Nash Cox, a Frankfort native, has long been interested in local history and has roots extending back to Franklin County’s early days. Always fascinated by the word and books, she began working at the library the summer when she was nine years old. Later she became an editor; Head of the English Department at The Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr, PA; and Executive Director of the Kentucky Arts Council (1974-85). Cox edited the memoir, Odyssey in Prime Time (2001), written by her late husband, Robert Lewis Shayon, and Portrait of Early Families, Frankfort Area before 1860. She has served as past president of Liberty Hall Historic Site, a former member of the Kentucky Historic Properties Advisory Commission, and was on the board of Fons Vitae, a non-profit, academic press based in Louisville and focused on world spirituality.
Portrait of Early Families, Frankfort Area before 1860
Three women who were descended from early families of Frankfort—Becky Darnell Bolton, Nash Cox, and Sallie Clay Lanham--compiled Portrait of Early Families, Frankfort Area before 1860. They were assisted by other descendants who came to a series of public meetings and brought family stories, information, artifacts, and photographs. This book is the result, a visual and narrative record of families who developed Frankfort and the surrounding land. Bob Lanham was indispensable in the design and in travelling across the state, photographing family portraits hanging on the walls of private homes. The Kentucky Oral History Commission provided a grant to tape family stories now in their archive, and Nell Cox videotaped some of these interviews. Excerpts are interspersed in the book. Richard Taylor wrote the introduction.