San Francisco County
Biographies
Aylett R. Cotton, a short sketch of whom follows, is a native of the State of Ohio, and a son of John Cotton, a native of Massachusetts, and a descendent of the noted Cotton family of Colonial days. The first instruction our subject received was in the common schools; he then attended Cottage Hill Academy, Ellsworth, Ohio, and afterward became a student at Alleghany College, Meadville, Pennsylvania. He afterwards went South, and for two years was engaged in teaching in Fayette county, Tennessee. At the end of this period he went to Iowa, studied law in Davenport, and was admitted to the bar. It was about this time that the attention of the whole civilized world was centered upon California on account of the gold discoveries which had been made there. Mr. Cotton determined to try his fortunes on the coast, and made the trip by ox team across the plains in the "orthodox" fashion. He arrived in the State of California in October, 1849, and went immediately to the mines. After a successful experience there covering a period of two years, he returned to Iowa, and resumed his professional work at De Witt. For more than thirty years he was one of the leading members of the bar of the State, and was prominently identified with its legislature. In 1851 he was elected Judge of Clinton county and held that position for two years. He was elected a member of the Constitutional Convention in 1857, and represented this important county in the legislature for four years, a portion of which time he was Speaker of the House. In 1870 he was elected to Congress, and after serving two years, was re-elected, discharging the duties of the office for four years with great skill and credit to himself and the entire satisfaction of his constituency.
In 1883 Judge Cotton returned to the Pacific Coast, and since that time he has
occupied a leading position in the legal profession of San Francisco. He
has been prominently identified with the Masonic order for a half century; he
was Grand Master of the State of Iowa in 1855 and 1856, and is a thirty-third
degree Mason, Scottish Rite. He is also an
honored member of the California Pioneer Society.
Transcribed
2-12-05 Marilyn R. Pankey
Source:
"The Bay of San Francisco," Vol. 1, page 43, Lewis Publishing Co, 1892.
© 2005 Marilyn R. Pankey.