Andrew Jackson Cottrell, Civil War veteran

ANDREW JACKSON COTTRELL 60.THOMAS COTTRELL JR. 22.THOMAS

COTTRELL   14.THOMAS COTTRELL    6.ANDREW COTTRELL    4.JOHN  COTTRELL  

2.ANDREW COCKERELL 1.JOHN COCKERELL
Andrew Jackson Cottrell, a son of Thomas Jr. and Mary Ann "Polly"
(Parsons) Cottrell, was born in Lewis County VA in September 1827 and

died in Calhoun County WV May 21, 1903. Because of his many and varied

activities, his name was prominent in the folk lore of the

Gilmer-Braxton-Calhoun County area of WV for many years. It appears

that he was far from honest and trustworthy and he was known in some

areas as Andrew Cottrell and in others as Jackson or Jack Cottrell.

Clayburn Pierson reported one incident as follows:

   "In an early day Charles Rogers settled on the Rogers Fork of Big

Sandy at what is called the upper three forks near what is known as

Pleasant Hill on the farm now owned by Samuel Tallman. Part of the

farm is in Clay county; but the cabin of Mr. Rogers is in what is now

Roane County and near the present corner of Roane and Clay."

   "he was a native of Ireland, honest and industrious and as

hospitable as Irishmen generally are. One day four or five men came

to the home of "Uncle Charley" as he was familiarly known. They all

carried guns and said they were preachers. As they were the first

that Mr. Rogers had seen in this part of the world, he exerted himself

to entertain them. They remained several days and then departed."

   "After some time had elapsed, "Uncle Charley" was informed that

the reverend gentlemen had been accused of stealing. When "Uncle

Charley" heard this he became very indignant and expressed himself in

very strong language which I will give in his own words, as nearly as

I can, save brogue. He said 'Andrew Cothral, Thomas Murphy, Daniel

McCune, Cornelius Hatin and John O'Brien came to me house, and they

had guns on their shoulders and said they were preachers. I alus had

a riverence for sakrud things and a respect for preachers of the

gospil. Be jabers, they came to me house and sat round me fire and

smoked their pipes and talked about the divil and Hivin and Hill,

while I was twaistin away on the ould handmill to feed. Be jabers,

what an d

  According to De, Jackson belonged to a group who called

themselves "The Hellfired Band". This group roved from place to

place and wanted to preserve the West Fork of the Little Kanawha River

as a sportsman's paradise. Accordingly, they killed Jonathan Nicholas

April 8, 1843. Jonathan was responsible for building road though

the West Fork area.

  A citizen's posse arrested Jackson, Daniel McCune, Joseph Parsons

and Alexander Turner and took them to Charleston, where they were

convicted and sentenced to eighteen years in prison in Richmond,

Virginia. Jackson was pardoned after five years, but the others died

in prison.

  Jackson married Fair Eglantine Jarvis in Lewis County VA March 28,

1848. Eglantine, a daughter of Solomon and Polly Edison (Connally)

[Cox] Jarvis, was born in Lewis County VA in 1834 and died in Calhoun

County WV July 21, 1896.

  When the Civil War began in 1861, Jackson joined Company E, 14th

Virginia Cavalry, a Confederate company formed in Calhoun County VA

(WV) by Absalom Knotts. The company selected Knotts to be their

Captain, and Balis C. DeWeese as First Lieutenant. The company fought

in battles at Winchester VA, Gettysburg PA, and numerous skirmishes.

  Daniel Deweese relates the story that was probably most often told

about the adventures and misadventures of Jackson Cottrell when he

relates the movements of Jackson's army company:

  "The company after some time broke camp on what is now known as

Sier's Run, a tributary emptying into the West Fork at Minnora,

sometime in October 1861, to rejoin their battalion at Dry Creek

Station in Greenbrier County. Taking up their line of march they

passed over and up the Left Hand Fork of the West Fork, dropping over

and down Duck Creek, crossing Elk River at the mouth of Strange

Creek, going up which the second night they camped on Captain Clinton

Duffield's farm, laying on the dividing ridge between Strange Creek

and Birch River, where a couple of fine large fat sheep were procured

and butchered and distributed among the company, bountifully supplying

every man an abundant ration for a sumptuous repast.

    Jackson Cottrell whose name has been mentioned in my memoirs,

being one of the privates in the company mentioned, in addition to his

ration of mutton during the night roasted the two mutton heads and

completely divested them of every vestige of the meat, which

aggregation of fresh sheep meat had a most disastrous and salutary

effect upon Jackson's abdominal organs, necessarily placing him

upon the invalid's list for several days, next morning the company

proceeded on in their line of march passing down to the foot of Powell

Mountain, just above Brownsville, where their line of march crossed

the turn pike leading from Sutton, Braxton County, to Summersville,

Nicholas County, over onto Anthony's Creek, a tributary of Birch

River, coming in sight of the turn pike they came on to General

William S. Rosecran's army passing along the pike. The company

obviated a collision and perhaps capture and annihilation, by quietly

secreting themselves from observation until a favorable opportunity,

an opening, appeared and proved sufficient for them to double-quick

through the aperture, arriving over on Birch River at John Baughman's

just a short time after the last of General Rosecran's cavalry has

passed, going into camp for the night, whereupon in addition to the

regular ration issued to each man, Captain Knotts bought an extra fine

large bee gum of Mr. Baughman and opened it up, directing the company

to every man help himself, whereupon the ever craving Jackson still

complaining of miscellaneous and dislatory pains and cramps in his

intestines, predatory to his overweaning fondness for sheep heads

roasted, plowed in and loaded himself to the guards with an arm full

of honey comb, loaded to over flowing with delicious honey all the

while with his other hand full of the dripping comb, cramming great

hunks large enough to have strangled a mule down his capacious throat.

Captain Knotts desiring to know how his boys were faring was passing

around among them, coming to Jackson, all of who he could see for the

honey was his jaws and ears working in his effort to get on the

outside of as much honey as possible to accompany his sheep heads of

the night previous, asked him "if he was getting any of the honey", to

which Jackson replied, "A few bites Sir Captain, a few bites, just

enough to stay a sick man's stomach." "Your men are such damned dogs

that a decent man stands no show." "Arriving at Dry Creek the company

spent the winter. In the Spring of 1862 the company was attached to

the 14th Regiment of Virginia Cavalry, commanded by Colonel Cochran,

Lieutenant Colonel Brown and Major Brock, the latter being killed at

Brandy Station.

   The regiment belonging to General Albert Jenkins' command, passing

the summer and fall in the Valley of Virginia, encountering the

vicissitudes and soldiers life incident to those stormy times, going

into winter quarters at Fincastle Court House, Virginia, where my

brother Balas DeWeese assumed command of the company."

  It was probably at Fincastle Court House that Jackson deserted

the Confederacy. Alvis Uldrich related a story told to his father,

Jacob Uldrich by Jackson Cottrell. Jackson said that Jefferson Davis,

the President of the Confederacy, appeared at the camp where Jackson

was stationed and made a long speech. In Jackson's words, "When I

heard that man speak, I knowed that a poor man wouldn't have no more

rights than a dog in The Confederate States of America." "When it got

dark, I shouldered up me musket and slipped through the lines and fit

for the Union for two years." He said that after he switched from

Confederate to Yankee even his dog wouldn't own him. He was a private

in Company B, 9th WV Infantry from 1863 until July 31, 1865.

  Another Jackson Cottrell story was told many times by Davy

Chenoweth, a prominent land owner and business man of the late

nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Jackson usually supported

himself by hunting and digging ginseng to supplement his "penshing" as

he termed his Government pension. However, he had fallen upon hard

times and had taken a job with Davy's land clearing crew. On a warm

March day, Davy rode up to the place where the clearing crew were

working, just as Jackson found a small ginseng. Lifting the herb on

high, Jackson declaimed in tones usually reserved for large camp

meetings, "Looky here Davy!" "A few more days and free Jackson!" "The

blessed root, the poor man's friend, is peeping through the ground!"

In relating this story Davy Chenoweth usually closed his tale by

remarking, "He talked like I had him in bondage."

  Eglentine (Jarvis) Cottrell died and Jackson married Sarah Smarr

March 14, 1897 in Calhoun County, WV. Apparently Sarah died before

1900 as Jackson is listed in the household of William Riley Weese in the

1900 Braxton County WV census.

Children of Andrew Jackson and Fair Eglentine Cottrell.

496. (1). Alcinda b.Jan 12 1850

       m. John Simmons Jan 9 1866

m. John Peter Perrine Jan 13 1883
497. (2). Catherine b.c. 1852

         m.Aaron Schoolcraft Jan 30 1868

498. (3). Mariah b.c. 1853

         m.Braden Carpenter Dec 20 1871

499. (4). Elizabeth b.Jul 20 1858

         m.William Carpenter Feb 13 1875

500. (3). Thomas 'Wiggly Tom' b.May 1861

         m.Mahulda Rogers

501. (4). Mary Permilia b.May 5 1866

        M. William Riley Weese 1883

502. (5). Nathan A. b. 1871

503. (6). Drusilla P. b. 1873

         m.William Nicholas Jan 10 1892

504. (7). General Avrill b.c. 1870 d. 1922

        m.Isabella Brooks

https://sites.rootsweb.com/~hcpd/norman/COTTRELL/john1.htm

Bio by: Linda L. Cottrell Liss, added Aug 25, 2010 to Find A Grave Memorial# 57685987

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=57685987

Andrew Jackson Cottrell was a son of Thomas and Mary Permelia Parsons Cottrell, Jr. He married Fair Eglantine Jarvis about 1848.

Jack served during the Civil War, Pvt. CoB-9th WV Infantry. As far as I know his grave is still unmarked.

John Davison Sutton writes in his book, "History of Braxton County & Central WV" (1919). pp.275 "Old Pioneer" Jack Cottrill who lived on the headwaters of the West Fork, was one of the noted characters of the region. The Cottrills, it is said, had Indian blood in their veins. Jack lived a typical wild, rural life......... The writer, Sutton, stayed over night many years ago at a Mr. Chenoweth's who kept a store near Jack's cabin, and early the following morning Jack's wife came to the store with a little bunch of ginseng roots which they had dug the day before, and said she had stayed up nearly all night drying the ginseng, getting it ready for market early the next morning. They had no meal, she said, and would have no breakfast until she returned. Old Jack told the merchant one day that as soon as "the blessed root began to blossom" he would have plenty of ginseng, and his summer's living would be assured.

Family links:

Spouses:

 Sarah Smarr Lawson (1833 - 1918)*

 Angeline Eglentine Jarvis Cottrell (1833 - 1896)*

Children:

 Mariah Cottrell Carpenter (1853 - 1930)*

 Elizabeth Cottrell Carpenter (1858 - 1933)*

Andrew Jackson Cottrell BIRTH Sep 1827 Kanawha County, West Virginia, USA DEATH 23 May 1903 (aged 75) Braxton County, West Virginia, USA BURIAL Cottrill / Simmons Cemetery Gilmer County, West Virginia,

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57685987/andrew-jackson-cottrell

Children Mariah Cottrell Carpenter 1853–1930

Elizabeth Cottrell Carpenter 1858–1933

34.  (4). Andrew Jackson         b.       1824

m.Eglentine Jarvis Mar 27 1848
https://hackerscreek.com/norman/PARSONS/ADAM.htm

• Reference: RootsWeb's WorldConnect - SmartCopy: Nov 29 2016, 16:12:42 UTC
• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Nov 29 2016, 17:37:32 UTC

Andrew Jackson Cottrell was a son of Thomas and Mary Permelia Parsons Cottrell, Jr. He married Fair Eglantine Jarvis about 1848. Jack served during the Civil War, Pvt. CoB-9th WV Infantry. As far as I know his grave is still unmarked.

John Davison Sutton writes in his book, "History of Braxton County & Central WV" (1919). pp.275 "Old Pioneer" Jack Cottrill who lived on the headwaters of the West Fork, was one of the noted characters of the region. The Cottrills, it is said, had Indian blood in their veins. Jack lived a typical wild, rural life......... The writer, Sutton, stayed over night many years ago at a Mr. Chenoweth's who kept a store near Jack's cabin, and early the following morning Jack's wife came to the store with a little bunch of ginseng roots which they had dug the day before, and said she had stayed up nearly all night drying the ginseng, getting it ready for market early the next morning. They had no meal, she said, and would have no breakfast until she returned. Old Jack told the merchant one day that as soon as "the blessed root began to blossom" he would have plenty of ginseng, and his summer's living would be assured.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Nov 30 2016, 1:18:10 UTC

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https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/57685987/andrew-jackson-cottrell

• Residence: 1850 - Gilmer county, Gilmer, Virginia
• Residence: 1860 - Braxton, Virginia, United States
• Residence: 1880 - Otter, Braxton, West Virginia, United States
• Residence: 1900 - ED 2 Birch district (south side), Braxton, West Virginia, United States
  • Reference: FamilySearch Family Tree - SmartCopy: Jul 11 2023, 20:05:38 UTC