William Coxe Jr. (May 3, 1762 – February 25, 1831) was a pioneer

pomologist Pomology (from Latin language, Latin , “fruit,” + ) is a branch of botany that studies fruit and its cultivation. The term fruticulture—introduced from Romance languages (all of whose incarnations of the term descend from Latin and )—is a ...

and a U.S. Representative from New Jersey. He served as

Mayor of Burlington, New Jersey Burlington, New Jersey was incorporated on December 21, 1784. It is governed within the Faulkner Act (formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law) under the Mayor-Council form of municipal government (Plan 4), implemented based on the rec ...

Personal life

Born in Burlington, New Jersey, he was the son to Mary Francis and William Coxe. William married Rachel Smith. He had eight children with Rachel Smith. She was the daughter of Richard Smith and the only heir to a massive fortune. He received a massive amount of inheritance from his wife's family. As a gesture to his wife, he made a will leaving her an estate in Pennsylvania and New York on January 15, 1822. The names of the eight children were Maria,

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, Anne, Harriet, Emily, William Smith, Richard Smith and Elizabeth. He died in Burlington, New Jersey, on February 25, 1831. He was interred in St. Mary's Churchyard.

Politician

William Coxe Jr. served as a member of the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

1796–1804 from 1806 to 1809, and again in 1816 and 1817. He served as speaker 1798–1800 and again in 1802. Coxe was elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813 – March 3, 1815).

Pomologist

Coxe is better known as a

. He maintained the first experimental orchard in America. His ''A View of Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider'' (1817) was the first book on pomology written by an American or about American fruit trees. The illustrated book provided information about 200 fruits, including apples, cherries, peaches, pears, and plums.

Abolitionist

William Coxe Jr. and his brother

Tench Coxe Tench Coxe (May 22, 1755July 17, 1824) was an American political economist and a delegate for Pennsylvania to the Continental Congress in 1788–1789. He wrote under the pseudonym "A Pennsylvanian," and was known to his political enemies as ...

were abolitionists. Tench was a political economist and abolitionist leader. He was a founding member and secretary of the Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery in Philadelphia around 1787. William was a member and delegate of the New Jersey Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery. It was founded in 1793. Their distant relative was radical abolitionist

Samuel Hanson Cox Samuel Hanson Cox (August 25, 1793 – October 2, 1880) was an American Presbyterian minister and a leading abolitionist. Cox was born in Rahway, New Jersey to Quaker family. After renouncing his religion and serving in the War of 1812, he s ...

References

1762 births 1831 deaths Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly Members of the New Jersey General Assembly People from Burlington, New Jersey Federalist Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New Jersey Mayors of Burlington, New Jersey Pomologists {{NewJersey-politician-stub

Personal life

Politician

Pomologist

Abolitionist

See also

References