Members of the Greene County Genealogical Society, and other organizations, placed a Christmas wreath on the grave of the late Greene County Historian T. Elmer Cox in Oak Grove Cemetery on Tuesday.

The wreath was being placed to commemorate the life of Cox, "in appreciation of his generous bequest for the development of a genealogical and historical library for the benefit of all Greene County citizens, past, present and future," according to an announcement from the Genealogical Society.

Cox died in Greeneville on May 21, 1995.

Stevie Hughes, a Texas native with a Greene County background who moved to Greeneville two years ago, presided during the 1 p.m. ceremony.

Hughes said Cox was the benefactor who made possible the creation of what is now known as the T. Elmer Cox Historical and Genealogical Library, at 229 N. Main St.

"We decided that it was about time we tried to organize a get-together for T. Elmer Cox and his wife, Carmen, and give them a Christmas wreath this year," Hughes said in opening the brief ceremony.

She also introduced T. Elmer Cox's nephew, William Carter, who represented the Cox family.

Hughes noted that in addition to the Genealogical Society, members of the Nolachuckey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Greene County Heritage Trust were in attendance.

Also speaking were Madge Walker, retired director of the Greeneville-Greene County Public Library; Don Miller, the library's current director; and Jody Palm, a genealogist.

Walker said, ""I did know Mr. Cox for a long time. When I first started at the library, we didn't have a lot of genealogical information like we do now at the Cox Library. I would call Mr. Cox and he would take people out to cemeteries and tell them about their families. He was a walking history book."

During one conversation with Cox, Walker recalled, he had noted that he had not realized the extent of the demand for genealogical information here and planned to do something to ensure that information would continue to be available.

Walker said Cox later gave the monetary bequest that made it possible for the library board to purchase the North Main Street building that now houses the T. Elmer Cox Historical and Genealogical Library that bears his name.

She also told those present that T. Elmer Cox's nephew, William Carter, donated Cox's extensive collection of historical documents and books to the library after Cox's death.

Palm, who moved to Greeneville from Chicago several years ago, noted that it had been "tremendously valuable" for her to learn that there was a genealogical library in town.

"I'm thrilled that T. Elmer Cox did what he did in establishing this library," she said.

She noted that the library is very valuable to people from other parts of the country in addition to local residents.

Miller, director of the Greeneville-Greene County Public Library, said that he had worked at the T. Elmer Cox Historical and Genealogical Library since it opened in 2000.

"I think I'm the luckiest one of us here, because for the last nine years I've been privileged to staff the building that his (Cox) money helped to create," Miller said.

"It is no exaggeration to say that his book collection became the foundation for what we have today. As County Historian, he collected vast numbers of materials on Greene County and East Tennessee as well as others on Middle and West Tennessee."

When the Cox Library opened on Nov. 14, 2000, the first visitor was from Prescott, Ariz.

"I thought that was a little odd at the time," Miller said. But I now know that it's not because about 25 percent of our visitors are from other states. We've had visitors from all 50 states and about one out of four is from outside Greene County."

He said the Cox Library is unique because it houses court records from the 19th century and earlier. "People usually have to go to courthouses for those," he said.

This summer, during June and July, more than 400 people utilized the Cox Library, of whom 42 percent were from out of town, a press release said.

T. Elmer Cox was born on May 12, 1907. He grew up near the Hardin's Chapel and Cross Anchor communities of Greene County.

From childhood, he took an active interest in learning about the early years of Greene County from his grandfather, who well remembered the Civil War years, having served with the 8th Tennessee Infantry, Company D (Union).

This knowledge Cox would later preserve in his writings.

An engineer and architect by profession, Cox's interests included not only historical buildings, but the daily lives of the early pioneers of Greeneville and Greene County, as well as the times in which they lived.

Cox's research included not only the official court records, tax lists and land deeds of Greene County, but he also interviewed many elderly residents of his day, documenting these interviews in "note form."

His copious "notes" were published in a book after his death in a compilation titled "Pocket Note History."

During the 1930s, Cox headed the federal government's Works Progress Administration (WPA) in the county.

Because of his expert knowledge of this county, Cox was designated the first official Greene County Historian in the 1960s.

Cox was a co-founder of the Greene County Foundation and a member of the Chamber of Commerce. He received numerous awards, including the Exchange Club's "Book of Golden Deeds" award and the Dr. L.E. Coolidge Award for Humanitarian Service.

Cox was also actively involved with the Greene County Heritage Trust.

He was responsible for the restoration of the Old Kidwell Cemetery, where his Revolutionary War ancestor, Mathew Cox, is buried.

He and his wife, Carmen, are buried in Oak Grove Cemetery. They had no children.