Union City Times-Gazette, March 20, 1942

White River and Jericho Churches -- by Philip Kabel

In 1818, before Randolph county was organized, John Cox with his good wife and eight children, one of whom was Simon Cox, settled near White River a short distance east of the present site of Winchester. About two years later, 1820, White River meeting was set up, the members being Benjamin Cox, John Wright, Jonathan Hiatt, Simon Cox, Thomas Ward, Joseph Moffatt, their good wives, and probably one or two other families.

The Jericho meeting was begun soon afterward.

Here they built a little log church, with no windows, but merely holes with shutters for light. The seats were split logs with legs set in the round side, and they had no backs. The women's side, which was separated from the men's side by a partition, had a big fireplace, but the men's side had only a hearth on the bare ground in the center of the room, with a hole in the roof directly above to let the smoke out.

Whenever possible charcoal was burnt on this hearth, since it made very little smoke. Benoni Hill, Henry Hill, Amos Peacock, Abram Peacock, Elijah Cox, and William Cox, with their good wives, formed this meeting.

On May 19, 1840, Simon Cox and his wife Tamer, purchased a farm situated 5 miles east of Winchester and one mile south of Harrisville. They had two sons, George and Elisha, although farmers, he and his son Elisha were also skilled cabinet makers, making coffins and serving as undertakers for the community. Simon Cox made two coffins, one of which was to be used for himself and the other for his wife. They were made of walnut, and, due to the custom of making them to fit the body, measurements of the person were taken, and exacting skill was required to mitre and fit the joints perfectly so as to make a smooth finish, as it was all hand work.

At that time coffins were made and stored, or especially made to order. When stored they were not trimmed until needed. The two which he had made for himself and wife were stored in an upstairs room in their home where they remained for several years, the one made for himself being considerably larger than the one made for his wife, since she was not a very large woman. For some time prior to her death she had dropsy, and on account of the swollen condition of her body the casket which had been made for her was too small, and the one which he had made for himself had to be used for her.

Mrs. Eleanor Beals, mother of Will and John Beals, whose first husband was Elisha Cox, helped trim many of the coffins which were made by her husband and father-in-law. The coffin which had been made for Simon's wife was never used for burial, and for many years was stored in an upstairs room at the Beals farm, Will and John using it as a place for storage of walnuts which they had gathered. Some years ago El Fraze, undertaker of Union City, moved it to his funeral home there.

Recently interviewed Rev. C. A. (Addison) Peacock and he related to me some of his early recollections of the old Jericho meeting which he attended when a boy, afterward becoming one of the ministers of that church.

Will relate to you as nearly as I can some of his early recollections.

"To the best of my recollection William Cox, or as we called him, "Uncle Billy Cox," sat at the head of the Jericho meeting. After his death Simon Cox sat at the head. Following was William Robinson who presided until the time of the separation in the church. Then William Cox, a son of "Uncle Billy Cox," became the head.

"Simon Cox and his son Elisha were what might be called undertakers, having made the coffins they also took charge of the remains at the services.

"At that time we had no special minister to preach the funeral, but any one who felt called upon to speak was at liberty to do so. After the remains had been carried into the church, the congregation sat in silence until the head of the meeting, or some other friend, would arise from his seat and speak a few words, followed by others until all those who felt so disposed had spoken.

"When the head of the meeting thought the time had come to close the meeting, he would say, "Friends, I think the time has come when those in charge might proceed to open the coffin."

I can almost today see Elisha Cox arise from his seat, holding in his hand a long screwdriver, walk up to the coffin, and remove the screws which fastened the lid, which was laid aside until the congregation viewed the remains, after this the lid was again replaced.

Here the services of the undertaker ended, as he did not provide means of conveyance to the burial ground, the coffin being loaded into the big wagon which had belonged to the deceased, or that of one of the neighbors, and those who had volunteered to dig the grave took charge when the funeral procession arrived at the cemetery.

The first undertaker of this community who gave his entire time to the profession was John W. Diggs, grandfather of Max Diggs. He was born in this county in 1826, devoting his time to farming and the carpenter's trade until 1855, then taking up the cabinet maker's trade which he pursued successfully until the beginning of the Civil War, in the winter of 1861-62, when he entered the profession of the undertaker, following this until the time of his dath.

When he conducted his first funeral at Jericho, at which he used his new hearse and his sleek-coated horses bedecked with shining harness, it was quite a shock to some of those staid old Quakers, some of them thinking that they had deviated far from the right path and were becoming too worldly, making a show of such a sad occasion.

At both White River and Jericho, burial grounds were established. Many of the graves are unmarked, some have only rough, unmarked stones, while others have initials, with neither name, age nor dates. It seems strange that the discipline of a people like those old Friends, so kind, so affectionate, so full of veneration for their departed ones, should have denied them the right to erect suitable memorials marking the last resting places of their loved ones, not costly and for vain show and display, but modest and appropriate, that future generations might know where lie the mortal remains of those who were honored and beloved.

Newspaper Article Contributed By: Billy J. Baker