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Osborne Fort Cemetery

Grayson County, Virginia

Location: On New River south of U.S. 58 west of Independence.

Directions: This cemetery is located near New River on Route 711 (Battlefield Drive) 0.7 mi from the intersection with Route 601 (Bridle Creek Road)

GPS Coordinates: N36.600943 W81.229511

Surveyed by: Data was recorded in December 2001 by Ginger Ballard.

Comments: A large monument constructed around 1982 lists those persons known by people of the community to have been buried here. There are without doubt others buried here. All original stones were removed by the landowner in the late 1950s. Some of these orignial headstones and footstones were recovered and stored at Cox’s Chapel Cemetery. In 2004 these recovered stones were placed in individual concrete pads within the cemetery area. According to Paul Herndon’s records, an inventory of the cemetery before its destruction noted there were 17 unmarked graves in the cemetery. That inventory, plus the destruction and reconstruction, have caused this cemetery to be the suject of lively conversation and speculation about who might be buried herein. Many names and dates were gleaned from census, family records and the books written of the Cox, Phipps and Osborne family histories. The fenced area is an approximation of the location of the cemetery.

Osborne Fort Cemetery
General View of the Osborne Fort Cemetery

Osborne Fort Cemetery, Grayson County, Virginia
Name Birth Death Comments
COX, Alexander 10 Sep 1785 15 Sep 1874 s/o Lt. David Cox and Mary Margaret McGowen; m1 Liddia Osborne, m2 Margaret Bishop, m3 Tabetha Long
COX, Liddia Osborne 1785 before 1850 d/o Enoch and Jane Hash Osborne; 1st w/o Alexander Cox
COX, Margaret Bishop 1806 23 May 1857 aged about 54 years; 2nd w/o Alexander Cox
COX, Tabbitha/Tabatha Long 17 Apr 1806 17 Nov 1877 3rd w/o Alexander Cox
COX, Hardin 5 Jan 1796/1790 13 Oct 1867 s/o Joshua and Ruth Osborne Cox; h/o Nancy Reeves
COX, Haywood 28 Jan 1838 26 Dec 1861 “CSA”; s/o Isom and Gincy Phipps Cox; Gs/o Joshua and Ruth Osborne Cox; and Capt Joseph and Mary McMillan Phipps; dates are from original marker
COX, Floyd Rush 9 Jan 1839 7 Nov 1846 s/o Isom and Gincy Phipps Cox
COX, Drucilla  9/29 Jan 1847 4 Nov 1861 d/o Isom and Gincy Phipps Cox; dates are from original marker
COX, Joshua Orville 1 Mar 1856 22 Oct 1861 s/o Isom and Gincy Phipps Cox; dates are from original marker
COX, John Letcher 3 Sep 1858 16 Oct 1861 s/o Isom and Gincy Phipps Cox; dates are from original marker
COX, Joe 1837 Oct 1861 s/o David and Irena Jane Doughton Cox; 1st h/o Phoebe Jane Ward; died at Manassas, Va. His brother Enoch and 2 other brothers brought his body back from Lewisburg, Va (now WV) for burial here.
COX, John ca 1788 1850 s/o Joshua and Ruth Osborne Cox
COX, Nellie Ward 1800 8 May 1870 d/o Nathan and Sarah Ward; w/o John Cox
COX, Rosamond Emeline 12 Nov 1855   d/o John Dee and Rutha Jane Cox; died of diphtheria
COX, Hardin 1857 1857 s/o John Dee and Ruthu Jane Cox; died of diphtheria
COX, Letcher Arius (Aras?)     s/o John Dee and Ruthu Jane Cox; died of diphtheria
COX, Josh      
COX, Joshua 20 Jan 1766 20 Dec 1820 s/o David and Margaret McCowan Cox; marr: abt 1788
COX, Ruth Osborne 26 Dec 1770 13 Nov 1831/1851 d/o Enoch and Jane Hash Osborne; w/o Joshua Cox
COX, Peggy Ann Osborne 13 Feb 1810/ 1812 10/13 Feb 1876 d/o Enoch B., Jr and Mary “Polly” Livesay Osborne ; w/o Troy Cox, who is buried in Cox Chapel UMC Cemetery.
COX, Enoch Osborne 18 Dec 1835 7 Mar 1855 s/o Troy and Peggy Ann Osborne Cox; h/o Phebe Jane Ward
COX, Rebecca 20 Feb 1840 26 Feb 1948 d/o Troy and Peggy Ann Osborne Cox
COX, Aras Franklin 21 Mar 1849 10 Apr 1850 s/o Troy and Peggy Ann Osborne Cox
COX, Irena 1845/1846   d/o Troy and Peggy Ann Osborne Cox
COX, Margaret     d/o Troy and Peggy Ann Osborne Cox
COX, Richard 1790   s/o David and Jane Daniel Cox
COX, Violet     stone moved to Cox Chapel Cemetery
COX, Tabitha 17 Apr 1806 17 Nov 1877 w/o Alex Cox; stone moved to Cox Chapel Cemetery
unknown others in 1982
DANIEL, Ruth Cox ca 1835 12 Mar 1850 4 Dec 1915 d/o David Cox and Irena Jane Doughton Cox; w/o Pinkney O. Daniel
OSBORNE, Enoch ca 1745-50 Sep 1818 Capt Am Rev; s/o Ephraim Osborne
OSBORNE, Jane Hash ca 1750/1753 after 12 Apr 1822 d/o John Hash; w/o Capt Enoch Osborne
OSBORNE, Enoch, Jr. 22/27 Dec 1774 1852/1853 s/o Enoch and Jane Hash Osborne
OSBORNE, Mary Livesay 1780 1813 “Polly”; d/o Thomas and Margaret Livesay; w/o Enoch Osborne, Jr.
OSBORNE, Millie     a slave, owned by Cpt. Enoch Osborne
PHILLIPS, Jane      
WARD, Benjamin 1796 1858 s/o Nathan and Sarah Ward
WARD, “Jennie” Jane Cox 1803/1805 1845 age 47 years 11 mo 15 days; d/o Joshua and Ruth Osborne Cox; w/o Benjamin Ward
WARD, Jane “Jennie” Cox 1829 20 Oct 1848 age 19 yrs 11 mos 15 days; d/o Josh Cox
WARD, Nathan ca 1765 1835 [believed to be son of Wells Ward, original settler on Saddle Creek]
WARD, Sara ca 1765 after 1850 w/o Nathan Ward; listed on the monument as Sara, an Indian
WARD, Stephen, Sr. 17 Dec 1807 1849/ 05 Jun 1885 s/o Nathan and Sarah Ward
WARD, Abigail Osborne ca 1775 after 1850 w/o Stephen Ward
OSBORNE, Solomon ca 1800/1802 1878/1879 s/o Enoch, Jr and Mary Livesay Osborne
OSBORNE, Hannah Cox 1801 1876 d/o Joshua and Ruth Osborne Cox; w/o Solomon Osborne
THOMPSON, Isom   18 Feb 1863 h/o Jane Osborne Thompson; died in military service of Co. K 51st VA Infantry, CSA
THOMPSON, Jane Osborne 1829 18 Feb 1863 d/o Solomon and Hannah Cox Osborne; w/o Isom Thompson
THOMPSON, Joshua A. 1853 1855 Believed to be buried in this cemetery. Probably s/o Isom and Jane Osborne Thompson.
OSBORNE, Ephraim 1720 1795 possibly buried here but not listed on the monument