History of Charles & Eleanor Whiteman Cottrell

Charles Cottrell was born on the 3^rd of April 1835 in Kentish Town, Saint Pancras, London, England. Charles is the 4^th of 15 children born to Raphael Henry Kelton Cottrell and his wife Mary Ann Edwards.  He was named after his Uncle Charles Cottrell. 

Charles was christened on the 6^th of November 1835 at the Newman Street Catholic Apostolic Church in Saint Marylebone, London.  His brother James and sister Mary Augusta were also christened in the same church.

Eleanor Whiteman was born the 22^nd of May 1836 and christened the 26 of June in Kingston-on-Thames, Surrey, England, her parents where Henry Whiteman and Hannah Vine Pateman.   Eleanor was the 3^rd child of a family of 6.  Her father was a laborer and later a railway contractor.  

Eleanor was a tiny little woman not quite 5 feet tall.  She had dark brown eyes and hair.  She could read and write. I have letters that she wrote and her hand was clear.  Her family became interested in the church. Her earliest baptism is recorded as 1848 in the Hackney Branch records, she was then re-baptized on the 23 of May 1852.  It was not unusual for people to be re-baptized.  Records were lost, with no certificate to help remember the date, or sometimes they just wanted to recommit.  Eleanor was re-baptized 4 times according to my records.  The last baptism being done in Kaysville.

Charles followed the family trade as a plasterer.   The family moved to where ever the work took them.  Sometimes it was only a few blocks. Other jobs would take them to towns outside the Greater London area.  Charles was tall for a man of those days around six foot, slender in his early years.  He had sleepy blue eyes and sandy hair.  He started balding early in life.

The Cottrell family became interested in the Church of Jesus Christ of Later Day Saints around the 1850’s.  His father, mother and several sisters and aunts joined the church in March on the 18^th of 1850.  On the 18^th of May, 1850 in the Newbury Branch, Charles now age 15 and his Uncle Charles were both baptized by Elder Thomas Squire.  Charles too was re-baptized several times.

Both Eleanor and Charles mothers died in 1854.  Eleanor’s Father, Henry Whiteman, had died 4 years earlier.

On The 27th of May 1855, C. H. Andrews married Charles and Eleanor in the Parish of St. Pancras.  The witnesses were Charles father Raphael H. Cottrell and Eleanor’s sister Sarah Whiteman.  The Church of England would not recognize marriages that were preformed outside the State Church, so “non-conformist” as LDS people were called, had to marry in the Church of England and then they recorded their marriages with the Branch they lived in.

Charles and Eleanor were blessed with a son, Charles Raphael Henry, the following year.  This son died at about 9 months of age.

James Alfred was born on 7 Feb 1858 in Theale, Berkshire. A year later on the 24th of July 1859 Raphael was born.

The family then moved to Reading where George was born 27 May 1861.

Uncle Charles wife, Mary Mead died in 1857 leaving him with no children and a widower.  He immigrated in 1864, the crossing did not go well and he the came across the plains by handcart.  Upon his arrival he settled in Kaysville and went to work on the temple.

 Eleanor Sarah was born on the 28th March 1863, Charles Jr. the 27 Dec 1864, Emma Elizabeth Martha came in to the family on 29 of Oct 1866. 

The Family then moved back to Kentish town St. Pancras where Louisa Mary was born on the 29 Sept 1868.

 It was in Kentish that the family would again feel the sorrow of death.  Emma two years and ten months old died on the 13^th of August 1869.  She had been sick 14 days with measles and pneumonia.   Eleven-month-old Louisa Mary died 14 days later from Meningitis convulsions.

Loosing one child is heart rendering, but to loose two in one month must have been devastating.

Eleanor and Charles were blessed with a baby boy on 29th of September 1870 they named him Henry.  Walter arrived on the 13th September 1872.

In the fall of 1873 Charles father, Raphael Henry, left his family in England and went to Utah with his son Edward Abraham. They came to New York by ship and were able to ride the train into Salt Lake. He went to live with his brother.  His second wife Mary Ann Payne Cottrell and their other five children followed him to Utah a year later.

Charles and Eleanor were relocating again. This time to North Finchley, Middlesex where another daughter Mary was born on the 21 Dec 1874.  She died not quite a year later on the 7^th of Dec 1875.   Two years later Emily was born, the 25^{th of} May, 1877 in Finchley. Not quite two years later Alice joined the family.  She was born on the 21^st of June 1879.

Two of their sons, James Alfred now age 20 and George age 17 left Liverpool England on the 19^th of October in 1878 and arrived in New York City on the 29^th of October.  They then went by train to Salt Lake.  They arrived at their grandfather’s, Raphael Henry’s, house on the 6^th of November, just two hours after he died.  They stayed with relatives and went to work, James Alfred stayed in Kaysville and worked in the family business of plastering.  George went south to work in the mining business and with the railroads. 

Charles and Eleanor were busy with work and raising the family.  The church continued to be a large part of their lives.  We have a missionary picture of Charles.  He was really quite dapper.  Well dressed with top hat, vest and coat.  The ever present pocket watch and chain and a lovely walking stick.  He also served in a Branch Presidency.

In February 1879 Raphael Charles married Sarah Eames at the Saint Peters Church.  Raphael was the first of Charles and Eleanor’s children to get married.

Charles continued working in the London area and eventually the call to Zion came.  Charles and Eleanor packed up the family and boarded the steam ship Wisconsin on the 23^rd of Oct 1880.  Their son Raphael and his family stayed behind.  They also left brothers and sisters on both sides of the family.  Some they never saw again. With the sorrow of those they left behind they would also have the joy of reuniting with the family that had come across previously.  They arrived in New York on the 3^rd of November and in Salt Lake City on the 11^th of November 1880.

Eleanor and Charles went to the Endowment House on the 22^nd of June 1882 and were endowed and sealed.

They made their home in Kaysville next to the rest of the family.  A year later the family was again blessed with a little girl.  They named of Annie Frances.  She was born the 20^th of October 1882 and died the following year. 

The family was active in the community and stayed busy working on building their new life in the territory. 

George married Eliza Slack on the 9^th of April 1885. 

Henry age 15, died on the 12^th of November 1885.   In the Salt Lake Tribune the following information was found.

  A fatal roadway accident occurred near the Hot Springs yesterday afternoon, shortly after 4 o’clock.  The full details could not be learned, but from the information received it appears that Henry Cottrell, a young man about 18 years of age who resided at Kaysville, was returning home from this city.  The team that he was driving became frightened when near the Hot Springs, and it was supposed that Cottrell lost the lines and got out on the tongue to recover them.  The wagon must have met with some obstruction, for he was thrown violently from the tongue.  His Head struck a telegraph pole and he died instantly.  The body was taken to Kaysville last night and an inquest will probably be held.

Henry, affectionately known as Harry, was buried in the Kaysville Cemetery.  Charles and Eleanor had lost many of their children to illness, but this must have been quite a shock.

Eleanor Sarah Cottrell, their oldest daughter, married William P. Burton on the 28^th of July 1886.  They traveled to Logan, where they were married, and then returned to Kaysville where he worked as a blacksmith.

Raphael Charles left England and brought his family to Utah in July of 1887.  This brought all the family together again. 

James Alfred married Edith Layton on the 23 November 1887 in the Logan Temple.

The family had to work hard to support their families. They did farming, masonry and of course they plastered the new buildings going up all over the northern part of the territory.

The men worked vigorously to complete temple.  Working long hours at the temple only to come home to work late into the evenings making and pouring plaster molds.

The Cottrell’s would carve fruits, flowers and designs out of bee’s wax and then make the molds.  After the plaster was poured and set they removed the castings and another set would be poured.  The casts would then be taken back to the temple and attached to the walls and ceilings.

The plaster casts were heavy and had to be handled with great care.  One of the grape casts is in the possession of the LDS History Museum.  It is about 12 inches tall. The Celestial room is an amazing tribute to their workmanship.   Ornamental plasterwork is found through out the temple on the walls and ceiling, sometimes forming beautiful ceiling light covers.  Three generations of Cottrell’s worked on the temple, as did Edward Abraham’s father in-law, Thomas Steed, who was also a  family of plasterers.  It is hard to say who did what work.  But we do know that the Celestial and Assembly Hall was the work of our family.

With the Salt Lake Temple completed Eleanor and Charles were sealed to their children on the 18^th of October 1894.

Eleanor Sarah had moved to Robin, Idaho with her family.  Since it was so hard for her children to walk to school, and the weather was prohibiting, she sent her son Jim to live with her parents. Later her daughter Eleanor Elizabeth (Bess) went to school in Kaysville.  She told me that when she first arrived in Kaysville grandmother was making peach jam and she told her grandma Cottrell that she just loved her peach jam.  From that time on Grandma Cottrell sent peach sandwiches to school every day.  Bess soon grew tired of peach jam and started trading her sandwiches with the other children.

In September of 1895, Emily went to work for a Mrs. Snell’s as a dressmaking assistant in Salt Lake.  Emily later opened her own dress shop.

Charles Jr.  moved to Salt Lake about 1896.

1901 saw the return of Walter from his mission in England. 

Charles and Eleanor celebrated their Golden Anniversary on Saturday the 27^th of May 1905.  A lovely article was placed in the Clipper Newspaper telling all about the event.

A pleasant reunion of the Cottrell family occurred at Kaysville on Saturday, May 27^th; the occasion being the golden anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Cottrell.  They were married in London, England, May 27^th, 1855. 

  Fourteen children have blessed their union, eight of whom are still living; five sons and three daughters.  In addition to this there are twenty-three grandchildren and two great grandchildren.

  A very pleasing feature of the gathering was the fact that each member of the family was present including grand children and great grandchildren.

At 1 p.m. the guests sat down to a sumptuous dinner which each did justice, after which a very pleasing program, consisting of songs, recitations and speeches, was rendered.

  The prominent feature of the program was a speech by Charles Cottrell, Jr., in which he presented, in behalf of the family, a purse contain a goodly sum of gold, as a token of love and esteem they felt for their parents.

  Among the guest present were, J.J. Farrell and wife, Charles Whiteman and wife and Mrs. M. Walker of Salt Lake City.  Bishop Peter Barton and wife, John R. Barnes and wife, Heber J. Sheffield and wife, John Barton and wife and others of Kaysville.

  At 7p.m. the festivities of the ay ended and the guest departed to their respective homes.

Walter married Amelia Barton on the 19^th of December 1906 in the Salt Lake Temple and settled in Kaysville where he worked a variety of jobs including city marshal.

Charles and Eleanor moved to Salt Lake City in 1907 where they lived in the 30^th Ward.

 Alice married Louis Bowers in the Salt Lake Temple on 4^th of December 1907.   She and Louise settled in Salt Lake.

January 28, 1918 Charles was ordained as a Patriarch of the Pioneer Stake by President Joseph F. Smith.

The family gathered together on the 27^th of May, 1918 to celebrate the 63^rd  Wedding Anniversary of their parents.  Articles and pictures appeared in both the Deseret News and the Salt Lake Tribune.  The Tribune took their own photo and it shows them smiling at each other, a very precious moment.

DESERET EVENING NEWS

MONDAY     

May 27, 1918

Venerable Couple

Celebrate Sixty-Third Wedding Day

Not often does it fall to the lot of a husband and wife to survive the sixty-third anniversary of their wedding day, but such is the good fortune of Patriarch and Mrs. Charles Cottrell who today surrounded by members of the family are guest of honor at an affair given at the home of their daughter Mrs. Frank B. Hall. 

    Mr. And Mrs. Cottrell are natives of London, England where they were born respectively in 1835 and 1836.  They were married May 27, 1855 and emigrated to Utah in 1880 with in Kaysville, Davis county where they resided for 27 years.  They moved to salt Lake city 11 years ago and have made their home here every since.  The venerable couples are the parents of 14 children, eight of whom are now living.  They are James A Cottrell, of Kaysville, Raphael and George, of Salt Lake, Mrs. William P Burton of Robin Ida, Charles of Salt Lake, Walter of Kaysville, Mrs. Frank H Hall and Mrs. Louis J Bowers of Salt Lake.

   They also have some numerous grandchildren and several great-grand children.

   Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints in the early 1800’s and have been faithful and devoted members through all the years.  As a young man Mr. Cottrell did active missionary work in his native land before immigrating and since coming to Utah has continued to render valuable service.  In recognition of his integrity he was ordained to the office of a patriarch in the Pioneer Stake some months ago and now officiates in this capacity.  Through advanced in years Mr. and Mrs. Cottrell are hale and hearty, with facilities unimpaired and enjoy a wide circle of friends who will join in the extending congratulations.

   Eleanor started showing signs of her age and her daughters took turns caring for her and Charles, who was also experiencing poor health.  In one letter from Eleanor Sarah to her husband, written   May 1^st 1919, she states that her father has asked her not to put her mother in an asylum.  Eleanor had lost an extreme amount of weight and her clothes hung on her body.  She was forgetful and at times did not recognize her family.  Eleanor had a habit of walking at night and was found wondering in the cold without any protection.  In the same letter she writes that Walter fell from a scaffold and broke his leg just above the ankle, and that Raphe had fall from his barn and scratched his head.  She also mentions Jim’s boy got home Sunday and that Charlie’s boy was now home and if Raphe’s two were home the whole family would be back together.

On the 25^th of Aug 1915, Emily married Frank Hall, a widower who had 4 children , in the Salt Lake Temple.

The family was good about keeping in touch with each other by mail. Eleanor always signed her letters E & C Cottrell. These letters shared information about the family, mission calls and missionaries returning home. Often letters mentioned illness or injuries asking for the prayers in behalf of those who were sick or injured.  The boys certainly had their share of accidents, falling off barn roofs and scaffolds, breaking bones and bruising themselves and sometimes needing stitches.  Walter and Raphael were especially accident-prone, taking months to heal.  Their mother must have had a few anxious moments.  The families also helped each other in times of need, like helping work on each other’s homes, and sending money to support missionaries.  Charles Jr. sent both money and food to Eleanor Sarah.  Emily made wedding dresses and clothing for her extended family. 

   Eleanor Sarah Whiteman Cottrell passed away on the 14th of May, 1921, in Salt Lake City and was buried on the 17^th in Kaysville.  She lived 85 years, 11 months, and 23 days.  In one obituary she was described as a “quiet, unassuming nature, devoted to her family and a faithful Later-Day Saint. “

Davis County Clipper   20 May 1921

FORMER KAYSVILLE WOMEN DIES IN SALT LAKE CITY.

  Mrs. Eleanor Cottrell, wife of Charles Cottrell, residents of Kaysville for a quarter of a century before moving to Salt Lake city, died in her home, 176 Mead St., of that city, Saturday.

  The family moved to Salt Lake in 1906, and continued to live there up to the time of her death.

  Mrs. Cottrell was born in England and was 65 years old this month.  She came to Utah in 1880, settling in Kaysville, where she lived for twenty-five years.

  She is survived by the following Children:  James A and Walter Cottrell of Kaysville, Ralph, George, Charles Cottrell, Jr., Mrs. Emily Hall and  Mrs. Alice Bowers of Salt Lake City, and Mrs. WP Burton of Robin, Idaho.  She also has quite a number of Grandchildren.

  Funeral services were held in the Thirteenth ward in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, afternoon, and brief services for her at the Kaysville cemetery where interment took place.

Charles followed his life long companion 3 years later on the 29^th of June, 1924, in the home of his daughter Alice, at the age of 89.  He was laid to rest next to his wife and family on the 2^nd of July at the Kaysville cemetery.

  

 The family members were hard workers that were taught to serve both community and church.  They enjoyed music and singing and were often asked to perform at community activities. 

Charles and Eleanor have left us with a heritage to be proud of.

The family continued to gather together and worked together on genealogy up until about 1959 when failing health and the overwhelming size of the family ended the large gatherings of remaining siblings and extended family.  

Written by Eleanor Kathleen Bunderson

3^rd Great-Granddaughter