Brighton Photographers:  COX

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Brighton Photographers (Cox)

Samuel George Cox - Cox & Burnell (partnership between Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell ) - J. T. Cox

 

Samuel George Cox (1824-1876)

Samuel George Cox was born in Bedford, Bedfordshire in 1824, the son of George and Sarah Cox. (Samuel Cox was christened at St Paul's Church, Bedford on 23rd May 1824). Samuel's father, George Cox (born c1792), who is reported to have been a "Glass Dealer", had married Sarah Browne (born c1793) in Cardington, Bedfordshire around the year 1814. Samuel appears to have been one of nine children born to Sarah and George Cox. Samuel Cox's eight siblings, three girls and five boys, were Mary Ann Cox (born 1815), Eliza Cox (born 1817), Sarah Cox (born 1820), Joseph Cox (born 1822), John Cox (born 1826), Benjamin Cox (born 1828), George Cox (born 1830) and David Cox (born 1822). Two of Samuel's brothers died in infancy - John Cox died on 28th January 1831, when he was 4 years of age and his younger brother George Cox died at the age of 15 months on 1st January 1832.

In 1846, in the Tynemouth district of North-East England, Samuel George Cox married Mary Burn (born c1819, North Shields), the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Taylor and Jacob Burn (1797-1871). Local directories indicate that Jacob Burn, Mary's father, was a employed as a pilot in the seaport of North Shields.

Samuel George Cox - Stationer & Bookseller in Brighton

By 1851, Samuel George Cox and his wife Mary had settled in Brighton. The 1851 census records Samuel George Cox as a 24 year old "Stationer & Ticket Writer" at 24 Queen's Road, Brighton. Sharing the family home was Mrs Cox's youngest sister, 17 year old Elizabeth Burn, and her brother-in-law Adam Mathewson (born c1823, Scotland) who was married to Mary's sister, Margaret Burn (born c1824, North Shields).

The 1851 edition of the Post Office Directory of Brighton lists Samuel Cox as a "Stationer" at 24 Queen's Road, Brighton. Cox's stationery business was situated on the western side of Queen's Road, a few doors away from the Feathers Tavern. Queen's Road was a recently constructed commercial thoroughfare, built in 1845 to improve the access to Brighton Railway Station from North Street and West Street. When Samuel Cox set up his business at No. 24, Queen's Road was still being developed and a number of buildings were added to the thoroughfare during the early 1850s. The addition of dozens of shops, businesses and public buildings during this period meant that the existing business premises in Queen's Road had to be re-numbered; The Feathers Tavern which had been numbered 22 became No. 53 and Samuel Cox's stationery business changed its shop number from No. 24 to No.55. During the development of Queen's Road in the early 1850s, Samuel Cox acquired the building next-door (No.56) which had previously housed the naturalist William Pike. By 1854, Cox's business premises spanned two shop fronts, local trade directories recording Samuel George Cox  as a "Wholesale and Retail Stationer, Print-seller and Bookseller" at 55 & 56 Queen's Road, Brighton.

[ABOVE] Samuel Cox listed as a stationer at 24 Queen's Road, Brighton in Kelly's Post Office Directory of Sussex (1851). A year or so later, the numbering of the buildings in Queen's Road changed. Samuel Cox's shop number changed from No. 24 to No. 55  Queen's Road, Brighton. [ABOVE] Samuel George Cox listed as a bookseller and stationer at 55 & 56 Queen's Road, Brighton in the 1855 edition of  Kelly's Post Office Directory of Sussex. Samuel Cox had extended his business premises by acquiring William Pike's shop at No. 56 (previously No. 25) Queen's Road, Brighton.

It appears that, in addition to his stationery business in Queen's Road, Brighton, Samuel George Cox also operated a Fancy Goods Bazaar at The Swiss Gardens in Shoreham-by-Sea, some 6 miles west of Brighton. Created in 1838 by a local ship owner named James Britton Bally (1789-1863), The Swiss Gardens had been developed as a "pleasure resort" in the 1850s by Edward Goodchild (1815-1878). The Swiss Gardens was a very popular place of entertainment, including amongst its many attractions a very large ballroom, a dining hall, a refreshment bar and a boating lake. A legal notice published in 1856 noted that Samuel George Cox had been the Keeper of the "Fancy Goods" Bazaar in The Swiss Gardens, Shoreham, for 4 seasons (probably during the period 1852-1855).

[ABOVE] A 19th century coloured lithographic poster advertising The Swiss Gardens at  Shoreham, a seaport town situated six miles west of Brighton. Between 1852 and 1855, Samuel George Cox operated a fancy goods bazaar  in The Swiss Gardens. Created in 1838 by James Britton Bally, a wealthy shipbuilder, the Swiss Gardens were developed into a popular pleasure resort after the main railway line reached Shoreham in 1841.  During the 1850s, Edward Goodchild, the new proprietor of the Swiss Gardens, added a number of attractions to the amusement park, including a large dining room, a ballroom, a theatre and a refreshment bar and confectionery. After paying a basic admission charge (one shilling for adults, sixpence for children under ten years of age), visitors could amuse themselves on the boating lake or play games on the lawns. For a small extra charge, day-trippers were able to participate in "billiards, rifle-shooting and American Bowls". Among the "recent improvements" to the pleasure gardens added in 1855 was a "New Photographic Gallery on the Lawn" owned by the Brighton photographer William Lane (1818-1889).
To read more about The Swiss Gardens amusement park in Shoreham, click on the link below:

The Swiss Gardens at Shoreham

W. J. Taylor's Original Brighton & Hove Directory of 1854 lists Samuel George Cox as a "Wholesale and Retail Stationer, Print-seller and Bookseller" at 55 & 56 Queen's Road, Brighton. However, before the end of 1855, Samuel George Cox was in severe financial difficulties and by February 1856 he had been imprisoned as an insolvent debtor in the County Gaol in Lewes. At the time of his arrest, Samuel George Cox was living at 55 Gardner Street, Brighton. On 1st March 1856, Samuel George Cox was declared "out of business" and an "insolvent debtor".

[ABOVE] Samuel George Cox, an "out of business" stationer and insolvent debtor recorded as a prisoner in Lewes Gaol in February 1856 (London Gazette).
 

[ABOVE] Samuel George Cox, described as a former "Wholesale and Retail Stationer, Printseller and Bookseller" at No. 55 & 56 Queens Road, Brighton, summoned to the County Court at Lewes for a hearing of "insolvent debtors" to be held on 18th March, 1856 (London Gazette).

On his release from the debtors' prison, Samuel George Cox entered into a relationship with Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell (born 23rd September 1832, Bembridge, Isle of Wight), a young woman who was set to inherit money and property from her maiden aunt, Mary Dorrell Burnell of 10 Crescent Place, Brighton. It appears that Miss Mary Burnell had adopted Elizabeth, her brother's daughter, when the young girl had lost (or been abandoned by) her father. When Miss Mary Dorrell Burnell, the young woman's guardian, died on 26th May 1857 at the age of 57, Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell was informed by her solicitor that she was due to inherit her late aunt's money, stocks and property on her 25th birthday.

The Mysterious Origins of Elizabeth Burnell

In 1856, Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell (Dorrill) Burnell was living with her aunt Miss Mary Dorrell at 10 Crescent, Place, Marine Parade, Brighton. Miss Mary Dorrell had adopted Elizabeth when she was young. It appears that Elizabeth Dorrell Burnell was the grand-daughter of Roger Vaughton Burnell (1770-1837) and Dorothy Dorrell of Eastham, near Worcester, yet the identity of Elizabeth's parents is not clear. One suggestion is that she was the illicit offspring of Elizabeth Harling (Herling) and George Chambers Burnell, a son of Roger Vaughton Burnell. [See panel on George Chambers Burnell, below]

In the August of 1857, Miss Elizabeth Burnell went to board with Samuel George Cox, then described as a "photographic artist" of 9c St George's Road, Brighton. Miss Burnell's solicitor, John Randall, was alarmed by his client's close relationship with Samuel Cox, noting that the former stationer and bookseller had failed twice before in his business dealings.

Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell was to become the beneficiary of her late aunt's will on 23rd September 1857, her 25th birthday. Stocks from her aunt's business interests became available to Elizabeth Burnell on 26th October 1857. John Randall, the family solicitor had noted that Miss Burnell was "a person on whom the world will easily impose". Evidently, Elizabeth Burnell planned to provide Samuel Cox with funds to develop his business at 9c St George's Road, Brighton. (The construction of a glasshouse studio, to be attached to Cox's premises in St George's Road, would have required a certain amount of capital and Samuel Cox had recently been declared an "insolvent debtor"). During his correspondence with Miss Burnell, John Randall discovered that the young heiress had sold her stocks and purchased four houses and had entered into a business partnership with Samuel Cox.

George Chambers Burnell - The putative father of Elizabeth Burnell

George Chambers Burnell (born 1794, Birmingham) was the son of Roger Vaughton Burnell and Dorothy Dorrell and the brother of Mary Dorrell Burnell, who became the guardian of Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell. It appears that George Chambers Burnell was a bigamist and Elizabeth was one of a number of illicit or illegitimate children he fathered. George Chambers Burnell had seduced Hannah Partridge, a 16 year old girl from a very rich family in Bromsgrove. George Chambers Burnell was obliged to take Hannah Partridge as his wife, but this did not stop him marrying at least two other women. Commissioned as a lieutenant in the British Army, George Chambers Burnell was stationed on the Isle of Wight, where he bigamously married Elizabeth Harling (Herling) in 1831. [Marriage recorded in Northwood, Isle of Wight on 14th December 1831]. Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell, who was born on the Isle of Wight on 23rd September 1832, was probably a child of this union. George Chambers Burnell's second wife (Elizabeth Harling) died shortly after the birth of Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell. George Chambers Burnell bigamously married Elizabeth Dore in Northwood, Isle of Wight on 2nd June 1835. George Chambers Burnell also fathered five illegitimate children with a Bromsgrove woman named Elizabeth Toogood. It is believed that George Chambers Burnell later moved to Brighton where he spent the remaining years of his life.

Samuel George Cox - Photographic Artist in Brighton

It appears that Samuel George Cox had set himself up as a "Photographic Artist" in Brighton in 1856 or 1857. In August 1857, when Miss Elizabeth Burnell joined Samuel Cox at his shop in St George's Road, Brighton, the couple entered into a business partnership, forming the firm of Cox & Burnell. During the Summer of 1857, Samuel Cox and his mistress Elizabeth Burnell, established a cigar and tobacco store at 9c St George's Road, Brighton. Attached to Cox & Burnell's tobacconist business in St George's Road was a "Photographic Glasshouse" where customers could have their portraits taken at a very reasonable cost. An advertisement for "Cox & Burnell's Cigar and Tobacco Depot and Photographic Glasshouse" appeared in the 1858 edition of F. R. Melville and Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex. Published in September 1858, the advertisement in Melville's Directory informed the public that photographic portraits "were taken in all weathers" at Cox & Burnell's "Photographic Glasshouse"; prices for each portrait ranging from 1 shilling to 21 shillings.

Up until 1852, William Constable (1783-1861), the proprietor of the Photographic Institution, (Brighton's first daguerreotype portrait studio, which opened in November 1841) held a virtual monopoly in the production of photographic likenesses in the town. After the patent rights on daguerreotype portraiture came to an end in August 1853 and  with the introduction of Frederick Scott Archer's "wet collodion" photographic process in the early 1850s, there was a rapid increase in the number of photographic portrait studios in Brighton. In 1851 there was only one photographic portrait studio in Brighton (William Constable's Photographic Institution at 57 Marine Parade, Brighton). By the end of 1853, there were about six places in Brighton where a photographic likeness could be made. By the time Melville and Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex was issued in September 1858, the number of photographic portrait studios had risen to 16.Samuel George Cox might have begun his career as a "Photographic Artist" as early as 1856 and there is evidence that he had opened his "Photographic Glasshouse", in partnership with Miss Elizabeth Burnell, during the Summer of 1857. Burnell & Cox were based at  9c St George's Road, Brighton for about a year. By the time Folthorp's General Directory for Brighton, Hove & Cliftonville was published in February 1859, Samuel Cox and Elizabeth "Bessie" Burnell had moved their tobacconists shop to 40 1/2 North Street, Brighton. There must have been a photographic studio still attached to the cigar and tobacco store because Samuel Cox is recorded as a professional photographer at 40 1/2 North Street, Brighton in the listing of "Photographic and Talbotype Artists" featured in Robert Folthorp's Trade Directory of 1859.

It appears that Samuel Cox eventually left his wife Mary to cohabit with Elizabeth Dorrell Burnell. (The couple were not free to marry. According to other sources of information, Mrs Mary Cox, Samuel Cox's legally wed wife, did not die until 1900). During the 2nd Quarter of 1860, Elizabeth Burnell gave birth to a baby boy named George Dorrell Burnell. The father of the child was Elizabeth's lover, Samuel George Cox. When Elizabeth Burnell registered her son's birth she was living at No. 2 St. George's Street (since re-named Pelham Street), a street of houses at the foot of Trafalgar Street.

It seems that by 1859, Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Dorrell Burnell were living as man and wife (possibly in St. George's Street) and running a tobacconists business at 401/2 North Street, Brighton under the name of "Cox & Burnell". (In later documents, Elizabeth and Samuel Cox claimed that they had married in Brighton in 1858, yet there is no evidence to show that this was the case). In 1860, Samuel George Cox sold his photographic studio to the William Lane (1818-1889), a Brighton photographer who had been taking portraits on glass since 1852.

Before the end of 1860, Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell decided to leave England and set sail for Australia where they hoped to start a new life with their baby son George.

[ABOVE] A detail from an advertisement published in 1860 promoting emigration to Australia and other countries.

[ABOVE] An advertisement  for Cox & Burnell's 'Photographic Glasshouse' studio which appeared in the 1858 edition of Melville and Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex. Samuel George Cox (born 1824, Bedford), a former stationer and bookseller, had set himself up as a 'Photographic Artist' at 9c St George's Road, Brighton in 1857. In August 1857, Samuel George Cox was joined in his business by Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell Burnell (born 1832, Cowes, Isle of Wight)
 

[ABOVE] A woodcut engraving, dating from around 1854, depicting a photographer taking a portrait of a woman and her child inside a glass-walled studio. The photographic artist has uncapped the lens of the camera and  is timing the exposure with his watch. It was common for early photographic studios to be situated at the top of buildings, either in glass-houses or in upper storeys fitted with large, glass skylights to make the most of available sunlight. This woodcut, showing an early photographer at work in a glass-walled studio, illustrated an advertisement for a Photographic Gallery in Chicago operated by the Canadian-born daguerreotype artist Alexander Hesler (1823-1895).
 

[ABOVE] A 'collodion positive' portrait of a young woman, photographed on glass around 1859. The brooch and watch chain worn by this young lady has been highlighted in gold. Samuel Cox was probably producing portraits like this at the photographic studio attached to his cigar and tobacco depots in St George's Road and North Street, Brighton. This portrait has been mounted in a  'pinchbeck' metal frame, incorporating an embossed gilt mat, and presented in a morocco leather case. A cased portrait of this size and quality would probably sell for 2s 6d.
 

[ABOVE] The location of Cox & Burnell's Cigar & Tobacco Depot and Photographic Glasshouse at 9c St George's Road  marked on a mid-19th century map of Brighton.
 

[ABOVE] A section of Melville's General Directory of Brighton  listing the trades people with the surname of Cox who were residing in Brighton in 1858.

[ABOVE]  The firm of Cox & Burnell, tobacconist and photographic establishment, listed at  No. 9c St George's Road, Brighton in the 1858 edition of Melville and Co.'s Directory & Gazetteer of Sussex.
 
[ABOVE] The firm of Cox & Burnell, tobacconists and photographers, listed at 40 1/2 North Street, Brighton in the 1859 edition of Robert Folthorp's General Directory of Brighton.
 

Photographic and Talbotype Artists (1859)

(As Listed in Folthorp's Brighton Trade Directory of 1859)

James R. BATES 10 North Street Quadrant, Brighton
Charles COMBES Chain Pier Esplanade, Brighton
John COMBES 62 St James Street, Brighton
William CONSTABLE 58 King's Road, Brighton
Samuel G. COX 40 1/2 North Street, Brighton
Robert FARMER 59 North Street, Brighton
Samuel FRY 79 King's Road, Brighton
GREY & HALL 13 St James' Street, Brighton
HENNAH & KENT 108 King's Road, Brighton
William LANE 213 Western Road, Brighton
MERRICK & Co. 33 Western Road, Brighton
J. C. NEVILL 27 St George's Road, Brighton
Thomas ROSSLYN 10 Western Road, Brighton
George RUFF 45 Queen's Road, Brighton
James WAGGETT 193 Western Road, Brighton
Francis R. WELLS 27 St James' Street, Brighton
[ABOVE] Samuel G. Cox listed as a professional photographer at No. 40 1/2 North Street, Brighton under the heading of 'Photographic and Talbotype Artists' in Robert Folthorp's General Directory for Brighton, Hove & Cliftonville, compiled during the first few months of 1859.
 

[LEFT] Portrait of a 'Ticket Writer' at work, photographed by John Thomson (1837 -1921).

[LEFT] Portrait of a 'Ticket Writer' at work, photographed by John Thomson (1837 -1921). This photograph illustrated the book Street Life in London (1877) by John Thomson and Adolphe Smith. The sign-painter depicted was a Frenchman (nicknamed "Tickets" after his trade), who was struggling to make a living as a "ticket writer", the occupation that Samuel Cox followed in Brighton during the early 1850s and the one to which he returned to twenty years later when he was living in Sydney Australia during the 1870s. A ticket writer painted the signs that appeared in shop windows or fixed on the walls of common eating-houses. The signs, which were painted on sheets of thick card, announced prices, special offers and simple descriptions. Thomson and Smith mention the following examples - "Cheap", "The latest novelty", "Try our own dripping at 6d a lb." and "A Good dinner for 8 pence".  The ticket writer in this photograph is painting a sign which is headed "Choice Fruits".
 

[ABOVE] The location of Samuel Cox's photographic studio at 40 1/2 North Street  marked on a mid-19th century map of Brighton. The foot of  Queen's Road, the road in which Samuel George Cox was running his stationery and bookselling business in the early 1850s, can be seen running into The Quadrant to the west of North Street. Queen's Road led to Brighton Railway Terminus.
 
[ABOVE] An emigrant ship leaving Southampton for Australia. ( An engraving from the London Illustrated News, 28th August 1852 ). Samuel Cox and Elizabeth Burnell emigrated to Australia early in 1861

[ABOVE] On Board an Emigrant Ship, an engraving by Matthew White Ridley (1837-1888) produced as an illustration for The Graphic magazine in 1871. Samuel Cox and Elizabeth Burnell, together with their baby son George, arrived in Melbourne, Australia,  in August 1861 after seven months at sea.
 

The Type of Photographic Portraits which could be obtained at Cox & Burnell's 'Photographic Glasshouse' in St George's Road, Brighton

[ABOVE] A portrait of a bearded man, a 'collodion positive' photograph on glass dating from around 1858. This particular example has been taken out of its decorative case. A cased portrait on glass of this size would cost in the region of 2s 6d. Although cased portraits on glass were popular in the late 1850s, Frederick Scott Archer's 'wet collodion' process could also be used to produce photographic prints on paper. (See the portrait at the foot of the central column.
[ABOVE] A detail from an 1858 advertisement for Cox & Burnell's Photographic Glasshouse Studio at  9c St George's Road, Brighton detailing the range of prices for their photographic portraits - from one shilling to twenty-one shillings.

[ABOVE] A 'collodion positive' portrait on glass, photographed around 1857, when Samuel Cox  was taking likenesses at his  'Photographic Glasshouse'  at 9c St George's Road, Brighton.

[ABOVE] A cased portrait of an unknown woman, dating from around 1860. By this date, cheap 'collodion positive' portraits had superseded the more expensive daguerreotypes. This portrait has been mounted in a  'pinchbeck' metal frame, incorporating a patterned gilt mat.

[ABOVE] A cased 'collodion positive' portrait of an unknown man, dating from around 1860.
[ABOVE] A portrait of an unknown woman photographed on albumenized paper (c1860).
[ABOVE] A portrait of a young woman, a detail from a  'collodion positive' photograph on glass, taken around 1859.  The 'collodion positive' portrait on glass (called an "ambrotype" in North America) was particularly popular during the late 1850s. Portraits on glass were usually presented in a hinged, leather-bound case (see below)

[ABOVE] A humorous drawing by "Cuthbert Bede" (the pen name of Edward Bradley) showing a daguerreotypist at work in a glass-walled studio at the top of a building in 1855. Edward Bradley (1827-1889) was a clergyman and novelist who took a strong interest in the recently introduced art of photography. In 1855, Edward Bradley, a keen amateur photographer, wrote and illustrated a light-hearted and satirical account of photography entitled "Photographic Pleasures". Although intentionally comic, Edward Bradley's drawings were generally accurate in detail, being based on his first-hand experience of photography. This illustration from "Photographic Pleasures" is entitled "To Secure a pleasing Portrait is everything". The daguerreotypist is asking the uncomfortable sitter (whose head is held still by a metal clamp) to "call up a pleasant expression". [ABOVE] A drawing of Timm's Photographic Depot at 31 High Holborn, London, produced around 1856 when John F. Timm opened his photographic portrait studio opposite Chancery Lane. The photographic artist  John Frederick Timms (1824-1882), who could produce "Portraits on Paper, Glass, Iron, Silver Plate or Leather" operated his "Photographic Depot" with the assistance of his wife Susan. Like many photographers in the 1850s, John Frederick Timms utilised a glasshouse studio on the roof of his business premises to ensure a good source of light. Portraits on paper or glass could be had for one shilling. This drawing of Timm's Photographic Depot illustrated John Timm's trade labels which were pasted on the back  of his glass portraits.
 

Samuel George Cox and "Mrs Bessie Cox" (Elizabeth Burnell) in Australia

Towards the end of 1860, Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell decided to emigrate to Australia to start a new life. In January 1861, Samuel Cox and Elizabeth Burnell (travelling under the name of 'Mrs Elizabeth Cox') sailed to Melbourne on board the "Prince of Wales". Accompanying the couple on their long journey to Australia was their young son George Dorrell Burnell (recorded as "George Cox" on the Unassisted Passenger List to Australia).

Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell, together with one year old George, arrived in Melbourne, Australia in August 1861. Over the next five years, "Mrs Elizabeth ('Bessie') Cox" gave birth to four more children - Albert (born 1861), Agnes (born 1862), Arthur (born 1864) and Ada Cox (born 1865). Three of these children, Albert, Agnes and Ada, died in infancy. Samuel George Cox and his family eventually settled in the Sandhurst district of Melbourne. Samuel George Cox attempted to continue his career as a professional photographer in Australia, but apparently with little success. On Friday, 13th October 1865, the Melbourne Argus reported the insolvency of "Samuel George Cox, photographic artist and ticket writer of Sandhurst". The reason for Samuel Cox's insolvency was given as "sickness in family and want of employment". The Argus newspaper reported that the insolvent had "debts totalling 120 pounds and assets totalling two pounds".

Around 1866, Samuel Cox, Bessie and their surviving children moved on to the Australian gold-mining town of Ballarat, 68 miles north-west of Melbourne. Bessie gave birth to her son Samuel Vaughton Cox on 11th March 1867. Interestingly, Samuel George Cox, who had previously worked as a photographic artist and ticket writer in Australia, gave his occupation as "Artist" when he registered the birth of Samuel junior.

[ABOVE] 'The Corner', a street scene in the town of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, photographed in 1866 by A. V. Smith.

[LEFT] A street scene in the town of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, photographed in 1866. A crowd of men and boys posing in front of the business premises at The Corner (Sturt Street) in the Australian gold-mining town of Ballarat, photographed by A. V. Smith in April 1866.

Samuel George Cox and his family arrived in the Australian boomtown of Ballarat around 1866. By this date, Samuel Cox had fathered five children with his common law wife Elizabeth "Bessie" Burnell, but three had died in infancy. "Mrs Bessie Cox" gave birth to Samuel Vaughton Cox in Ballarat in March 1867.

By 1869, Samuel George Cox and his family were living at Surrey Hills, Victoria. A baby girl, Mary Ann Dorothy Cox, was born in Surrey Hills in 1869, shortly before the family set off for Sydney in New South Wales. "Mrs Bessie Cox" gave birth to two more children during her residency in Sydney. A son named John Vernon Cox was born in Sydney in 1871. In July 1874, "Mrs Bessie Cox" gave birth to the last of her nine children, a daughter named Eliza Sarah Cox.

In Sydney, Samuel George Cox found work as a "Ticket Writer" ( Samuel Cox had worked as a "Ticket Writer" in Brighton some twenty years earlier). Successive editions of John Sands' Sydney Street Directory published between 1871 and 1875, record Samuel George Cox as a "Ticket Writer" residing in Sydney. Other documents indicate that, in his final years, Samuel George Cox was earning his living as an "ornamental writer" and, possibly, also as a sign painter. It appears that Samuel Cox, who had previously worked as a photographic artist, had some artistic talent. Written records found in Australia describe Cox as both a "painter" and an "artist".

[ABOVE] King Street, Sydney, Australia, photographed around 1870. Samuel George Cox and his family settled in Sydney around the time this photograph was taken.

Samuel George Cox found it difficult to support his family from his income as an "ornamental writer" and there is evidence that he sought consolation by drinking heavily. Suffering from an addiction to alcohol, Samuel Cox was admitted to Sydney's Infirmary on 17th April 1876. Samuel George Cox died in the Sydney Infirmary from "Alcoholism and Paralysis" on 21st April 1876 at the age of 52. Tragedy struck the family again 4 months later when Samuel Cox's youngest daughter, Eliza Sarah Cox, described as the "child of Mrs Bessie Cox", died on 28th August 1876, aged only two years and one month.

After the death of her husband, Mrs Bessie Cox (Elizabeth Burnell) was left destitute. Friends and neighbours came to Bessie's aid and a fund was organised and co-ordinated by the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald, who invited "contributions in aid of Mrs Bessie Cox", described by the editor as "a poor widow" in "destitute circumstances". In the space of four months, Bessie Cox had lost her husband and buried her youngest child, a two year old girl. These tragic circumstances attracted public attention to Bessie's plight and money was raised for the support of "Mrs Cox" and her four young children. On 12th September 1876, the editor of the Sydney Morning Herald advised his readers that if "a sufficient amount be subscribed" in aid of Mrs Bessie Cox, the money would be used to pay for "the passage of herself and children" back to England.

[ABOVE] "The Last of England" (1855), a painting by Ford Madox Brown depicting a couple and their child aboard an emigrant ship leaving the coast of England, bound for Australia. The artist Ford Madox Brown (1821-1893) painted the picture after seeing an artist friend depart for Australia. Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth 'Bessie' Burnell emigrated to Australia in 1861.
 

[ABOVE] A 19th century view of the Australian city of Melbourne as depicted in a coloured lithographic print. Samuel G. Cox and his family arrived in Melbourne in 1861 and lived there for the next five years or so.
 

[ABOVE] Decorative signs from the 19th century. In Australia, Samuel George Cox earned his living as an artist, painter and ornamental writer. Samuel Cox had previously been employed as a "ticket writer" (sign painter).
 

[ABOVE] Death notices in The Sydney Morning Herald  (published Friday 22nd September 1876) giving details of the death of Samuel George Cox, who passed away on 21st April 1876 at the age of 52. Samuel Cox was laid to rest in Sydney's Necropolis Cemetery the following day. The Death Notice also records the death of Samuel Cox's daughter, Eliza Sarah Cox (described as the child of Mrs Bessie Cox) who died on 28th August 1876 at the age of 2 years and 1 month.
 
 

Contributions in Aid of Mrs Bessie Cox - A Poor Widow

After the death of her husband in April 1876, Mrs Bessie Cox (Elizabeth Burnell) was left destitute with six children to support. Four months later, Bessie's youngest child died. Bessie's eldest son, George Dorrell Burnell (Cox), who would have been around 16 years of age and able to provide for himself, was no longer living at home. In September 1876, Mrs Bessie Cox declared that she was a poor widow with " four bereaved children, left penniless". The editor of the Sydney Morning Herald invited "contributions in aid of Mrs Bessie Cox". A notice in the Sydney Morning Herald advised its readership that if a sufficient amount was collected, the money would be used to cover the cost of sending Mrs Cox and her children to England.

In just over a week, fifty pounds or more had been raised for the support of Bessie Cox and her children. Readers of the Sydney Morning Herald contributed nearly £47 over a period of 8 days and this sum was supplemented by collections organised by friends and neighbours. [ On 7th September, 1876, Mrs Bessie Cox (widow) placed a notice in the Sydney Morning Herald thanking Mr and Mrs Ah Sue and friends "for the prompt and benevolent manner in which they collected the handsome sum of £9 4s, on behalf of her and her four bereaved children, left penniless"].

Bessie Cox had intimated that if she had enough money, she and her children would leave Australia and take a sea passage back to England, where she had friends. Apparently, a sufficient sum was raised by public subscription and the local collections organised by friends and neighbours to pay for a sea passage. On 3rd November 1876, Mrs Bessie Cox and her four children set sail for London on board the John Duthie, a clipper ship of 1031 tons skippered by Captain Alexander Levie.

[ABOVE] The John Duthie, the clipper ship on which Mrs Cox and her four children set off for England in November 1876. Built in Aberdeen in 1864, the John Duthie travelled regularly between London and Sydney, Australia. A ship of 1031 tons and 196 feet in length, the John Duthie was regarded as a speedy vessel. The John Duthie arrived at Gravesend in the Thames estuary on 28th February 1877.

 

[ABOVE] Death notices in The Sydney Morning Herald  (published 4th September 1876) giving details of the death of Samuel George Cox, who passed away on 21st April 1876 at the age of 52. This death notice also records the death of Samuel Cox's daughter, Eliza Sarah Cox (described as the child of Mrs Bessie Cox) who died on 28th August 1876 at the age of 2 years and 1 month. Reports of the death of Bessie's husband and youngest child in such a short space of time elicited sympathy and "attracted public attention to her destitute circumstances". The editor of the Sydney Morning Herald  invited "contributions in aid of Mrs Bessie Cox" and Bessie's friends and neighbours organised collections on her behalf.

[ABOVE] A notice placed in the Sydney Morning Herald on 4th September 1876 by Mrs Bessie Cox, widow, thanking her friends for the money they had collected on behalf of her and "her  four bereaved children".
[ABOVE] A notice placed in the Sydney Morning Herald on 4th September 1876 by the Editor of the Herald, acknowledging the receipt of contributions of money sent in for the aid of Mrs Bessie Cox, a poor widow.
[ABOVE] The John Duthie listed in the ship clearances from Sydney Harbour on 3rd November 1876 as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald ( 4th November 1876 ). Mrs Bessie Cox and her four children are recorded as passengers on the John Duthie.

Thanks to Marcel Safier of Australia for gathering the above information

"Mrs Bessie Cox" (Elizabeth Burnell) and her Children Return to England

Mrs Bessie Cox (Elizabeth Burnell) arrived at Gravesend, England, aboard the John Duthie at the end of February 1877. She had made the journey from Sydney, Australia, to London, accompanied by four of her surviving children - Arthur Edwin Burnell Cox (aged 14), Samuel Vaughton Cox (aged 11), Mary Ann Cox (aged 9) and John Vernon Cox (aged 7). Bessie chose to return to Bedford, the home town of her late husband, possibly hoping that Samuel Cox's family might be able to provide support for her and her children.

When the census was taken on 3rd April 1881, Mrs Bessie Cox and three of her children were in the care of the Bedford Union Workhouse in Bedford St Peter. On the census return, Bessie Cox gives her occupation as "Needlewoman", the enumerator describing her as a 40 year old widow. (Born in 1832, Elizabeth Burnell would have been 48 years of age when the census return was completed). Bessie's three youngest children, Samuel Vaughton Cox (aged 14), Mary Ann Cox (aged 12) and John Vernon Cox (aged 10) were living alongside their mother at the Bedford Union Workhouse in 1881. At the time of the 1881 census, Arthur Edwin Burnell Cox, Bessie's teenage son, was living and working in London, but his family's experiences in the workhouse must have affected him deeply. While serving as a soldier in India during the 1890s, Corporal Arthur Cox wrote out by hand the lengthy ballad "Christmas Day in the Workhouse", which had been published in 1879 by the journalist George Robert Sims (1847-1922).

Sometime before April 1881, Arthur Edwin Cox (a teenager and the eldest of Bessie's four children living in England) had moved to London where he had found work as a porter at a coffee house in the St Pancras district of the city. The 1881 census records Arthur Cox an employee at Francis Neep's Coffee House in London's Euston Road. On the census return, Arthur E. Cox gives his place of birth as "Sidney (sic), Australia", the census enumerator recording "Arthur Edward (sic) Cox" as an 18 year old "Porter" at the "Coffee House" at 100 Euston Road, London. In 1883, nineteen year old Arthur Edwin Burnell Cox enlisted with the 2nd Battalion Bedfordshire Regiment. In 1885, Arthur E. Cox's battalion was sent to Bellary in India. In 1889, the 2nd Battalion was posted to Secunderabad in the Madras region of India. It was while serving with his regiment in Secunderabad that Arthur Edwin Cox met Ethel Louise May Mendez (born 1872), the daughter of Robert Mendez. On 20th August 1890, Arthur Edwin Cox married Ethel Louise Mendez in the Indian city of Secunderabad. Arthur Edwin Cox and his wife settled in Bengal, where their first child, a son named Arthur Vernon Cox was born on 2nd January 1892. [ Arthur Vernon Vorton (Vaughton) Cox was baptised in Ranikhet, Bengal, India, on 21st February 1892 ]. Arthur and Ethel Cox were still living in Bengal, India, when their second son, George Samuel Cox, was born on 18th October 1895.( George Samuel Cox was baptised at Fort William, Bengal, India, on 6th December 1895). Arthur Edwin Burnell Cox died on 3rd December 1918 at the age of 54. Arthur Cox's youngest son, Samuel George Cox, predeceased his father. Rifleman George Samuel Cox of the 4th Battalion Rifle Brigade was killed during the First World War at Ypres, Belgium, on 19th March 1915, aged 20.

We have more detailed information about the life of another of Bessie Cox's sons, Samuel Vaughton Cox (1867-1932). At the age of 14, Samuel Vaughton Cox was apprenticed to a fisherman in the seaport of Great Grimsby, Lincolnshire. In his early twenties, Samuel V. Cox married a young domestic servant named Alice Adelaide Hobday (born 1867, Grimsby, Lincs.). By 1911, Samuel Vaughton Cox was living at Clee, near Cleethorpes, with his wife Alice and their five surviving children. Samuel Vaughton Cox became the skipper of a Grimsby fishing trawler and later, during the First World War, provided distinguished service as the Chief Skipper of the Unitia, a fishing trawler which had been converted into a minesweeper. [ See the panel below for a brief account of the life of Samuel Vaughton Cox, written by his great grand-daughter Lesley Line ].

John Vernon Cox (born 1871, Sydney Australia), the youngest son of Elizabeth and Samuel George Cox, was employed as a waiter at the Union Club in Newcastle-upon-Tyne when the 1891 census was taken. John Vernon Cox later moved to the West Riding of Yorkshire. John Vernon Cox married Ann Sissons (born c1867) in the West Riding of Yorkshire district of Hunslet in 1893. John V. Cox's wife, Ann, gave birth to a son, Arthur Vernon Cox in 1894, but she died the following year, aged 28. [ The death of Ann Cox was registered in the district of Hunslet during the 1st Quarter of 1895 ]. John Vernon Cox married for a second time in 1897. John Vernon Cox married Kate Burton (born 1876, Lincolnshire) in the Lincolnshire district of Horncastle during the 3rd Quarter of 1897. A year or so later John Vernon Cox, his wife Kate and his son Arthur moved south. A second son, Harold Reginald Cox was born in Saint Albans, Hertfordshire in 1898. John Vernon Cox and his family then settled in the suburbs of West London. When Sydney Edmund Cox was born in 1900, John Vernon Cox and his family were residing in Brentford, Middlesex. By 1909, John and Kate Cox has set up home in the district of Uxbridge, where another son, John Edward Cox was born in 1909. The census taken on 2nd April 1911 recorded John Vernon Cox and his family at No.1 King's Parade, Southall, Middlesex. On the census return, John Vernon Cox is described as a an "Oilman", aged 40, while his eldest son, seventeen year old Arthur Vernon Cox, is entered as an "Oilman's Assistant". John Vernon Cox died in Brentford, Middlesex, in 1937, aged 66.

The last years of "Mrs Elizabeth 'Bessie' Cox" (Elizabeth Dorothy Burnell) are not so well documented. Born in 1832 under the name of Elizabeth Dorothy Dorrell (Dorrill) Burnell, but known for most of her adult life as "Mrs Elizabeth 'Bessie' Cox", Elizabeth is difficult to track down in the available primary sources. As one would expect, there were hundreds of women who went under the name of Elizabeth Cox, at least a dozen of whom were living in Bedfordshire during this period. A memorial card has recently come to light which indicates that Bessie Cox died sometime during the early 1890s. The card states that Bessie Cox died on "February 18th, 189 -, aged 53 years". Elizabeth Dorothy Burnell was born on 23rd September 1832, so a death at the age of 53 would indicate that she passed away in 1884. On her return to England, perhaps in an attempt to disguise her true identity, Bessie Cox informed the authorities that she was nearly ten years younger than she actually was. She told the census enumerator on 3rd April 1881, that she was 40 years of age, when in fact her true age was 48. If Bessie Cox perpetuated the fiction that she was born around 1840, an age at death of 53 would suggest that she died in 1892**. [See the Postscript on the Death of Mrs Bessie Cox/ Elizabeth Burnell below].

** Mrs Bessie Cox/ Elizabeth Burnell died at the Three Counties Asylum at Stotfold Three Counties Asylum on 18th February 1892 at the age of 59. [See the Postscript on the Death of Mrs Bessie Cox/ Elizabeth Burnell below].

 

1881 Census: Bedford Union Workhouse, Bedford St Peter, Bedford

NAME

 

MARITAL STATUS

AGE

BIRTH PLACE

OCCUPATION

Bessie COX

inmate

widow

40

Cowes, Isle of Wight

Needlewoman

Samuel COX

inmate

 

14

Sydney, Australia

Scholar

Mary COX

other

 

12

Sydney, Australia

Scholar

John COX

inmate

 

10

Sydney, Australia

Scholar

[ABOVE] Details of Mrs Bessie Cox (formerly known as Elizabeth Burnell) and her three children - Samuel, Mary and John - as detailed on the census return for the Bedford Union Workhouse taken on 3rd April 1881. Mrs Bessie Cox states that she was born on the Isle of Wight  in the seaport of Cowes, but other sources record her birth place as Bembridge, Isle of Wight. On the census return, Mrs Bessie Cox  gives her age as 40, but as Elizabeth Burnell was born in 1832, she would have been 48 years of age when the census was carried out. The place of birth for all three children is given as "Sydney, Australia". In fact, Samuel Vaughton Cox was born in the Australian gold-mining town of Ballarat, Victoria, on 11th March 1867 and his sister Mary Ann Dorothy Cox was born in Surrey Hills, Victoria in 1869.
 

[ABOVE] George Robert Sims' lengthy monologue Christmas Day in the Workhouse (1879) was transcribed by Bessie Cox's son Arthur Edwin Burnell Cox in the 1890s. Arthur Cox's mother and siblings were inmates of the Bedford Union Workhouse around the time George R. Sims composed this verse in 1879.

[ABOVE] A Memorial Card for Mrs Bessie Cox (formerly known as Elizabeth Burnell) produced on the occasion of her death in the early 1890s. The card states that Bessie Cox died on "February 18th, 189 -, aged 53 years". Elizabeth Dorothy Burnell was born on 23rd September 1832, so a death at the age of 53 would indicate that she passed away in 1884. On her return to England, perhaps in an attempt to disguise her true identity, Bessie Cox informed the authorities that she was nearly ten years younger than she actually was. She told the census enumerator on 3rd April 1881, that she was 40 years of age, when in fact her true age was 48. If Bessie Cox perpetuated the fiction that she was born around 1840, an age at death of 53 would suggest that she died in 1892. In fact, the research of Lesley Line has established that Mrs Bessie Cox (formerly known as Elizabeth Burnell) died at the Stotfold Three Counties Asylum on 18th February 1892.

Handwritten Poem & Memorial Card: Courtesy of Jennifer Griffiths

 

Postscript on the Death of Mrs Bessie Cox/ Elizabeth Burnell

Lesley Line has continued her search for information on the final years of Mrs Bessie Cox/ Elizabeth Burnell and she has discovered the following information:

Mrs Bessie Cox was transferred from the Bedford Union Workhouse to the Three Counties Asylum at Stotfold, Bedfordshire (near Hitchin, Hertfordshire) on 27th June 1890. Bessie died at the Stotfold Three Counties Asylum on 18th February 1892. The death of Mrs Bessie Cox (formerly Miss Elizabeth Burnell) was registered under the name of "Bessie Bernel" and her age at death was given as 51. [As Elizabeth Burnell was apparently born on 23rd September 1832, she would have actually been 59 years of age at the time of her death]. The cause of death was recorded as "Cerebral Softening". Bessie Bernel [Elizabeth Burnell] was buried in the Asylum's cemetery on 22nd February 1892. No headstone was provided for Bessie's grave.
 

[ABOVE] The Three Counties Asylum at Stotfold, Bedfordshire, where Mrs Bessie Cox (Elizabeth Burnell) died on 18th February 1892.
 

The Children of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Dorothy Burnell

1.

George Dorrell Burnell (COX) Born 5th March 1860, Brighton, Sussex, England Arrived in Australia with parents in 1861. George was still alive in 1867, but did not return to England with mother and siblings in 1878.

2.

Albert Edward Hamilton COX Born 1861, Emerald Hill, Victoria, Australia Died 1861, aged 1 month, in Victoria, Australia.

3.

Agnes Bessie COX Born 1862, Carlton, Victoria, Australia Died 1863, aged 6 months, in Victoria, Australia

4.

Arthur Edwin Burnell COX Born 1864, Collingwood, Victoria, Australia Served with the British Army in India. Married Ethel Louise May Mendez in India in 1890. Fathered two sons Arthur Vernon Cox (born 1892) and George Samuel Cox (born 1895). Arthur Edwin Cox died 3rd December 1918, aged 54.

5.

Ada Ellen Osborne COX Born 1865, Sandhurst, Sandridge, Victoria, Australia Died 1866, aged 8 months, in Victoria, Australia

6.

Samuel Vaughton COX Born 11th March 1867, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia Samuel Vaughton Cox married Alice Adelaide Hobday in 1889. (This union produced 9 children, but only five survived infancy - Samuel (born 1890), Alice (born 1895), Lilian (born 1899), Florence Adelaide (born 1901) and George Arthur Cox (born 1907).

7.

Mary Ann Dorothy COX Born 1869, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia Returned to England in 1878 with mother and siblings. In 1881, inmate of Bedford Union Workhouse alongside mother and brothers Samuel and John.

8.

John Vernon COX Born 1871, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia John Vernon Cox was twice married. In 1893, John V. Cox married Ann Sissons. (This union produced one son - Arthur Vernon Cox, born 1894). After the death of  his first wife, John V. Cox married Kate Burton (marriage registered in Horncastle in 1897). John's second marriage produced 3 sons - Harold Reginald Cox (born 1898), Sydney Edmund Cox (born 1900) and John Edward Cox (born 1909). John Vernon Cox died in Brentford, Middlesex, in 1937, aged 66.

9.

Eliza Sarah COX Born 1874, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Died on 28th August 1876, aged two years and one month, in Waterloo, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
 
 

An Account of the Life of Samuel Vaughton Cox (1867-1932) - the son of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell - by Lesley Line

Samuel Vaughton Cox was born on 11th March 1867 in the gold-mining town of Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. His mother, Elizabeth had already given birth to 5 children, 3 of whom died in infancy. The family moved to the Australian city of Sydney where Elizabeth had 3 more children. Unfortunately, the last child, Eliza Sarah Cox, died when she was only 2 years of age. 

After the death of his father Samuel George Cox in Sydney in 1876, Samuel Vaughton Cox returned to England in 1878 with his mother Bessie (Elizabeth) and two of his siblings, Mary Ann Cox and John Vernon Cox. On their return to England, Bessie Cox and her three children entered the Bedford Union Workhouse. Bessie had to apply for payment of Samuel's school fees. (A sum of two pence a week was granted).

In 1881, a Mr J. Haylock from Great Grimsby arrived at Bedford Union  Workhouse and took fourteen year old Samuel Vaughton Cox as a fisherman's apprentice. According to the Grimsby Archives, Samuel’s conduct for 2 years was very good, until he ran away in 1883, because, as Sam later claimed, the ship leaked. Sam was admonished for his absence, but then went on to be an excellent apprentice. By 1888, Samuel V. Cox was skipper of his own fishing trawler.

Towards the end of 1889, Samuel Vaughton Cox married Alice Adelaide Hobday (born 1867, Grimsby). The wedding took place 6 weeks prior to their first son being born. The couple's first child, Samuel V. Cox junior, was born early in 1890. [ The birth of Samuel Vorton (Vaughton) Cox was registered in the Lincolnshire district of Caistor during the First Quarter of 1890 ].  Samuel and Alice Cox went on to produce eight more children, but only five of the nine children survived infancy - Samuel (born 1890), Alice (born 1895), Lilian (born 1899), Florence Adelaide (born 1901) and George Arthur Cox (born 1907). Sadly, Samuel's youngest son, George Arthur Cox was to die young. In 1943, during a German air raid on Grimsby and Cleethorpes, George Cox, then aged 35, was killed by a butterfly bomb.

[LEFT] A Grimsby trawler (c1914). Samuel Vaughton Cox was the skipper of a fishing trawler when war broke out in 1914. The Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet had recommended the use of Grimsby trawlers for minesweeping duties. As a result, hundreds of fishing trawlers were adapted as minesweepers and brought into the Royal Naval Reserve.

Samuel V. Cox continued his career as a fisherman until the outbreak of  the First World War. Samuel Cox entered the Royal Navy Reserve in 1914, commanding the Unitia, the Admiralty-hired Trawler No. 699 . This vessel was based at Lowestoft and formed part of the Auxiliary Patrol. In 1916, Chief Skipper Samuel V. Cox was awarded the Italian Bronze Medal for Military Valour, which was presented to him by His Majesty Victor Emmanuel III, King of Italy. Samuel Cox's naval records show that he had distinguished himself by destroying 60 German mines at sea.

Samuel Vaughton Cox was demobilised in 1919 and returned to Grimsby, where he opened a "High Class Confectionery and Grocer's Shop".

Samuel Vaughton Cox died in Grimsby in 1932 at the age of 65. Mrs Alice Cox, Samuel's widow, died in Cleethorpes in 1939 at the age of 72. Samuel Vaughton Cox is buried with his wife Alice in Grimsby Cemetery.

[ABOVE] Samuel Vaughton Cox (1867-1932), photographed in the uniform of a warrant officer in the Royal Navy Reserve during the First World War. Chief Skipper Cox, who served in the Minesweeping Service of the RNR, was awarded the Al Valore Militare for his distinguished service during the First World War. [ABOVE] Samuel Vaughton Cox's Medaglia di Bronzo al Valore Miltare (Bronze Medal for Military Valour) awarded by the King of Italy to Chief Skipper Samuel V. Cox for his bravery in destroying 60 German mines at sea during the First World War.

Photographs Above: Courtesy of Lesley Line

[ABOVE] Samuel V. Cox listed as a recipient of the Bronze Medal for Military Valour, conferred by Victor Emmanuel III, the King of Italy, to Chief Skipper Cox in recognition of his bravery in destroying 60 German mines during the First World War. ( Supplement to the London Gazette, 16th March 1918)

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 I am indebted to Lesley Line for providing information on the lives of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell (aka Mrs Bessie Cox) after they emigrated to Australia in 1861. Lesley Line is the great, great grand-daughter of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell. Lesley's great grandfather was Samuel Vaughton Cox (born 1867, Ballarat, Australia), the son of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell. Lesley's research into the family history of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell has proved to be invaluable in piecing together their story. I am also very grateful to Marcel Safier of Australia for providing very useful additional information about Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell and their offspring. Family history details have also been supplied by Joe Tilt and Mrs Jennifer Griffiths (formerly Cox) a descendant of Arthur Edwin Cox (1864-1918), a son of Samuel George Cox and Elizabeth Burnell.

 

J. T. Cox  - Photographic Artist  active in Brighton between 1868 and 1870

 
J. T. Cox is recorded as a photographic artist at 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton in local trade directories issued between 1868 and 1870.
 
The building at No. 40 North Street, Brighton had been used as a photographic portrait studio since Samuel George Cox (1824-1876) had added a photographic establishment to his tobacco store in 1859. When Samuel George Cox emigrated to Australia in 1861, the photographic studio at 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton was acquired by William Lane (1818-1889), an experienced photographer who had been operating a portrait studio at 213 Western Road, Brighton since 1853.
 
The premises at 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton was in continuous use as a photographic portrait studio for nearly 50 years. (See table below). Because Samuel George Cox had established the photographic portrait studio at 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton in 1859, I had jumped to the conclusion that the photographer J. T. Cox, who operated a studio in the same building sometime between 1868 and 1870, was a relative of the original owner Samuel George Cox. Circumstantial evidence, however, suggests that the two photographers' identical surname of "Cox" was just a coincidence. It now seems more likely that the mysterious "J. T. Cox" was John Thomas Cox, a professional photographer from Kent.
 
John Thomas Cox was born in Bexley, Kent, during the early months of 1846. [The birth of John Thomas Cox was registered in the Kent district of Dartford during the First Quarter of 1846 ]. John Thomas Cox was the son of Elizabeth and Thomas Cox and was baptised in the Kent village of Bexley on 8th February 1846.
 
By 1881, John Thomas Cox was living in North London and working as a photographer. The 1881 census records John Thomas Cox and his thirty-two year old wife Annie at 107 Shepherdess Walk, near City Road, Islington, North London. On the 1881 census return, John Thomas Cox is described as a thirty-five year old "Photographer".
 
In 1887, John Thomas Cox married for a second time. John Cox's new wife appears to have been Emma Aulert (born 1855, Shoreditch, London). When the 1891 census was taken, John Thomas Cox was recorded as a thirty-five year old "Photographer" living at 62 Hyde Road, Hoxton, North London.

[ABOVE] The trade plate of J. Cox,  Photographer of 40a North Street, Brighton (c1870).

[ABOVE]  J. T. Cox, listed as a "Photographic Artist" at 40 1/2 North Street, Brighton in Page's Directory of Brighton (1870).
 

Carte-de-visite Portraits by J. Cox of 40A North Street, Brighton

[ABOVE] A vignette portrait of a young man, a carte-de-visite photograph produced by J. Cox of 40a North Street, Brighton (c1870) [ABOVE] The trade plate of photographer J. Cox of 40a North Street, Brighton, printed on the reverse of  a carte-de-visite photograph (c1869). [ABOVE] A full-length portrait of a young woman, a carte-de-visite photograph produced by J. Cox of 40a North Street, Brighton (c1869)
     
PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS BASED AT 40 NORTH STREET, BRIGHTON (1859-1908)

PROPRIETOR

STUDIO ADDRESS

DATES ACTIVE

Samuel George COX

401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton

1859-1860

William LANE

401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton

1861-1865

Frederick J. TAYLOR 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton

1866-1867

Thomas BOXELL 40 North Street, Brighton

1867-1869

J. T. COX 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton

1869-1870

Isaac Shaw LENNOX 401/2 (40A) North Street, Brighton

1871-1872

William FELDWICKE 40A North Street, Brighton

1873-1903

( LASCELLES ) 40A North Street, Brighton

( 1892 )

Albert KEMBER 40A North Street, Brighton

1905

Walter LITTLEWOOD 40A North Street, Brighton

1905-1907

AMERICAN PHOTO STUDIO 40A North Street, Brighton

1908

Percy Henry HILSON 40A North Street, Brighton

1908

 

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