Research on the Parents of Thomas Cobb of Halifax

by Loren Cobb

This research note describes all research as of this writing (October 2004), into the ancestry and origins of Thomas Cobb, born 1762 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. This target individual will be referred as TC throughout, to distinguish him from all other Thomas Cobbs, of whom there were a great many.

Most of the genealogical research reported here is due to the indefatigable efforts of Caryn Cady Johnson, past President of the Virginia Beach Genealogical Society and a sixth-generation descendent of TC. Working with her on the Thomas Cobb problem has been both a thrill and a tremendous learning experience. In this effort we built upon the solid genealogical research of previous generations, especially that of Hildegarde Boughton Forbes (biographer of Charles H. Wheelwright) and Benjamin Vroom White (biographer and son-in-law of Stanley Cobb).

Evidence from the Cobb DNA Project

By far the most intriguing information on the ancestry of Thomas Cobb arrived in the fall of 2003, when a preliminary analysis of Y-chromosome DNA samples from a pool of Cobb-surname volunteers became available. This study is ongoing, and a wealth of new information is expected concerning all Cobb families in North America. Fortunately, one of the earliest interesting results concerned Thomas Cobb of Halifax. The pattern of alleles on 26 loci of the Y-chromosome DNA of a descendent of Thomas Cobb almost exactly matched the pattern of a Cobb volunteer in Great Britain (only one allele was different). This British Cobb can trace his ancestry back to a James Cobb, born 1810 in the Shoreditch district of London, close to the London Docks. He married Anne Cooper in 1839, in St Leonard\92s Church, Shoreditch. A genealogical search is now underway for the ancestors of James.

Based on this combination of DNA and genealogical research, we presume that some ancestor of James Cobb was the father of the Cobb who emigrated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, in the era 1750-1762. This emigrant would then have become the father of Thomas Cobb, who emigrated from Halifax to Boston in 1776 or 1777.

Current Candidates for the Father of Thomas Cobb

This list presents what we know as of this writing about men mentioned in historical and genealogical records who might possibly be TC\92s father. Men who were considered but eliminated for any reason are not in this list. Instead, they are listed in the section below entitled \93Dead-Ends.\94

Thomas Cobb, an otherwise completely unknown individual who died in Halifax NS on 11 October 1779 and was buried in the old burial ground of St. Paul\92s Church. There is no gravestone, but he is listed in the burial records for 1779. No occupation or relatives are given in this burial record. He might have been the father of TC.
Thomas Cobb, a fisherman who lived near Halifax NS in 1771. This Thomas Cobb is known to history because he was the first on the scene of a famous shipwreck off Sambro Point. The sloop HMS Granby, carrying a fortune in gold coins to pay naval shipyard workers in Halifax, went aground with all hands on 8 April 1771. Thomas Cobb and his friend Daniel Collins boarded the empty wreck the next day, found the gold, and removed it. Promised immunity and a job at the shipyard if they confessed, Tom and Dan admitted to the crime. No charges were filed, but neither did they receive the promised employment. The scandal surrounding the circumstances of the shipwreck resulted in a 3-month trial and great publicity. This Thomas Cobb might have been the father of TC, and he might also be the same individual as #1 above. TC would have been 9 years old at the time of the shipwreck.
Thomas Cobb, an otherwise completely unknown individual who was listed in the Maine Census of 1765 as a resident of Wiscasset, Lincoln County, Maine. He is considered a candidate for two reasons: (a) immediately after the Revolutionary War, TC married Lucy Smith in Wiscasset, and (b) in that era, traffic by sea was easy and common between Wiscasset and Nova Scotia. It is conceivable that this Thomas Cobb was a fisherman whose primary residence was in Wiscasset, and who like many had a secondary residence in Nova Scotia, which was occupied only during the fishing season. If so, then he could be the same individual as #1 and #2 above.
Captain Thomas Cobb, an otherwise completely unknown individual who led an army company under General Winslow in the latter\92s expedition to Nova Scotia in 1755 during the French and Indian War. This Thomas Cobb is mentioned in passing in History of the Town of Canton, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, written by Daniel T. V. Huntoon, published by the Town of Canton in 1893.

Dead-Ends

This list presents the people found in historical and genealogical sources who have been ruled out as the father or mother of TC. I have tried to give the complete reasons why we ruled out each of these individuals.

Jabez Cobb, born 6 September 1721 in Plymouth MA, married Sarah Bartlett 16 November 1750 in Plymouth, and died 10 October 1805 in Halifax NS. Jabez was the son of Elisha Cobb and Lydia Rider, and is found in Philip Cobb\92s book [Part II, p.60 and pp.93-94]. Philip Cobb knew of his marriage and first four children, but nothing else. The reason for this was the family\92s emigration to Liverpool, Nova Scotia, in 1760. Jabez was one of the founders (called \93planters\94) of Liverpool, and had six more children before his death in Halifax in 1805. None of these children were named Thomas and their daughter Lydia was born in 1762, therefore we have ruled out Jabez and Sarah as the parents of TC. DNA evidence now also precludes parentage.
Sylvanus Cobb, born 18 March 1709, married Elizabeth Rider 22 October 1734, and died 1762 in Havana, Cuba. Sylvanus was an older brother of Jabez (#1 above), though very different in temperament. He spent a great deal of time in Nova Scotia, learning Indian techniques of guerrilla warfare, serving as a scout and captain in Gorham\92s Rangers, and sailing as captain of the sloop York. He was also a founder of Liverpool NS, and there is a monument to him in that city. He was a wild and reckless warrior who knew the coast of Nova Scotia like the back of his hand. He died of dysentery during the Siege of Havana in 1762, and his dying words were regret that he had not died in battle. Could he have been the father of TC? By all accounts he had only one child, Elizabeth Cobb, born 1736 in Plymouth MA. The timing of his death in Havana and the total absence of any documentary evidence leads one to doubt that he and Elizabeth were the parents of TC. DNA evidence now also precludes parentage.
Thomas Cobb, born about 1736 in Portland, Cumberland County, Maine, the son of Chipman Cobb and Elizabeth Ingersoll. A Cumberland County deed dated 1766 transferred land from Chipman to Thomas, but little else is known about him (Cumberland County Deeds, 4:553). However, DNA evidence now precludes parentage.
Thomas Cobb, born 1 Dec 1739, probably in Barnstable MA, son the Nathaniel Cobb and Susannah Bacon. When Nathaniel Cobb\92s estate was settled in 1765, Thomas Cobb was not listed as an heir. Philip Cobb deduced from this that he must have died before 1765 [Part II, p. 103], but another possibility is that he had emigrated to Halifax and was no longer in touch with the family (as happened, for example, with Sylvanus and Jabez Cobb of Barnstable, in the same era). However, DNA evidence now precludes parentage.
Thomas Cobb, born 13 March 1742, probably in Middleboro MA, the son of Gershom Cobb and Miriam Thomas. Philip Cobb says of him, \93Perhaps he is the one who married Phoebe Shaw, 6 Feb 1766\94 [Part III, p. 125]. Nothing further is known about him. DNA evidence now precludes parentage.
Captain Thomas Cobb of Taunton, MA. He died, place unknown, in 1779. This is the same year that another Thomas Cobb was buried in Halifax, NS. Might they be the same person? It is distantly possible, but other records show that Captain Cobb\92s first wife had a daughter in 1762, so we have ruled him out as the father of TC. DNA evidence to date is silent on this candidate.
Thomas Cobb, born 4 July 1720 in Truro MA, married 9 September 1742 to Ruth Collins, and died in Truro in 1783. The last child known by Philip Cobb to have been born to Thomas and Ruth was born in 1760, so it is distantly possible that they had one more child. But they had no documented relationship with Halifax NS, and the likelihood that Philip Cobb missed any child of theirs is very small. DNA evidence now also precludes parentage.
Thomas Cobb, born 1705 in Massachusetts, and died 1779. He is listed as having been buried in the Old Quaker Burying Ground in Lynn MA, and his death date coincides with a Thomas Cobb who died in Halifax. Nothing further is known about this person. He would have been 57 when TC was born, somewhat too old to be a viable candidate for the father of TC.
Thomas Cobb, a young man mentioned in 1779 in Long\92s Annals of Queens County, Nova Scotia: \93Elkanah Freeman is taken away in Mr. Tinkham's schooner and Thomas Cobb, who lived with Joseph Barss, is gone in the Peter Collins vessel.\94 It is likely that Long was confused, since the Diary of Simeon Perkins also has a note for the same event: \93This evening Capt. Cobb, of Mr. Tinkham's Schooner, and Peter Collins, Master of a Small Schooner, both came from Portmetway and report that a Privateer Came in there and took both their Vessels this day and Carried them out to Sea.\A0 Elkanah Freeman is taken away in Mr. Tinkham's Schooner, and Thos. Cook that Lived with Joseph Barss, is gone in Peter Collins.\94 The Captain Cobb mentioned is most likely Jabez Cobb or his brother Sylvanus Cobb, or possibly his son, Silvanus Cobb (b. 1754 in Liverpool).

Annotated Bibliography

Cobb, Philip L (1907) A History of the Cobb Family. Privately printed in Cleveland, OH, and reprinted by the Higginson Book Company of Salem, MA. This classic of genealogy is written in three or possibly four parts. The first part deals with Elder Henry Cobb of Barnstable, Cape Cod, and his immediate family. The second part deals with his numerous descendents. The third part deals with the Boston-Hingham family of Cobbs. A fourth part, which either has been lost or was planned but never completed, was supposed to have dealt with the Taunton family of Cobbs. All contemporary genealogical research into a Cobb from New England starts with this book.

Forbes, Hildegarde Boughton (1958) Correspondence of Dr. Charles Henry Wheelwright, Surgeon of the United States Navy, 1813-1862. Privately printed by the Thomas Todd Company of Boston, MA. This book contains letters between members of the Cobb, Candler, and Wheelwright families of the 19^th century, and has a group of genealogical trees for these families in an appendix.

Pope, Charles Henry (1900) Pioneers of Massachusetts. Facsimile reprint published in 1991 by Heritage Books of Bowie, MD. Pope provides the basic facts as they were known in 1900 on almost all pre-1650 European immigrants to Massachusetts, and their immediate descendents.

Trider, Douglas William (1999) History of Dartmouth and Halifax Harbour: 1415 to 1800. Privately printed by KenMac Print Ltd of Halifax NS. This is a fascinating but deeply flawed history of the twin cities of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. The text is filled with typos and grammatical mistakes, there is no index and only the briefest possible list of sources, but by virtue of its interminable quotes from contemporary newspaper accounts and admiralty records it nevertheless manages to provide a valuable contribution to the history of the people of\A0 Halifax.

White, Benjamin Vroom (1984) Stanley Cobb: A Builder of the Modern Neurosciences. Published by the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine in Boston, MA. Distributed by the University of Virginia Press, Charlottesville VA. This is a very detailed biography of the eminent neuropathologist, for 30 years Chairman of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Chief of Psychiatry at the Massachusetts General Hospital. There is a family tree in the back.