Family Homeplace of Joshua and Judah Borden: Judah, John, Mildred Back row: Cottie Elvira Eason Borden, John Louis Borden, Sr.
Left- from Bottom: John, Bessie, Amanda Joshua, Joe; Right – from Top: Sutton, Elizabeth, Frances, Cottie
Joe, Frances, Sutton, Cottie, John, Amanda, Joshua (left to right)
Mildred Evelyn Borden
America’s Got Talent doesn’t have a thing on the Borden and Cobb Families TALENT!!!! We will be showcasing our singers, dancers, musicians, poets, dramatists and even cousin Lizzie playing her spoons.
The talent
show will be on Friday Evening, August 1st at the Reunion “Meet and Greet” at the Hampton Inn.
Please sign up now to get on our list. Our very own Tonya Marie “Lawyer by Day – Poet by Night” has already signed up and I expect LIN LUNA will be providing us with some of his verse and of course … “Lizzie will play her spoons”.
What’s your talent? We want to hear from you.
Contact Chris Cobb at ccoyusa@yahoo.com, or Sue Borden Evans at suebeewrites@gmail.com.
The Reunion Committee is requesting the names, addresses (home and email),schools and plans of all of our 2014 Graduates so that 
they may be properly celebrated at our Reunion in August 2014.
Please forward their names to Susan Borden Evans at suebeewrites@gmail.com.
Although Brittany Borden graduated from Villanova University Graduate School in 2012 her exuberance in this picture expresses the feelings of all of our graduates.
Family gathered in 1981 at the St. Augustus AME Zion Church
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Borden/Cobb Family Reunion August 1, 2014 to August 3, 2014 Returns to Ancestral Homeplace – Kinston, North Carolina
Kinston, North Carolina, June 20, 2014 – BORDEN/COBB Family Reunion for descendants of Ben Holden, his son Joshua Borden and his sister (name unknown) mother of Annie Vashti Delamar who married Thomas Battle.
The Borden and Cobb Families are planning a Family Reunion in Kinston, North Carolina – August 1, 2014 to August 3, 2014 headquartered at the Hampton Inn on Route 70. The Borden and Cobb Families share a common ancestor in Ben Holden (1795). These families enjoy an ancestry dating back to 1795 in Kinston and New Bern.
Joshua Borden(1825 – 1900), son of Ben Holden was one of the founders of St. Augustus African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in 1865. Descendants of Joshua played important roles in the development of that Christian institution. Joshua was also a leading advocate for education and the formal schooling of Black children. He saw to it that all of his children were educated and all of them could read and write. Even under the scourge of slavery Joshua learned to read and write and used the bible not only to learn and teach the word of the Lord but to learn and teach the basics of reading and writing to his children and others. The offspring of Joshua and Judah Austin Borden (his wife) were outstanding citizens of Kinston. They included Edward, Joshua, Peter, Susan, Sarah Frances and John Louis. In addition to being staunch supporters and officers of the church, Joshua, Judah and their children were ministers, carpenters and merchants in Kinston and Goldsboro. Some of their descendants also settled in Little Washington. Subsequent generations have settled in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Florida, California and many other localities. Over time many family surnames have been adopted including: Borden, Moore, Patrick, Wooten, Strong, Battle, Cobb, Hubbard, Collier, Kendall, Green, White, Christian, Anderson, Frazier, Jones, Smith, Evans, Bell, Marshall, Graham, Duffy and many others.
Ben Holden also had a daughter (the sister of Joshua) although her name has been obscured in the vagaries of time, her daughter’s name was Annie Vashti Delamar (Battle) who married Thomas Battle. Annie lived in New Bern with her husband, Thomas Battle, one of the early pastors at the historic St. Peters African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the first AME Zion church in the south, founded by Bishop James Walker Hood in 1864. One of Annie’s Children, Sophie Battle (who attended the first family reunion in 1982) married Moses P. Cobb (the first African American police officer in NY) and thus the Cobb Family name.
Family and friends are welcomed to join us in a weekend of celebration and activities. All are invited to the worship service at St Augustus, the ancestral family church, on Sunday, August 3, 2014 at 11 am. A ticketed brunch will follow the service.
Local Event contact Charles Cobb, Jr. 252-468-1583.
Contact:
Committee Chairperson
Susan Borden Evans
suebeewrites@gmail.com
http://www.virtualbordens.com
215-878-5442
Local Committee Chairpersons
Charles and Martha Cobb
Martha_jc@yahoo.com
252-268-3527
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Borden Living History: CHRISTOPHER DUFFY – OUR BORDEN FAMILY BASEBALL ALL STAR
Previously Posted on May 13, 2013 by suebeewrites on Blog: “suebeewrites Explores Her Borden Family Roots”
Every once in a while I am blessed with a present that is totally unexpected, incredibly special, more precious than silver or gold and “All the Way Live”. And so it was for ten short days in April 2013 I got to spend some “God Special” time with my cousin Christopher Duffy, baseball player and human dynamo extraordinaire. Chris is the son of Sarah Borden Duffy (James Duffy), grandson of Joshua E. Borden, Jr. (Evelyn), and Great Grandchild of Joshua Edward Borden, Sr. (Channie Bessie Cox). Early one morning, as I was buried in my “ancestry” research, I received a call from cousin Sarah. It wasn’t a total surprise since I “conjured” her up. I’d been thinking about Sarah for several weeks and in fact had been on the verge of calling her as well as looking up her son Chris’ team status to see where he was playing baseball this season….with the hope that he would be playing nearby so I could actually get to see him in action. Sarah informed me that Chris had been released from his Phillies Minor League Team and picked up by an Independent League Team in New Jersey. He needed a place to lay his head until his next team started practice (just a couple of weeks) …. so enter cousin Susan from stage right. A more delightful visit I have never had. Cousin Chris is one of the most positive, energetic, helpful and focused young men that I have ever met. Between his daily workouts and gym visits we had great conversations about our family history. In keeping with general genealogical protocol regarding capturing living history, Chris recorded his story, which is inspirational, however, we know for sure the best is yet to come. Chris spoke reverently of his dad, James, who started Chris and his younger brother Justin, in baseball at a very young age. They progressed from Little League and Travel Baseball to their High school varsity teams where they excelled at every level and travelled the world. Upon Chris’ graduation from high school he was drafted by the White Sox Baseball Team, an offer which he turned down. He and his family decided rather than go pro at that time he would attend the University of Central Florida on a full scholarship. Chris had an “All Star” College career graduating in 2010 and breaking many of his college’s records and was a Golden Spikes nominee (similar to being nominated for the Heisman in football). He was drafted by the Phillies out of College and has had a standout career. Some baseball aficionados were surprised and disappointed that the Phillies didn’t promote him since his play and statistics were outstanding. Chris is now playing with the New Jersey Jackals in Little Falls, NJ. He anticipates eventually being picked up by a Pro Team. In his “free time” Chris works with a motivational speaking program, “ABOVE .500″, for middle school and high school youth. His non profit organization has pep rallies called “Dream Rallies” to encourage youngsters to pursue their dreams. Other members of the family including Belladelphia (LiRon, Glenn, Asa and Bradleigh Bell), John Borden (Sr.), Carter Borden, and Brittany Borden met and broke bread with Chris. There are many other members of the family that are poised to go out to the ball park and cheer Chris on. Our guy, Christopher Duffy, is on his way and the Borden family is very proud of our very own ALL Star!
Family Love.
*Chris is currently playing his 2014 season with an Independent League in South Dakota.
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Chris is the son of Sarah Borden Duffy (husband, James Duffy); grandson of Joshua Edward Borden, Jr. (Evelyn); Great Grandson of Joshua Edward Borden, Sr. (wife, Channie Bessie Cox Borden); Great Grandson 2X John Louis Borden (wife, Cottie Elvira Eason Borden); Great Grandson 3x Joshua Borden (wife, Judah Austin Borden); Great Grandson 4X Ben Holden (wife name unknown)
VirtualBordens.com 