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Looking for the ancestors ( parents ) not descendants of James Cotton abt 1811 b in Alsager - cheshire

His birth year on one of the censuses is 1811 but can’t find any such record

Thank you

For info only

1851 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Barton Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England

First name(s) Last name Relationship Marital status Sex Age Birth year Occupation Birth place
James Cotton Head Married Male 40 1811 Hand Loom Weaver Silk Alsager, Cheshire, England Transcription
Mary Cotton Wife Married Female 40 1811 - Bollington, Cheshire, England Transcription
Thomas Cotton Son Unmarried Male 18 1833 Mill Piecer (Silk) Macclesfield, Cheshire, England Transcription
James Cotton Son - Male 9 1842 Silk Winder Macclesfield, Cheshire, England Transcription
William Cotton Son - Male 6 1845 Scholar Macclesfield, Cheshire, England Transcription
Ann Cotton Daughter - Female 1 1850 - Macclesfield, Cheshire, England

Births weren't registered until 1837 - your only hope is a baptism record. If you haven't done so already, you could try familysearch website

Married before civil registration, so no help there

First name(s) James
Last name Cotton
Marriage year 1831
Marriage date 03 Oct 1831
Marriage place Prestbury
Spouse's first name(s) Mary
Spouse's last name Lutman
City or town Prestbury
County Cheshire
Country England

Yep
That’s them - tricky going back from that.

Mary's father.......but that doesn't answer your query

1841 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Black Road, Prestbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England

First name(s) Last name Sex Age Birth year Birth place
Thomas Lutman Male 55 1786 - Transcription
Thomas Cotton Male 8 1833 Cheshire, England

No unfortunately wonder if census got wrong birth area.

Could this be son Thomas living with maternal grandfather in 1841?


Thomas Cotton
in the 1841 England Census
Name:
Thomas Cotton
Age:
8
Estimated birth year:
abt 1833
Where born:
Cheshire, England
Civil Parish:
Prestbury
Hundred:
Macclesfield
County/Island:
Cheshire
Household Members:
Thomas Lutman 55
Thomas Cotton 8

Related thread

https://www.genesreunited.co.uk/boards/board/ancestors/thread/1370590

Is the idea that the other thread is about someone who *might* be the father of John 1811? i.e. James c1774.

It isn't really necessary or even advisable to separate the questions; it's normal in a thread to track "possibles" who might be ruled in or out in order to answer a question.

Emma, you have marked this thread "answered" by marking your last message answered for some reason. You might want to add "not answered yet" to your subject line if you are still looking for help.

MargaretM and ErikaH (posting the 1841 census simultaneously) were just looking to find anything that might help get a picture, and to make sure helpers have the same info you have.

Sometimes looking for lateral relations can help.


In 1851, there are these Cottons born in Alsager, who might be relations.

Name: George Cotton
Age: 34
Estimated birth year: abt 1817
Relation: Head
Spouse's Name: Mary Cotton
Gender: Male
Where born: Alsager, Cheshire, England
Civil Parish: Macclesfield

Name: Thomas Collen [Thomas Cotton] - corrected by an Ancestry user
Age: 31
Estimated birth year: abt 1820
Relation: Head
Gender: Male
Where born: Alsager, Cheshire, England
Civil Parish: Odd Rode
with mother-in-law Elizabeth Cartwright

We could wonder whether James, who had a son Thomas, might have had a brother Thomas and possibly a father Thomas, for example. George Cotton also had a son Thomas *oops stepson*. So maybe James, if he was the oldest son, had a father Thomas whose father was James ... All pure speculation based on patterns of births and names, but this can help make "possibles" more or less likely.

- edit - George (Richard & Hannah) and Thomas (Thomas & Ellen) had different parents, so they weren't both sibilngs of James, at least.


There are also in 1851 (edite to add parents' names):

Ellen Cotton abt 1823 Alsager, Cheshire, England Servant Balterley, Staffordshire
(Betty Cotton?)
Henry Cotton abt 1824 Alsager, Cheshire, England Servant Audley and Eardley End, Staffordshire
(John & Frances who married in 1821)
Louisa Cotton abt 1828 Alsager, Cheshire, England Servant Alsager, Cheshire
(John & Frances)

It's *possible* -- I'm not saying certain or probable or even likely -- that these are all younger siblings of your James, given that they are the only living Cottons in 1851 who were born in Alsager. So looking for records of people in the possible family group might help - to rule in or out.


To follow up, see here https://tinyurl.com/y8vkus4u
for Cotton baptisms in Alsager with father Thomas (and mother Ellen - names Sarah and Elen match up with children of Thomas in 1851).

But no James ...

However, the baptism records for Alsager seem very complete at familysearch, so it might be useful to consider whether maybe he grew up there, but wasn't born there ...

James and Mary in 1841 I think.

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M799-SKK

Name James Cotton
Event Type Census
Event Date 1841
Event Place Prestbury, Cheshire, England
Residence Note Smelt Houses
Gender Male
Age 25-29
Age (Original) 25
Birth Year (Estimated) 1812-1816
Birthplace Cheshire
Registration District Macclesfield
Parish Prestbury
County Cheshire

James Cotton M 25-29 Cheshire
Mary Cotton F 30-34 Cheshire
Geo Cotton M 14 Cheshire

So maybe his father was George :-)

That’s great thank you for this going to mull all the info over tonight :)

Not of humongous assistance, but assembling family groups can sometimes help, to see whether there are naming patterns and maybe gaps where one's person of interest might fit in.

James doesn't really seem to fit in with any of the ones I looked at, though, unfortunately.

There are also always the other possibilities to consider -- that a person was

* a child of a single mother named Cotton and was given her surname

* a child of a single mother with an unknown surname, who adopted the surname of his known father, or of his stepfather, who was a Cotton.

Those scenarios are not too uncommon.

James married and lived in Prestbury.

In 1841 there is (only) this household of the older generation there:

Joseph Cotton 35 labourer
Hanh Cotton 38 cotton worker
Wm Cotton 10 silk piecer (?)
Martha Cotton 7
Joseph Cotton 4
Martha Cotton 70
David Cotton 60 silk twister

COTTON, DAVID age 67
GRO Reference: 1847 D Quarter in MACCLESFIELD UNION Volume 19 Page 96

COTTON, MARTHA age 77
GRO Reference: 1845 S Quarter in MACCLESFIELD UNION Volume 19 Page 79


Possible ... if they were confused about ages or he was baptised late ...

https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F3L1-78R

David Cotton
England, Cheshire Parish Registers
Name David Cotton
Event Type Christening
Event Date 05 Oct 1784
Event Place Christ Church, Macclesfield, Cheshire, England
Gender Male
Father's Name David Cotton
Mother's Name Cotton


Can't find any other records of the couple (marriage, baptisms).

although there is an 1806 David marriage in Prestbury to Jane Booth, could be a first marriage
and one in 1815 in Prestbury to Mary Beard

not a sign of a James among them though!

I have found evidence of cousins marrying ie cotton & Cotton so mother Cotton could very well be this David’s mothers maiden name too - I’m trying to link this Prestbury lot to my haslington line.

Have a Y dna test match with there descendants so looking for clues - thank you!

I do think though DNA tests add more confusion at times :)