DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. John P. Cox.
Hill County. Now there's a name that carries some weight, and I'll tell you why. His father was Euclid M.
Cox — a hero of San Jacinto, if you can imagine growing up in that shadow. Some sons wilt under that kind of legacy. John P.
Cox did not wilt. In 1861, he joined Parsons Brigade of the Confederate Army. And when the Civil War was over, he didn't just go home and sit on the porch.
For 25 years after the war, he served as commander of Hillsboro's Confederate Camp. Twenty-five years. The man understood commitment.
He was a Methodist and a Mason, and those two things together will tell you something about a person's sense of order and obligation. But here's where the story really finds its footing. Cox became sheriff of Hill County, and he held that office for 16 years.
Fearless and firm — that's how the record describes him — and he made every effort to bring offenders to justice. Now a lot of lawmen stop right there. Not Cox.
He was particularly interested in the reformation of young law breakers. Not just catching them. Changing them.
That's a harder thing to do than most people reckon, and he reckoned it was worth doing. He also served 4 years as county clerk, because apparently sheriffing and reforming souls still left a little room on the calendar. Son of a San Jacinto hero.
Soldier. Commander. Clerk.
Sheriff for 16 years. John P. Cox left Hill County in considerably better shape than he found it.
What the marker says
Sheriff of Hill County for 16 years. The son of San Jacinto hero, Euclid M. Cox. Joined Parsons Brigade of the Confederate Army in 1861, then for 25 years after the Civil War was commander of Hillsboro's Confederate Camp. A Methodist and a Mason, this fearless and firm sheriff made every effort to bring offenders to justice and was particularly interested in the reformation of young law breakers. Cox also served 4 years as county clerk.