Cotton Surname

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Comment by Amy Rebecca Walker on March 24, 2012 at 6:26pm

thank you pamela....that's very sweet of you.  :)  there's NO telling when i will get around to any of this!!  life is VERY demanding for me these days....but that's good...b/c that means i'm living it! :D  i will definitely keep in touch though, if and when i get around to doing anything!...and of course if i have questions :D

Comment by Pamela Carter on March 8, 2012 at 6:50pm

The New England Historical and Genealogical Register published January 1849 commenting on a Leonard Cotton, Jr. says his sons Jacob, Benjamin and James moved to Virginia and North Carolina. While the dates don't match up quite right, it might be a clue as to where to search for more Cottons. This is in the public domain and available for free at http://books.google.com/books?id=_oweAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA92&d...

It is hard when you're just starting out. Build as much documentation of the more recent family as you can from census records and state and local vital records collections. Take what others have researched with skepticism. I've been doing this for about 7 years and learned a lot about the process from the mistakes I have made. Use other family trees as clues but there is a lot of bad information out there that keeps getting passed around as the truth. I've been helped by finding the New England Historical and Genealogical Society based in Boston. They publish a quarterly magazine and maintain an online database (must pay to view records). I would advise you to look for a similar society that focuses on regional history and genealogy for the South. Google books is a great tool for finding books that are free and some that will show you a few pages for free if they are newer books. You will probably spend a lot of time tracking down information that will turn out not to be pertinent to your research but for me, it's like a puzzle and the hunt is part of the fun. I learn a lot about regional history while chasing down leads on my ancestors. I can't make any connections to your tree at this point but we can keep in touch through this page. That way I may be able to help you as you gather more information. Happy Hunting! 

Comment by Amy Rebecca Walker on March 7, 2012 at 5:57pm

Hi Pamela,

Thanks so much.  I'm really kinda a TOTAL novice...mostly just only have tidbits of time here and there to add some things to my Ancestry.com chart! lol!  I am not sure that we even may share these people...but is worth a look!  :D

Ok here is who *I* have: for me, it starts with Susan Cotton, b. 20 Aug 1809 in Goldsboro, Wayne, North Carolina; d. 30 July 1876, in Dadeville, Tallapoosa, Alabama.  She is my 4th great grandmother.  The only other Cottons I have come up with SO FAR are: 

1. Ejphraim Cotton, b. 13 Dec 1746 in Abermarle, VA; d. 1835 in Wayne, NC (my 6th great-grandfather)

2. Harriet Cotton -- no other info at present, is my 4th great grand aunt

3. James J Cotton, b. 13 Mar 1812 in Wayne, NC; I don't have death info.  (my 4th great grand uncle)

4. John Cotton, b. 1780 in Wayne, NC; d. 1870, Chambers, Alabama (my 5th great grandfather)

5. Nancy Cotton -- I don't have any more info on her just yet; (4th great grand aunt)

On my chart, it shows that Harriet, Nancy, Susan and James J were all siblings; mother was Mary Polly Johnson & father Ejphraim Cotton (but is weird b/c it shows him being married to a Rachel Johnson...not sure what the story is here....perhaps he just remarried?).

SO!  :D  Those are all my Cotton's so far that I know of!  But I'd be thrilled to weed through who you got and see if we can find a common thread! 

Comment by Pamela Carter on March 7, 2012 at 4:43pm

I see you are looking for New England/Maine Cottons. My grandmother was a Cotton and I've done some research but not all of it is documented. I'd be happy to share ideas about where to look for your Cottons.