Colonel Daniel Coxe IV (1673–1739), son of Dr. Daniel Coxe, went to his father's North American lands. He lived in the American colonies from 1702 to 1716 and from 1725 until his death in 1739. After returning to England in 1716, he published an account in 1722 of his travels and a description of the area encompassed by his father's claim, entitled ''A Description of the English Province of Carolana, by the Spaniards called Florida, And by the French La Louisiane''. Daniel Coxe IV was appointed a member of the

New Jersey Provincial Council His Majesty's Council for the Province of New Jersey was the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature under colonial rule until it was replaced by the New Jersey Legislative Council under the New Jersey Constitution of 1776. History The Provinc ...

on November 29, 1705, replacing the late Edward Hunloke. He was suspended from his duties on June 15, 1713 after having conflicts with Gov. Robert Hunter. In 1716 he was elected to the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

representing Gloucester County, and was chosen as Speaker, but was expelled from the lower house that same year.''Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey'', date: various (pre 1950) He was appointed by the

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The premier non-royal peer, the Duke of Norfolk is additionally the premier duke and earl in the English peerage. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the t ...

as Provincial Grand Master of

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

of New York,

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in 1730. The following year, he was succeeded by William Allen. In 1731, he claimed that he possessed superior title to that of the West Jersey Society, via a superseding deed that his father had recorded years earlier; the courts upheld Coxe's claim. Hundreds of families were forced to repurchase their own property from Col. Coxe or be forcibly evicted. The ensuing scandal was one of many injustices that inflamed American anger against the British during the years leading up the Revolutionary War. There were lawsuits and riots; Col. Coxe was burned in effigy; but to no avail. As a result, many Hopewell residents left New Jersey, either unable to pay Col. Coxe or disgusted with the colony's rampant political corruption. One group of Hopewell expatriates settled on the

Yadkin River The Yadkin River is one of the longest rivers in the US state of North Carolina, flowing . It rises in the northwestern portion of the state near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Blue Ridge Parkway's Thunder Hill Overlook. Several parts of the river a ...

in what was then

Rowan County, North Carolina Rowan County ( ),Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Col ...

. This community, the Jersey Settlement, continued to attract new settlers from the Hopewell area for several decades.

References

External links

* Th
Weld Coxe Collection
including correspondence, pamphlets, maps and other materials documenting the Coxe family in America, is available for research use at the

Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania is a historic research facility headquartered on Locust Street in Center City Philadelphia. It is a repository for millions of historic items ranging across rare books, scholarly monographs, family chron ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Coxe, Daniel Members of the New Jersey Provincial Council American Freemasons Emigrants from the Kingdom of England Members of the New Jersey General Assembly 1673 births 1739 deaths People from colonial New Jersey Speakers of the New Jersey General Assembly (colonial period)