The Cottrells of Greenwich, Washington county, New York, descend from Nicholas Cottrell, of Westerly, Rhode Island, who was an inhabitant there in 1638, and in 1670 a deputy. There is no record of his birth, death or marriage, but there are records of four children — Nicholas (2), Gershom, John and Jabesh. Nicholas (2) died 1716; was constable 1688, deputy 1696; admitted to Stonington church, July 24, 1709. In 1711 was concerned with thirty-three others in the purchase of fifty-three hundred acres of vacant land in Narragansett. He married Dorothy, died 1747, daughter of James and Hannah (Goodenow) Pendelton, and had five children, including sons Nicholas (2), Nathaniel and Samuel. Gershom, the second son of Nicholas (2), died 1711. He was of Westerly and Kingston, Rhode Island. He married Bethea ————, died 1711. They had ten children, including sons Gershom and Stephen. John, the third son, died 1721; was of Kingston, Rhode Island; he married Elizabeth, and had four children, including a son Samuel, born 1687. Jabesh, the fourth son, was of Peabody, Rhode Island; he married Ann, daughter of John Peabody; no issue recorded.
It is from this family that Nathan Cottrell, the Washington county pioneer, came. There is an interval between the second and the sixth generations that cannot be supplied, but the proofs are strong as to his descent. His marriage to Mary Tefft, a daughter or relative of Judge Nathan Tefft, who came from the same state, Rhode Island, shows family acquaintance in their New England home.
(VI) Nathan Cottrell was born in Westerly or Kingston, Rhode Island, April 11, 1755, died August 8, 1842. He settled in Washington county, New York, prior to 1786. He was a prosperous farmer for his day, and was one of the pioneers who faced the dangers and privations attending the early settlement of that wild and heavily timbered region. He married, January 20, 1786, in Washington county, Mary Tefft, born May 2, 1758, died July 1, 1837. Children:
- John, born December 8, 1786, died April 5, 1791.
- Thomas, born September 20, 1788, died April 16, 1864; was justice of the peace in 1832; married Mary Crandall.
- Adam, born May 14, 1790, died October 2, 1791.
- John, of whom further.
- Adam, born July 26, 1793, died August 22, 1796.
- Perlina.
- Mary, born August 2, 1796, died October 1, 1797.
- Adam, born April 30, 1798, died November 25, 1877.
- Mary, born October 28, 1800, died June 5, 1876.
(VII) John, son of Nathan and Mary (Tefft) Cottrell, was born November 7, 1791, died May 19, 1851, in Washington county, New York. He grew up a farmer and always followed that occupation. He was a member of the Baptist church. He married, June 16, 1816, Betsey Dwelle, born April 27, 1798, daughter of Abner and Miriam (Martin) Dwelle. Children:
- James Harvey, born September 23, 1817, died July 12, 1843.
- Horace, born November 27, 1820, died August 15, 1867.
- John Horton, of whom further.
- Charles Henry, born September 21, 1828, died August 4, 1873; married (first), December 28, 1854, ———— Wright, (second) Helen Burdick.
- Mary Elizabeth, born March 25, 1835, died May 3, 1861; married, February 22, 1858, William Mowry.
(VIII) John Horton, son of John and Betsey (Dwelle) Cottrell, was born January 6, 1823, on the homestead farm in Washington county, and in the house erected by his father in 1816. He was reared a farmer, and spent a life devoted to agricultural and kindred pursuits. He married, February 22, 1870, Martha L., daughter of Josephus and Lucy (Palen) Martin. Children:
- Mary, married Frank L. Fisher.
- Lucy Martin, married Dr. Clayton E. Shaw; child, Clayton E.
- Horace, of whom further.
(IX) Horace, son of John Horton and Martha L. Cottrell, was born on the old homestead in Greenwich, New York, June 3, 1877. He was educated in the public schools, prepared for and later entered Williams College, where he was graduated in the class of 1899. He began his business career in a bank at Hoosick Falls, New York, later returned to Greenwich, where he became cashier of the First National Bank, being at the time of his appointment the youngest cashier in the state. He is also a director of the bank. He is a member of the Bottskill Baptist church of Greenwich, and a supporter of the Republican party. He married, September 20, 1899, Jane Elizabeth Warren, born August 18, 1877, daughter of William Russell and Jane Elizabeth (Smith) Warren. Child:
- Gundrieda, born October 11, 1900.
(The Warren Line)
Sellick Warren, son of James, was born in Pittstown, Rensselaer county, New York. After his marriage he removed to Mentor, Ohio, where he purchased a farm on which he resided until his death. The adjoining farm was that of the Garfield, whose son James A. was afterward president of the United States. He married Mary Van Amberg Yates, daughter of "Squire" Yates, of Pittstown. Children:
- Frances Mary, married John T. Tweddle.
- Jane, married Addison Goodell; children:
- Frances, married William Strong;
- Warren, married Lucy Wendland, and had Helen E., Addison, Warren S. and Philips;
- Nathan Phillips, married Eleanor Gray, and had Martha Jane and Frances Warren;
- Bertha, married Dr. Mortimer Keegan, and had Elizabeth Jane.
- Sellick, married Emily Huestis; children:
- Huestis S., married Margaret, and had Imogene and Sellick;
- Marshall, married Harriet Lakin, and had Mary Emily and Frances;
- Francis Perry, married Nellie Newman, and has a son Perry.
- William Russell, of whom further.
William Russell, son of Sellick and Mary Van Amberg (Yates) Warren, was born in Mentor, Ohio, about 1843, died May 31, 1907. He was educated in the town of his birth, and for many years resided in Mulvane, Kansas, where he owned a private bank. He married, in 1869, Jane Elizabeth Smith, born 1850, died 1890, daughter of James and Hulda (Waddell) Smith. Children:
- Richard, born February 18, 1872, married Laura Yarnell; children: Richard and Russell.
- John Tweddle, born December 26, 1875, married Agnes Crawford, and has a son Russell.
- Jane Elizabeth, married Horace Cottrell.
- Helen, born January 11, 1883, married Judson Watts, and has children Judson and Perry.
(The Tefft Line)
(I) John Tefft, the immigrant ancestor, settled in Portsmouth, King's Town, Rhode Island, where he became a freeman in 1655. In 1648 William Tefft, of Boston, died, and in his will gave to the eldest child of his brother Tefft "least steer Calf." William may have been a brother of John. John Tefft is next mentioned in 1662, November 22, when he and his wife Mary sold seven acres of land to Robert Shink, of Newport. May, 1671, his name is recorded as an inhabitant of Pettaquamscott. His will was dated November 30, 1674, and mentioned his son-in-law, Samuel Wilson; wife Mary; sons Samuel and Joshua, and daughter Tabitha. On January 26, 1676, his death is mentioned in a letter from Captain James Oliver (written at the house of Richard Smith in Narragansett). Captain Oliver says first, that Joshua Tefft had married a Wamponag squaw, then that he had shot twenty times at the English in the Narragansett fight, and was captured and executed at Providence, and declares that he was "a sad wretch, he never heard a sermon but once these fourteen years. His father, going to recall him, lost his head and lies unburied (1676)." On November 19 the widow signed in satisfaction of her thirds, her signature being witnessed by Tabitha Gardiner. She died in 1679. Children:
- Daughter, married Samuel Wilson;
- Samuel, born 1644, mentioned below;
- Joshua, died January 18, 1676, executed by the English;
- Tabitha, born 1653, died 1722.
(II) Samuel, son of John Tefft, was born in 1644, and died in 1725. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Joseph and Esther (Ballard) Jencks. She was born in 1652, and died 1740. In 1677 he was admitted a freeman (Providence). On May 12, 1679, he was fined twenty shillings for not attending jury, but March 12, 1680, his fine was remitted by the assembly, as he had had no warning by the general sergeant. September 6, 1687, he was an inhabitant of King's Town, and was taxed there. On June 28, 1709, he and twenty-six others bought the tract of land called Swamptown, part of the vacant lands of Narragansett. On March 20, 1721, he called his age about seventy-seven years, and October 29, 1722, his wife Elizabeth called her age seventy years, though other evidence makes her not quite so old. His will, dated March 16, 1725, proved December 20, 1725, mentions his wife Elizabeth, sons John, Samuel and Joseph, daughters Elizabeth Carpenter, Esther Mumford, Mary Newton, Susanna Crandall and Mercy Tefft; also children of Sarah Witter, deceased. The inventory was 1,010 pounds, 3 shillings, 8 pence. His wife's will was dated July 4, 1733, and proved May 12, 1740. Children:
- John, mentioned below;
- Samuel, died 1760;
- Peter, died 1725;
- Sarah, married Ebenezer Witter;
- Elizabeth, died 1750;
- Esther, died 1726;
- Mary, married ———— Newton;
- Tabitha, unmarried;
- Mercy, unmarried;
- Susanna, married Peter Crandall.
(III) John (2), son of Samuel Tefft, died in 1762. He married Joanna, daughter of Jonathan and Mehitable (Holbrook) Sprague. He lived in South Kings Town, Rhode Island. On June 28, 1709, he was among those engaged in Shannock purchase. His will, dated January 5, 1754, codicil December 22, 1757, proved January 21, 1768, mentions his wife Joanna, sons John, Joseph, Samuel, James and Nathan, daughters Mary Barber, Mercy Rogers, Mehitable Rogers, Tabitha Tefft and Sarah Brown, and six grandchildren. The codicil mentioned the decease of his wife in 1757, and gave the 600 pounds formerly left to her, to the five daughters. The inventory was 6,148 pounds, 16 shillings, 5 pence. Children:
- John, born December 4, 1699;
- Joanna, 1701;
- Joseph, January 8, 1710;
- Samuel, married October 7, 1827;
- James, born April 21, 1715;
- Nathan, March 14, 1717, mentioned below;
- Mary, married, January 11, 1729, Benjamin Barber;
- Mercy, married Rev. James Rogers;
- Mehitable, married Captain John Rogers;
- Tabitha, married ———— James;
- Sarah, married, March 1, 1744, Hezekiah Brown, (second) ———— Cottrell;
- Elizabeth, married ———— Skellie.
(IV) Judge Nathan Tefft, son of John (2) Tefft, was born in South Kings Town, Rhode Island, March 14, 1717. He moved from Rhode Island to Albany in 1766, and from there to Washington county, New York, traveling on horseback. He passed through trackless forests, being guided by marks cut on the trees, passing through Petersburg Valley as far as Cambridge, and from there across to Washington county. His son Stanton, a surveyor, accompanied him and laid out the tract of land now embracing the Rogers', Collamer's, Richardson's, Parker's, Babcock's, and Tefft's farms. One year later Nathan brought his family to Galesville, New York, and built there a sawmill, the first one on the Batten Kill. In 1763 and 1764 he was justice of the court of common pleas for Kings county. He was lieutenant of the Third Company militia, Colonel Pendleton's regiment, in 1750 and 1753; he was captain in 1753 and 1754. Judge Nathan Tefft married (first) September 16, 1742, Isabel Stanton, born August 13, 1716, died 1777. He married (second) E. Dareis (Dorcas) Sheldon, who survived him but a short time. He died April 3, 1782 or 1789. Children:
- Stanton, born July 9, 1744, died 1811, married Mehitable Rogers;
- Isabel, born March 14, 1745-46, married Caleb Tefft;
- Mercy, born December 14, 1749, married James Rogers;
- Nathan, born August 28, 1752; died September 18, 1828;
- John, born March 3, 1756;
- Mary, born May 2, 1758, married Nathan Cottrell (see Cottrell);
- Sarah, born August 14, 1762, married Asa Crandall.