Isaac Cotton, MSA SC 5496-51562

Isaac Cotton was born in 1797.¹ He had two brothers, Joseph and Daniel and a sister, Elizabeth.² He married Lucretia and together they had three sons Isaac (born 1830), Isaac A.(born in 1843), Isaac (born in 1852), as well as children Harriett, Elizabeth Jones, John Jones, Hannah, and William.³

The sale of personal property for Isaac Cotton listed numerous books, a looking glass, and a desk, all of which suggest that Isaac was literate. In addition to his learned possessions, Isaac also had some comfort items such as a walnut table, china vases, plaster ornaments, carpet, two rocking chairs, and six plain chairs. His inventory also listed one Bay Mare, one cow and calf, one carriage, one scythe, a cultivator, and one Pratt and Davis Plough, among other agricultural items, indicating that Isaac most likely was invested in some sort of corn production and had livestock as a source of food, profit, and transportation.⁴

When Isaac’s brother, Joseph Cotton, died he was granted Lot No.2 for his natural life, then to his three daughters: Eliza Ann, Elizabeth Jones, and Hannah after his death.⁵ Lot No.2 was next to “Campbell’s Worthmore” (Lots No.3 and 4) from Daniel Cotton, who had acquired Elizabeth Smith’s No.3 lot when she died, to Martha Priscilla Hepbron.⁶ This lot of land is believed to be located near the Fountain Chapel and Quaker Lane.

1. U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Isaac Cotton, 1830, p.424, Kent, 2^nd Election District, SCM 69-3, MSA 61-92; U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Isaac Cotton, 1860, p.57, Kent, 2^nd Election District, SCM 7222-2, MSA 61-274.

2.Kent County Register of Wills (Estate Papers), 1749-1940, Joseph Cotton, T4834, Box 15, Last Will and Testament, Baltimore City Archives.

3. U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Isaac Cotton, 1850, p.258, Kent, 2nd Election District, SCM 1498-2, MSA SM 61-141; U.S Census Bureau (Census Record, MD), Isaac Cotton, 1860, p.57, Kent, 2nd Election District; SCM 7222-2, MSA SM 61-212.

4. Kent County Register of Wills (Estate Papers), T4834, Box 15, Isaac Cotton, Inventory of Personal Property, February 20, 1865, Baltimore City Archives.

5. Kent County Circuit Court (Land Records) Division of Joseph Cotton's land, 1853-1854, MSA CE 57-2, JFG Liber 1, Folio 361.

6. Kent County Circuit Court (Land Records) Daniel Cotton to Martha P. Hepbron, 1857-1860, MSA CE 57-7, JKH Liber 1, Folio 145.

7. Kent County Register of Wills (Estate Papers), T4834, Box 15, Isaac Cotton, Inventory of Personal Property, February 20, 1865, Baltimore City Archives.