Edward Everett Cox (December 29, 1867 – April 1, 1931) was an American newspaper publisher who started Blackford County's first daily newspaper in Hartford City, Indiana. He is "considered one of the most influential forces in journalism" in Blackford County, and was a strong supporter of the Democratic Party. Serving as publisher and sometimes as editor of his newspaper, he also spent time as chairman of the eleventh congressional district, county chairman of the Democratic Party, member of the school board, and postmaster. His newspapers were a "voice" for the Democratic Party for nearly 40 years.See page 4 article by T.J. Hemlinger in the December 30, 1985 Centennial Tabloid edition of the Hartford City News-Times. The Hemlinger article includes the quote "considered one of the most influential forces...."Stoll's History of the Indiana Democracy...., pages 75-76 of the e-book version (scroll down).Roll's biography for Edward E. Cox in Indiana One Hundred and Fifty Years of American Development Volume 5. A portion of this book has been reproduced in the Indiana State web page biography for Edward E. Cox.

Identity and origins The Cox family came to America when the land was still a British colony, and Edward Cox is a descendant of an American Revolutionary War soldier that served with South Carolina troops. The Cox clan from which Edward was descended was a group of Quakers living in North Carolina. During the Revolutionary War, Edward's great-great-grandfather was part of a group known as the "Fighting Quakers", and was a friend of General Nathanael Greene.Stoll's History of the Indiana Democracy contains Cox family information in a biography of Edward Cox's uncle (Judge Charles E. Cox) on page 134 of e-book (scroll down) Edward Cox's grandfather, Aaron Cox, was an Ohio farmer that moved to Hamilton County, Indiana in 1850. In addition to his farm, Aaron Cox was a postmaster and contractor. Bodurtha’s History of Miami County, Indiana...., page 814.

Judge Cox Edward Cox's father, Jabez Thomas Cox, was four years old when the family moved to Indiana. Jabez was teaching school by the time he was 16 years old, and he began studying law shortly thereafter. He served in the Union Army during the American Civil War, keeping a diary that was later published."Civil War Diary of Jabez T. Cox" in the Indiana magazine of history, Volume 28, page 40. After being admitted to the bar, he began practicing law during the late 1860s in Tipton, Indiana, and many years later (1890 and 1896) was elected judge of the Miami circuit court.History of Miami County, Indiana: From the earliest time...., page 409. Jabez Cox had two brothers that would also become judges.Monks, Esarey, and Shockley's Courts and Lawyers of Indiana, pages 287-288. One brother was Millard Fillmore Cox, who was named after the thirteenth President of the United States.Trissal's Public Men of Indiana, page 225. Millard Fillmore Cox became a Marion County criminal court judge in Indiana, and also wrote editorials for the Indianapolis Sentinel. Another brother, Charles E. Cox, became an Indiana Supreme Court justice in 1911.Trissal, pages 225-226.

Family

Jabez Cox married Jennie Price and fathered three children. His first child was named Edward Everett Cox, and Edward was born on December 29, 1867, in Tipton, Indiana.The birth year could possibly be 1868. Roll and Cox's gravestone say 1867. The 1870 U.S. Census says he was 2 on his birthday before August 1870, agreeing with December 29, 1867. Shinn (p. 528) says 1868, as does Hartford City Illustrated and the Hartford City News Cox obituary. The U.S. Census for 1930 implies that Cox's birth year is 1868, saying he was 61 years old on April 12, 1930. While it is not known for certain, Jabez probably named his son after Edward Everett – the noted speaker, prominent politician, and former member of the Whig political party. This seems especially probable since Millard Fillmore Cox had been named after the last President of the United States to be a member of the Whig Party.Shinn's Blackford County Indiana...., page 528. Ironically, the Cox family became strong supporters of the Democratic Party as the Whig party became irrelevant in the 1850s.

In 1869, the family moved to Frankfort, Indiana, and Jabez Cox became proprietor and editor of the Frankfort Crescent newspaper.History of Clinton County, Indiana, page 397. In February 1872, Jabez Cox sold his newspaper company and moved back to Tipton and resumed practicing law. Edward Cox attended the local schools until 1875 when the family moved to Kansas. The move to a western climate was an attempt to improve the failing health of Edward's mother. Continuing to practice law, Jabez Cox also became more active in politics, and lost a Kansas election for state attorney general as a member of the Democratic Party.A portion of Blanchard's biography of Jabez T. Cox from Counties of Howard and Tipton, Indiana has been reprinted in the Tipton-Hamilton-Clinton County IN Archives Biographies listed on rootsweb web page biography for Jabez Cox. Edward's mother (Jennie Price Cox) continued to have poor health, and the family moved to Colorado in 1879 because of her physical condition. She died in 1882 in Canon City, Colorado.Canon City, Colorado exists today, and may be confused with Canyon City — which does not exist in Colorado. Bodurtha, on page 815, says Jennie Price Cox died in Canyon City, Colorado. However, Blanchard says the family lived in Canon City, Colorado. In 1883, the family returned to Indiana and settled in the city of Peru, which is about north of the earlier Cox residence in Tipton. After high school in Peru, Edward Cox attended Purdue University.

Teaching and journalism Edward Cox began his post-scholastic career as a teacher (similar to his father's first occupation) in the Peru area's Miami County school district. After three years, he resigned his position as an educator to start a career in journalism, becoming a reporter for the local Miami County Sentinel newspaper.The Library of Congress lists the Sentinel. Several sources mention Cox working for the Sentinel, including Roll in his Edward E. Cox biography available in the Indiana State Library web page. The newspaper business was another occupation in which Edward's father had also been involved. Edward's family continued its involvement in politics as Edward's father, Jabez Cox, won a seat in the Indiana state legislature in 1886. Edward Cox started Peru's Daily Herald newspaper in 1887, but it lasted only three months before it was suspended. Bodurtha, p. 301 (bottom of page) Cox continued his journalism career in Peru as a reporter until 1891, when he moved to Hartford City, Indiana.Shinn, page 531.

Telegram

In the spring of 1891, young Edward Cox purchased the Telegram, a weekly newspaper in Hartford City, Indiana. The purchase was made with the financial assistance of a second investor. Thus, Cox began a long career as a newspaper publisher and editor. The Telegram's printing facilities were located in the back room of a drugstore, with about of space. Initially, Cox used a Washington Hand Press to produce his newspaper.The International Printing Museum describes this printing technology. The Washington Hand Press was roughly 70-year-old technology, and it took all day for him to print an edition, even with his newspaper's small circulation. Other related equipment was also crude. This was also a significant year in Cox's personal life, as he married Eldora "Dora" Sites in September.Shinn, page 531, has the exact wedding date and location.

In about one year, Cox replaced all of his printing equipment, and began using a cylinder press, which was a more modern piece of equipment. After a total of three years of printing, he upgraded to a press powered by a steam engine, and added other equipment that was the latest in newspaper technology. His newspaper equipment was far more advanced than that typical of a city of Hartford City's size. The advanced equipment enabled him to also operate a printing business. By 1894, the Telegram had about 1,200 subscribers.From a February 8, 1894 edition of the Upland Monitor as reproduced in the Gas Belt Review on page 5 column 1, published by the Blackford County Historical Society. Hartford City's population ranged from 2,287 in 1890 to 5,912 in 1900, so 1,200 subscribers can be considered very successful.Moore's Hoosier Cyclopedia, page 22. An advertisement in an 1895 Hartford City directory said the Telegram was Democratic and the leading newspaper of Blackford County. The paper was issued every Wednesday.See 167th page of PDF of Columbia Directory Company's 1895 version of the Hartford City, Montpelier, and Blackford County, Indiana Directory.

Evening News Because of the success of the Telegram, Cox began Blackford County's first daily newspaper, the Evening News (a.k.a. Hartford City Evening News). The first edition was published on February 5, 1894, and it was distributed free for the first week. Subscriptions were available with delivery to all parts of Hartford City for 10 cents per week.From the February 5, 1894 edition of the Evening News as reproduced on page 4, column 4, of the Gas Belt Review published by the Blackford County Historical Society. There is some disagreement among sources for the starting date for this newspaper. The Cox obituary in the Hartford City News ("City Shocked by the Death of Publisher Following a Series of Heart Attacks") said 1893 was the startup year, as did Hartford City Illustrated on page 10. Hemlinger's article on page 5 in the Hartford City News-Times Centennial Tabloid says 1892 is the start date. The American Newspaper Directory for March 1900 lists the start year for the Evening News as 1894. An advertisement in an 1895 city directory described the Evening News as non-political and possessing a "well equipped job office".

Hartford City News By 1900, the Evening News was no longer non-political, and was considered the voice of the Democratic Party.Hemlinger, p. 4. Cox became known for his editorials, and the demands of the Evening News’ success caused Cox to discontinue the Telegram in 1914. Eventually, the "Evening" portion of the Evening News name was dropped, and the newspaper became known as the Hartford City News.An e-mail from the Indiana State Library says that by 1918 the newspaper was called the Hartford City News. Because the newspaper was a daily, one source incorrectly calls the newspaper the Hartford City Daily News.Roll's biography for Edward E. Cox calls the newspaper the Hartford City Daily News. The Indiana State Library newspaper collection for Blackford County lists the Evening News and the Hartford City News.

In the 1920s, the Ku Klux Klan began gaining political power within Hartford City, bringing intolerance toward the city's Catholic, black, and Jewish citizens. Both local newspapers, the Hartford City News and the Times-Gazette, provided strong opposition to the Klan's philosophy. Cox's anti-Klan editorials irritated Klan organizer L. J. King enough that he referred to the Hartford City News as "that Catholic rag". Ironically, Cox was not Catholic.See pages 25 and 26 of "A History of Blackford County, Indiana..." During 1925, Indiana Klan leader D. C. Stephenson was convicted for the murder of Madge Oberholtzer in a Noblesville, Indiana, trial that received national attention. Cox's uncle, Charles E. Cox was one of the prosecutors in the trial. Details of the case caused many Klan members to abandon the organization. By the end of 1926, the Ku Klux Klan lost its power locally and within the state. The Hartford City News continued its journalistic excellence, and became known as "one of the best and most influential daily papers in this section of the state."

Cox Remarries