Soldier Information
Name: John H Cotton
Alias:
Place of Birth: Nelson KY Year of Birth: 1837
Occupation: Farm hand
Eyes: Dark Hair: Dark Complexion: Dark
Height in Feet: 5 Inches: 7
View Ledger
Enlistment Information
Enlistment Date: July 6, 1864
Enlistment Place: Louisville
Enlistment State: KY
Compiled Military Service Record
Document: View
Congressional District: 5
Company: I Regiment(s): 108th USCI
Mustered Where: Louisville, Kentucky
Mustered Out Date: March 20, 1866
Rank at Muster Out: Private
Notes:
John H. Cotton’s CMSR offered few details about his service other than his basic enlistment and mustering information.
Soldier Death Information
Died in war? No
Military Death Date:
Military Death Location:
Military Cause of Death:
Death Date:
Cause of Death:
Soldier Pension Information
Pension Card Link: Pension Card
Pension Application Date: March 23, 1889
Application No.: 695368 Certificate No.: N/A
Alternate First Name: Alternate Last Name:
Widow Pension Information
Widow Pension Card: Pension Card
Widow Application Date: July 7, 1894
Application No.: 07/07/1894 Certificate No.: 446490
No other family pension card found
Pension File Information
Pension File:
Pensioners:
Pensioner County: Jefferson Pensioner State: KY
Number of Pages:
Pension Notes:
John H. Cotton applied for invalid pension benefits on March 23, 1889, but not certificate was issued. No information was discovered to explain why Cotton’s pension request was not approved. His widow applied for pension benefits on February 7, 1894. Her application was approved. It is possible that John H. Cotton died before his invalid pension was approved. No death certificate was located for John H. Cotton. Based on pension application dates, he died sometime between March 23, 1889 and February 7, 1894.
Freedman’s Bank/Freedmen’s Bureau Information
No Freedman’s Bank information found
No Freedmen’s Bureau Documents found
Family Information
Mother First Name: Mother Maiden Name:
Father First Name: Father Last Name:
Siblings:
Wife #1 First Name: Sarah Jane Maiden Name: Lawson
Wife #2 First Name: Maiden Name:
Wife #3 First Name: Maiden Name:
Children: George Samuel Cotton 1869
Rhoda B. Cotton 1874
Maggie B. Cotton 1877
Rose L. Cotton 1879
Solomon Peter Cotton 1881
Fannie 1883 Cotton
Family Notes:
No official documentation of John Harvey Cotton’s death was discovered. Based on the application dates for his pension benefits, he died sometime between March 23, 1889, and February 7, 1894, most likely in Jefferstown, Kentucky (Jefferson County).
Family Tree: View
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1870 Census
1870 Census Link: View
1870 Profession: Farm laborer
1870 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1870 Real Estate Value: 0 1870 Personal Estate Value: 100
1870 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1870 Census Notes:
1880 Census
1880 Census Link: View
1880 Profession: Farmer
1880 Live with/near former enslaver? No
1880 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1880 Census Notes:
1890 Census
1890 Census information not found
1900 Census
1900 Census Link: View
1900 Profession: None
1900 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1900 Own/Rent: Rent 1900 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1900 Farm/House: House
1900 Census Notes:
1910 Census
1910 Census Link: View
1910 Profession: Trained nurse for a private family
1910 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1910 Own/Rent: Rent 1910 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1910 Farm/House: House
1910 Census Notes:
1920 Census
1920 Census Link: View
1920 Profession: None
1920 Ability to Read? Cannot read Ability to Write? Cannot write
1920 Own/Rent: Rent 1920 Home Free/Mortgage: Unknown 1920 Farm/House: House
1920 Census Notes:
John H. Cotton’s name appeared in the 1870 Census as “Harvey Cotton,” and in the 1880 Census as, “John H. Cotton.” Based on his pension application dates, Cotton died sometime between March 23, 1889 and February 7, 1893. His widow, Sarah Jane Cotton, was present for the 1900, 1910, and 1920 Census periods. For the 1920 Census, Sarah Jane Cotton was enumerated two times (in the households of two different daughters). In 1920, she lived in Louisville, Kentucky with daughter Delia Cotton Malory and her family, and also in Elizabethtown, Kentucky with daughter Fannie Cotton Duncan and her family. In 1900 and 1910, Sarah Jane Cotton was a member of her daughter Delia Cotton Malory’s household in Jeffersontown, Kentucky (Jefferson County), so it is likely that in 1920 that her primary residence was in Louisville with her daughter Delia Cotton Malory.
Enslaver Information
Name: Lemuel William Cotton Location: Nelson County, Kentucky
Previous Enslaver: Ralph Cotton
Enslaver Notes:
According to this soldier’s Ledger page, the name of his enslaver was “William Cotton.” The full name of the enslaver was Lemuel William Cotton (1833-1882). The enslaver’s name appeared in records in several forms including “L. W. Cotton,” “Lemuel W. Cotton,” and “Lemuel Waxie Cotton.” Assuming that the Ledger information regarding John H. Cotton’s birth location as Nelson County is correct, the first enslaver of John H. Cotton was most likely L. W. Cotton’s father, Ralph Cotton (1787-1859). In 1850, Ralph Cotton enslaved 16 persons in Nelson County, one of whom is a good match for John H. Cotton. L. W. Cotton was twice married, and his wives were the Harvey sisters from upper east Tennessee (Jonesborough, Washington County). L. W. Cotton and first wife Sallie Harvey Cotton (1838-1959) had one daughter, Mattie C. Cotton Dawson (1856 Dec 1-1898). With his second wife Nancy “Nannie” Harvey Vance Cotton (1830-after 1899), he had one daughter who survived infancy, Sallie Cotton Lincoln (1864-1931). Sallie Cotton Lincoln’s daughter, Caryl Lincoln (1903-1983), was a well-known actress in Hollywood during the silent movie era. It is possible that John Harvey Cotton’s middle name “Harvey” has its origins with the Harvey family of Tennessee. It is also possible that John Harvey Cotton was originally from Tennessee, and not born in Nelson County as stated in his Ledger and CMSR. He may have come to be enslaved by L. W. Cotton in Kentucky through the enslaver’s marriages to the Harvey sisters. The Harvey sisters’ father, James Harvey (1790-1844) was an enslaver in Tennessee. Additional research is required to firmly establish this connection.
1850 Enslaver Census
1850 Census Link: View
1850 Slave Schedule Link: View
1850 Number of Enslaved: 16
1860 Enslaver Census
1860 Census Link: View
1860 Real Estate Value: $17,000 1860 Personal Estate Value: $19,000
1860 Slave Schedule Link: View
1860 Number of Enslaved: 17
1870 Enslaver Census
1870 Census information not found
1880 Enslaver Census
Compensation Information
Compensation Application not found