Floyd County marriages.

He is listed with id number 57 (p. 438) in Janice Kinsler Smith’s Goad and Webb Family of Southwest Virginia7, Vol. II. Pages 439 through 443 of the book are photocopies of marriage records, military pension applications, and other court records.

See entry for Andrew Cock for other sources.

1870 census of Carroll Co., Virginia, Laurel Fork district, lists John Cock Sr., age 85, with the family of Thomas and Penelope (Cock) Dickens. See their notes for more details.

His second wife Louisa was not deceased in 1870; she is listed separately in Bland Co., Virginia, with two of their children. See her notes.

Her date of death is from the claim of John’s second wife Louisa for her widow’s pension.

The birth order of the older children in this family is uncertain. By the time of the 1850 census, they were in their own households, and their ages were inconsistent.

1850 census of Carroll Co., Virginia, enumerated 22 Aug, lists as family #327:
John Cock Sr., 66, farmer; Jane, 60; Salathiel, 32, constable; William, 31, farmer; Susan, 24; Enoch, 21; Mary, 21; Hannah, 20; Washington L., 8; John F., 6; Nelson McClanahan, 25, laborer.

Washington and John F. Cock are sons of Salathiel Cock and Sarah Phillips. Their mother died about 1845.