Santa Clara County Biographies This file is part of the California Genealogy & History Archives http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cagha/index.htm ROYAL COTTLE, Sr. Migration from Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, California Willow Glen Pioneer Fruit Grower Surnames:Lowe, Parker, Hight, Weatherford,Erick, Bryant A sturdy pioneer of high ideals and plenty of inspiring confidence in the region of his adoption was the late Royal Cottle, whose good works will long continue their uplifting influence. A native of Missouri, and of St. Charles County, he was born on March 27, 1810, the son of Oliver Cottle, who had married Miss Charity Lowe, a native of Vermont. Grandfather Cottle, also a Vermonter, had pitched his tent in Missouri so early that it yet belonged to the Province of Louisiana, and built a mill on Garden creek, in St. Charles County. Charity Lowe was a belle of Tennessee, and she and Oliver Cottle were married, according to primitive documents, in Missouri. They had twelve children, and Royal was the eldest, and when his father died of yellow fever while on a trip through the South, he led the way, with his mother and the rest of the family, in 1833, into Des Moines County, Iowa, where they became some of the earliest pioneers of the Hawkeye State. There, too, on October 12, 1841, he and Miss Sarah Parker, a daughter of Ohio, were united in marriage, and two children were born to them---Frank and Charles. In 1847, the Cottles joined 100 or more emigrants and crossed the great plains to the Oregon Territory, and in that state Mr. Cottle continued agricultural pursuits, and he also devoted part of his time to a small grist and saw mill, in which he had a partnership interest. A daughter, Sarah Cordelia Cottle, who later married Chas. Hight, was born during these pioneer days in Oregon, and there Mrs. Cottle passed away on the eighteenth of December, 1848. The discovery of gold in California brought Mr. Cottle south with the rest of the Argonauts; and having joined John S. David in partnership, they built and opened a store in Sacramento. They paid $700 per thousand for lumber, and gave the day laborer ten dollars for his help. After a short time, however, Mr. Cottle sold out his interest to his partner, and in the fall of 1849 ,made his way back to Oregon, where he believed the more stable conditions superior to those of the panicky gold regions. In1857, however, he came once more to California and settled in San Jose, this time bringing his family. Before leaving the Beaver state, however, he had taken his second wife, Miss Mary Bryant before her marriage; and among their four children, Mrs. Annette Weatherford, Royal, Jr., and Mrs. Alice Erick, were the three to grow to maturity. The former is the only one to survive. Mr. Cottle did not remain long in San Jose, but went to Gilroy, and from there to San Benito, where he bought a stock ranch; and having sold this, he purchased 140 acres of land in the Willow district, and there set up his hearth. He paid only $15 per acre for his tract, which has become of such appreciated value by his improvements, that in the late '80s it was assessed at $1,200 per acre. He later bought additional land, and became one of the pioneer grain-growers of the neighborhood, and he was also one of the first hereabouts to grow successfully and extensively various kinds of fruit, and to have an orchard that was a show-place. Leading an active industrial and business life, Mr. Cottle became prominent in public affairs, and as early as 1853 he was elected to the Oregon Legislature. He was a Whig of the Henry Clay school until the great movement began for a new organization, and then he naturally became one of the founders of the Republican party. Having staked his all in the last section of his choice for a home, he donated the site for the first public school in Willow Glen district; and for many years he served as one of the school trustees of the local institution, in whose elementary classes all of his younger sons and daughter, and also his grandchildren, were educated. Sad enough is it to relate, therefore, of one whose life was so exemplary and fruitful for others, that Royal Cottle, met with an accident in the summer of 1891 which terminated his useful career. He was driving near his home in The Willows when his horse ran away, and the result of the injuries which he received was fatal. He was laid to rest in the Oak Hill Cemetery, mourned by hundreds, and his memory will be kept green, particularly by the Santa Clara Pioneer Association, of which he was an honored member. (not mentioned in this bio is Royal's brother Ira Cottle) Transcribed by Marie Clayton, from Eugene T. Sawyers' History of Santa Clara County,California, published by Historic Record Co. , 1922. page 411 ROYAL COTTLE, SR. Royal Cottle, Sr., one of the pioneers of the Willows, resides on Lincoln Avenue, between Pine and Malone Avenues, at the home he established in 1858. He was born in St. Charles County, Missouri, March 27, 1810, his parents being Oliver and Charity (Low) Cottle. His father and grandfather were natives of Vermont. His grandfather and family settled in Missouri, while it was yet part of the Louisiana Province, and acquired a grant of land from the French Government, by building a mill in St. Charles County, on Garden Creek. Charity, the mother of the subject of this sketch, was a native of Tennessee. She married Oliver Cottle in Missouri. Royal Cottle was the eldest of twelve children. One brother, Ira, and one sister, Mrs. Ellen Settle, live in the Willow District, and Mrs. Cordelia Cottle, East San Jose. One brother, Oliver, resides in Tulare County, and the others are deceased. In 1833, with his mother and family (his father having died in the South with yellow fever), Mr. Cottle became one of the pioneers of Des Moines County, Iowa. There, October 12, 1841, he wedded Miss Sarah Parker, a native of Ohio. In this State, two children were born to them, Frank, who is now a resident of this county, and Charles, living in Oregon. In 1847, with a party of emigrants, numbering about 100, they crossed the plains and mountains to Oregon. In that State Mr. Cottle engaged in his former vocation, agriculture. At the same time he had an interest in a small grist and saw mill. He was bereaved by the death of his wife, December 18, 1848. She was the mother of one child, born in Oregon, Sarah C., who is now the wife of Wm. W. Whitney, of this county. After the discovery of gold in this State, Mr.Cottle, in partnership with John S. David, built and opened a store in Sacramento. They paid $700 per thousand for lumber, and $10 per day for labor. In a short time he sold his interest to his partner, and in the autumn of 1849 returned to Oregon. The spring of 1850 found him back in California in the mines, where he remained until the following autumn, when he again returned to Oregon. He removed from that State to San Jose in 1857. In Oregon, November 11, 1852, he married his second wife, Miss Mary Bryant. Of the four children born to them, two are living, Royal, Jr., and Annette, Alice and Release being deceased. Soon after coming to this county, Mr. Cottle moved from San Jose to Gilroy, thence to San Benito, where he acquired a stock ranch. Disposing of this, he bought 140 acres of land, in the Willow District, and established his present home. It may be well to mention, in comparison with present valuation of his land, which cannot be less than $1,200 per acre, that he paid only $15 per acre for it. He retains the larger portion of his original purchase, and has added thirty acres by more recent purchases. Mr. Cottle was one of the pioneer grain-growers of his neighborhood, and became one of the earliest fruit-growers. Perhaps no finer orchard than his is to be found in the Willows. He has led an active life, and in the early days was quite prominent in public affairs. In 1853 he was elected to the Oregon Legislature. Formerly a Whig of the Henry Clay school, he naturally became of the of the founders of the Republican party. Pen Pictures From The Garden of the World or Santa Clara County, California, Illustrated. - Edited by H. S. Foote.- Chicago: The Lewis Publishing Company, 1888. Pg. 418-419 Transcribed by Kathy Sedler