Person Page 204

Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb^1,2,3

Photo of Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb. (Courtesy of the Alabama State Archives, Montgomery Alabama)

Facts and Notes

• Name:⁴
• Probate: Between 026 and 31 August 1839; Madison County, Alabama, USABGO; Applied for and granted Letter of Administration for his father's (David Cobb's) estate⁵
• Birth: 8 June 1807; Rhea County, Tennessee, USABGO^3,1
• Arrival: 1809; Madison County, Alabama, USABGO; David Cobb and his family had possibly arrived in Madison County, Alabama, by 1809⁶
• Marriage: 1 September 1825; Catherine A. Allison; Madison County, Alabama, USABGO²
• Residence: 9 June 1860; Township 3, Jackson County, Alabama, USABG⁴
• Occupation: Before 1861; US Representative To Congress
• Death: 1 November 1864; Bellefonte, Jackson County, Alabama, USABG^3,1
• Burial: 4 November 1864; Cobb Cemetery, Cherrytree, Madison County, Alabama, USABG; Burial date estimated based on time of death. Tombstone is in Cobb Cemetery near the Flint River Bridge on road to New Hope, Madison Co., Ala. Inscription says: W.R.W. Cobb, 14 years service to his country.^1,7,3

• Note: Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb was the son of David Cobb, and the brother of Bryant Cobb. He served as in the Alabama State House of Representatives in 1844 and 1845. His most notable acheivement, however, was serving as the representative for Jackson County in the U.S. Congress from March 4, 1847 to 30 January, 1861. He was the last congressman from his state to leave Washington after the outbreak of the civil war, regretting his state's decision to secceed from the Union. On his tombstone is inscribed "14 years service to his country."
  
  Williamson died on November 1, 1864. His brother Bryant, was involved in settling Williamson's estate. He wrote a letter to the U.S. Congress requesting compensation on Williamson's behalf for $3,500-worth of supplies provided to the federal army during the winter of 1863-64 while the army took winter quarters on his plantation and town property at Bellfont, Jackson County, Alabama.
  
  Williamson is buried with his wife Catherine and his brother Bryant in "Cobb Cemetary" in Madison County near the Flint River bridge on the old highway 431 leading from Big Cove towards Owens Crossroads. In June 1994 Mary Jane and I visited the gravesite, which is located on the original tract of land settled by David Cobb. At that time the graveyard was in a copse of trees surrounded by a cornfield. The graveyard was in very poor shape and the headstones were broken and weathered; however, Bryant Cobb's headstone was still fairly legible and, with some imagination, one could still make out Katherine' and Williamson Cobb's headstones. The size and layout of the graveyard suggests that additional people are also buried there -- more than likely David and Martha Cobb.
  
  For an excellent example of one of Williamson's most notable achievements see "Williamson R. W. Cobb and the Graduation Act of 1854," By LEAH ATKINS, in The Alabama Review, Volume 28, Number 1, , pages 16-31, January 1975.
  
  According to the 1850 U.S. Federal Census Slave Schedule, W.R.W. owned eight slaves varying in age from 12-52.

• Related Pages: Cobb Cemetery List of People; Notable People

Citations

1. [S370] Ancestry.com, Web: RootsWeb Cemetery Index, 1800-2010, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=webasm-9192&h=135231&indiv=try, Record for Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb
2. [S482] Ancestry.com, Alabama, Marriages, Deaths, Wills, Court, and Other Records, 1784-1920, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=ALrefnamefiles&h=194249&indiv=try, Alabama Department of Archives and History; Montgomery, Alabama, Record for Catherine A Allison
3. [S403] Ancestry.com, U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=FindAGraveUS&h=60387196&indiv=try, Record for Capt David Cobb
4. [S684] Ancestry.com, U.S., Selected Federal Census Non-Population Schedules, 1850-1880, http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=nonpopcensus&h=6219035&indiv=try, Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Township 3, Jackson, Alabama, Record for W R W Cobb
5. [S2] Alabama, Madison County, Records of the Orphans Court, Alabama. Madison County. Records of the Orphans Court., Case Number 287 (The matter of the Estate of David Cobb, Deceased); Book 7, pages 495 and 497
6. [S4] Compiler: Gandrud, Pauline Jones, Gandrud, Pauline Jones, Alabama Records, Gandrud, Pauline Jones. Alabama Records. 245 volumes., Vols 1-4, Alabama Soldiers of the Revolutionary War, War of 1812, and Indian Wars
7. [S362] Online database, Find A Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cobb&GSfn=Williamson&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=12723087&df=all&, Williamson Robert Winfield Cobb memorial page, number 12723087, created by Jason Presley, 18 Dec 2005; citing gravestone in Cobb Cemetery, Cherrytree, Madison County, Alabama, USA. (https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Cobb&GSfn=Williamson&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=12723087&df=all&: accessed 23 March 2017)