Life of John Cocks (1783-1850) Strict Baptist Minister (1817-50) by his great-great-great granddaughter
Hephzibah, John's daughter ... Victor Youatt her son ... Mary Cobb his daughter ... Martin Cobb her son ... Judy Buckley his daughter.
Finished chapters are attached below in PDF format. More will be uploaded very soon!
Chapter 1 Early years in Great Torrington 1783-1807
Chapter 2 Marriage and London 1807-1817
Chapter 3 First Pastorship in Calstock 1817-1821
Chapter 4 Mission in Crediton 1821-1825
Chapter 5 Chapel Building in Minehead 1825-1832
Chapter 6 Tragedy at Highbridge 1832-1833
Chapter 7 Troubles at Twerton 1833-1834
Chapter 8 Preaching in Bath and Kent 1834-1840
Chapter 9 The Amersham Upper Meeting 1841-1850 The Amersham Museum website
Synopsis.
John Cocks was the youngest son of a stone mason in Great Torrington, North Devon. By trade a shoemaker, he devoted his spare time to private study, and began work as an itinerant preacher in North Devon supported by the Baptist Home Missionary Society. He held six Strict Baptist pastorships in Cornwall, Somerset, Kent and Buckinghamshire, founded and ran Sunday schools, and organised the building of new chapels in Crediton and Minehead.
The author owns the flyleaves of his bible, published in 1817, probably a gift on the occasion of his first Baptist pastorship at Calstock. It descended to her from her father, Martin Cobb, his mother Mary (nee Youatt) her father Victor Youatt, and his mother Hephzibah Youatt (nee Cocks). It provides a handwritten list of family dates started by John Cocks and continued by his widow and daughter. Other sources used, parish registers, Baptist magazines (including John's obituary and some articles he contributed) newspaper reports, etc., will be added to this site as a separate bibliography.