Cox, James.

Biography

Cox, James b. October 4, 1893, Decatur, Alabama; African American; Father Neaton Cox, mother Jenny Cox; Education through 7th grade; No prior military service; Single; Rail Road Porter, Musician; CP 1931; Received Passport# 372130 on March 5, 1937 which listed his address as 1007 Garrison Street, and 3421 Delmas Street, both St. Louis, Missouri; Sailed March 12, 1937 aboard the Ile de France; Arrived in Spain on April 4, 1937; Assigned to Madrigueras as a cook; Later served with the XV BDE, Lincoln-Washington BN, Co. 2; Later to Brigade Quartermaster Section as a Cook; Last unit Lincoln-Battalion, Cocina; Rank Soldado; Returned to the US on December 15, 1938 aboard the Paris, on certificate 25-868; d. 1963.
Source: Americans; Sail; Scope of Soviet Activity; Cadre; XV BDE; Pay; RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 876, ll. 64-71; USSDA; African Americans, L-W Tree Ancestry. Code A Box 2, Folder 23, 177_197042 [List of Names] Moscow Fond 545, Opis 5, Delo 197, ll. 42, Oct. 1938. This is a page from Folder 197: Album of 15th International Brigade Presented to the American Communist Volunteers of the 15th Brigade by the Communist Party of Spain. On a two page spread entitle Declaration of the American Negro Comrades eighteen individuals signed the second page.
Biography James Cox was born October 4, 1893 in Decatur, Alabama. Although he received formal schooling only through the seventh grade, Cox regarded his work as a musician over the ensuing ten years to have been of great educational value. During the postwar industrial upturn Cox moved from Decatur to St. Louis, Missouri, where he was eventually employed in the construction of railroad cars. In 1931 he joined the Communist Party. Cox was among the first black volunteers to go to Spain. He received his passport on March 5th, 1937 and left on the Ile de France, seven days later. In Spain, Cox often worked in the kitchen as a cook. On December 15th, 1938 he returned to the United States aboard the Paris. Cox is believed to have died in January 1963.~ Chris Brooks
Photographs: James Cox Lincoln-Washington Battalion, November 1937. The 15th International Brigade Photographic Unit Photograph Collection; ALBA Photo 11; ALBA Photo number 11-0650. Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives. Elmer Holmes Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South, New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries; and below Cox in Spain, RGASPI Fond 545, Opis 6, Delo 876, ll. 64;