My Genealogy Hound

WALTER E. COX creditably and satisfactorily fills the important position of Line Agent of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, having charge of the sale of all coal in this department. A member of Fountain Hill Borough Council, he is identified with the progress of the city, and in many ways has shown his interest in the welfare of his townsmen.

John P. Cox, the father of our subject, was born in England, and with his parents set sail for the United States when a youth. On arriving in New York City, they at once proceeded to Susquehanna County, and later the young man located at Mauch Chunk, Carbon County, being there engaged in the coal business with Judge Packer. He had received a good education as a civil engineer, and was made superintendent and engineer of the Buck Mountain Coal Company at Drifton, with office at Rockport, Pa., where he was located for eleven years. Subsequently he became connected with the Lehigh Valley Road, at the time it was being built, and was made Assistant Superintendent of the company. Still later he was Superintendent of the Pennsylvania & New York Canal and Railroad Company, holding the same important position until his death, in December, 1870, at Towanda, Pa., of which place he had been a resident for several years. His wife, Mary Sayre, is a sister of Robert H. Sayre, Second Vice-President of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and a daughter of William H. Sayre, a native of Borden town, N. J. The latter located in Mauch Chunk in 1829, and was for many years identified with the Lehigh Valley Coal and Navigation Company. His father, Dr. Francis B. Sayre, was a distinguished physician and prominent man in the Quaker City. Mrs. Mary Cox, our subject’s mother, who was born in Philadelphia, is still living and a resident of South Bethlehem. Both she and her husband were Episcopalians. Their five children are all living, one son, John S., being chief chemist for the Scranton Steel Company.

Walter E. Cox was born in Mauch Chunk in 1844, and attended the common schools of Bethlehem. His education was further advanced in the Polytechnic Institute of Troy, N. Y., where he completed the civil engineering course. His first active employment was as engineer on the corps of the Lehigh Valley Railroad and its branches, about five years in all. In 1866 he became Superintendent of a coal company in Monocacy City, and for a few years afterward was a coal operator. In 1880 he became Line Agent of the Lehigh Valley Coal Company, the duties of which office he has efficiently discharged for fifteen years. His entire time and attention are given to the extension of the business, and to the furthering of the best interests of the company, by whom he is held in great esteem.

A marriage was celebrated in Philadelphia, in 1869, by which Miss Georgiana Wetherill became the wife of Walter E. Cox. Mrs. Cox is a daughter of Samuel and Sarah (Chattin) Wetherill, natives of Philadelphia, Pa., of which city her grandfather, John Price Wetherill, was one of the most prominent citizens. The pleasant home of Mr. and Mrs. Cox is located on Seneca Street, South Bethlehem. Mrs. Cox is a native of Jersey City, and is a lady of culture and refinement. By her marriage with our subject she became the mother of five children, who are called respectively: W. Wetherill, William J., Sara M., Eugenia M. and M. Edith. The parents are members of the Episcopal Church, and occupy an enviable position in the best social circles of the place where they make their home.