Family Group Sheet
NameJoseph L. Cogswell
Birth30 Jun 1859, Rowan Co., Kentucky
Death17 Jun 1938, Rowan Co., Kentucky
FatherHenry Harvey Cogswell (~1816-)
MotherLouisa Johnson (~1833-)
Other spousesMary Elizabeth Jones, 1C4R
Marriage24 Oct 1918, Rowan Co., Kentucky
SpouseMary Ellen Singleton
Birth20 Dec 1854, Lincoln Co., Kentucky
Death2 Feb 1938, Clearfield, Rowan Co., Kentucky
BurialLick Fork Cemetery, Rowan Co., Ky
FatherAlexander Singleton (~1820-)
MotherMary Blankenship (~1827-)
Other spousesEphraim Hanes
Notes for Joseph L. Cogswell
Rowan Co., Ky birth records list Joseph Cogswell, born 30 June 1859, father Henry Cogswell, mother’s maiden name Faresa Johnson, both parents born in Bath Co., Ky.
His death certificate records Joseph L. Cogswell, age 79 years 4 months 18 days, born 30 June 1859 in Ky, died 17 June 1938 in Morehead, Rowan Co., Ky, residence Clearfield, farmer, widowed, father Henry Cogswell, mother’s maiden name Louise Johnson, both born in Ky, cause of death auto accident, informant Marshall Cogswell, Clearfield, Ky, burial in Lick Fork.
The informant is probably his brother, who died 1 year later.
His death certificate records Joseph L. Cogswell, age 79 years 4 months 18 days, born 30 June 1859 in Ky, died 17 June 1938 in Morehead, Rowan Co., Ky, residence Clearfield, farmer, widowed, father Henry Cogswell, mother’s maiden name Louise Johnson, both born in Ky, cause of death auto accident, informant Marshall Cogswell, Clearfield, Ky, burial in Lick Fork.
The informant is probably his brother, who died 1 year later.
Notes for Mary Ellen Singleton
Her death certificate records Mary E. Cogswell, age 80, born 1858 in Rowan Co., Ky, residence Clearfield, Ky, died 2 Feb 1938 in Rowan Co., Ky, married, wife of Joseph L. Cogswell, father Mansfield Singleton, mother’s maiden name Ida Blankenship, both born in Ky, cause of death pneumonia, informant Joseph Cogswell, Clearfield, Ky, burial in Lick Fork Cem.
I believe that the given names on this death certificate are incorrect for both of Mary’s parents, and that she is instead the following:
Lincoln Co., Ky birth records list Mary Ellen Singleton, born 20 Dec 1854 in Lincoln Co., father Alex Singleton, mother’s maiden name Mary Blankenship.
Here is my reasoning:
I cannot find any Ida or Mansfield Singleton of the appropriate generation anywhere in Kentucky, neither in the censuses nor the death or marriage records nor as parents in the birth records. There are no Singleton families in the 1860 census of Rowan Co., nor in the early censuses of Bath Co. (There are some Singleton families in Fleming Co., but none with a daughter Mary of the right age.) Anyway, considering that Mary and Ephraim were married in Lincoln Co., it is likely that the Rowan Co. birthplace is incorrect as well, as is the Bath Co. birthplace reported on Mary’s marriage license to Joseph Cogswell.
Lincoln county is surrounded by Casey (where Ephraim and Mary were living in 1880), Boyle, Garrard, Rockcastle, and Pulaski.
The 1870 census of Garrard Co. contains a Mary E. Singleton age 13, daughter of Andrew Jackson Singleton and Mary Elizabeth Hall, but she reportedly married John Bowerman in 1880 in Clark Co., Indiana. There is also a Mary E. Singleton age 6 in Lincoln Co., daughter of Harden and Elizabeth Singleton, but she would be too young to have married in Feb 1875. There was a Mary E. Singleton born May 1860 in Rockcastle Co., daughter of Richard M. Singleton and Susan Wheeler, but she married first Pinkney Langford and second John Bishop (parents confirmed by her death certificate.) This leaves the Mary Ellen Singleton who was the daughter of Alexander Singleton and Mary Blankenship as the only one in the area not known to have married someone else.
Some supporting clues are provided by the marriage record for Ephraim and Mary. The minister David V. Singleton who married them was born about 1825 to 1828, and died (according to his gravestone) on 26 Sep 1885. His wife was named Mary Jane Delaney. The witness John A. Singleton would be David's son, John Anderson Singleton, born Jan 1849 in Lincoln Co. David and Mary had no daughter named Mary. (Their only daughter born during the 1850’s was named Sarah.) The witness G. L. Murphy would be Granville L. Murphy, born ca 1854. In the 1870 census there are several Singleton families on the same page as Granville.
I believe the A. G. Singleton at whose home the marriage took place was Alexander Singleton, born ca 1820, with wife Mary Blankenship born ca 1827, and that Ephraim’s wife is their daughter Mary Ellen Singleton, whose birth record is quoted above. In 1860 Alexander and Mary are in neighboring Rockcastle Co. They also had a son David Anderson Singleton, suggesting a relationship between Alexander and the minister who married Ephraim and Mary. Finally, they are the only Singleton-Blankenship couple I can find as parents in the birth records.
Most likely Joseph Cogswell, who did not marry Mary until long after both her parents were deceased, and who never lived in the Lincoln/Rockcastle area, simply got confused over the given names of her parents, but got both their surnames right. Since people rarely refer to their parents by their given names, those names would probably be something he seldom heard Mary mention.
I believe that the given names on this death certificate are incorrect for both of Mary’s parents, and that she is instead the following:
Lincoln Co., Ky birth records list Mary Ellen Singleton, born 20 Dec 1854 in Lincoln Co., father Alex Singleton, mother’s maiden name Mary Blankenship.
Here is my reasoning:
I cannot find any Ida or Mansfield Singleton of the appropriate generation anywhere in Kentucky, neither in the censuses nor the death or marriage records nor as parents in the birth records. There are no Singleton families in the 1860 census of Rowan Co., nor in the early censuses of Bath Co. (There are some Singleton families in Fleming Co., but none with a daughter Mary of the right age.) Anyway, considering that Mary and Ephraim were married in Lincoln Co., it is likely that the Rowan Co. birthplace is incorrect as well, as is the Bath Co. birthplace reported on Mary’s marriage license to Joseph Cogswell.
Lincoln county is surrounded by Casey (where Ephraim and Mary were living in 1880), Boyle, Garrard, Rockcastle, and Pulaski.
The 1870 census of Garrard Co. contains a Mary E. Singleton age 13, daughter of Andrew Jackson Singleton and Mary Elizabeth Hall, but she reportedly married John Bowerman in 1880 in Clark Co., Indiana. There is also a Mary E. Singleton age 6 in Lincoln Co., daughter of Harden and Elizabeth Singleton, but she would be too young to have married in Feb 1875. There was a Mary E. Singleton born May 1860 in Rockcastle Co., daughter of Richard M. Singleton and Susan Wheeler, but she married first Pinkney Langford and second John Bishop (parents confirmed by her death certificate.) This leaves the Mary Ellen Singleton who was the daughter of Alexander Singleton and Mary Blankenship as the only one in the area not known to have married someone else.
Some supporting clues are provided by the marriage record for Ephraim and Mary. The minister David V. Singleton who married them was born about 1825 to 1828, and died (according to his gravestone) on 26 Sep 1885. His wife was named Mary Jane Delaney. The witness John A. Singleton would be David's son, John Anderson Singleton, born Jan 1849 in Lincoln Co. David and Mary had no daughter named Mary. (Their only daughter born during the 1850’s was named Sarah.) The witness G. L. Murphy would be Granville L. Murphy, born ca 1854. In the 1870 census there are several Singleton families on the same page as Granville.
I believe the A. G. Singleton at whose home the marriage took place was Alexander Singleton, born ca 1820, with wife Mary Blankenship born ca 1827, and that Ephraim’s wife is their daughter Mary Ellen Singleton, whose birth record is quoted above. In 1860 Alexander and Mary are in neighboring Rockcastle Co. They also had a son David Anderson Singleton, suggesting a relationship between Alexander and the minister who married Ephraim and Mary. Finally, they are the only Singleton-Blankenship couple I can find as parents in the birth records.
Most likely Joseph Cogswell, who did not marry Mary until long after both her parents were deceased, and who never lived in the Lincoln/Rockcastle area, simply got confused over the given names of her parents, but got both their surnames right. Since people rarely refer to their parents by their given names, those names would probably be something he seldom heard Mary mention.
Notes for Joseph L. & Mary Ellen (Family)
Rowan Co., Ky marriage book 10 records the marriage on 24 Oct 1918 of Joseph Cogswell, age 59, born in Rowan Co., son of Henry and Louisa Cogswell, to Mary E. Hanes, age 55, born in Bath Co., Ky, parents blank, second marriage for both, both residents of Rowan Co., by Wm. Brown at the Church of God in Paragon, witnesses Boon Philips and Marshall Cogswell.
