The Cobb family are Nancy's ancestors, her mother's paternal ancestors.

Our story begins with Gideon Cobb and Abigail Dyer, who originated in Connecticut, and moved to Pawlet, Vermont, with several of their adult children and their families. Gideon descended from Henry Cobb of Barnstable, Massachusetts. We do not provide details of the line from Henry to our branch because we have not done research on those generations, in part because Henry's New England descendants have been well-researched over the years by others. A brief outline of Henry's story and his connection to the Cobbs of Pawlet, is provided in our Cobb Ancestors Chart.

The most recent, and most authoritative, account of Henry's immediate descendants is provided by recognized Mayflower researcher, Susan E. Roser, in her new book, Early Descendants of Henry Cobb of Barnstable, Massachusetts. A more extensive, but not nearly as well substantiated, listing of Henry's many descendants can be found on the Cobb and Cobbs website.

While Henry arrived in Plymouth a few years after the colony was established, our Pawlet branch can claim descent from two Mayflower passengers. Gideon descended, by his paternal grandmother, from John Howland, who is perhaps best known for having fallen overboard during a storm and being recovered. Abigail descended from the well known William Bradford, the second Governor of the Colony.

Elkanah, one of Gideon and Abigail's sons who also moved to Pawlet, seems to have been inspired with the wanderer's spirit. He and his wife lived long enough in both Stillwater, New York and Canterbury, Connecticut to have children there before settling in Pawlet by 1781. Several of their sons seem to have caught the sense of opportunity that seized the young nation after the Revolution, adventuring to the frontier in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, and Indiana to make their marks. Several of their sons seem to have been even more imbibed with entrepreneurial energy. We have hoped to capture some sense of their enthusiasm in their stories as well tell them here.

To read this family's stories you may choose to begin with the founder of the Pawlet branch, Gideon. Or you may prefer to start with those about whom we have the most interesting information. They include:

  • Gideon's grandson, Gideon Dyer Cobb, one of the earliest settlers in Eddyville, Kentucky, and father of several sons prominent in trade and iron in the area

  • Another grandson, Joshua Cobb, who founded the industrious Indiana branch

  • Gideon Dyer's son Robert Livingston Cobb, over-achieving entrepreneur, father of R. L. Cobb of Cobb's Battery fame in the Civil War, and grandfather of humorist Irvin S. Cobb

  • Gideon Dyer's son Dr. Johusa Cobb, Nancy's ancestor, iron-monger and prominent public figure in Clarksville, Tennessee before and after the Civil War

  • Dr. Joshua's son, Capt. Robert Linah Cobb, who served briefly in his cousin's "Cobb's Battery" before achieving note as a pontooneer in the Engineering Corps

If you prefer, you can look for specific people in the index on the left or explore the family in the Cobb Descendants Chart, which offers links to each person's narrative. There is also a Map showing the principal locations where the family lived.