Manuel, Virginia Nell Return to INDEX

Born: March 11, 1918 (Sycamore, SC)
Died: September 22, 2016 (Columbia, SC)
Father
Mother

Biographical Sketch:

She graduated from high school on May 27, 1935; her name is given as Virginia Nell Manuel on the diploma.  She moved to Columbia, SC as a young woman and attended secretarial school there.  She married John William Cox, Jr. on October 21, 1950 (marriage license).  After his death, she continued to live in Columbia until her death; she is buried beside him in Greenlawn Memorial Park near Columbia.  Their children were John William Cox III, Fred Manuel Cox and Virginia Gayle Cox.
 
Her birth certificate is here.  Her death certificate is here.  
Census Data:

1920
1930
1940a  1940b  
1950


Photo Index:

Notes:

Mother recorded oral histories about events in her life, although she was not aware of the recordings.  The first recording was made on July 31, 2004.  Click here (mp3) to listen to the recording (about 1 hour, 14 minutes).  The second (about 45 minutes) was made on June 16, 2005.  Other recordings: January 2, 2010 and January 3, 2010.

I asked Mother how she got the name "Nell".  She said that her grandfather Virgil Wilson Manuel had a horse named "Nellie."  He would take her for rides in his buggy, and that her name might have come from the horse! Her name is given as Virginia Nell Manuel on her high school diploma (dated May 27, 1935).  However, she apparently did not care for the name "Virginia", and never used it.  The funeral planning documents she completed in 1998 explicitly state that she wanted her birthday March 12 (and not her year of birth) on the marker, and that her name be given as Nell Manuel Cox.  Her year of birth (1918) is consistent with her ages given in the 1920 and 1930 censuses.

Mother attended Union Elementary School and Fairfax High School.

In June 2002, I asked Mother how she met Father.  They both worked in the same office in Columbia, SC, where he was a clerk and she a typist.  She noticed that he made many apparently pointless journeys past her room; one of her co-workers joked that Nell and John should get married soon, so she wouldn't have to constantly move her head in order for John to get a glimpse of Nell!   One day Mother discussed John with one of the office ladies who knew his family in Sumter, and discovered that his family called him "William".  In a day or so, Mother saw Father at the water cooler, and said "Hello, William!".  Father was quite surprised (and no doubt pleased)... things went on from there!

Images showing latitude and longitude of Bethel Baptist Church (Allendale, SC) and nearby Manuel home area.