William Coxe, Jr.

Who was William Coxe, Jr.?

William Coxe, Jr. was a pioneer pomologist and a U.S. Representative from New Jersey.

Born in Burlington, New Jersey, Coxe served as a member of the New Jersey General Assembly 1796–1804 from 1806 to 1809, and again in 1816 and 1817. He served as speaker 1798–1800 and again in 1802. Coxe was elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress.

Coxe is better known as a pomologist. He maintained the first experimental orchard in America. His A View of Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider was the first book on pomology written by an American or about American fruit trees. The illustrated book, more than 250 pages in length, had chapters on apples, pears, quince, peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines, and cherries. It included historical discussions and descriptions of both tree and the fruit.

He died in Burlington, New Jersey, on February 25, 1831. He was interred in St. Mary's Churchyard.