Individual Details

Profile of Wikitree, Cottle-345, written by JWM and Chase Ashley, March 2019

Parentage; Date and Place of Birth

The ancestry of Ezra Cottle has been a puzzle to genealogists because of a lack of helpful records. Banks omits him from the Cottle genealogy. Savage treats him as a child of William Cottle and says he was born on May 5, 1662. [1] Hoyt explicitly rejects Savage's claim and allocates Ezra to Edward Cottle with the note: "We have found no proof that Ezra was a son of Edward, but there seems to be no other place in which to put him." [2]

Additional evidence is provided by the will of John Rolfe (1589-1664) and the inventory of William Cottle's estate. John Rolfe's will is notable in its breadth of exposition of the family, including bequests to nephews and great-grandchildren. The will names two children of William Cottle and Sarah Ring -- Sarah and Anne. The will does not name a sibling Ezra. It is reasonable to conclude that either (1) Ezra was not the child of William Cottle and Sarah Ring, or (2) Ezra was born after the will was made on 4 February 1663/4. The record of the inventory of William Cottle's estate in the probate records of Essex County, however, ends with the note that "He left four children, the youngest a son, and another child unborn." [3] Since the last of William Cottle's three daughters was born in August 1665 and the only known son of William Cottle was William Jr. (born in November 1668 after his father's death in April 1668), this record suggests that William and Sarah had another son (possibly Ezra) born about 1667.

Here we choose to act on that inference, showing him as a child of William, knowing that evidence may someday surface showing otherwise.

Assuming Ezra was the son of William and Sarah (Ring) Cottle, he was probably born about 1667, probably in Salisbury.

Removal to Newbury

At some point, he removed to Newbury, where he lived for all of his life, working as a shipwright. [2]

Marriage and Children

He married Mary Woodbridge on 6 July 1695, in Newbury. [4] Again, secondary sources provide differing accounts. Hoyt [2] and Savage [1] agree with that date and place. Torrey [5] claims 16 July. The Dudley family history [6] gives a date of November without a location.

They had perhaps eight children.

Will

He wrote his will on 17 May 1748 [7] and died on 25 December 1749. [2] The will [7] does not mention a wife, but mentions several heirs:

"son Edmond"
"son Thomas"
"daughter Mary Steves" [typically shown as "Stevens"]
"daughter Sarah"
"grandson Samuel Launcelot" [typically shown as "Laws"]
"daughter Joanna Cottle"
"son Joseph Cottle"
The mention of "grandson Samuel" without mention of his parents would suggest that a daughter married to someone named Launcelot/Laws predeceased the will. Other sources state that the daughter was named "Anne." [8] [2] Of course, the omission of the wife suggests that she died prior to the will. Finally, many sources, e.g. [9], list a son named William; his omission from suggests that he had earlier died without children.

Death

Inconsistency plagues us to the end. Hoyt [2] reports that Ezra died on 25 December 1749, but the Newbury Vital Records [10] has him buried nearly two months earlier on October 30.

Sources

1. James Savage, A Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England: Showing Three Generations of those who came before May, 1692, on the basis of Farmer's Register (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1860), vol 1, p 461; Link to page at archive.org.
2. David W. Hoyt, The Old Families of Salisbury and Amesbury, Massachusetts with some Related Families of Newbury, Haverhill, Ipswich, and Hampton, collated publication of all 13 parts (1897-1916; reprint, Providence, RI: n.p., n.d.), pp. 114-115; searchable digital images, Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/cu31924025963772 : accessed 9 April 2016.
3. George Francis Dow, editor, The Probate Records of Essex County Massachusetts, Volume II, 1665-1674 [abstracts] (Salem, MA: The Essex Institute, 1917), pp. 129-130; online page images, Hathi Trust (https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/008912649 : viewed 18 March 2019). "He left four children, the youngest a son, and another child unborn.".
4. "Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850: Newbury (2 vols)," database of images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7769/1/0: viewed 15 March 2019), vol. 2, p. 124, Cottell ... Ezra and Mary Woodbridge, July 6, 1695; citing Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the end of the Year 1849, The Essex Institute, Salem, 1911.
5. "Torrey's New England Marriages to 1700," database index, New England Historic Genealogical Society, AmericanAncestors.org (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB1568/i/21174/381/426882090: viewed 15 March 2019), vol 1, p. 381, Cottle, Ezra & Mary Woodbridge, 16 Jul 1695; citing Lowell 314, Dudley 1065, Fellowes-Davis Anc. 124, Sv. 1:461.
6. "North American Family Histories, 1500-2000," database index with page images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, Ancestry (http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61157: viewed 15 March 2019), "D > Dudley > History of the Dudley Family with genealogical tables, pedigrees, & c : number 1", images 1251-2, 4. Capt. Thomas Trowbridge; citing History of the Dudley Family with genealogical tables, pedigrees, etc, pp. 1065-1066.
7. "Essex County, MA: Probate File Papers, 1638-1881," database of images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB515/i/0: viewed 16 March 2019), vol. "Essex Cases 6000-7999", p. 6397:2-3, dated 1749 Dec. 25; citing records supplied by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Archives.
8. "Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850: Newbury (2 vols)," database of images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7769/1/0: accessed 18 April 2016), vol 1, p 128, "COTTLE...Anne, d. Ezra and Mary, May 17, 1714."; citing Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the end of the Year 1849, The Essex Institute, Salem, 1911.
9. "Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850: Newbury (2 vols)," database of images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7769/1/0: accessed 18 April 2016), vol 1, p 128, "COTTELL (see also Cottle)...William, s. Ezra and Mary, July 27, 1696."; citing Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the end of the Year 1849, The Essex Institute, Salem, 1911.
10. "Massachusetts Vital Records to 1850: Newbury (2 vols)," database of images, New England Historic Genealogical Society, American Ancestors (https://www.americanancestors.org/DB190/i/7769/1/0: accessed 18 April 2016), vol 2, p 576, "COTTLE...Ezra, bur. Oct. 30, 1749. C. R. 7."; citing Vital Records of Newbury, Massachusetts to the end of the Year 1849, The Essex Institute, Salem, 1911.

Birth	5 May 1662
Birth	Abt 1668
Marriage	6 Jul 1695	Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America - Mary WOODBRIDGE
Marriage	16 Jul 1695	Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America - Mary WOODBRIDGE
Marriage	Nov 1695	Mary WOODBRIDGE
Will	17 May 1748	Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Burial	30 Oct 1749	Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Death	25 Dec 1749	Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America
Residence (family)		Newbury, Massachusetts Bay, British America - Mary WOODBRIDGE
Occupation		shipwright

Spouse	Mary WOODBRIDGE (1675 - 1748)
Child	William COTTLE (1696 - 1748)
Child	Mary COTTLE (1698 - 1748)
Child	Edmund COTTLE (1699 - 1748)
Child	Thomas COTTLE (1702 - 1752)
Child	Joanna COTTLE (1707 - 1748)
Child	Joseph COTTLE (1709 - 1748)
Child	Sarah COTTLE (1711 - 1748)
Child	Anne COTTLE (1714 - 1748)

Father	William COTTLE (1626 - 1668)
Mother	Sarah RING (1636 - 1699)
Sibling	Sarah COTTLE (1662 - 1747)
Sibling	Ann C. COTTLE (1663 - )
Sibling	Susanna COTTLE (1665 - 1688)
Sibling	William S. COTTLE (1668 - 1688)

Notes