Descendants of John Cotten ca 1674-1728 and Martha Godwin ca 1683:
Descendant of Thomas, the youngest son
Capt Thomas Moore Cotten 1740 – 1795 | his parents
& 1769 Priscilla Knight 1748 – 1843 | her parents
of Hertford County NC
& Sumner Co TN
This is my working hypothesis – the way I see it as of this moment!!
Bertie Co, Deed Book I, page 340. Thomas Cotten of Northampton Co. to his son Thomas Moore, 16 Nov 1758. Deed of gift. 25£ VA when he shall become 21 years of age, with reversion to the estate should he die before then or have no lawful issue.
Also, Anne Moore of Bertie Co to her son Thomas Moore 16 Nov 1758. Deed of gift. Negro boy Bob that my father Epaphroditus Moore willed, when my son comes of age with reversion to the estate should he die before that age or have no lawful issue. Wit (to both deeds): John Brown, Josiah Brown, Abram Jones July Ct 1759 CC: Benjn Wynns
[I think this Thomas Moore of the above deeds is identical to Thomas Cotten Jr.]
Capt. Thomas Cotten [alias Moore] 4 Nov 1740 – 5 June 1795 Sumner Co, TN
I think his birthdate was more likely to have been 1740
married summer 1769 Priscilla Knight 7 Dec 1748 – 1 Nov 1843
Lieut. Thomas Cotten Jun. is on the list of The Third Division of the Militia Draughted in the Regiment of Hertford County (1778-1780)
1790 census Hert Co. 2 males over 16 4 males under 16 -3 females—3 slaves.
Family moved to TN 1791
Children of Capt. Thomas Cotten/alias Moore & Priscilla Knight:
1. Mary [Polly] Cotten 04 Jan 1770 Hertford Co – 28 Dec 1845 Sumner Co TN
married 1st 01 Feb 1790 James Crier [Cryer] bef Oct 1764 – 12 Mar 1816 Sumner Co TN
son of Samuel Cryer and wife Sarah Murfree
a. Rev. Hardy Murfree Cryer 11 Sept 1792 Sumner Co TN – 07 Feb 1846 Franklin TN
married 06 Nov 1812 Elizabeth L Rice 1793 – 1833
daughter of Elisha Rice and wife Nancy Ann Collier
1. James William Cryer 1815 –
married 17 April 1833 Georgianna T Cooper
daughter of Elisha Rice and wife Mary H. Burton
a. Spencer C Cryer 1838 –
b. James R Cryer 1840 –
c. Mary N Cryer 1843 –
d. Sarah C Cryer 1846 –
e. David B Cryer 1847 –
f. Llewellyn S Cryer 1849 –
g. Louisa C Cryer 1853 –
h. Anna C Cryer 1854 –
i. Martha H Cryer 1859 –
2. Martha Ann Douglas Cryer Oct 13 Jan 1818 – 11 Oct 1832 Sumner Co TN
3. Thomas Cotten Cryer 18 May 1822 – Mar 1849
married 1846 Emily C Bridgewater d 24 Jan 1876
daughter of Chesley Bridgewater and wife Nancy Chambers
a. Chesley Bridgewater Cryer 1847 – 13 Jan 1867 Davidson Co TN
b. Hardy Murfree Cryer 2 Nov 1849 –
4. Elmora Elizabeth Cryer 1825 –
married Joseph A Anthony
5. Priscilla Rachel Jackson Cryer 24 Feb 1829 –
married 2nd 15 Oct 1833 Susan Ann Duval
daughter of Claiborne Duval and wife Elizabeth Pope
1. Edward Reed Cryer 1835 – 6 April 1862 Hardin Co TN killed at the Battle of Shiloh
Mil. service: 2nd Lt Co H, 2nd Tennessee Infantry Regiment
2. Martha Ann Duval Cryer 13 Aug 1836 – 6 Feb 1917 Sumner Co TN
married William Rufus Anglea
3. Elizabeth Claiborne Cryer 1838 – 1905
married Daniel J Anthony
4. Mary Cage Cryer 1839 –
5. John Lafayette Cage Cryer 1841 – 1845
married 2nd 6 Mar 1823 Thomas Foxall d. 5 April 1835 Sumner Co TN
no known issue
2. Moore Carter Cotten 27 Dec 1771 Hertford Co NC – 13 Dec 1836 Cottontown TN
married 1st 1 Feb 1800 Mary Crawford Feb 1780 – 13 Oct 1818
daughter of Hugh Crawford and Annis Looney
a. Elizabeth [Betsy] Cotten 16 May 1803 Sumner Co TN – 27 Oct 1865 Sumner Co
married 3 March 1819 Richard D Hobday 22 April 1791 – 2 July 1851
son of Robert Hobday and Talitha Cotten
b. Frances Cotten 3 Oct 1805 Sumner Co – 13 June 1852 Sumner Co TN
married 14 Jan 1822 Lemuel S Hunter
1. Mary Hunter
2. John Hunter
married 2nd 4 Jan 1831 William King no children
married 3rd 29 Oct 1850 Hugh T George no children
c. Hugh Crawford Cotten 19 Feb 1807 Sumner Co TN – 21 Aug 1849 Sumner Co TN
married 27 Jan 1831 Patience Edwards
daughter of Nathan Edwards and Jemima Iris Cotten
1. Nathan Edwards Cotten 2 Oct 1833 Sumner Co TN – 23 April 1840 Sumner Co TN
married 2nd 24 Jan 1848 Zeralda Cotten no children
daughter of William Noah Cotten and Elizabeth Conger
d. James Alexander Cotten 23 Oct 1814 Sumner Co – 13 Sept 1834 Sumner Co TN
unmarried
married 2nd 12 Jan 1825 Lovena/Lovey Edwards
11 Feb 1804 Sumner Co TN – 15 June 1852 Sumner Co
daughter of Nathan Edwards and Jemima Iris Cotten
e. John Marshall Cotten 5 Feb 1826 TN – 31 Mar 1878 Dyersburg TN Sumner Co
married 2 Jan 1846 Patience Edwards
daughter of Littleberry Edwards and Gincey Fields
1. Isaac Inman Cotten 11 Dec 1846 Sumner Co –
died at insane asylum in Nashville – unmarried
2. Thomas Moore Cotten 27 Sept 1848 Sumner Co – 5 Mar 1851 Sumner Co TN
3. Mary Payne Cotten 4 Dec 1850 Sumner Co – 20 Mar 1864 Sumner Co TN
4. Elizabeth Frances Cotten 18 July 1853 Sumner Co – 15 Sept 1855
5. Marshall Alexander Cotten 17 Mar 1856 Sumner Co – 20 June 1935 Tulare Co CA
married Martha Alice Mays/Maze 8 April 1862 CA – 3 Aug 1942 Visalia, Tulare Co CA
a. Hattie Murilla Cotten May 1882 CA –
married Tulare Co CA 29 July 1907 George Francis Shaw
b. Lena M Cotten Mar 1889 CA –
6. Littleberry Edwards Cotten 23 Nov 1859 Sumner Co – 26 Oct 1918 Fresno Co CA unmarried
7. Benjamin Franklin Cotten 31 July 1862 Sumner Co – 1 Aug 1941 Sanger, Fresno Co CA
married 1 May 1887 Anna Bertie Cody 10 July 1868 Neb. – 28 Jan 1956 Sanger, Fresco Co CA
a. William Elmer Cotten 13 Feb 1890 Sanger – 3 Mar 1974 Fresno Co CA
married 5 Mar 1911 Anna Lillian Zinn 26 Nov 1891 Denison TX – 24 Dec 1937 Tulare Co CA
8. William Carter Cotten 29 Dec 1864 Sumner Co – 26 May 1929 Sumner Co TN
married 13 April 1896 Annie Missy Reed/Read 11 Mar 1876 TN – 27 Dec 1955 Sumner Co TN
a. Anna Bertie Cotten Jan 1897 Sumner Co TN –
married 1st 13 Mar 1917 Fred Smith
married 2nd 15 Nov 1919 John F Baker
i. William Baker ca 1921 TN –
ii. Walter F Baker ca 1926 TN –
married 3rd 22 Jan 1927 W C Jones
f. Thomas Moore Cotten 19 Sept 1827 Sumner Co TN – 1 Jan 1901 Dyer Co TN
some confusion over “a middle initial” on his first marriage license — Thos.
married Sumner Co TN 21 Oct 1856 Sarah Elizabeth Harrell 7 June 1835 – 19 Feb 1888
daughter of Thomas Madison Harrell and Frances Arnett Wills
they had five children according to her obit — all of whom died young
1. Katherine Cotten 17 Sept 1864 – 26 May 1874 only child at time of her death obit
married 2nd Dyer Co TN 13 Oct 1889 Mrs. Ida M Ferguson [Harrell] May 1849 – 4 June 1924
daughter of Albert Ferguson and Caroline Louise Earle She was widow of Augustus T Harrell
1. Thomas Harrell Cotten 22 Sept 1890 –
married 26 June 1919 Dora Aileen Spraggins d 19 Aug 1929
a. Jane Cotten ca 1921 –
married 2nd 10 March 1931 Clara Hogue
b. Thomas Harrell Cotten Jr 16 Aug 1934 – 11 June 2002 Ind
married 19 Oct 1956 Judith Rae Swan ca 1937 –
2. Daniel Moore Cotten 4 June 1895 – no info after 1920 census
g. Mary Cotten 27 May 1830 Sumner Co – 27 May 1850 Robertson Co TN
married 9 Dec 1846 Thomas W Payne
1. Marshall N Payne 7 April 1848 Sumner Co TN – Aug 1848 Robertson Co TN
2. Lovena R Payne 1850 Robertson Co TN –
h. William Carter Cotten 28 July 1832 – 13 March 1833 Sumner Co
i. Priscilla Jane Cotten 22 June 1834 Sumner Co – 3 April 1893 Weakley Co TN
married 13 Oct 1852 Nathan N Edwards
son of Thomas Cotten Edwards and Paulina Bransford Bondurant
1. Littleberry Edwards 23 Aug 1863 – [Cotton Buyer 1900]
married ca 1896 Julie Hawkins 4 Oct 1868 –
2. Thomas Moore Edwards 1866 –
j. Martha Moorilla Cotten 29 April 1836 Sumner Co – 28 Nov 1857 Weakley Co TN
married 14 Oct 1856 Benjamin J Bondurant Edwards Sr. ca 1830 –
Benjamin and Nathan are the sons of Thomas Cotton Edwards and Pauline Bransford Bondurant
and grand son of Nathaniel/Nathan Edwards and Jemima Iris Cotton
1. William Edwards 1857 –
Benjamin married 2nd Hugh Elizira Sutton – half sister of first wife
Lovey married 2nd Benjamin Sutton
a. Hugh Elizira Sutton
3. Elizabeth [Betsy] Cotten 28 Feb 1774 – 1781 died age 7
4. Talitha [Letha] Cotten 13 Sept 1776 – 19 Oct 1841 Brown Co IL
married 1800 John Orr
5. John Brown Cotten 12 Feb 1779 Hertford Co NC – 23 Jan 1851 Sumner Co TN
married 22 Nov 1800Jeanette “Jane” Crawford
(Jane was the sister of Mary Crawford who married Moore Cotten)
a. Mary Cotten 20 Dec 1801 Sumner Co TN – 12 Nov 1871 Yell Co AR
married 16 May 1819 Jesse Gambling
i. John W. Gambling 24 Mar 1821 Sumner Co TN –
ii. Sarah C. Gambling 20 Mar1824, Sumner Co TN –
b. Ann Cotten 14 Nov 1804 Sumner Co TN – 1852 Yell Co AR
married (1) Jesse Daniel, Jan. 23, 1821
i. Thomas Jefferson Daniel 1828, Sumner CoTN – 1885 Yell Co AR
married 28 Mar 1859 Mary G. Cotten
(his first cousin once removed, daughter of Noah Cotten and Elizabeth Conger)
married (2) Alexander M. Banks, Mar. 11, 1830
ii. Hardy Murfree Banks 3 Mar 1831 –
married Susan Martha Singleton
iii. John Cotten Banks 1837 –
iv. Benjamin B. Banks 1841 –
c. Acenthia Cotten 18 Aug 1808 Sumner Co TN – 1869 Yell Co AR
married 31 Oct 1827 Willam Henry Rice Jr.
i. John L. Rice 1828 Sumner Co TN –
ii. Henry Shelton Rice 11 Nov 1831 Sumner Co TN – 12 Feb. 12 1918 Bosque Co TX
married Mary Frances Pitt
iii. Rachel Jackson Rice 1833 Sumner Co TN –
iv. Mary Ann Rice 1835 Sumner Co TN –
v. Sarah Rice 1837 Sumner Co TN –
vi. Virginia Rice 1839 Sumner Co TN –
vii. Alexander M. Rice 30 July 1843 Sumner Co TN – 24 Jan 1929 St. Clair Co MO
married Ellen Hooper
viii. Margaret Rice 1846 Sumner Co TN –
ix. Priscilla Rice 1848 Sumner Co TN –
x. Sassandra Alice Rice 1851 Sumner Co TN –
d. Henry Fletcher Cotten 2 Oct 1812 Sumner Co TN – 24 June 1853 Sumner Co TN
married 22 Mar 1836 Elmora Elizabeth Cotten 1814 – 1857
i. Sarah Jane Cotten 16 Mar 1837 Sumner Co TN –
married 10 May 1852 John Jennett Hassell
ii. Mary Elizabeth Cotten 24 Oct 1839 Sumner Co TN –
married 24 Nov 1858 George Thomas Barrett
iii. John Arthur Cotton 29 Dec 1840 Sumner Co TN – 8 Apr 1862 Camp Butler Prison, Sangamon Co IL
married 7 Oct 1861 Sarah Elizabeth Dempsey
(John joined Company E, 30th Tennessee InfantryRegiment and left Sumner County the day after his marriage. He was wounded and captured at the Battle of Fort Donelson, Feb. 16, 1862. His death ended the direct male line of John Brown Cotten.)
6. Allen Cotton 12 Mar 1781 Hertford Co – 16 Feb 1868 Nashville TN
married 1st 1801 Mary [Polly] Rogers d ca 1815
a. Priscilla Cotton 25 Sept 1802 Sumner Co TN – 30 Jan 1879 Sumner Co TN
married William T Thomas 20 Mar 1798 – 13 Aug 1870 White Co IL
b. Nancy Cotton 12 Nov 1803 Sumner Co TN – 4 Aug 1837 Sumner Co TN
married Benjamin Malone 1790 – d. White Co IL
c. Overton Cotton 15 May 1805 Sumner Co TN – 7 Oct 1878 Okitibbeha Co MS
married Rebecca Elizabeth Williams 27 Feb 1809 – 7 Oct 1878
d. Sarah (Sally) Cotton 28 May 1806 Sumner Co TN – 7 May 1840 AK
married 1 April 1825 James Mosley
e. Thomas Knight/Night Cotton 12 Feb 1808 Sumner Co TN – 3 April 1854 TN
occupation listed Cabinet maker 1850
married Williamson Co TN 11 Feb 1830
Mary [Polly] Gosey 12 Feb 1808 Sumner Co TN – 3 April 1856
| e-mail from Jean Cotton: 5 June 08 I happen to visit your website and noted your entry for Thomas Knight ‘Night’ Cotton.I thought I would pass this along to you: |
Tennessee State Marriages, 1780-2002 (Original Images Online)
Name: Thomas K Cotton, Spouse: Polly Gocey
Marriage Date: 11 Feb 1830, Marriage County: Williamson
(My Note: I believe Mary ‘Polly’s’ surname was probably Gosey as there were numerous other Gosey’s residing in Tennessee)
—
1850 Davidson Co., TN US- Fed. Census
Thomas N. Cotton , age 42, cabinet maker, $1100.00, born TN
Mary Cotton, age 42, born TN
John Malone, age 22, born TN
—
http://www.davidsoncocemeterysurvey.com/Cemeteries/H-L/johnson_cox_mccrory_cemetery.htm
JOHNSON-COX-McCRORY CEMETERY
OH-48. Over Davidson County line into Williamson County. Off Granny White Pike.
Near Johnson Chapel. At one time this graveyard was within Davidson County borders.
Thomas N. Cotton Feb. 12, 1808 – April 3, 1854
f. William Cotton 7 June 1809 Sumner Co TN – 27 Feb 1865 Saline Co IL
married Susan E Pratt
g. Hardy Cryer Cotton 12 Nov 1811 Sumner Co TN – Aug 1854 White Co IL
married Elizabeth Louisa Sanders 1813 – 31 Aug 1862
1. Eben Cotton 1851-1939
a. Lillian Blanche Cotton
married James Harvey Brown
married 9 Dec 1815 Davidson Co, TN Mary [Polly] Barham 24 Nov 1798 NC – 1863 TN
h. Mary Ann Cotton ca 1816 Sumner Co TN – 1875
married 1st Mr. Davies
married John Sanders
married Charles S Pyron
i. Benjamin Cotton 11 April 1817 Sumner Co TN –
married C. Lee Pyron
married Doris Forbes
j. Elizabeth Cotton 20 Sept 1817? Sumner Co TN – 6 June 1894
married Gilbert Leigh
k. Allen Cotton 28 April 1822 Sumner Co TN – 26 Mar 1894
married Sarah Odom
married Catherine E Tucker 11 Oct 1834 – 13 Aug 1881
1. Mary Lou Cotton 22 May 1858 – 20 Jan 1876
2. Maggie Cotton 13 Mar 1874 – 18 July 1901
l. Elizabeth Jane Cotton 31`July 1826 – 26 Mar 1894
married Burrell Lazenby
m. Margaret Newsome Cotton 12 Jan 1829 – 12 Feb 1917
married Turner Smith
n. Talitha/Tabitha Cotton 20 Aug 1831 – 21 Aug 1875
o. John Alexander Cotton 21 Jan 1834 – 8 April 1911
married Callie Smith
married Rachel Pitts Tucker
p. Martha Moore Cotton 2 Feb 1836? – Sept 1838
q. Robert Foster Cotton 24 July 1838 – 31 Mar 1918
r. Francis May Cotton 29 Oct 1840 – 22 Oct 1854
to be cont
7. Sarah (Sally) Cotton 29 Aug 1783 – ca 1817 Sumner Co TN
married James Strother.
8. Arthur Cotton 2 Oct 1785 – 14 Feb 1849
married Sally Daniels
9. Noah Butler Cotton 25 Mar 1789 – 18 Dec 1858
10. Alexander (Saunders) Cotton 30 Oct 1791 -29 June 1840
married Mariah Barrett
(Rev. pension application) (Bodie Vol III) (Sumner Co, TN wills)
research of Jean Cotton and Michael Cotten
A trip to Cottontown, TN by James E Moore
The house said to have been built for Moore Cotton
Dear Aunt Sally: I greatly enjoyed talking with you Saturday evening and getting the lowdown on Moore Cotton. Yesterday afternoon, we drove over to Cottontown, which is over in western Sumner County. We took back roads through rural Montgomery and Robertson counties. Beautiful farms all the way. There was a blight of new subdivisions where I-65 cuts through from Nashville to Louisville. Then the bucolic countryside resumed. Cottontown, an unincorporated village of 300 was straight out of “Sleepy Hollow”. The misty, rainy afternoon was the perfect atmosphere for our visit.
As we rounded a bend, the big brick Moore Cotton house loomed up on the right. It looked just like the
picture from the 1971 newspaper article except that the porch needed some painting. Just a short distance further on was the restored log cabin known as the Bridal Cottage. We parked at the Church of Christ and walked back to the cabin. It had a Tennessee historical marker out front. The sign said that Captain Thomas Cotton from Hertford County, NC had established Cottontown on his Revolutionary War land grant. His son Moore Cotton had built the Bridal Cottage for his daughter Elizabeth when she married in 1820 or 1840. We took pictures of both the cabin and the marker. We then walked past a field back up to the Moore Cotton place. There was a row of gravestones right by the driveway and next to the road. I’ve never seen a family cemetery that close to the house except at Mulberry Grove. I kept expecting somebody to charge out with a gun and a big dog, but nobody ever appeared. The stones were very hard to read. However, Sean got an old towel out of the car. By working with this and my pocket knife, we were able to decipher them. Except for the two Parham graves, which are inside an iron fence, all of the stones are identical. I would guess that they were all put up at the same time. I’ll insert the data we found below. By the way, Sean says he wants full credit for providing this information as it was hard work and started raining before we finished.
Love, James
Moore Cotton, Dec. 27, 1771 – Dec. 13, 1836
Alexander Cotton, Oct. 23, 1814 – Sept. 12, 1834
Hugh Cotton, Feb. 19, 1807 – Aug. 21, 1819
Thomas C. Hobday, May 29, 1835 – Oct. 15, 1836
Andrew Hobday, March 25, 1837 – June 12, 1837
Richard D. Hobday, April 27, 1791 – July 2, 1851
William Cotton, July 28, 1832 – March 13, 1833
Benj. F. Sutton (dates obliterated by damage) 1807 – 21 Sep 1850
Marshall N. Payne, April 17, 1848 – Aug. 2, 1848
Polly Payne, May 27, 1830 – May 27, 1850
Lovey Sutton, Feb. 11, 1804 – June 15, 1852
A. Parham, Dec. 14, 1825 – March 1, 1902
Lovey Rogers, wife of Alexander Parham,
Oct. 18, 1837 – June 30, 1916
I am searching for Elizabeth Cotton (Cotten) married to my grt uncle Larkin W Lawrence (Laurence) in Sumner Co TN. Larkin died 1855.My Lawrence family is also from Sumner Co.
Becky Lawrence Kendall email is [email protected]
I wonder who this Alexander Parham born 1825 and died 1902 in TN was. He married Lovey Rogers. I wonder if she was the sister of the Mary Polly Rogers listed above who married Allen Cotton. I am looking for Alex or Alexander Parham born about 1780. I don’t know if he is related to the Alexander Parham in your tree. Some of yours ended up in Yell, Arkansas. My Scott and Parham families did also. Mine did not get there until just after 1900. Yours were there earlier. Also, my Graves and Wait lines were married into the Cotton family I believe. My Parham family ended up in Paris, Logan, Arkansas. My grandmother Dora Scrivner Parham had a photo of a Cotton in her trunk of photos. Thanks, Iris
My name is Becky Lawrence Kendall. I am of the Lawrence line in Logan Co Kentucky migrated from Sumner Co Tn. I am searching for the wife of Larkin Lawrence (1821-1855) married to Elizabeth Cotton (abt 1820-1825). I have marriage records but no parent info. If you have any info or suggestions please let me know. Even though I was born a raised in Ky I now live in Idaho. Several of my Lawrence cousins that still live in Cottontown are searching info for me -no luck. One believes my Elizabeth Cotton is of the Hobday line. Thank you, Becky
My info says her name was Elmora Elizabeth Cotten, b. Feb. 4, 1814, died Mar. 6, 1857. She was the daughter of Arthur Murfree Cotten and Sarah Daniel. Before she married Larkin Lawrence, she was married to her cousin Henry Fletcher Cotten. She and Henry had two daughters and a son. Henry died in 1853 and she remarried to Lawrence in 1855.