HISTORY

of

ORVILLE M. COX and MARY SOPHIA ALDRIDGE COX.

Orville M. Cox was born 19 Sept.1878, at Indianola, Sanpete Co. Utah. He was the second son and third child of Orville Mills Cox and Rosanna Jones.  His mother died when he was only six years old, and after a few unhappy years he went to live with his Uncle Walt's family, until he was nearly twenty years old. He and his cousin Fred decided to come to Canada in about 1900.

Children of Orville Mills Cox and Rosanna Jones

Orville was a large man 6 ft.2 in. tall and about 230 lbs. he easily found work in construction of the railway between Lethbridge and Cardston, then some coal-mining and finally went into the Waterton area as a wood cutter for the Western Oil and Coal Co., which had moved into the mountains.

Mary Sophia Aldridge was born in Garden City, Rich Co. Utah. on Feb 5, 1884, daughter of William Aldridge and Anna Rolphe. In 1888 Bill Aldridge heard of the prairies in Canada and having a number of outstanding livestock, decided to move to the new country. With his wife and four small children, they made the trip in about three months. They lived at various places in Southern Alberta before moving to the Waterton Lakes area in 1896. Here he discovered oil floating on a stream ,which eventually resulted in an oil well being built there, thus the need for wood cutters. It was at the Aldridge home that Orville, at the age of twenty three, found a place to board. At that time Mary was a charming young lady about seventeen years old. In 1904 the Aldridges moved back to Cardston, with their family of twelve children.

This made courtship a little more difficult, but Orville would saddle a horse and make rather regular trips to Cardston. He also signed up for a homestead in the Twin Butte area. The land description was:

 N.E.4 Sec.28 Twp.3. Range 29 West 4.

He built a one room shack, and made some other improvements, then went to the High River country with his horses to do some work, (plowing) for some extra needed cash. He was to be back on July 11 for his wedding but because of very muddy roads didn't make it until the 13^th.

Orville and Mary were married in the Aldridge home in Cardston on July 13, 1905 by Pres. E.J, Wood. Orville was twenty seven, and Mary was twenty one. They went to Mountain View to spend their honeymoon and to help cousin Fred put up the hay. A few days later as Fred was raking hay his team ran away and Fred was instantly killed. A few days after the funeral  they left for their own home in Twin Butte. Their first child, Ida, was born the following spring in 1905.

There was lots of work to be done, setting up a new home, preparing for winter, sod to be broken for next year’s crop and hay for their horses. Orville was an outstanding blacksmith, and through the years ahead he spent much time helping his neighbours, sharpening  ploughshares, shoeing horses and many other jobs he did for them. He also had a big old grain chopper, and much time was spent grinding feed grain for others. He kept his accounts as accurately as he could in a large book that was kept on a shelf in the pantry. Much of those accounts were never settled. Times and work was hard, but there was always enough to get by with, then came the hard winter of 1920.  The summer was so dry there was little feed for the stock.  Hay was shipped into Pincher Creek about twenty two miles away and material had to be hauled home a little at a time over very poor roads. Several animals starved in spite of all that was done  - among the animals that died there was a very valuable horse, that was much prized.  It took years to recover from the expenses of that winter.

Mary was also a real pioneer and she carried a heavy load. There were very few conveniences for her in her lifetime. She made bread from home ground wheat, butter, soap and cheese. The latter became quite a business and she supplied her neighbours with hundreds of pounds of cheese. She raised the garden, chickens, turkeys, geese, orphan pigs, lambs and calves. She washed wool and made quilts and also knitted mitts and stockings for the family.

Children of Mary Aldridge and Orville M Cox V

The family--Ida May was born 26 May 1906 in Cardston. Myron William arrived 28 August 1907, also born in Cardston.  Birdella, a blue eyed daughter, was born on the 26 Jan. 1910 at the farm home with a  neighbour,  Mrs Ed McCarthy,  attending.  On June 5 1911 Orville M. Jr. arrived.  Charles Melvin was next in line, born in Jan 28, 1916.The fourth son was born on Oct. 20 1917. John Aldridge was his name, and he weighed 21 lbs when he was three months old.  He eventually grew to be 6 feet 6 inches tall. David Hudson, son of Annie (Aunt Annie) and Orville M Cox was born late in the year of 1916. He developed tuberculosis of the spine and died at the age of 21.  Mable Patricia arrived on 17 Mar. 1924, and about two yrs. another baby girl was stillborn. Eight children and all born at the farm home, except the first two.  During the growing up years they had no serious illness or accidents that required a doctor's attention. The family went through the usual epidemics; whooping cough, measles, scarlet fever, etc. without serious results.

	Cox family - Orville M. Cox in centre, children, in-laws and grandchildren around him. Taken at Mary Cox funeral - 1959.
	Cox children and Orville M. Cox V. From left to right - Orville M Cox VI, Ida, Pat, John, Pop Cox, Birdie, Melvin.
	Twin Butte School, circa 1921

They bought their first car, a Ford Model T in 1926 and enjoyed a few more trips away from home. They were able to afford a brand new car just before the Great Depression hit, and son Orville drove it home for them from the factory in Chicago.  For recreation, there were dances held in the one room school houses in the area. In later years the Twin Butte Community Hall was built and Orville was a very popular dance manager for about three years.

During their later life, after the children were grown up and married they spent 3 winters in Arizona and one in Spokane.

In July 1953 Mary suffered a stroke, so they sold their farm and bought a small home in Cardston, There they enjoyed for the first time the modern conveniences that they had never had on the farm. Mary had diabetes and it caused her to become blind as well as paralyzed, but Orville took good care of her and kept their home neatly clean and did the cooking as well. Mary passed away in the Cardston Hospital July  5, 1959 and was buried in the Cardston Cemetery. Orville lived on alone in their little home for two years but his health was not good as he had a heart condition that had bothered him for some time, as well as other problems. He passed away rather suddenly on July  8, 1961 leaving many friends and family to mourn his passing.

The family are as follows--- Ida married. O. Leonard Pilling -  8 children, 6 living – the lived in southern Alberta until their passing.

Myron W. married Virgie Sommerfeld - 6 children, lived for many years  in Moses Lake Washington and later southern Idaho until they passed

Birdella married Rae E. Lybbert - they had 6 sons and lived in Spokane Washington until passing

Orville M. married Essie McWhirter, they had 3 children and lived in Creston B.C. until Orville passed on October 15, 1998.  Essie passed away in White Rock, B.C. on February 27, 2012.

 Melvin married Frances Reviere, had 3 daughters, and later divorced.  Melvin met Hendrika van De Kolk while he was serving in World War II in Germany.  They lived in Blairmore Alberta until Melvin’s passing.  Hendrika still lives there.  They had three children, with two still living.

John Aldridge Married Dulcie Douglas.   They had one son Pat. They settled in Carstairs, Alberta.  John also had a daughter, Vicki.  John and Dulcie lived in Carstairs until their passing.  John passed away on November 7 1968 at his home. Dulcie passed away at a later date.

Mable Patricia married Maurice Eugene Carlson.  They lived in Pincher Creek, Alberta until their passing.  They had seven children, with six living – four girls and two boys.

Webmaster: trudy.handel@gmail.com