"sanguine vita" Down through the ages our surname has had numerous variations in spelling. My grandfather told me one story that his grandfather decided there were more than one Cobb so the name should have an "s" added to make it plural. We will follow Mike Cobb's format:

• The early British born generations are spelled COBBES.
  
• The early American born generations are spelled COBBS.
  
• The modern international spelling is COBB unless otherwise noted, as several branches of the family, including ours, still spell the name COBBS.

We want to recognize the efforts of Mike Cobbs and all the File Managers of the Cobb and Cobbs site, without whose effort very little would be known about our family and its history. Mike connected with Alexander Robert Cobb, the grandson of Robert Stanley Cobb, who provided his grandfather's genealogical work on the Cobb history in Britain. We have borrowed much from these works to make our files here for you to use. We strongly recommend that you visit Cobb and Cobbs to see the whole story. The first Cobb from County Kent, England, to be recorded in the College of Heralds was the man known to genealogists as John Cobb of Kent (c1324). His American descendants are all from the line of Ambrose Cobb, who arrived in Virginia, in 1635. Researchers have been trying for generations to identify John’s father. Although the most likely answer has been known for almost a decade, a challenge has been presented within the last two years. On the one hand is the claim that John’s father was one Walter Cobbe. On the other hand we have a claim that John’s father was a man named Henry Cobb. Read more about The Hoax. We have the work done by Robert Stanley Cobbs, MC, FRIBA, who in the 1950's began to research the Cobbs in Kent, England. He published this work for his family, not intending it to be a source document for others but, it is a great reference for those descended from Ambrose Cobbs here in the United States. You can begin your search with the Cobbs of Kent or start with the Ambrose "the Emigrant". The Cobbs of Kent, 1260-1910

 

Robert Stanley Cobb

 

Introduction In the Cobb and Cobbs I found a link to a British web site being set up by the grandson of Robert Stanley Cobbs. Visiting this site and finding the connection between Ambrose Cobbs and his ancestors I began to review the work. Shortly after the site was unavailable but I was able to download some of the chapters. Mr. Mike Cobb has maintained an exchange with the grandson and has found much more information about the British line of Cobbs. Please go to Cobb and Cobbs to see more on the British Cobbs. Foreword Robert (aka Robin) Stanley Cobb was born March 11, 1890; the son of Arthur S. Cobb and Margaret Ritchie Cassels. Arthur was a banker and published author of two books on British economics.

Robert began studying Architecture as early as 1907 as an apprentice in London.Following graduation from Dulwich College, he immigrated to Argentina. There he worked as an architectural assistant in Buenos Aires from 1911-1914, when he returned to England for military service.

 

During the First World War he served as a Captain in the Royal West Kent Regiment, and participated in the Gallipoli and Palestine campaigns before being sent to France. During service he was severely wounded, and was awarded the Military Cross for his actions on the Somme in 1917.

 

Following the war he obtained a position in the Colonial Office and posted to Kiambu in the Central Province of Kenya. In 1924, he was made an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects. In 1930, he was made a full member.

 

During the Second World War he attained the rank of Major while serving with the Occupied Territories Administration in Asmara. The end of the war found him in England; but he returned to Kenya with his family in 1945 to continue his professional career in architecture. He designed a number of the larger post-war buildings in East Africa.

 

Partly for health reasons and to continue the education of his children, he returned to England in 1951; and retired the following year. The last seven years of his life were spent in or near Oxford. He became a member of the Parish Council of Kidlington and was elected to the Urban District Council. He died April 3, 1959.

 

Obituary; The Builder; April 10, 1959

 

"The death has occurred of Mr. Robert Stanley Cobb, MC, FRIBA, founder of the firm of Cobb, Archer, and Scammell, architects, of Nairobi, Mombasa, Kampala, Aden, and Dar-es-Salaam. Among the buildings he designed in East Africa are Government House, Mombasa, and the Town Hall and Barclays Bank in Nairobi. Mr. Cobb served with the British Administration in Eritrea as Director of Transport and Assistant Director of Public Works.He returned to this country in 1951 and made his home in Oxford, moving later to Kidlington.He is survived by a widow and two children."

 

Robert Stanley Cobb was a 9^th generation descendant of Henry Cobb and Pleasance Redwood; and thus a direct descendant of John Cobb of Kent (c1324). His line of ascent is shown below.

 

9. Robert S. Cobb (1890-1959).   8. Arthur S. Cobb (1857-1902).   7. Thomas Cobb (1827-1912).   6. Capt. Thomas Cobb (1796-1892).   5. Benjamin Cobb Jr. (1753-1835).   4. Benjamin Cobb Sr. (1709-1757).   3. Robert Cobb Jr. (1672-1727).   2. Robert Cobb Sr. (1634-1676).   1. Benjamin Cobb (1584-1642).

Son of Arthur S. Cobb and Margaret R. Cassels.   Son of Thomas Cobb and Sarah Hutchinson.   Son of Capt. Thomas Cobb and Elizabeth Newbold.   Son of Benjamin Cobb Jr. and Jane Smith.   Son of Benjamin Cobb Sr. and Catherine Grebell.   Son of Robert Cobb Jr. and Katherine Curteis.   Son of Robert Cobb Sr. and Mary Hunt.   Son of Benjamin Cobb and Alice Knowler.   Son of Henry Cobb and Pleasance Redwood.