Arthur Leslie Cox was born on September 18, 1886, in Pitt County, North Carolina. Cox was a farmer in Ayden when he registered for the draft (World War I) in June 1917. He was subsequently inducted into the service in May 1918 and served with the 324th Infantry and the 55th Depot Brigade. He was honorably discharged in November 1918 on a surgeon's certificate of disability. Cox died in Durham (Durham County) on April 28, 1957.