John Cox

Colonel John Cox owned the William Trent House in 1784. An affluent merchant and committed patriot, Cox fought at the Battles of Trenton and Princeton and acquired the core of the old William Trent estate in 1778 from Dr. William Bryant, a noted Loyalist. Cox also owned the Batso iron works, which made ordnance for the Continental Army. While at the William Trent House, Cox reputedly entertained numerous well known figures, among them General Rochambeau and the Marquis de Lafayette.

[credit: Portrait by Charles Willson Peale, courtesy 1719 William Trent House Museum]