Edward Cox of Cardean¹

Parents:

• (Child) Birth*: Edward Cox of Cardean was born on 15 May 1850 at Meigle, Perthshire, Scotland, .²
• He was the son of James Cox of Cox Bros and Clementina Carmichael.¹
• Marriage*: Edward Cox of Cardean married Ada Mary Stitt say 1875.²
• (Deceased) Death*: Edward Cox of Cardean died on 11 March 1913 at Cardean, Meigle, Perthshire, Scotland, , at age 62.³
• Probate*: His estate was probated on 25 June 1913 at London, England, ; Cox, Edward of Carden, Meigle, Perthshire, died 11 March 1913, Confirmation of Ada Mary Stitt or Cox, James Ernest Cox merchant. John Arthur Cox and John Wtson.³

• (Witness) Biography: He was mentioned in the Biography of James Cox of Cox Bros; James Cox papers
  This material is held at University of Dundee Archive Services
  Reference GB 254 MS6/2
  Dates of Creation 1798-c 1900
  Name of Creator James Cox
  Physical Description 2 Boxes The records are on paper.
  
  Scope and Content
  Legal papers c 1800-1884; Financial papers 1798-1881; Household finances 1858-1886; Correspondence 1835-1912; Personal papers 1817- c 1910; Press Cuttings 1881; Ephemera c 1861-1890.
  
  Administrative / Biographical History
  James Cox, senior partner of Cox Brothers and Co., was born in July 1808. As a boy he worked in the office of Mr C Kerr, the Town Clerk of Dundee. He succeeded his father in the family linen manufacturing business, based in Lochee, in 1827. He united with his three brothers in a copartnery in 1841. Shortly after, hand-loom weaving became gradually superseded by power-looms and the firm were quick to adopt the most recent improvements. Cox Brothers also took advantage of the growing importance of jute and, following the construction of Camperdown Works, ultimately became one of the largest jute manufacturing companies in Europe.
  
  James Cox also pursued a municipal career for seven years, and he held the offices of Magistrate, Councillor and Provost in succession. In December 1868 he was elected to the Town Council and at the same time he was elected Fourth Bailie. In 1869 he was made Third Bailie and the following year he was advanced to the position of First Bailie. Having filled the office of Councillor for one year, in November 1872 he was unanimously elected Provost of the burgh. He filled this office until November 1875, when he retired.
  
  In 1867 James Cox was elected a member of the Board of Directors of the North British Railway Company. He was a major figure in the construction of the first Tay railway bridge and one of the most extensive shareholders of the undertaking, being elected Chairman of the Tay Bridge Company during the course of its construction, completed in 1877. The collapse of the bridge two years later deeply affected James Cox and it was mainly due to his determination that the second railway bridge was constructed.
  
  James Cox was a member of the United Presbyterian Church, and in 1866 he inaugurated a movement for increasing the stipends of ministers.
  
  James Cox married Clementina, a daughter of James Carmichael, engineer, in 1834. He had one surviving son, Edward Cox, and four daughters. In 1878 he purchased the estate of Cardean, near Meigle but continued to consider Clement Park in Lochee his true home. He died on 1 December 1885. He was interred in the family burial place, Western Cemetery, Dundee.⁴
• Business-Owner*: Edward Cox of Cardean was owners of the business Edward Cox papers
  This material is held at University of Dundee Archive Services
  Reference GB 254 MS6/5
  Dates of Creation 1860-1913
  Name of Creator Edward Cox
  Physical Description 2 boxes The records are on paper and photographs.
  
  Scope and Content
  Financial papers 1872-1883, letter books 1871-1900, correspondence [1860s]-1903, academic notes 1866-1869, personal papers 1860-1913, Ryehill UP Church papers 1878-[1880s], photographs [1880]-[early 20th century].
  
  Administrative / Biographical History
  Edward Cox, of Cardean, Meigle, was born on 15 May 1850. He was the eldest son of James Cox, at one time Provost of Dundee, and Clementina Carmichael. He was educated at Dundee High School and Edinburgh University, and subsequently received tuition in Germany. After completing his education he spent some time in India. On his return he became associated with Camperdown Jute Works, and on his father's death in 1885 he was given a directing hand in its affairs. Following the conversion into a Limited Liability Company, in 1893, he acted as Chairman.
  
  Edward Cox had a large interest in commercial undertakings apart from Camperdown Jute Works. In 1892 he became a Director of the Scottish American Trust Companies and the Northern American Trust Co. Ltd, becoming Chairman in 1895. He was chairman of the; a Director of the Northern Insurance Co., the Scottish Widows' Fund Life Insurance Society, the Callander and Oban Railway Co; and director and deputy chairman of the Caledonian Railway Co. Ltd. From 1890 to 1891 he was president of the Dundee Chamber of Commerce, and was also a Governor of University College.
  
  From a young age he was involved in philanthropic and religious work. He took an active part in the running of a Children's Church at Lochee, a branch of the Dundee Boys' and Girls' Religious Association, in which he held the position of an honorary vice-president until the time of his death. He was originally a member of Lochee West UF Church, and he was largely responsible for the establishment of Ryehill Church. When he moved to Cardean he attached himself to the Episcopal Church.
  
  In politics he was a Unionist, but in fiscal matters he was an ardent Free Trader.
  
  Edward Cox combined business talent with scholarly attainment. He formed close personal friendship with such men as Professor Henry Drummond and Professor Stalker, Aberdeen. He was well known for his fine taste in art and had many noteworthy works in his collection at Cardean. As administrator of the will of his late uncle, Thomas Cox, he formed a bequest to establish a free public branch library and baths in Lochee. He also purchased the AC Lamb collection of Old Dundee literature and pictures when it was on the point of being dispersed, therefore ensuring its survival intact. In 1900 he presented the entire collection to the Free Library.
  
  Edward Cox was married to Miss Stitt, a daughter of Mr JS Stitt, of Liverpool, and had two sons, J Ernest Cox and John Cox, and three daughters, Hilda, Irena and Beatrice. He was a Deputy-Lieutenant for the County of the City of Dundee and a Justice of the Peace for Dundee.²
• (Witness) Newspaper Article: He was mentioned in a newspaper article about Dr James Ernest Cox of Methven Castle on 30 July 1904. MOTOR SCORCHING.
  Dundee Manufacturer Charged.
  VIGILANT MEN IN BLUE.
  Of late numerous complaints have been received by the county police in the neighbourhood of Dundee in regard to the high rate of speed at which motor cars are being driven over the roads, and as the result of increased watchfulness on the part of the men in blue James Ernest Cox, manufacturer, Lyndhurst, Lochee was charged with driving a motor car at a rate beyond the twenty-mile speed limit. Mr Cox appeared in the Sheriff Court yesterday - before Sheriff Campbell Smith, and as it was the first case of the kind in this district great interest was evinced in the proceedings.
  BREACH OF MOTOR CAR ACT.
  The charge against Mr Cox was 10th June last, on the public highway leading between Dundee and Coupar Angus, and particularly at a part in the parish of Liff and Benvie between the fourth and fifth milestones from Dundee, he being the driver of a motor car, drove at the rate of thirty miles per hour, being a speed exceeding twenty miles per hour, contrary to the Motor Car Act, 1903, whereby accused is liable to a fine not exceeding £10.
  Mr Cox, who pleaded not guilty, was represented by Mr John M. Hendry, solicitor.
  A MILE IN TWO MINUTES.
  James Henderson, constable, stationed at Birkhill Feus, stated, in answer to the Procurator Fiscal, that several complaints had recently been received about the rate at which motor cars were being driven in the district. Amongst others, complaints had been made regarding Mr Cox. He had timed Mr Cox's car himself on several occasions, and in consequence of what he discovered he decided to test the matter in a more thorough manner. On Thursday, 9th June, he arranged together with Constable David Morris to time Mr Cox's car. On the following day he went in company with Morris to that part of the Dundee and Coupar Angus Road where they could see fifty yards past the fourth milestone and about 155 yards past the fifth milestone. Both their watches were set to the same time, and both had second hands. They commenced their vigil about four o’clock in the afternoon, and at exactly 4.27 Mr Cox’s car came in sight travelling in the direction of Coupar Angus. The second hand of his watch was pointing at sixty, and the car disappeared from view beyond the milestone at 4.29, the distance of over a mile having been covered in a exactly two minutes. Mr James E. Cox was accompanied in the car by Mr Cox of Cardean and a chauffeur, who was seated at the back. Mr James Cox was driving the car.
  Cross-examined by Mr Hendry, witnesses said that his watch was not a stop-watch, but it kept very good time. As the motor car passed him he and his companion stepped a little forward from the side of the road in order to let the driver of the motor car see them.
  There were number of carts on the road. He heard Mr Cox change the gear of the motor car as he passed, and he certain that the speed was thereby slackened.
  Constable David Morris corroborated the evidence of the former witness.
  This closed the evidence for the prosecution.
  NO SPEED INDICATOR
  James Ernest Cox was the first witness the defence. In reply to Mr Hendry, he stated that at the time in question he not driving fast. His father, who accompanied him, would have objected, as he disliked fast driving. He did not change the gear when he passed the constables. He was certain that the car was not running at a speed exceeding twenty miles per hours. It was impossible, considering the condition of the road, that he could have travelled at a speed of twenty miles per hour.
  Cross-examined, witness stated that his car was constructed to go at a speed of forty miles per hour, but he had never driven so fast as that. He had taken no means to test the speed at which he travelled. He thought that a person who had driven a motor car 4000 or 5000 miles would know at what rate of speed he was travelling. His car had not a speed indicator.
  Mr Edward Cox of Cardean deponed that he did not think the car was travelling over twenty miles per hour. Personally he had the gravest objection to fast driving, and his sons and friends knew that.
  Chas. Ower, member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, gave evidence as to the character of the road over which the motor car was timed. He denied the statement made by the constables that they could see 150 yards beyond the fifth milestone. He thought it impossible to time the speed of a motor car with an ordinary watch. It would require a man at the place of starting and at the finishing point, both with stopwatches, to take the time accurately.
  STOP WATCHES REQUISITE
  Arthur James Ramsay stated that he frequently acted as an official timekeeper at sporting events, and he was convinced that the constables could not have kept the correct time without stop watches, and he exhibited and explained to his Lordship a stopwatch belonging to himself.
  Thomas Shaw, motor agent, also said that stop watches were absolutely necessary for the correct timing of any speed event. The portion of the road passed over by Mr Cox's car when it was timed by the police men was not in good condition for rapid driving
  This concluded the evidence.
  WHAT THE LAW REQUIRES
  His Lordship and that what the law required in a case of that kind was evidence which would leave no room for reasonable doubt. He did not think the charge had been proved by conclusive evidence. He did not impute any intentional dishonesty against the policemen, but they went there expressly to get a conviction if they could, and when men wanted to obtain a conviction they were more easily satisfied with evidence than men who went to look on impartially. He thought it very peculiar that the out should have come exactly at 4 27, and disappeared two minutes later. The policemen were so many hundred yards distant from according to their idea the car was not going think they could time its approach to a second. He had not the shadow of a doubt that according to their idea, the car was not going at thirty miles an hour, or even at twenty miles an hour. He would doubt the word of half-a-dozen policemen rather than doubt the intelligence of two intelligent men.
  He found the charge not proved.⁵

Census & Directory Entries

Head of Household	3 April 1881	He was listed as head of household along with spouse Ada Mary Stitt in the 1881 census at 18 Windsor Street, Dundee, Forfarshire, Scotland, . Edward     Cox     Head     Married     Male     30     1851     M A Spinner & Manufr Of Jute     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Ada M     Cox     Wife     Married     Female     26     1855     -     England James E     Cox     Son     -     Male     4     1877     -     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland John A     Cox     Son     -     Male     2     1879     -     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Helen     Kennedy     Servant     Unmarried     Female     42     1839     Cook     Fowlis Wester, Perthshire, Scotland Margaret     Jack     Servant     Unmarried     Female     34     1847     House & Table Maid     Banffshire, Scotland Jane W     Robertson     Servant     Unmarried     Female     22     1859     Nurse     Wemyss, Fife, Scotland; also in the household were Dr James Ernest Cox of Methven Castle and John Arthur Cox.6
Head of Household	31 March 1901	He was listed as head of household along with spouse Ada Mary Stitt in the 1901 census at Cardean House, Meigle, Perthshire, Scotland, . Edward     Cox     Head     Married     Male     50     1851     Jute Manufacturer     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Ada Mary     Cox     Wife     Married     Female     46     1855     -     England James Ernest     Cox     Son     Single     Male     24     1877     Jute Manufacturer     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland John Arthur     Cox     Son     Single     Male     22     1879     Jute Manufacturer     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Hilda Mary     Cox     Daughter     Single     Female     19     1882     -     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Irene Mildred     Cox     Daughter     -     Female     14     1887     Scholar     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Beatrice Emily     Cox     Daughter     -     Female     10     1891     Scholar     Meigle, Perthshire, Scotland Louisa Malcolm     Watt     Governess     Single     Female     41     1860     Governess (Domestic)     Haddington, Haddingtonshire (East Lothian), Scotland Christina     McBain     Servant     Single     Female     34     1867     Cook (Domestic)     Boyndie, Banffshire, Scotland Annie     McInnes     Servant     Widow     Female     49     1852     Laundry Maid (Domestic)     Argyllshire, Scotland Charlotte Doig     Summers     Servant     Single     Female     25     1876     Sewing Maid (Domestic)     Fife, Scotland Agnes     Crabbe     Servant     Single     Female     21     1880     House Maid Domestic     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Bessie     Boath     Servant     Single     Female     29     1872     Table Maid (Domestic)     Forfar, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Mary     Cameron     Servant     Single     Female     22     1879     Housemaid (Domestic)     Dundee, Forfarshire (Angus), Scotland Lily     Lindsay     Servant     Single     Female     19     1882     Kitchenmaid (Domestic)     Argyllshire, Scotland; also in the household were Dr James Ernest Cox of Methven Castle, John Arthur Cox, Hilda Mary Cox, Irene Mildred Cox and Beatrice Emily Cox.7