John Younger Fox (1856-1935)







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John Younger Fox was the fourth child and second son of Nathan Fox and his wife, Mary Jane Wrenn. John was born 16 February 1856, shortly after Nathan Fox had brought his family back to North Carolina after having spent several years in Gordon County, Georgia. John, as one of the older children and son in his family, assumed very early in his life, a significant part of the responsibility within the family group, especially while his father, Nathan, was in service in the Confederate Army from the time period beginning 21 October 1864 when he enlisted, until Nathan was released on June 26, 1865, after taking the Oath of Allegiance. Although his elder brother, Sidney, may have assumed a leadership role in the absence of a father during that time, John, at the tender age of eight, must surely have assumed a man?s role in shouldering responsibility for the chores and other necessary duties in the household. Such was a necessity for the times.

John grew into a handsome young man, with dark hair, clear blue eyes, and of wiry figure. He was educated in the school which his father, Nathan, had built on the farm in the Roseville Community, well able to master the necessities of arithmetic and the skills of writing and reading, which held him in good stead all of his life. While he would never have allowed anyone to refer to him as a dandy, he did manage to present himself as a well-groomed young man, especially on church days, where his neatly pressed dark suit, vest, and dark Fedora hat, seemed to have become a uniform of sorts for him, which he maintained throughout his life. Lest one should picture him in this fashion during the regular days of the week, he was a farmer, and quite appropriately attired for that responsibility.

This dashing young man did present himself sufficiently well to attract the attentions of a comely young lady near his community, Rosa Alice Royster, daughter of Solomon Royster of Person County, and his wife, Sarah Jay Satterfield, of the neighboring county of Caswell. Rosa had been just a young girl, almost an infant, when her father, Solomon, died while in the Confederate Army, serving in Summerville, South Carolina. Rosa and her brother, Solomon Stanfield Royster appeared to have grown up in the household of their maternal grandparents, Samuel Satterfield and his wife, Joannah Drake, in Caswell County, in the Prospect Hill Community, not too far from the Roseville Community of Person County.

John apparently did not rush to marry as he was twenty-five, and his young bride was nineteen when they were married 12 January 1891 in Person County, North Carolina. But John was preparing for marriage and family when he first purchased a beautiful early, nineteenth century, federal style, two story house with land, adjacent to Nathan and Mary Ann Wrenn Fox on what is now Thee Hester Road just at the intersection of the Roxboro/Leasburg Road. The land of one hundred and twenty acres was purchased from J. Y. Thomas and his wife, S.Agnes Thomas on the 29th day of November A D 1890. The land is now owned by Preston Satterfield who razed the older house structure to build a newer house there. Their immediate neighbors were William Horton, Nathan's mother, Mary Jane Fox, Puck Chicariss, and Junious Thomas

Circa 1908, the family later expanded their land holdings when they purchased land on the Chub Lake Road in Person County, from Mariah Royster widow of Alexander Royster who was a cousin to Rosa Alice Royster. The land contained an early nineteenth century log structure, which contained a main room or keeping room with a cooking fireplace and hearth. The ceiling beams which supported the wide ceiling boards, were hand-hewn, and finished along the edges with reeding. A narrow corner stairway led up to a sleeping loft under the eaves of the roof. This of course was not adequate in size for a growing family, so John built a two story addition in front of the older house, and attached the two with a dog-run or breeze-way, as it would be described in today's vernacular. The older structure became the kitchen for the farmhouse. The newer structure contained a wide central hall between two large first floor rooms; the hall contained a staircase to the second floor, where two other rooms flanked the upstairs central hall. The front of the new house was embellished with a lower story front porch, held up by turned columns, complete with decorative brackets, in the mode of the late Victorian period or Carpenter?s Gothic, as it was known. The house still stands (2001), but in a sad, unkempt version of its original appearance, across from Storys Creek Primitive Baptist Church on Chub Lake Road in Person County, North Carolina.

John Younger Fox had grown up in a time where a horse provided the main mode of transportation, whether in a saddle secured to its back, or by way of a carriage or wagon to which a horse was attached. It did not take long for him to enter into the motorized world, once T-Model Fords became available. He did have his problems with this conveyance in his early experiences. He had placed his youngest son at the wheel, when he first acquired his first auto; but it was not long for him to decide that he should give driving a try. He planned to make his first excursion out towards Chub Lake not far from his residence. He managed quite nicely in getting the car moving, lickytysplit to its first destination, but upon arriving at the lake, he had neglected to clarify what he needed to do to slow down and stop the vehicle. His solution to the problem, was to employ the same technique in stopping a horse, by pulling back on the reins. The reins, in his mind, had been substituted by a steering wheel, which he proceeded to pull back upon, and yelling loudly, ?Stop, damn you! I said whoah! The cars response was to relinquish to him the steering wheel which had become detached from the column, and this allowed the car to make its own decision of where to go! Luck would have it, that it decided to move away from the lake, and up a steep embankment, which managed bring to car to an abrupt halt.

John did manage to better accommodate the skills of driving, as he soon invested in a large Buick touring car, which for the most part remained parked in the yard or was in the hands of his youngest son, Oscar Fox, who had found it a convenient way to court the unattached ladies in the neighborhood. John and Rosa had thirteen children, born to them; only seven survived until adulthood.

Rosa had been brought up in the Primitive Baptist faith, which she followed all of her life. Rosalie A. Fox joined in faith in the Primitive Baptist Church and was baptized in 1890, according to her family Bible record. She became a member of Story's Creek Primitive Baptist Church after the family had moved into the community. She was a devout member of the faith, and is known to have contributed frequently to the magazine published by the Church.

Rosa died, at the age of 67, 19 March 1929, and is buried at Storys Creek Cemetery. John Younger Fox died at the age of 79, 9 September 1935, and he was laid to rest beside his wife at Storys Creek.

Source: The Heritage of Person County, Volume III, Eileen M. Mikat, Ph.D., Chair Book Committee (2001) at 96-98 (Article #70 "John Younger and Rosa Alice Royster Fox Family" by John B. Fox).
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The John Younger Fox and Rosa Alice Royster family made a significant move in their farming enterprise when they purchased land in the Olive Hill area of Person County, North Carolina. The land was adjacent to the property of John's father, Nathan Fox, on what is now the Thee Hester Road at the intersection of Roxboro/Leasburg Road, North Carolina. It was on this land that the majority of their thirteen children were born, seven of whom survived into adulthood. The last of their progeny, Charles "Charlie" Oscar Fox, arrived on the 12 of May 1900. Oscar was a happy child who thrived upon the attentions of his parents and elder brothers and sisters.

The family spent several years at the Olive Hill area, when it was determined that land was available near Stories Creek Church on the Club Lake Road, Person County, North Carolina. The family purchased the early 1800s log house and land from Rosa's kinsman, Mariah Royster, and moved their belongings to the new home.

Source: The Heritage of Person County, Volume III, Eileen M. Mikat, Ph.D., Chair Book Committee (2001) at 90-92 (Article #65 "Charlie Oscar and Claudia Graham Fox" by John B. Fox).

• Married: 12 JAN 1881 in Person County, North Carolina

1. Henrietta E. Fox b: 15 NOV 1881 in Person County, North Carolina
2. Infant Boy Fox b: ABT 1883
3. Eddie Younger Fox b: 03 APR 1883 in Person County, North Carolina
4. Eugene Fuller Fox b: 17 AUG 1885 in Person County, North Carolina
5. Cora Aldine Fox b: 02 AUG 1887
6. Infant Daughter Fox b: 26 MAR 1889
7. Infant Daughter Fox b: 26 MAR 1889
8. William Wise Fox b: 16 SEP 1891
9. Mary Lottie Fox b: ABT 1893
10. Lexie Bernice Fox b: 16 FEB 1896 in Person County, North Carolina
11. Fannie Lee Fox b: 17 MAR 1898
12. Dary Painter Fox b: BEF 12 MAY 1900
13. Charles Oscar Fox b: 12 MAY 1900

1. William Wise Fox b: 16 SEP 1891