William Cobb1,2,3

Family Chart
ID# 15560, (1787 - 1826)
FatherJohn Cobb4,5 (21 Oct 1744 - 16 Dec 1815)
MotherMary Fuller6,7 (25 Nov 1762 - 16 Mar 1849)

Key Events:

Birth: 25 Oct 1787, Pawlet, Vermont8,9,10
Marriage: 6 Apr 1809, Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont, Lora Fitch (about 1790 - 20 Dec 1871)11,12
Death: 21 Sep 1826, Louisville, Kentucky13,14,15
ChartsDescendants of Gideon Cobb
AncestryThe Cobbs of Pawlet, Vermont

Copyright Notice

Narrative:

     William Cobb was born on 25 Oct 1787 in Pawlet, Vermont.8,9,10
     He was probably one of the four males under age 16 listed in the household of his father, John Cobb, in the 1790 Federal Census of Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont.16 He was probably one of the two males age 10 to 15 listed in the household of his father in the 1800 Federal Census of Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont.17
     William married Lora Fitch, daughter of Benjamin Fitch, on 6 Apr 1809 in Pawlet, Rutland Co., Vermont.11,12
     William and Lora moved to Vernon, Oneida Co., New York, before 1812. His younger brother, Gideon joined them there.18,19,20 (See map.)
     William and his brother Gideon went to Aurora, Erie Co., New York, in 1812 to erect defenses against the expected attack of the British and Indians, then returned to Vernon.21 William and Gideon operated an axe and scythe manufacturing business in nearby Rome, New York. Gideon was the peddler (traveling salesman) for the business. He traveled throughout western New York, selling his wares out of an ox cart given to him by his father.21,22
     William and Gideon settled in Rochester, New York, about 1813. There were few inhabitants in the area at the time, with much of it presumed to be unusable swamp, "suitable as a resort for frogs and muskrats" as Gideon recalled some 35 years later.23,24,25
     He was mentioned in the will of John Cobb, his father, dated 10 Sep 1815, his father stating that he had already received all assistance which justice justified.26
     In 1816 William moved the works to Rochester, adding a machine shop. He had a forge, using power from the falls to make axes, scythes, and other forgings. In 1820 Lawson Thayer, brother-in-law of William's brother Gideon, became a partner.27,28,29
     The village of Rochesterville was incorporated by an act of the legislature in Apr 1817. On May 5 William was elected as one of the initial five trustees, serving for one year. The name of the village was changed to Rochester, it's original name, in 1819. William was a trustee again in 1820, again serving only one year.30,31,32
     The first fire company in Rochester was organized 19 Oct 1817, with William and his brother Gideon among the 23 original members.33 When the First Presbyterian society built its first church in Rochester, in 1820, William contributed $25 in blacksmithing.34
     In 1818 William and Gideon paid $1,960 for 140 acres along Monroe Ave. and formed The Sand Company to quarry the sand found in the area. William left that business the following year to use his skills in making mill irons, taking advantage of the demand created by new mills being created across the country.21
     William died on 21 Sep 1826 in Louisville, Kentucky, at age 38, where he had gone to make mill irons and superintend the building of a mill.13,14,15

Children:
     Children with Lora Fitch:

Citations

  1. [S862] Births, Marriages and Deaths, Pawlet, Vermont, 1768-1856, pg 146, marriage record.
  2. [S2270] Muff, Extracts from early Vermont probate records, citing Part 1, pg 83, which cites 10:387-90, shows his name mentioned in his father's will.
  3. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pp 154, 185.
  4. [S2270] Muff, Extracts from early Vermont probate records, citing Part 1, pg 83, which cites 10:387-90, shows the boy named in his father's will as his son.
  5. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pg 188.
  6. [S2270] Muff, Extracts from early Vermont probate records, citing Part 1, pg 83, which cites 10:387-90, shows the boy named in her husband's will as his son.
  7. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pg 154.
  8. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pp 154, 184, shows date, town, as Orwell, and state.
  9. [S2607] Cleveland and Cleveland, Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families, vol 1 pg 45, shows year, and town, as Pawlet.
  10. [S225] Despite Philip Cobb's statement that the child was born in Orwell, his father was a constable in Pawlet by 1780, and appeared there in the 1790 and 1800 census. He did not sell his farm in Pawlet until 1805, appearing in the Orwell census in 1810, so it seems most likely that all his children were born in Pawlet.
  11. [S862] Births, Marriages and Deaths, Pawlet, Vermont, 1768-1856, pg 146, shows date.
  12. [S2607] Cleveland and Cleveland, Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families, vol 1 pg 45, shows married.
  13. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pg 185.
  14. [S2446] "Died," The Rochester Telegraph, 17 Oct 1826, shows date, city, and state.
  15. [S2466] Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester, pg 383, shows he died in the summer of 1821. This seems to be in error, since a contemporary obituary shows his death in 1826, and pg 439 shows that William was involved in a land transaction on 27 Oct 1822.
  16. [S1779] John Cobb household, 1790 U.S. Census, Rutland Co., Vermont.
  17. [S1522] John Cobb household, 1800 U.S. Census, Rutland Co., Vermont.
  18. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pg 185, shows he moved west, living in Amsterdam, Rochester, and Vienna, New York.
  19. [S2467] Kling, "Gideon Cobb (1791-1864)," shows William and Gideon returned to Vernon after their trip to Aurora.
  20. [S2607] Cleveland and Cleveland, Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families, vol 1 pg 45, shows he removed to Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y., thence to Rochester.
  21. [S2467] Kling, "Gideon Cobb (1791-1864),."
  22. [S2453] [W. H. McIntosh], History of Monroe County, New York, pg 74, shows Gideon was a peddler of scythes, axes, and sometimes hollow-ware when he arrived in Rochester.
  23. [S2467] Kling, "Gideon Cobb (1791-1864)," citing 31 Sep 1847 remarks by Gideon, shows year and describes conditions.
  24. [S2453] [W. H. McIntosh], History of Monroe County, New York, pg 74, shows he arrived in Rochester in 1813.
  25. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pg 186, shows he moved to Rochester about 1817.
  26. [S2270] Muff, Extracts from early Vermont probate records, citing Part 1, pg 83, which cites 10:387-90.
  27. [S2453] [W. H. McIntosh], History of Monroe County, New York, pg 80, shows business in Rome, and move to Rochester in 1816, and partnership with Thayer.
  28. [S863] Cobb, History of the Cobb Family, pg 185, shows he had a forge in Rochester, and use of the falls.
  29. [S2607] Cleveland and Cleveland, Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families, vol 1 pg 45, shows he established the first water power factory for edge tools and farm implements.
  30. [S2453] [W. H. McIntosh], History of Monroe County, New York, pg 81, shows incorporation, William's election.
  31. [S2454] [Henry O'Peilly], Sketches of Rochester, pg 258, shows William as trustee 10 Jul 1817, 1820, replaced 1821, change of town name.
  32. [S2466] Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester, pg 108, shows Wiliam's election in 1817; pg 184, shows election in 1820.
  33. [S2466] Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester, pg 201.
  34. [S2466] Peck, Semi-Centennial History of the City of Rochester, pg 255.
  35. [S2607] Cleveland and Cleveland, Genealogy of the Cleveland and Cleaveland Families, vol 1 pg 45.
  36. [S7671] Golding, Descendants of Rev. Thomas Hanford, 1:109.
  37. [S2449] "Early Records from First Presbyterian Church, Rochester, NY", baptismal record.