At some time around 1770, Charles Cocke married Ellender. We have found no record of this marriage. The first reference to Charles and Ellender Cocke is in 1773, where they are paid a witness fee for their attendance at a Court in Fincastle County, Virginia.

According to several references, such as "Early Settlers of Lee County, Virginia" [p. 124], this Ellender was Ellender Ewing, daughter of John Ewing. Support for this conclusion can be found in the Will of John Ewing and other circumstantial evidence.

The Will of John Ewing clearly indicates that his daughter Ellender Ewing married Charles Cocke:

I give and bequeath to my daughter Eleanore Cocke, my brown mare, with what I have already given her and no more.
* * *
I give and bequeath to my Son William and Charles Cocke my whip saw and cross cut.

In addition to identifying Charles Cocke, the Will also mentions their son, John Cocke:

I give and bequeath to my grandson John Cocke two hundred acres of land at the mouth of Trading Creek, including both sides of said creek for quantity.

We are fairly certain that we have found this son John Cocke, and the evidence indicates that he is a son of Charles and Ellender Cocke. Two of his children were named Charles and Ellender.

Some transcriptions of this Will have the word "grand" inserted before "Son William and Charles Cocke", implying that Ellender had two sons William and Charles, and leaving it open for question whether her husband was Charles Cocke or another Cocke. It is not clear why this insertion was made. In other cases, e.g., the reference to "grandson John Cocke", the Will clearly referred to grandson.

Ellender Ewing has also been described as Eleanor. However, the evidence points to Ellender. First, if her name was Eleanor, then it is unlikely that her name would ever have been spelled Ellender. Second, her daughter who died in 1825, was named Ellender, since that is the name that appears on her tombstone. Third, the name appears among the children of her other likely descendants, such as John Cocke.

Instead of being a source of confusion, the name is unique enough to provide valuable clues as to the possible descendants of Charles and Ellender. The origin of the name is unknown, but appears to have been used by the Porters. The name of Ellender Ewing's mother may have been Ellender Porter.

No marriage record has been found for Charles Cocke and Ellender Ewing. At present, their earliest child appears to be Anne Cocke, who was born on 7 Apr 1772. This indicates that Charles and Ellender were married prior to August of 1771, when Charles would have been almost 21 years old.

One factor which may narrow things down further is that there is a theory that John Ewing, Ellender's father, did not move from Cecil County, Maryland to Virginia until sometime in 1770-1771. Assuming that Ellender accompanied her father, this does not give Charles and Ellender much time to get acquainted prior to the conception of Jane in mid-1771.

One possibility that Charles Cocke was also from Cecil County, Maryland. However, the appearance of a Charles and Jester in Lunenburg County ca 1750 make it more likely that Charles Cocke was born and raised in that part of Virginia.

The more likely explanation (as discussed in the section relating to John Ewing) is that the John Ewing selling household goods in Maryland is not our John Ewing. Instead our John Ewing had moved to Prince Edward County ca 1760 and to Cripple Creek sometime after that.

 . . . Children of John and Eleanor Ewing: 1. Eleanor married Lieut. Colonel Charles Cocke; . . .
Submitted by Dr. Joe Frank Smiddy, Church Hill, Tenn.; Joe Carl Smiddy, Memphis, Tenn.; Julia Smiddy, Knoxville, Tenn.