On The Trail of - Colonel CHARLES COCKE
 
 
Ellender Cocke and
John Lee Dibrell of Wayne County, Kentucky and
Whitley County, Kentucky

Ellender Cocke, a likely daughter of Charles Cocke and Ellender Ewing, married John Lee Dibrell a couple of years after they moved to Wayne County, Kentucky. It is thought that Ellender was the daughter of Charles Cocke and Ellender Ewing for several reasons: (1) Her name was Ellender, which is a relatively unique first name; (2) Her last name was Cocke, a spelling which is confirmed by the Wayne County Marriage Book; (3) She married John Dibrell in Wayne County shortly after Charles and Ellender Cocke had moved there; and (4) One of the children of John Dibrell and Ellender Cocke was named Charles Cox Dibrell.

The Dibrells were descendants of Huguenots who settled in Manakintown, Virginia around 1700. Their grandfather Antoine Du Breuil was orphaned soon after his birth and was apprenticed to Antoine Benin (the father of John Benning, after whom Fort Benning, Georgia is named). Antoine Du Breuil changed his name to Anthony Dibrell and married Leanna Lee, a descendant of the Lee family of Virginia.

John Lee Dibrell was the son of Charles Lee Dibrell, a veteran of the Revolution. Charles Lee Dibrell married Martha Burton, a descendant of the Burtons of Henrico County, Virginia. In 1802, Charles Lee Dibrell was appointed Colonel in charge of the Wayne County Regiment of the Kentucky Militia (the "Cornstalk Militia"), which should make him one of the first "Kentucky Colonels".

 
 
Sources and Links Nan McKeever Crowther
The Dibrells in America
 
 
The Family of
Ellender Cocke and
John Lee Dibrell
Ellender Cocke
b. 26 Nov 1788, Washington County, VA
d. 13 Feb 1825, Wayne County, KY
m. John Lee Dibrell, 05 Feb 1805 Wayne County, KY
   Parents: Charles Lee Dibrell, Sr. and Martha Burton
   b. 04 Jun 1777, Buckingham County, VA
   d. 1858, Whitley County, KY
Children:
   i. Martha Burton Dibrell
      b. 22 Aug 1805
      d. 07 Aug 1831, Mill Springs, Wayne County, KY
      m. Augustus Hayden, 13 Oct 1825 Wayne County, KY
         Parents: Bartholomew Hayden and Catherine Gholson
         b. 31 May 1804
         d. 24 Mar 1833, Wayne County, KY
  ii. Wilmoth Watson Dibrell
      b. 22 Oct 1808, Wayne County, KY
      d. 24 Jan 1888, near Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY
      m. James Madison Hayden, 08 Feb 1833 Wayne County, KY
         Parents: John Hayden and Rhoda Stephens
         b. 10 Mar 1808, Wayne County, KY
         d. 16 Aug 1845, Whitley County, KY
 iii. Charles Cox Dibrell
      b. 12 Dec 1810, Wayne County, KY
      d. 29 Nov 1882, Seguin, Guadalupe County, TX
      m. Harriet Rose Gates, Jun 1844 Chickasaw County, MS
         Parents: Thomas Gates and Mary Reid
         b. 22 Mar 1817
         d. 19 Feb 1895
   iv.Anthony Wayne Dibrell
      b. Apr 1814, Wayne County, KY
      d. 09 Dec 1875, Seguin, Guadalupe County, TX 
    v.Andrew Jackson Dibrell
      b. 01 Jan 1815
      d. 18 Aug 1840, Gibson, Gibson County, TN
  vi. Joseph Burton Dibrell, Sr.
      b. 13 Oct 1818, Wayne County, KY
      d. 27 Jun 1883, Seguin, Guadalupe County, TX
      m. Margaret Jane Brawner, 04 May 1839 Williamsburg, Whitley County, KY
         Parents: Unknown
         b. 20 Mar 1820, Blount County, TN
         d. 21 Mar 1893, Seguin, Guadalupe County, TX
 vii. Elizabeth Dibrell
      b. 1824
      m. Samuel Cope, cir 1845
         Parents: Unknown
         d. bef 1850
[John Lee Dibrell m2 Lavina, bef 1835]
 
Source Documents
 
1805 Marriage of John Lee Dibrell and Ellender Cocke
Wayne County, Kentucky DIBRELL, John L. and Nelly Cox, Cock-Cook (?).
Married 5 Feb 1805 by Rev. W. Shrewsbury.
[Note: The Wayne County Marriage Book lists her last name as Cocke.]
June Baldwin Bork, Wayne County Marriages and Vital Records, 1801-1860 (1973), Vol. 1, p. 89
 
1825 Tombstone of Ellender Dibrell
Wayne County, Kentucky MOLEN - OLD DIBRELL - BUCK CEMETERY:
Dibrell, Ellender, wife of John L. - 26 Nov 1788 to 13 Feb 1825.
[Note: The unusual spelling of her first name was confirmed by a visit to the cemetery.]
June Baldwin Bork, Wayne County Marriages and Vital Records, 1801-1860 (1973), Vol. 1, p. 182