"sanguine vita"

"life blood"

Variations in Spelling:

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 the following 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.

This family history honors the memory of Mike Cobb, whose passion for uncovering and preserving our shared past lives on through the work he left behind.

The Cobb family of New Romney, Kent, developed within one of England’s historic Cinque Ports, a setting that shaped both the livelihood and identity of its inhabitants. As with many early English families, the origins of the Cobb line are best understood through place rather than a single founding individual. The surname Cobb—appearing in records as Cobbe, Cobbes, and Cobbs—became hereditary during the later medieval period, reflecting the stabilization of family names within English society.

The earliest clearly identifiable representative of this line is John Cobbes, who appears in local records associated with New Romney during the late medieval period. His presence indicates an established family already integrated into the civic and economic life of the port. Members of the Cobb family are found in parish, probate, and Cinque Ports records as freemen, landholders, mariners, and participants in municipal affairs, consistent with the maritime character of New Romney and the privileges granted to its residents.

As environmental change and the silting of New Romney’s harbor reduced the town’s importance as a port, branches of the Cobb family adapted to shifting economic conditions. Some remained in Kent and surrounding counties, while others dispersed more widely within England. By the early modern period, individuals bearing the Cobb surname appear in records beyond Kent, reflecting broader patterns of internal migration and, in some cases, emigration abroad.

This study treats John Cobbes not as the origin of the Cobb family, but as the earliest documented figure through whom a local lineage can be traced forward. From the Cinque Ports of Kent to later settlements elsewhere, the Cobb family history reflects continuity shaped by place, service, and gradual migration—paralleling the broader patterns seen in other families examined in this work.

For generations, researchers have attempted to identify the parentage of John Cobbes using indirect and circumstantial evidence. For approximately three decades, the conclusion that Henry Cobbe was John’s father has been widely accepted in the secondary literature. More recently, this conclusion has been questioned following a reanalysis of the available records, which suggests that Walter Cobbe may instead have been John’s father. At present, no known contemporary record explicitly identifies John Cobbes’ father, and the question remains unresolved pending further research and analysis. For this work I will accept the Henry Cobbe is the progenitor of my family line.

Several years ago, Alexander Robert Cobb made available online the family history research compiled by his grandfather, recognizing its potential value to other descendants. That work was originally undertaken by Robert Stanley Cobbs, MC, FRIBA, who began researching the Cobb family of Kent, England, in the early 1950s.

Although Robert Stanley Cobbs prepared his research primarily for family use and did not intend it to serve as a source document for broader genealogical study, his work has nonetheless proven to be a valuable reference, particularly for descendants of Ambrose Cobbs in the United States.

I was able to copy Mr. Cobbs work before access to his site was lost and put it here,Cobbs of Kent, for others to use. Additionally, here is a story of Ambrose "the Emigrant" Cobbs developed from information obtained in and around Williamsburg and Petersburg, Virginia.

• Thomas W. Cobb (1784 – 1830) a U.S. Representative and Senator from Georgia; Cobb County, Georgia is named in his honor.
• Howell Cobb (1815 – 1868) Secretary of the Treasury, 40th Governor of Georgia, Provincial head of the C.S.A
• Rufus Willis Cobb (1829 – 1913) was the 25th governor of Georgia.