Memoirs of Philena Morley Cox
By Fannie Singleton James - Granddaughter
Philena Morley Cox is the first child and eldest daughter of Isaac and Lucy Gunn Morley Sr.
She was born 2 Oct 1813 at Kirtland, Lake, Ohio. She was small of stature, had blue eyes, and brown hair. She was a quiet person; always enjoyed being at home. She was regarded as near perfection in personality and disposition and loved by all who knew her.
She married Amos Cox on 20 Jun 1841 in Lima, Allen, Ohio. She was the mother of five children. They are: Amelia, Charles Thomas, Loenza Philena, Evelyn Rosetta, and George Edward Cox.
They moved to Iowa about 1849, where she and husband spent the remaining years of their life. At the time of her death on 18 Mar 1894, the obituary notice in the Shenandoah, Page, Iowa local newspaper reads: "Mrs. Philena Morley Cox was a consistent member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints all her life, having joined in 1830. She was a sincere and earnest Christian women of every virtue. Respected and honored by all who knew her, without an enemy in the world. She was almost blind when she died in her eighty first year. Cause of death was general debility."
In 1948 there were four surviving grandchildren. They are: Fannie Singleton James of Shenandoah, Iowa; Frank Singleton of Denver, Colorado; Millie Belle Byers of Cedar Falls, Iowa; and Ambrosia Eaton Jones of Orofino, Idaho.
Mr. and Mrs. Francis Morley Cox, discovered one of these grandchildren in 1948, in Shenandoah, Iowa (Mrs. Fannie James) through a seed catalog producer, Henry Field. She has been very kind and cooperative.