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Author: Coxon, William

Biography:

COXON, William (1801-80: ancestry.co.uk)

He was baptised on 3 Jan. 1802 at Tattenhill, Staffordshire, the son of William Coxon, wheelwright, and Ann Brackley, who had married at her parish of St. Modwen’s, Burton-upon-Trent, on 21 Oct. 1799. He was probably born in 1801. Nothing is known of his education but he described himself as “an humble self-instructed individual . . . born and brought up in seclusion, denied the advantages of polished society and scholastic instruction” (Poems, [iii]). Despite these limitations he was active from a young age in the civic life of Burton-upon-Trent, holding an array of posts: Overseer of the Poor (1824-36), Guardian of the Union (1837-78), Superintendent Registrar (1837-78), and sometime Town Clerk, Alderman, and Secretary to the Burton-upon-Trent Savings Bank. He married Mary Hopkins, 18 March 1826, at Burton-upon-Trent. They went on to have at least six daughters and a son. She died on 25 Nov. 1846, aged 42. He then married Ann Moseley on 3 Feb. 1851 at Ratby, Leicestershire. They may have had five sons and four daughters. He retired from civic life in 1868 and died on 11 Nov. 1880 at Branstone, Burton-upon-Trent, leaving an estate of under £800. His wife Ann died there in 1884. Inexplicably, the British Library catalogue and Google Books give the author’s name as Wilfred Francis Coxon but there is no evidence for this. The name on the title page is clear; it was printed by Scott and Tomlinson of Burton-upon-Trent; and the 1880 obituary notices record it as his. (ancestry.co.uk 19 July 2023; findmypast.co.uk 19 July 2023; Derby Mercury 2 Dec. 1846, 26 Feb. 1751, 6 Sept. 1884; Derby Daily Telegraph 12 Nov. 1880; GRO marriage and death cert.) AA

 

Books written (1):

London/ Burton-upon-Trent: Baldwin and Cradock/ Scott and Tomkinson, 1831