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Sunday, June 14, 2009 4:34 PM In this family it was all about the Zs By Antonio Velarde | Times Staff Writer GREENVILLE -- Wes Crawford has fond childhood memories of traveling with his parents from Elm City to visit his great grandfather Zeronald George Cox in nearby Pitt County. Crawford, who now lives in Pitt County, said his great grandfather had an old white Ford car that was so loud people could hear it for miles. What made his great grandfather, and his other siblings, unique wasn't their cars, however, but their names. Zeronald and his 10 siblings all had names beginning with the letter Z. Zeronald, Zylphia, Zula, Zadok, Zadie, Zenobia, Zeber, Zesley, Zeola, Zorrah and Zelbert Cox. Though all of them have now died, Crawford, and at least 100 other descendants of the original 11 Z-named members of the Cox family, gathered in Greenville Sunday during the annual Z-Cox Family Reunion to honor their heritage. The reunion, which took place at First Pentecostal Holiness Church, is in its 78th year and is one of the longest running in the state. Descendants are spread across eastern North Carolina and the country. Z. Bryan Haislip, named for one of the original Zs and populist William Jennings Bryan, has done much research on the lineage of the original Zs. He said that while descendants of the Zs are now in their fifth or sixth generation, few have given their children Z names. "There were not a lot of Zs after the first generation," said Haislip, who gave his sons Zesley and grandson ZB both Z names. Haislip, 82, is from the second generation, having been named after his mother Zenobia. The story of the Z-Cox family begins in Cox's Crossroads in Pitt County in the 1870s, when Ameriah Biggs Cox Jr. and Jutry Hart were married. The first child, a girl named Zylphia, was named in honor of Ameriah's sister who had passed away. The second and third children, a girl named Zula and a boy named Zadok, were named after friends and family. After encouragement from some neighbors, the Cox couple decided to keep giving their children Z names. Years later, and hundreds of descendants later, Haislip said, there are still a few children alive who are first generation and remember their parents well. Bud and Judy McLawhon of Greenville were this year's hosts. Bud is a descendant of Zylphia Cox, He said the reunions draw between 125 and 150 people each year from as far as Pennsylvania. The family has even had a book written about them, and has been featured in numerous publications and media, including Robert Ripley's "Ripley's Believe It or Not." At the reunion Sunday, family members chatted and laughed over a barbecue and chicken dinner. Some remembered the original Zs, while others only knew them from faded family scrapbooks. Siblings J.C. McLawhon, 78, and Elgon Gooding, 80, remember many of the Zs and their siblings. McLawhon said the family was "very close." Ann Andrews, of Martin County, said she named her son after her father, Zora. She said he was a good man and wanted someone to carry on the name. "I wanted someone named after my father," Andrews said. avelarde@wilsontimes.com | 265-7868 |
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