Santa
Clara County
Biographies
ROYAL COTTLE, SR.
From the time of his settlement
in Santa Clara county in 1857 until his death, June
27, 1891, Mr. Cottle was closely identified with the development of the grain
and fruit interests of this part of California. He was a member of a pioneer
family of Missouri, his grandfather having settled in that state while it was
still a part of the Louisiana province, and by building a mill on Garden creek,
St. Charles county, he acquired a grant of land from the French government. The
father, Oliver Cottle, was born in Vermont and accompanied the family to
Missouri, where he met and married Charity Lowe, a native of Tennessee. Of
their large family Royal was the first-born, his birth having occurred in St.
Charles county, Mo., March 27, 1810. About 1830 the family started south to
move to Texas, but after going as far as New Orleans the father fell a victim
of yellow fever and died in that city, and the widow with her children returned
to Missouri. At the time of the Black Hawk war, about 1833, they removed to Des
Moines county, Iowa, and settled on the Mississippi tablelands near Burlington,
where the mother remained until death.
During his residence in Des Moines
county Royal Cottle married Sarah Parker, October 12, 1841, and they settled
upon a farm in that county, where were born two sons, Frank and Charles. In
1847, with a party of about one hundred persons, they crossed the plains to
Oregon, where Mr. Cottle began to clear and cultivate a tract of raw land,
while at the same time he was part owner of a grist and sawmill. A daughter,
Sarah C., was born in Oregon, and in that state occurred the death of his wife,
December 18, 1848. After the discovery of gold in California he and John S. David
built and conducted a store in Sacramento. The undertaking required
considerable money, for they were obliged to pay $10 a day for labor and $700
per thousand feet for lumber. In the autumn of 1849, selling his interest in
the store, he returned to Oregon, but in the spring of the following year
returned to California and worked in the mines. In the fall he went back to
Oregon, where he remained until his permanent removal to California in 1857, at
the time of his settlement in Santa Clara county. A
few years before leaving Oregon he was married a second time, November 11,
1852, his wife being Miss Mary Bryant. Of that union four children were born,
but Royal and Annette are the only survivors. The latter became the wife of
Hon. J. K. Weatherford, of Albany, Ore.
After a brief sojourn in San Jose
Mr. Cottle removed to Gilroy, thence to San Benito, and in 1858 bought one
hundred and forty acres in the Willow district, where he spent the remaining
years of his life. The purchase price was only $15 an acre, but by care and
cultivation he greatly increased its value, so that it is now one of the finest
properties in the whole county. For a time he devoted the land to cereals, but
he soon came to believe that the locality was unexcelled for fruit-growing and
hence embarked in that industry, of which he was a pioneer. Through his
energetic and capable oversight his orchard became one of the best in the
district, and he acquired a wide reputation for skill in horticulture. While he
led a very busy life, he never neglected his duty as a citizen, but was always
ready to assist in the promotion of worthy projects for the upbuilding of his
community. During early manhood he adhered to Whig principles and was a great
admirer of Henry Clay. With the disintegration of that party and the formation
of the Republican party, he took a stand with the new
organization and ever afterward supported its principles. During his residence
in Oregon in 1853 he was elected to the state legislature, where he rendered
efficient service in behalf of his constituents and in the promotion of the
welfare of the state.
Transcribed By: Cecelia M. Setty.
Source: History of the State of California & Biographical Record of Coast
Counties, California by Prof. J. M. Guinn, A. M., Page 1167. The Chapman
Publishing Co., Chicago, 1904.
© 2016 Cecelia M. Setty.