John Cotton
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John Cotton (1585 - 1652)

Rev. John Cotton
Born in Derby, Derbyshire, Englandmap
Ancestors ancestors
Husband of — married 1613 (to about 1630) in Englandmap
Husband of — married 25 Apr 1632 (to 23 Dec 1652) in Englandmap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 67 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts Bay Colonymap
Profile last modified | Created 31 Mar 2011
This page has been accessed 9,573 times.
The Puritan Great Migration.
John Cotton migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See The Great Migration (Series 2), by R. C. Anderson, vol. 1, p. 484)
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Biography

Notables Project
John Cotton is Notable.
Flag of Derbyshire (adopted 2006)
John Cotton was born in Derbyshire, England.

Rev. John Cotton (1584-1652) was the son of Roland Cotton, a lawyer, and Mary Hurlbert. He matriculated Trinity College, Cambridge in 1597, going BA in 1603 and MA 1606, and in 1606 he became a fellow at Emmanuel College. He remained at Cambridge until 1612, where he became a Puritan. He was ordained in 1610 and in 1613 he was granted B.D.[citation needed]

He was vicar of St. Botolph's Church in Boston, Lincolnshire, where he served from 1612 until shortly before his departure for New England in 1633. During his Lincolnshire ministry, Cotton ran an informal seminary for recent Cambridge graduates.[citation needed] He was a non-conformist, and as the established Church viewed the people of Boston, Lincolnshire as "inclined with the Puritan spirit", the Bishop of Lincoln did not approve his appointment at first. He won his appeal against the decision not to appoint and remained as vicar of Boston for twenty years, being highly regarded by his parishioners. Cotton was an influential figure and won much support for his non-conformist views, producing ".. a great reformation...the Mayor and most of the magistrates were now called Puritans".[citation needed]

In 1613 Cotton married Elizabeth Horrocks, sister of a Lancashire minister, with whom he was married for eight years but had no children. She may have been the daughter of "my mother Havered" as mentioned by Cotton in a letter to his second wife. Elizabeth was alive on October 2, 1630, but died in April 1631.[1] Cotton left Boston, Lincolnshire in February 1631 suffering from ague and in April, his wife Elizabeth died.[citation needed]

Shortly before October 3, 1632 Cotton married Sarah (Hawkredd) Story, widow of William Story. They had six children. One daughter, Maria, married Increase Mather and became the mother of Cotton Mather. During the voyage to Massachusetts, Sarah delivered their first child, aptly named Seaborn Cotton.[1]

By 1632 the pressure to conform led him to go into hiding. On 7 May 1633, he resigned his Vicarage, and along with Puritan ministers Thomas Hooker and Samuel Stone and their families, Cotton sailed for New England on the "Griffin" on 13 July 1633.[2] They arrived in New England on Sept. 4, 1633.[3] Shortly after his arrival he was ordained as Vicar of Boston, Massachusetts on the 15th October 1633.[citation needed]

In New England he was granted land "at Muddy River a sufficient allotment for a farm" on November 15, 1636, totaling two hundred and fifty acres. He sold some land to Thomas Whitamore on July 21, 1645.[1]

By most accounts he was the preeminent minister and theologian of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. While early in his Boston tenure Cotton became only peripherally involved in the banishment of Roger Williams, Williams blamed much of his troubles on Cotton. Soon thereafter Cotton became embroiled in the colony's Antinomian Controversy, when several adherents of his "free grace" theology, most notably Anne Hutchinson, began criticizing other ministers in the colony[4]

In December 1652 a comet was seen by the people of Boston. It was interpreted as a portent when, on 23 December, before its disappearance, Cotton died; he was buried in the Boston town burying-ground. He had been taken seriously ill early in the month after catching cold while crossing on the ferry to Cambridge to preach for a few days, and was reported to have great swelling of his legs and body. He was survived by his wife, Sarah, who on 26 August 1656 married Richard Mather (1596–1669); she died on 27 May 1676.

John Cotton's will, dated November 30, 1652 and proved January 27, 1652/3. His son Seaborn was given the south part of the house. His books were to be divided equally between his sons Seaborne and John; is daughters Elizabeth and Mary were to be given L100 apiece at the time of their marriage or at age twenty-one. His wife was given first all rents of her house and garden in the marketplace of Boston in Lincolnshire; money left in "my brother Coneye's hands; dwelling house where they lived; and the farm at Muddy River.[1]

His widow, Sarah (Hawkredd) (Story) Cotton, married Richard Mather and gave control of Cotton's estate to "Elder William Colbron and Elder James Penn during the nonage of her children John and Maria."[1] Note that in his sketch of John Cotton, Anderson refers to this second wife as Sarah (_____) Story. However the sketch on Richard Mather lists her maiden name Hawkredd, daughter of Anthony.[citation needed]

Children of John Cotton and his 2nd wife Sarah

  1. Seaborn was born at sea on August 12, 1633 and baptized at Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony on September 8, 1633. He graduated from Harvard in 1651. Married on June 14, 1654 to Dorothy Bradstreet, daughter of Simon Bradstreet.
  2. Sarahjah/Sariah was born at Boston on September 12, 1635 and baptized there on September 20, 1635. She died at Boston on January 20, 1649/50
  3. Elizabeth was born at Boston on December 9, 1637 and was baptized there on December 10, 1637. She married at Boston on October 12, 1655 to Mr. Jeremiah Eggington.
  4. John was born at Boston on March 15, 1639/40 and baptized there on March 22, 1639/40. He was a graduate of Harvard in 1657. On November 7, 1660 at Wethersfield he married Joanna Rossiter, daughter of Bray Rossiter.
  5. Maria was born at Boston on February 16, 1642 and baptized there on February 20, 1641/2 "being about 5 days old." She married on March 6, 1661/2 to Increase Mather, son of Richard Mather.
  6. Rowland was baptized at Boston on December 24, 1643 "being about 6 days old." He died at Boston on January 29, 1649/50.


Sources

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, New England Historic Genealogical Society. Volumes I-III, 3 vols., p. 484. 1995). Featured name "John Cotton."subscription site
  2. Great Migration: Passengers of the Griffin, 1633 Rev. John Cotton
  3. John Winthrop, Winthrop's Journal, page #?
  4. John Cotton See full biography at Wikipedia.

See also:

  • Find A Grave, database and images (accessed 04 December 2019), memorial page for John Cotton (4 Dec 1585–23 Dec 1652), Find A Grave: Memorial #6613937, citing Kings Chapel Burying Ground, Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Find A Grave .




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Comments: 11

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John Cotton was installed (aft Sep 1633) as the second pastor of the Boston church, sharing the ministry with John Wilson (as noted in Wikipedia profile).... When his son Seaborn was born August 1633 enroute to America, John could not baptise him, since he had become a convince Congregationalist and he felt he did not have the power to administer sacraments.

Notes from p 87 "Hot Protestants, A History of Puritanism in England and America" Michael P Winship. 2018 Yale Univ Press. Call 289.9 WIN

...a Massachusetts Town Record indicates 8 Sep 1633 https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/8986113?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a22766d6e444846452b734c3148643030703271356a70336631343269513854762f6d67764932336131306d773d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d

posted by Beryl Meehan
Cotton-4557 and Cotton-178 appear to represent the same person because: Kern, not sure why you're creating duplicates. Please desist.
posted by Jillaine Smith
This makes John the 12th great grandfather of Leia.
posted by [Living Bostick]
The Rev. John Cotton and his second wife, Sarah Hawkredd had six children, three boys and three girls: 1. Seaborn Cotton 2. Sarah Cotton, she died young from smallpox, never married. 3. Elizabeth Cotton, was married to Jeremiah Eggington, she died not long after she had her first child in 1656.

4. John Cotton Jr., he was married to Joanna Rossiter, 5. Maria Cotton, she was the second wife of Increase Mather, son of Richard Mather, 6. Rowland Cotton, he was only five years old when he died nine days after his sister, Sarah, both died from smallpox. [The Rev. John Cotton and his wife, Sarah Hawkredd never had a child named Dorothy Cotton, nor a child named William Cotton.]

posted by L Parker
edited by L Parker
Beware: There are an alarming number of familysearch and ancestry.com tree's which link this John Cotton & spouse Eliz. Horrocks to offspring William Cotton of early Strawberry Bank/Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I can't tell you how much it hurt to 'cut loose' William Cotton, from this family line...such a fascinating history. But, I'm having fun with my Cotton line as found within the early New Hampshire business venture fiasco's where 'my' Wm Cotton contributed. :-)
John Cotton arrived in Boston on the Griffin 4 Sep 1633. Source: Winthrop's Journal, pg. 105
posted by Sara Mosher
If it is by Somerby, it is presumed to be a fraud...

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Category:Horatio_Gates_Somerby_Fraud

posted by Joe Cochoit
Somerby, Horatio Gates: The English Ancestry of Rev. John Cotton of Boston, 1868, on archive.org.
posted by [Living Horace]
Cotton-1236 and Cotton-178 appear to represent the same person because: Rev. John Cotton of Boston MA seems to be the subject of both these profiles; the data in Cotton-1236 is unproven whereas Cotton-178 is well-researched with good Sources. No "John Cotton" who became a "Rev. John Cotton" has been found that was born in 1610 or 1611. Rev. William Cotton (Cotton-342) had a brother John but he was born in 1613, not 1610. Rev William Cotton emigrated to Virginia, not Boston MA.
posted by Chet Snow
John and William appear to have been born 2 months apart
posted by C. Mackinnon
Cotton-2169 and Cotton-178 appear to represent the same person because: Rev. John Cotton, updated refs in both profiles.
posted by Kirk Hess