Ambrose Cobbs (1603 – c. 1655) was an early Virginia colonist and planter who established the long lasting social and political Cobb dynasty in the southern states.

Life

Ambrose Cobbs was born in 1603 in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He was the son of Ambrose Cobbs and Angelica Hunt, the sister of Robert Hunt, chaplain of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown in 1607. Cobbs married before 1627, Ann White with whom he had at least six known children. In 1633, Cobbs and his wife sold their property in Kent in preparation for their immigration to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. It is believed that he, his wife Ann, children Robert and Margaret arrived in Virginia in 1635. In 1639 Cobbs patented 350 acres at the mouth of the

Appomattox River The Appomattox River is a tributary of the James River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in central and eastern Virginia in the United ...

as a headright for have paid for the immigration of his family along with Hugh Barker, Thomas Barker and Thomas Harding. Two of the Ambrose Cobbs children, Ambrose and Jane were born and died in Kent before his immigration. He and his wife Ann bore another two children, sons Ambrose (the younger) and Thomas after their arrival in Virginia. Cobbs died about late 1655 or within the first few days of 1656, his will was probated January 15, 1656. His home-site was later sold to the Bolling family who used the name "Cobbs Hall" for their estate.

Children

*Robert Cobbs: The eldest surviving of Ambrose Cobbs, he was born in Kent in 1627. He was executor of his father estate and later removed to

York County, Virginia York County (formerly Charles River County) is a county in the eastern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia, located in the Tidewater. As of the 2020 census, the population was 70,045. The county seat is the unincorporated town of Yorktown. ...

just outside present-day Williamsburg. He is believed to have married Elizabeth Thorpe a relation of Maj. Otho Thorpe. He served as a vestryman of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg from 1674 to 1683 during the period in which the first brick church was built on the present site. *Margaret Cobbs: The second surviving child of Ambrose Cobbs, she was born in Kent in 1631 and was listed in her father's land patent. Her later fate is unknown. *Ambrose Cobbs: The second eldest surviving son of Ambrose Cobbs born after 1635 in Virginia. He resided in York County, Virginia and married leaving two children, a son and daughter. His widow later remarried George Glasscock. *Thomas Cobbs: The youngest surviving child of Ambrose Cobbs was born in Virginia. He died unmarried and without issue in York County, Virginia.

Georgia Cobb family

A number of Ambrose Cobbs descendants migrated to Georgia in the later part of the 18th century founding a powerful dynasty which has continued to hold social and political influence into the 21st century. This prominent Georgia branch of the Cobbs family was founded by Thomas 'Old Tom' Cobbs and John Addison Cobbs, great-great grandsons of Ambrose through his son Robert. The two men would eventually drop the 'S' from their surname as would all their descendants by the Civil War.

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a county in the U.S. state of Georgia, located in the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north central portion of the state. As of 2020 Census, the population was 766,149. Its county seat and largest city is Marietta. Along with ...

was named for his descendant

Thomas Willis Cobb Thomas Willis Cobb (1784February 1, 1830) was a United States representative and Senator from Georgia. Biography Born in Columbia County, Georgia, he pursued preparatory studies, and studied law. He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Lexi ...

, grandson of Thomas 'Old Tom' Cobbs

Descendants and relations of Ambrose Cobbs

The following is a list of direct and collateral descendants of Ambrose Cobbs . # Daniel W. Abercrombie, III (U.S. Naval Commander) #

William Yates Atkinson William Yates Atkinson (November 11, 1854 – August 8, 1899), was the 55th Governor of Georgia from 1894 to 1898. Early life Atkinson was born in the Oakland community in Meriwether County, Georgia on November 11, 1854. He graduated from the ...

(55th Governor of Georgia) married Susan Cobb Milton #

Nathan Franklin Barrett Nathan Franklin Barrett (November 19, 1845 – October 16, 1919) was an American landscape architect. He is best known for his designs for company town of Pullman, Illinois, the Hotel Ponce de Leon in Florida and Naumkeag in Stockbridge, Massach ...

(American landscape architect) married Lucy Mildred Lampkin # Augustus Harrison Benning (Atlanta developer and builder of Atlanta's 'Flatiron building') #

Henry L. Benning Henry Lewis Benning (April 2, 1814 – July 10, 1875) was a general in the Confederate States Army. He also was a lawyer, legislator, and judge on the Georgia Supreme Court. He commanded "Benning's Brigade" during the American Civil War. Fol ...

(Confederate officer, Lawyer, Politician and Jurist) # Thomas Cobb Benning (Methodist minister and founding member of

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

) # Howard Bucknell, III (U.S. Naval Captain) # John Harllee Carmichael (U.S. Naval Captain) #

Walter Eli Clark Walter Eli Clark (January 7, 1869 – February 4, 1950) was an American journalist and newspaper publisher. In addition to his journalistic activities, he was the last Governor of the District of Alaska from 1909 to 1912, and the first Govern ...

(1st Governor of the Alaska Territory) married Lucy Harrison Norvell. # Howell Cobb (born 1772) (Politician) #

Howell Cobb Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815 – October 9, 1868) was an American and later Confederate political figure. A southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and the speaker of the House from 184 ...

(Secretary of the Treasury, 40th Governor of Georgia, Provincial head of the C.S.A) #

James E. Cobb James Edward Cobb (October 5, 1835 – June 2, 1903) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama. Born in Thomaston, Georgia, Cobb attended the public schools and graduated from Emory College in Oxford, Georgia in June 1856, where he studied law. ...

(U.S. Representative from Alabama) # Joseph Beckham Cobb (Antebellum author, Planter and Mississippi legislator) # Mary E. Cobb (Inventor of the modern manicure) # Norvell P. Cobb (Confederate Colonel of the 44th Virginia) #

Rufus W. Cobb Rufus Willis Cobb (February 25, 1829 – November 26, 1913) was an American Democratic politician who was the 25th Governor of Alabama from 1878 to 1882. He is the only person to serve as both Governor of Alabama and Grand Master of the Grand Lo ...

(25th Governor of Alabama) # Sarah Alberta Addison Alexina Telfair Cobb (Socialite and Heiress presumptive) # Thomas Moon Cobb (Confederate Lieutenant of the 13th Virginia) #

Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb Thomas Reade Rootes Cobb (April 10, 1823 – December 13, 1862) was an American lawyer, author, politician, and Confederate States Army officer, killed in the Battle of Fredericksburg during the American Civil War. He was the brother of noted C ...

(Author of the Confederate Constitution, Civil War Officer) # Thomas W. Cobb (U. S. Representative and Senator from Georgia)

is named in his honor. #

Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...

(Film director, Producer, Screenwriter and adventurer) best known for 'King Kong' # Russell Grace D'Oench, Jr. (Shipping heir and Newspaper owner) # Peter D'Oench (Television news reporter) # Russell Grace D'Oench (Shipping heir) # Margaret Eliott of Redheugh (Scottish Aristocrat and Landowner) # Sir Gilbert Eliott, 10th Baronet, of Stobs (Scottish Aristocrat and Landowner) married Dora Adams Hopkins # Sir Arthur Eliott, 11th Baronet, of Stobs (Scottish Aristocrat and Landowner) #

Theodore Gordon Ellyson Theodore Gordon Ellyson, USN (27 February 1885 – 27 February 1928), nicknamed "Spuds", was the first United States Navy officer designated as an aviator ("Naval Aviator No. 1"). Ellyson served in the experimental development of aviation i ...

(First Naval aviator) married Helen Mildred Lewis Glenn. #

John Glenn John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was an American Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He was the third American in space, and the first American to orbit the Earth, circling ...

(Mayor of Atlanta) #

Luther Glenn Luther Judson Glenn (November 26, 1818June 9, 1886) was a prominent Georgia lawyer, politician, Confederate officer during the American Civil War, and antebellum Mayor of Atlanta. He attended the University of Georgia where he was a member of th ...

(Confederate officer, lawyer, Mayor of Atlanta). married Mildred Lewis Cobb. #

Henry W. Grady Henry Woodfin Grady (May 24, 1850 – December 23, 1889) was an American journalist and orator who helped reintegrate the states of the Confederacy into the Union after the American Civil War. Grady encouraged the industrialization of the Sout ...

(Georgia journalist and orator) # John Grant (Antebellum railroad baron and reconstruction era developer) married Martha Cobb Jackson # Sarah Frances Grant (Socialite and Philanthropist) # John W. Grant (Atlanta merchant and owner of the Kimball House) #

Burton Harrison Burton Norvell Harrison (July 14, 1838 – March 29, 1904), was a lawyer, American Democratic politician, and private secretary to Confederate States of America president Jefferson Davis. Harrison's support for the pro-slavery South countered ...

(Lawyer, politician and private secretary of

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

) #

Constance Cary Harrison Constance Cary Harrison ( pen name, Refugitta; April 25, 1843 – November 21, 1920), also referred as Mrs. Burton Harrison, was an American playwright and novelist. She and two of her cousins were known as the "Cary Invincibles"; the three sewed ...

(Writer) married

Fairfax Harrison Fairfax Harrison (March 13, 1869 – February 2, 1938) was an American lawyer, businessman, and writer. The son of the secretary to Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Harrison studied law at Yale University and Columbia University befor ...

(Railroad executive, lawyer, historian, writer) #

Francis Burton Harrison Francis Burton Harrison (December 18, 1873 – November 21, 1957) was an American statesman who served in the United States House of Representatives and was appointed governor-general of the Philippines by President of the United States Woodro ...

(Governor-General of the Philippines and U.S. Representative from New York). # Oliver Markham Healey (Atlanta developer) #

Lucas Hedges Lucas Hedges (born December 12, 1996) is an American actor. A son of filmmaker Peter Hedges, he studied theater at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Hedges began his acting career with a supporting role in Wes Anderson's comed ...

(actor) #

Peter Hedges Peter Simpson Hedges (born July 6, 1962) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, film director and film producer. Early life Hedges was born in West Des Moines, Iowa, where he was raised, the son of Carole (Simpson), a psychotherapis ...

(Writer, Director) # William A. Hocker (Florida Jurist) married Mattie Norvell Glover. #

Sarah Johnson Cocke Sarah Johnson Cocke (, Johnson; after first marriage, Hagan; after second marriage, Cocke; February 7, 1865 – January 20, 1944) was an American writer and civic leader. She was also active in several women's clubs. Cocke's works of Southern fic ...

(Writer and civic leader) # Dorothy Jordan (Film actress) wife of Merian C. Cooper #

Robert F. Kennedy Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...

(Politician, US Attorney General) #

Lucian Lamar Knight Lucian Lamar Knight (February 9, 1868 – November 19, 1933) was an American journalist, editor, author, and historian. He was the founder of the Georgia Archives. In 1919, in recognition of his work in history, he was made a Fellow of the Roya ...

(Georgia historian and newspaper editor) # Kathryn Denise Rucker Krepp (Chief Counsel, U.S. Maritime Administration) # Jefferson Mirabeau Lamar (Confederate officer) married Mary Athena Lamar. # John Lawrence Marye, Jr. (Conservative politician) #

P. Thornton Marye Philip Thornton Marye (1872-1935), known as P. Thornton Marye, was an American architect with offices in Atlanta, Georgia. Marye was born in Alexandria, Virginia, and raised at the family mansion, Brompton, outside Fredericksburg, Virginia. He at ...

(Georgia architect and preservationist) #

John Milton (Florida politician) John Milton (April 20, 1807 – April 1, 1865) was governor of Florida through most of the American Civil War. A lawyer who served in the Florida Legislature, he supported the secession of Florida from the Union and became governor in October 18 ...

(5th Governor of Florida) married Susan Amanda Cobb. # Susan Cobb Milton (Suffragette, educator, entrepreneur, first female postmistress in Georgia, First Lady of Georgia) # Benning Betts Moore (Georgia lawyer and jurist) # Anton Papich (Washington D.C. photographer) #

William Hayes Pope William Hayes Pope (June 14, 1870 – September 13, 1916) was the last Chief Justice of New Mexico Territory and the first United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico after New Mexico attained s ...

(New Mexico Jurist) married May Nisbet Hull #

Mildred Lewis Rutherford Mildred Lewis "Miss Millie" Rutherford (July 16, 1851 – August 15, 1928) was a prominent white supremacist educator and author from Athens, Georgia. She served the Lucy Cobb Institute, as its head and in other capacities, for over forty years, ...

(Educator, Writer and History Revisionist) # Laura Turner Seydel (Environmental Activist) married to Rurtherford Seydel. # Paul B. Seydel (Belgian-American chemical manufacturer) #

Mildred Seydell Mildred Seydell (born Mildred Rutherford Woolley; March 21, 1889 – February 20, 1988) was an American pioneering female journalist in Georgia. Seydel wrote as a syndicated columnist and founded the ''Seydell Journal'', a quarterly journa ...

(journalist) #

John M. Slaton John Marshall "Jack" Slaton (December 25, 1866 – January 11, 1955) served two non-consecutive terms as the List of Governors of Georgia, 60th Governor of Georgia. His political career was ended in 1915 after he Commutation of sentence, commut ...

(60th Governor of Georgia) married Sally Frances Grant #

Maciej Słomczyński Maciej Słomczyński (April 10, 1922 – March 21, 1998) was a Polish translator and writer. For his detective stories he used the pen names Joe Alex and Kazimierz Kwaśniewski. Life and work Born in Warsaw, he was the son of Merian C. Cooper, an ...

(Polish translator and writer) #

M. Hoke Smith Michael Hoke Smith (September 2, 1855November 27, 1931) was an American attorney, politician, and newspaper owner who served as United States secretary of the interior (1893–1896), 58th governor of Georgia (1907–1909, 1911), and a United S ...

(U.S. Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Senator, 58th Governor of Georgia) married Marion 'Birdie' Cobb # Samuel Spencer (First president of the Southern Railway) married Louisa Vivian Benning #

Philip Thompson (Kentucky politician) Philip Thompson (August 20, 1789 – November 25, 1836) was a member of the U.S. representative from Kentucky. Born in Mercer County, near Harrodsburg, Kentucky, Thompson received a limited education. He served as a lieutenant in the War of 181 ...

(U. S. Representative from Kentucky) #

Charles L. Weltner Charles Longstreet Weltner (December 17, 1927 – August 31, 1992) was an American jurist and politician from the U.S. state of Georgia. Early years and education Weltner was born in Atlanta, Georgia. In 1948, he received a bachelor's degre ...

(U.S. Representative from Georgia and Georgia Supreme Court Justice) #

Barbara Harrison Wescott Barbara Harrison Wescott (October 27, 1904 – April 8, 1977) was an American publisher and heiress. She was the second daughter of Francis Burton Harrison and his first wife Mary Crocker, an heiress from San Francisco. Her maternal grandfat ...

(publisher) #

Lloyd Wescott Lloyd Bruce Wescott (November 21, 1907 – December 24, 1990) was an agriculturalist, civil servant, and philanthropist in New Jersey. Born and educated in Wisconsin, he moved to New York after college before settling in New Jersey where he ...

(Agriculturalist, civil servant, and philanthropist) married

. # Pierce Wetter (New York City Preservationist and Pacifist) #

Elizabeth Cobbs Elizabeth Cobbs is an American historian, commentator, and author of eight books including three novels, a two-volume textbook, and four non-fiction works. She holds the Melbern Glasscock Chair in American History at Texas A&M University. She ...

(Historian and Author) #

Jerrie Cobb Geraldyn M. Cobb (March 5, 1931 – March 18, 2019), commonly known as Jerrie Cobb, was an American aviator. She was also part of the Mercury 13, a group of women who underwent physiological screening tests at the same time as the original Merc ...

(American Aviator and one of the women of Mercury 13. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerrie_Cobb) ''The list above is compiled through reference with available genealogical resources from the Library of Virginia, Library of Congress, multimedia referencing through Ancestry.com and through internal wikipedia cross-referencing.''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobbs, Ambrose 1603 births 1655 deaths English emigrants American planters Farmers from Virginia People from Kent People from Chesterfield County, Virginia