Fountain Hayne and Spencer Cone

Written by Rebecca Sellars for the Madison Genealogy Society

For over 180 years, the Cone Family has been planted in Madison County soil, in the Greenville area. Fountain Hayne Cone, born around 1803 in Craven, North Carolina migrated through South Carolina, where he met his wife Anna and where his first son, Edward was born. He arrived sometime before 1833; records show that Fountain voted in the 1833 election. Fountain was here before Florida became a state in 1845 and probably just after Madison became a county in 1827.

Several more children: Jane, William, Fountain, Jr., and Queen Ann were all born in the county. Fountain served in four different militias, as a private, sergeant, and as a captain. Anna died sometime between 1860 and 1868, and is said to be buried in New Hope Cemetery. Fountain then remarried Zilpha, who was around 43 years his junior and had six more children: Frances, Zylpha, John J., Amanda, Henry, and Robert.


Both Fountain and Spencer were counted in the 1840, 1850, 1860, and 1870 censuses. Fountain also lived to be counted in the 1880 census, where he was listed as 77 years old and feeble. In 1850, Jesse Cone, also born in North Carolina, was in Jefferson County. According to one source, Jesse, born in 1813, was the half-brother of Fountain and Spencer. Jesse was married to Adeline and living with the couple was Fereby Cone, age 75, possibly Jesse’s mother. By 1860, Jesse and Adeline also had several children in Jefferson County.


Edward married late, at age 42, Jemima Gill, and had the following children: Queen M., Alford M. and Blanch G.


Fountain Hayne, Jr. married Emily Shephard and had the following children: M. Ann, Jane, and Dora. A 10 year old boy, Benjamin, was listed in the 1870 census after the other younger girls, so possibly Benjamin was not a son or was the son of Emily only. While married to his second wife, Lydia Willis, Fountain, Jr. had the following children: Sumpter Roscoe, Ollie Mae, Blanch A., and William Dewey.

Fountain’s sons from his second marriage were John J., Henry, and Robert. John J. married Missouri and lived locally. Henry married Lottie first and then Quincy and had Amanda and Anna. Henry also lived in the Greenville area. We’re not sure how long or where Robert lived.

Fountain had quite a few grand-daughters and the following grandsons, who mostly were loyal Greenville citizens: Alfred Morris (son of Edward Calvin); and Sumpter Roscoe and William Dewey (sons of Fountain, Jr.).

Alfred Morris, who was born in 1880, married Gussie Letchworth and had the following children: John C., Thomas J., Grover Cleveland, Walter M., Woodrow Wilson, Irene, Nellie Mae, Alfred Morris Jr., Gussie, Edward Calvin, and Margaret Corrine. Finally, there were some boys in the family.




Spencer, Jr. married Elizabeth and had Nancy, Henry W., Frances, Josephine, and Salety.

Spencer, Sr. also had quite a few granddaughters and the following grandsons: Sherman W., John, and James T. (sons of William H.); and Henry W., (son of Spencer, Jr.).




[Extracted from the Enterprise-Recorder, 13 Jun 2014]

Madison County


Genealogical Society