George Sackville Cotter

Notes:

From: Twentieth Century History of Springfield, and Clark County, Ohio, and Representative Citizens

George S. Cotter, superintendent of the Springfield Water Works, was born at Springfield, Ohio, in 1862, and is a son of the late James L. Cotter, who was born in Ireland, emigrated to Canada when thirteen years of age, and came to Springfieln 1847, where the rest of his life was passed.
George S. Cotter attended school until he was thirteen years old and then entered the machine shops of Warder, Mitchell, and Company and remained until he had learned the trade. When he was eighteen years old, he went to Aurora, Illinois, andoked in the railroad shops at that city for three years, after which he returned to Springfield and continued work as a machinist until 1884, when he became engineer of the city water works at the pumping station. He continued in that capacity for ten years and for four years more was superintendent there. In 1898 he left the city's employ and accepted a position as foreman of the machine shops of the Warder-Bushnell Company. When the International Harvester Company came into possession, he became mechanical engineer for a time and then resigned to accept the superintendency of the city water works again, and has had charge of this important municipal utility ever since. He takes an interest in politics, but only to the extent of promoting good government.
In 1891, Mr. Cotter was married to Jennie Bryant, who died on October 16, 1906, leaving four children, namely: Paul Bryant, Helen, Ruth, and George, Jr. Mr. Cotter is a member of the Elks.

The George Cotter family was living at 508 Lagonda Avenue, Springfield, Ohio, at the time of the 1900 Census (see 1900 Ohio Census, Clark County, Roll 1246, Book 1, page 286a).

Buried:
Section M, Lot 26

George married Jennie Amy "Pink" Bryant on 13 Jun 1890 in Clark County, Ohio, USA. Jennie (daughter of James M. Bryant and Jane ?) was born on 6 Jun 1872 in Ohio, USA; died on 17 Nov 1906; was buried on 20 Nov 1906 in Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Paul Bryant Cotter was born on 3 Dec 1891 in Clark County, Ohio, USA; died on 29 Dec 1970 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA; was buried on 31 Dec 1970 in St. Bernard Cemetery, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA.
2. Helen H. Cotter was born in Jul 1894 in Ohio, USA; died on 30 Jul 1987 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA.
3. Nellie L. Cotter was born on 1 Feb 1896 in Clark County, Ohio, USA; died on 1 Oct 1896; was buried on 2 Oct 1896 in Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA.
4. Ruth Marie Cotter was born on 30 Jul 1897 in Clark County, Ohio, USA; died on 11 May 1944 in Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio, USA; was buried on 15 May 1944 in Oak Dale Cemetery, Urbana, Champaign County, Ohio, USA.
5. Georgeanna Cotter died after 1970.
6. George Roger Cotter was born on 7 Nov 1902 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA; died on 9 Aug 1917 in Clark County, Ohio, USA; was buried on 11 Aug 1917 in Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA.

George married Anna F. Kelly on 18 Nov 1915 in Clark County, Ohio, USA. Anna (daughter of James D. Kelly and Anna Digan) was born on 11 Nov 1888 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA; died on 12 Feb 1919 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA; was buried on 15 Feb 1919 in Calvary Cemetery, Springfield Township, Clark County, Ohio, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Residence: 1848, McGillivray Township, Huron (now Middlesex) County, Ontario, Canada
• Census: 1870, Springfield Township, Clark County, Ohio, USA

Notes:

James L. Cotter emigrated to Ontario, Canada, in 1835 with his father, and he later settled in the Park Hill, Ontario, area. In the "History of Middlesex County," James is listed as a warden and pathmaster for the year 1845. He is recorded as having owned land in Middlesex County, Ontario. The land was in McGillivray Township, Lot 23, Concession 9, and was purchased on 17 Dec 1842. His brother, George, purchased the neighboring lot, No. 22, on the same day; their brother, John, purchased Lot No. 20 on 18 Mar 1844 . However, James Cotter is also listed on the 28 September 1837 map of McGillivray Township as owning that same lot number. James Cotter appears in the 1848 census of Canada West (Ontario). He is listed on page 3, McGillivray Township, Huron (now Middlesex) County. Around 1848, James Cotter moved to Clark County, Ohio. He filed a Declaration of Intention for Naturalization in Clark County, Ohio, on 20 March 1861, but apparently never completed the naturalization process. At the time of the 1850 census, James and Maria (name given as Mary in the census) were living in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. James' age was given as 26, and his occupation was sawyer. Maria's age was given as 25. At the time of the 1860 census, the family was living in German Township, Clark County, Ohio. Included in the census is Anna Cotter, aged 66. He is listed in the 1880 census of Clark County, Ohio. James Cotter was a member of The Champion City Guard, Company A, Seventh Infantry, Ohio National Guard, during the Civil War. He purchased land from William T. Haley in the city of Springfield, Ohio, on 13 July 1855, and from James T. Warder on 14 December 1870, in Springfield Township. Around 1881, the James Cotter family moved to Illinois, settling near Claremont in Richland County. James Cotter purchased land from Robert B. and Ellen Patrick in Richland County, on 27 November 1882. The property is described in the deed as the northwest fourth of the southeast quarter of Section 26, township 4, North Range (numbered 14 west), "containing 40 acres, more or less." The property was sold by his heirs to Mary Cotter Melrose, James's daughter, for $800 on 28 November 1902, following the death of James's second wife in August 1902. James is buried in Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Ohio, in Lot 242 of Section L. This plot was purchased by Ann Cotter on 18 April 1899.

Buried:
Section L, Lot 242

James married Anna Maria Harrison on 6 Oct 1849 in Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA. Anna died before 1866; was buried in cir 1865 in Mount Zion Cemetery, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: Maria Harris
• Buried: 8 May 1903, Ferncliff Cemetery, Springfield, Clark County, Ohio, USA

Notes:

Buried:
Section L, Lot 242

Moved from Mt. Zion to Ferncliff, 8 May 1903

Other Events and Attributes:

• Education: Trinity College, Cambridge
• Education: Trinity College, Dublin
• Education: University of Edinburgh
• Occupation: doctor
• Military service: 1811-1829; Surgeon, West Meath Militia
• Immigration: 1835, New York, USA

Notes:

It is possible that Rogers Cotter was born in Kilmichael, County Cork, Ireland, since his father was Vicar there from 1784-1797. Rogers Cotter is identified in his 1810 marriage record as "Rogers Cotter of City of Dublin Esquire." He attended Trinity College, Cambridge (matriculated 1806, but did not graduate), and later graduated as a physician and surgeon from Trinity College, Dublin, and then the University of Edinburgh, on 1 August 1815. His dissertation was entitled "Dissertatio medica inauguralis de tympanita," and was published in Edinburgh in 1815. He entered the army as a surgeon's mate in the West Meath Militia on 26 March 1811. He was assistant surgeon from 1817 until 1829, when the regiment disbanded. He was also surgeon and physician of Balinacaryge Dispensary. He published "The Fables of Aesop, in Latin hexameter verse translated from the original Greek," in Dublin in 1833. Rogers Cotter and his family emigrated in 1835. They sailed on the ship Tallahassee, originating in Ireland, and departing ultimately from Liverpool. The ship arrived in New York on 8 July 1835. The following family members are on the passenger list: Rogers Cotter, no age given; Mrs. (?) Cotter, age 39; James L. Cotter, age 17; George L. Cotter, age 19; John R. Cotter, age 13; Lydia Cotter, age 15; Annabella M. Cotter, age 11, and; A. Cotter, age 1 (female). Upon their arrival, Rogers stated that his destination was Ohio. However, he went instead to Ontario, settling in Toronto Gore Township, Peel County, Ontario. There is no record to indicate that he ever went to the Park Hill, Ontario, area with his sons. On 28 September 1835, he applied to purchase Lot 12, Concession 10, of the Gore of Toronto (Clergy Reserves), but the lot was not for sale. He was described as a "Doctor of Medicine and Surgeon," and "lately arrived in this province with a numerous family." Rogers Cotter is listed in the 1837 census of Toronto, Gore Township, York County, as "Dr. Cotter," living at Concession 10, Lot 12, in the Gore of Toronto. On 9 July 1839, he applied to purchase the same lot, where he had been living as a lessee. Rogers Cotter is listed in "The City of Toronto and the Home District Commercial Directory and Register with Almanack and Calendar for 1837." He appears on page 38 in a list of physicians and on page 162, as living in the Gore of Toronto, Northern Division, Concession 10, Lot 12. Rogers Cotter may have been the Cotter (first name not given) who was buried in McGillivary Township, Middlesex County, Ontario, on 23 September 1845, age 60.

The address given on the baptismal record of his son, George Sackville Cotter, is Strawling Lodge. The baptism took place in Clane, County Kildare, Ireland.

Rogers married Arabella Lyon on 13 Nov 1810 in St. Andrew's, Dublin, Ireland. Arabella was born in cir 1794 in Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

According to family tradition, Rogers Cotter "ran off with a parlor maid." Living with James Cotter at the time of the 1860 Clark County, Ohio, census was a 66-year-old woman named Anna Cotter, who may have been his mother. The baptismal record of her daughter, Mary, states that Arabella's name was Isabella Ann. Isabella is also the name given on the marriage record of her daughter, Annabella, to Amos Barber. Her maiden name may have been Lyne.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Education: St. Peter's College, Cambridge, England
• Education: Westminster School, London, England

Notes:

From: The Dictionary of National Biography, edited by Sir Leslie Stephen and Sir Sidney Lee; Vol. IV. London: Oxford University Press, 1964.

"Cotter, George Sackville (1755-1831), poet and translator, was the fourth son of Sir James Cotter. He was educated at Westminster School, of which he was captain in 1770, and in 1771 he was elected to St. Peter's College, Cambridge. He graduated B.A. in 1775 and M.A. in 1779. Having taken holy orders he became vicar of Kilmacdonough, and rector of Kilcreddan-Garrivoe and Ightermorragh, diocese of Cloyne. In 1788 he published two volumes of 'Poems,' dedicated to Lady Shannon, and consisting of a poem in two books, entitled 'Prospects,' and a collection of odes and other fugitive pieces. In 1826 he published a translation of Terence for the use of the schools, in the preface to which he states that when at Westminster School he had been an actor in three of Terence's comedies. In the following year he printed seven of the plays of Plautus, 'translated literally and grammatically, and cleared of objectionable passages.' The later years of his life were spent at Youghal, Cork, and he died in 1831. By his wife, a daughter of Bayly Rogers, physician and banker of Cork, he left, with other issue, four sons."

George Sackville Cotter was named after Lord George Sackville, a friend of his father's, and was known as "a great musician." His translations of the comedies of Plautus was "Plauti Comoediae septem selectae; Anglice redditae, expurgatae." The comedies are Aulularia, Epidicus, Menaechmi, Mercator, Pseudolus, Trinummus, and Rudens. The book was published by J. F. Dove, London, in 1827. The poems dedicated to Lady Shannon were published by William Flynn, Cork, in 1788. The full title is "Poems, consisting of odes, songs, pastorals, satyrs, &c, and a descriptive poem in four books, called Prospects." His translations of the comedies of Terence was "Four Comedies of Terence, translated, and the stage management and mode of acting them set down, as they were acted at Westminster School; and also the other two comedies of Terence, the Heautotimorumenos and the Hecyra..." It was published by Dodges and M'Arthur, Dublin, in 1824. George Cotter also wrote "An Essay on the Best Mode of Extension of Agriculture in Ireland, by the breaking up and cultivating lay or grasslands." It was printed by A. Edwards, Cork, in 1802. It was originally published in "Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society, 1801." Grorge Cotter is listed in "A Critical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors" by A. Austin Allibone, published by J.B. Lippincott, Philadelphia, in 1858, and in "The Poets of Ireland: A Biographical Dictionary" by David J. O'Donoghue, published by the author, London, in 1892-3.

George married Margaret Rogers on 4 Nov 1775 in St. Finbarr's, Cork, Ireland. Margaret (daughter of Bayly Rogers and Martha Pigott) died on 11 Feb 1832 in (probably) Dublin, Ireland. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]