Joseph Cotton, MSA SC 5496-51555

Joseph Cotton was born between 1843-1846.¹ His father was Isaac Cotton (1817-?), who was son of Isaac Cotton (1797-1865). He had a sister Temperance who was about a year younger than he and a brother Samuel who was four years younger.² In 1857, Joseph was listed as a twelve-year-old negro boy valued at $400 in Hugh Wallis’s inventory of personal property. He was then bequeathed to Samuel H. Knock and his wife Mary E. Knock (Hugh Wallis’s daughter).³

At seventeen years old, Joseph was listed as a laborer under the household of Hugh Maxwell Wallis (son of Hugh Wallis).⁴ Because he was listed on the census, he was, at that point, a free black. At this point, no record has been found of Joseph’s manumission. Joseph Cotton registered for the United States Military Draft in 1863 under the direction of Captain John Frazier.⁵ At the time of his registration, he was twenty-one years old, still a laborer, single, and living in Kennedyville. He was enlisted as a private in Company E, 30^th Regiment in 1864 and discharged in 1865.⁶

In 1865, Joseph married Adaline. In 1870, Joseph Cotton remained a free laborer for the Blackiston family and was listed as a U.S Citizen. Also living and serving the Blackiston household were his wife Adaline Cotton (born 1840) and children Tempy Cotton (born 1864), Isaac Cotton (born 1867), and Joshua Cotton (born 1869).⁷

In 1880, Joseph, who was illiterate but could speak English, maintained his own household and made his living working on a farm in Kennedyville. His daughter Tempy, who could read, and son Isaac also worked on the farm with him. His wife, Adaline kept the house with the other children: Josephine (born 1874), Fred (born 1877), Francis (born 1879), Michiel (born 1871), Julia (born 1887), Mosses (born 1885), and John W (born 1891).⁸ Joseph and Adaline had a total of sixteen children, seven of which were still living in 1900.⁹

1. U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1860, p.63, Kent, 2^nd Election District, SCM 7222-2, MSA SM 61-212; Ancestry.com U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1900, p.3, Kent, Kennedyville, SCM 2386-1, MSA SM 61-415.

2. Ancestry.com, U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1850, p.299, Kent, 3^rd Election District, SCM 1498, MSA SM 61-141.

3. Kent County Register of Wills (Estate Papers), 1749-1940, T4834, Box 64, Last Will and Testament of Hugh Wallis and First Administration Account of Hugh Wallis, Baltimore City Archives.

4. Kent County Register of Wills (Estate Papers), 1749-1940, T4834, Box 64, Hugh Wallis, Inventory of Personal Property, Baltimore City Archives; U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1860, p.63, Kent, 2^nd Election District, SCM 7222-2, MSA SM 61-212.

5. Ancestry.com, National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General’s Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-185 (Civil War Union Draft Records); ARC Identifier: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 1 of 3.

6. U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1890, Union Veterans Schedule, SCM 27-5, MSA SM61-363.

7. U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1870, p.64-65, Kent, 2^nd Election District, SCM 7255, MSA SM 61-274.

8. Ancestry.com, U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1880, p.4, Kent, Kennedyville, SCM 4748-1, MSA SM 61-323; Ancestry.com, U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1900, p.3, Kent, Kennedyville, SCM 2386-1, MSA SM 61-415.

9. Ancestry.com, U.S. Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Joseph Cotton, 1900, p.3, Kent, Kennedyville, SCM 2386-1, MSA SM 61-415.