William Cox, Sr., arrived in New Harmony, Indiana in 1826 from Virginia with his older brother, Edward, and Edward's many children to follow Robert Owen and William Maclure. William and Edward were mill owners in Raccoon Ford, Virginia. With the death of Edward's wife, Martha Oglesby Cox, the failure of their mill and the loss of the their mother's court case against her second husband, David Almond, (Almond v. Almond), the lure of a new start in Owen's New Moral World with its educational opportunities for Edward's children and the community's need for tradesmen would have been difficult to pass. There, they applied their trade in cooperage and engaged in many community activities. William and Edward were original petitioners to Maclure for the establishment of the Working Men's Institute and William was elected President of that organization more than any other member. They were stockholders in the New Harmony Thespian Society and William was elected Posey County Magistrate, President of New Harmony Democratic Association, Chair of the New Harmony Free Land Association and appointed New Harmony Postmaster. William married Eliza Robb in 1833, youngest daughter of Indiana pioneer, Thomas Robb. William and Eliza had four children, William Robb Cox, Mathew Cox, Lydia Cox Rudolph and Amanda Cox Mitchel.

William Cox, Sr., arrived in New Harmony, Indiana in 1826 from Virginia with his older brother, Edward, and Edward's many children to follow Robert Owen and William Maclure. William and Edward were mill owners in Raccoon Ford, Virginia. With the death of Edward's wife, Martha Oglesby Cox, the failure of their mill and the loss of the their mother's court case against her second husband, David Almond, (Almond v. Almond), the lure of a new start in Owen's New Moral World with its educational opportunities for Edward's children and the community's need for tradesmen would have been difficult to pass. There, they applied their trade in cooperage and engaged in many community activities. William and Edward were original petitioners to Maclure for the establishment of the Working Men's Institute and William was elected President of that organization more than any other member. They were stockholders in the New Harmony Thespian Society and William was elected Posey County Magistrate, President of New Harmony Democratic Association, Chair of the New Harmony Free Land Association and appointed New Harmony Postmaster. William married Eliza Robb in 1833, youngest daughter of Indiana pioneer, Thomas Robb. William and Eliza had four children, William Robb Cox, Mathew Cox, Lydia Cox Rudolph and Amanda Cox Mitchel.