Marvin E Rowlan 1947-2013

Marvin Rowlan lost his battle with blood cancer on Monday November 4, 2013 at 7:00 PM. Services will be held on Friday, November 15th at 11:00 AM at Riverside National Veteran's Cemetery, Riverside California.

Marvin was the only son of Albert Jesse Rowlan.  He was 66.

Amanda E Walker Cotten 1883-1907

Amanda Walker was born October 2, 1883 in Sampsel, Missouri.  She  lived in Fleetwood, Chickasaw Nation, Indian Territory with her maternal grandfather in 1898 when she married Richard Penn Cotten. (She was only 14, while he was 33.)  They had 4 children:  Joseph,  Luther, Terry, and Ruth. Amanda died in July 1907 following a miscarriage.

Amanda's ancestery  has been verified with a DNA match in her Murray line

No pictures of Amanda survive, and all that we know of her comes from this account from Eula Mae Harris Nelson, whose parents were neighbors of the Cottens:

"Richard's wife Amanda (Manda) took charge of my baby sister and breast fed her.  My mother was sick, Manda was breast feeding her own baby Terry who was 8 months old.  She cared for my sister Flora until my mother was well enough to take over again.  And from that time on these two women were like sisters, always together.  Amanda Walker Cotton was a medium sized woman, very slender, blue eyes and blonde hair.  A very out going friendly, mother like person."

Tracing Our Cotten Line Through Y-DNA Testing

1 Joab Harris Cotten, b. Nov. 23, 1828, Louisiana, d. Aug. 12, 1810, Hamilton Co., TX

...+ Sarah Frances Caudel

.....2 Richard Penn Cotten, b. Jan. 16, 1866, Clay Co., TX, d. Sept. 22, 1937, Nevada Co., CA

........+  Amanda Walker

..........3 Joseph Thomas Cotten, b. July 12, 1899, Indian Territory, d. June 1, 1967, San Bernardino Co., CA

............+ Lola Goldie Rowlan

Lola's Book

Just prior to her 80th birthday, Lola Cotten wrote her autobiography as a gift to her children and grandchildren.  From Oklahoma to California, she shares her experiences which include migrate farming, the great depression, and the war years.  Her stories chronicle a life of hard work and struggle made joyous through love of family and strength of faith.  She is truly an inspiration for all of us.

Thirty three years later we have decided to make the book available to the next generation and others interested in Lola's stories.  Copies of the book can be ordered from Lulu
http://www.lulu.com/shop/lola-cotten/lola-rowlan-cotten-april-10-1900-january-21-1996/hardcover/product-21133321.html#productDetails
The book is offered at our cost (under $20 plus shipping) and comes in hardcover.

Albert Jesse Rowlan

Lola's brother Albert

"My little brother was getting pretty big during the summer of 1913.  I was then 13 years old.  Papa and Mama went to one the neighbors who grew bushels and bushels of cucumbers.  The neighbors had put up all they wanted, and told my folks to come and get all they wanted.  They took my little sister Delma with them.  I stayed with the baby.  I changed his diapers and watched him crawl all over the place.  Mama had a high shelf in the back of the stove where she kept cleaning stuff.  Someway the can of lye fell down on my little brother and ate up his diaper where he was sitting on it.  I was scared to death.  I didn't know what to do.  I picked him up, grabbed a gallon of sweet milk and started washing him.  I asked God not to let him die.  He was crying and so was I.  But I kept washing him with the sweet milk until he went to sleep.  We had beds under the trees where the boys slept.  I took him out there to lay him down when my brother James came into the house to get something.  I told him, 'I killed Albert.'  He said, 'Let me see him!' The baby was sleeping peacefully when James looked at him and he just said to me that he looks fine.  Well, it never amounted to much, thanks to God and the sweet milk!"

Lola's House

"Alford had always said, 'Mom, someday I will build you a home.'  Every year, summers I worked in the corn and the grapes.  I also worked in the dates a long time.  I had been saving every board they brought.  I pulled the nails out, stacked the boards, and straightened out the nails.  Everyone asked me--'What are you going to do?'  I said 'Build a home.'

Mr. young, a neighbor, came down to see Joe. He had to have some money.  He was trying to get it through the bank.  He said, 'If I can't get it, I'll sell you 7 1/2 acres of land."  He couldn't get the money so we bought the land.

Every minute I could I would be cleaning up the land.  There was a lot of bushes on it.  I cut and burned them,.  It was a busy time.  I was so happy to think at last I would get a home.

We got the pipe fixtures to put in the plumbing.  Jim had a trailer.  He and Violet came up and hauled gravel and sand.  We borrowed a water tank.  Violet would shovel sand and gravel into the mixer with the cement.  My how we worked.  Finally we got the slab poured.

I worked in the corn and grapes and in the fall the dates.  Every penny I made went into that house.  We really hurried as Alford would be in the service soon .  We had a well drilled on our place.  We put in a small pump for the house and a big pump for the irrigation.  Our house had a kitchen, living room, bath, two bedrooms, and a screen room in the back, 9 X 20 feet.  It was the most beautiful house I ever saw.  How I loved it.  To think at last I had a home.  I said, 'This is the last move I will ever make.  When I leave here it will be when God gets through with me.' "

Lola and Joe in front of their home

Migration to California

Lured by the advertisements offering surplus work and great climate, Joe Cotten moved the family to California in 1930.
"We had beds fixed in our trailer.  We weren't in any hurry.  We really didn't know just where we were going--seen people trying to get someplace.  They didn't know where they were going and didn't have any money.  We didn't know times were so hard.  Joe had worked.  We had a little money.  There was a depression going on.  We saw people standing beside the road, reading the Bible.  

Times were hard.  We came the southern route but in the mountains there was snow.  We finally landed in California.  This side of Yuma, AZ we got into the sand dunes.  Joe said 'The first place I find that there are people, I will stop.'  The 3rd of December, 1930 we stopped in Holtville, California"

Joe and Lola in Oklahoma

Cotten Family about 1930

Joe and Lola were married November 15, 1921 in the back of a barber shop in Elk City, Oklahoma.  The wedding party consisted of the bride and groom, Lola's sister Maude and sister-in-law Drue, one barber, one shoe shining boy, and one guy getting his shoes shined.

During the next 9 years, Joe worked in the oil and cotton fields in Oklahoma and Texas.  Work was scarce, and living conditions were rough as shown from this account from Lola's book:

"Our tent was one mile from anyone.  We had to haul water 1 1/2 miles to use.  One day I gave both the babies a bath.  They went to sleep before I got them dressed.  I laid down and went to sleep also.  Something woke me up,  The tent was full of smoke.  I ran outside thinking the oil rig was on fire but it wasn't - - It was a forest fire.  I got a baby under each arm and ran as fast as I could.  In about 3/4 of a mile there was a place that was pretty clear of brush.  I didn't think I had made it because it was coming so fast.  Again God was helping me for I made it.  I watched and just knew everything had burned up. I walked down to the road.  I was a mile from where we lived.  Some men were working putting up a high line.  My little babies were wanting water.  I asked a man if he had any water.  I told him the fire burned up everything we had.  He said there are 50 men fighting the fire.  Maybe you can get someone to go see if everything is all gone.  He went up and talked to his men.  He came back and said 'I'll take you up there.  If  everything is burned up I'll take you to the store until your husband gets here.'  My little son couldn't walk because I didn't pick up his shoes and the ground was burning yet.  We went back to the tent.  It was still there.  The fire had burned right up to it.  He asked me if I had water.  I told him yes.  I asked him what I owed him.  I told him I had some money in the tent.  He said 'You don't owe me anything.  You did the best thing.  If you would have stayed, the little ones would have died.  You are  a good mother.  All you were thinking about was your children.'  That was a desolate place."

Lola Goldie Rowlan Cotten (1900-1996)

Here is an portion of Lola's eulogy, delivered at Montecito Memorial Park, Colton, CA in January of 1996:
"Sons, daughters, grandchildren, and friends.  We are gathered here today for the promotion of Lola  Cotten, for she has made it home to final resting place with her Lord and Savior.

Lola was born Lola Goldie Rowlan on April 1900.  She married Joseph Cotten in 1921.  He preceded her in death some 28 years ago.  They had 4 boys and 1 daughter.

Lola had been a hard worker all her life.  At the age of 17 she saved her family's farm as both her Mother and Father were ill and she took it upon herself to work 10 hours a day at 15 cents an hour to pay off a $300.00 debt and save the farm.  She said she sometimes was so tired she prayed and cried from the long hours of hard work but never gave up.  Since she was the oldest at home she felt an obligation to keep things together.

She always had time for her children and grandchildren.  Her daughter remembers her Mother holding a grandson on her lap, when a granddaughter asked if she could sit on her lap and she told her "I have room on my lap for all my grandchildren." , that's the kind of grandmother she was.

This lady could cook a great meal out of practically nothing and make it taste like a feast.  She could climb upon the house and help put a roof on it.  I'm sure there wasn't she couldn't do if she put her mind to it.

At age 80, she wrote a book and the end passage reads, "Thank you all my Children and grandchildren for making my life so happy, and when all your lives are over may we all meet in that beautiful place called heaven."

The River House Story

Before the river house was built, the sons of Joe and Lola Cotten would take their families to a public campground near Parker, AZ on the Colorado River.  One particular night it was so hot that Al Cotten decided to sleep near the bank of the river on an air mattress with a damp sheet.  Early the next morning  a neighboring camper decided to take in some target shooting.  Al was awakened by gunfire along with empty shells raining down from the bluff above.  Instinctively, he charged up the hill without a stitch of clothing,  screaming like a wild animal.  The entire campground was awaken to a sight and sound they would not soon forget.

After this experience it was clear to Al that this campground was not a safe place for him and his young family.  He convinced his brothers to join him in building a vacation home near Bullhead City, Az.

The original plans were drawn of the back side of a Monopoly game box lid.

The river house was built in only 24 days (12 weekends)

All the material used in construction was transported each week from 200 miles away.

The lot was discounted in price because it was "pie shaped" and had limited frontage on the river.  The brothers turned this negative into a positive.  Because of his connections with the Army Corps of Engineers (he was a former employee), AJ Cotten was able to secure the variance necessary to permit the cabana.

River House Under Construction 

The River House

Fifty years ago, the sons of Joe and Lola Cotten all pitched in and built a vacation home on the Arizona side of the Colorado River.  A whole generation of grandkids spent their summers here, skiing, fishing, swimming, and sun bathing on the cabana and French's beach.   Each of the four brothers had a private bedroom, and all the kids slept on sleeping bags and mattress pads laid out all over the main room.  We played cards, board games, read books and told stories.  There was no television, no radio, and of course no internet.  We actually had to talk to each other.

The "river house" was the vehicle that kept our family together in those days.

Building the Cabana

Relaxing at the River House - Al getting a foot massage from his Mom and Brother Jim

Cotten-Rowlan Genealogy

The search for our ancestors begins with Joe and Lola Cotten.  Our family history predates the Pilgrims and chronicles the history of our nation. The research is ongoing and incomplete.  There are mysteries we will have to leave for future generations to solve. 

Why care about all these dead people?  For us it provides a meaningful experience that is both personal and spiritual.  When we discover great and heroic persons among our ancestors, the sense of kinship can provide a source of strength and encouragement and serve as an anchor point and source of commitment. 

As we relate the stories and histories of our family, we will omit the names of living persons to protect their privacy, and only relate stories that are at least 50 years old to minimize our bias.

A Sailor's Story, Part 3

The commanding officer of the PT 373, Lt. Belton Copp, volunteered to lead a two boat squadron into Manila Bay to "test defenses" of the harbor.  Here is an excerpt of the report he filed with Navel Command:

"At 0030 after passing through enemy formation and coming right to retire, we were hit by enemy fire coming from the port quarter. We suffered numerous .51 Cal. hits on the stern which exploded a 40MM shell causing 3 men to be wounded by shrapnel, the port turret machine gun was hit putting it out of commission, two hits on the gas tank, numerous hits on the cockpit, severely wounding OTC, Lt  (lg) COPP, and causing fire in starboard 50 Cal. ready box in charthouse, and 1 hit on the bow causing instantaneous death to SENESE, A.O. slc."

Lt. Copp lost his left arm.  Even injured and under heavy fire he was able to lead his damaged vessel safely to Subic Bay.  A student of the classics, Copp's escape was inspired by Homer's Odyssey.  He maneuvered the 373 abreast of a large Japanese freighter just as Odysseus and his men hung under sheep at the entrance guarded by the Cyclops.  Being inches away from the big ship shielded them from mines, the guns from Corregidor, and the freighter's armament.

General McArthur honored Lt. Copp and the crew of the 373 by using it to carry him back to Manila Harbor one month later.

General McArthur on PT 373

AJ Cotten received the purple heart for service to his country

A. Jay Cotten (1971-2013)

A Jay Cotten (son of Richard "Rick" Cotten and grandson of AJ Cotten) was killed May 16th by a suspected drunk driver.

A. Jay Cotten's car overheated on the 202 when he was on his way home from work.
He pulled over just to put water in his car. That's when officers say a drunk driver hit him.
42-year-old A. Jay Cotten, a father of three, was killed trying to fix his car on the side of the 202. He thought it would be a quick fix, but seconds later an SUV swerved into him.
"He wasn't just a man under a tarp or someone who caused an interruption on the freeway he was family," says Laura Laide, victim's sister-in-law.
Laura Laide says her sister had been married to him for more than 20 years.
"He was a wonderful father and a wonderful brother and a husband that anyone would die for."
Officers say 46-year-old Liane Corwin was driving drunk. She was arrested on a charge of reckless manslaughter, a class two felony.
DPS says her blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit as she drove down the 202 during rush hour Thursday night.
"Why, why do it, why get behind the wheel, why risk doing what you've just done to our family."
Laide says her brother-in-law knew the car had been overheating but he'd been unemployed for months and had just gotten a new job in construction. Cotten made the choice to go to his new job and put a gallon of water in back of the car just in case. His second day on the job -- and he never made it home.

"There's time in our lives that he was the only one who could get us through some things. He was an amazing person."

The family is now worried about how they're going to give him a proper burial.  He had been unemployed and times have been tough.

As for Liane Corwin, she's being held on a $108,000 bond.

To help: A fund has been set up for the family.  Just go to any Wells Fargo Branch in the Phoenix Valley and ask to donate to the "A. Jay Cotten Memorial Fund."

A Sailor's Story, Part 2

PT 373

Shortly before he died, AJ Cotten was asked some questions regarding his experiences on PT 373 in a taped oral history interview.  Here is a partial transcript::

"That 40 millimeter was where I got hit.  The bullet hit the full ammunition  cannon only one projector blew up.  My own shells what got me.  It blew up when the bullet hit it.  The ammunition sack was right under the seat under me, I'm firing the gun. 

That was Corregidor  Manila Bay.  We was the first US navel vehicle to go back inside Manila Bay.  We went in to take pictures, and got the shh shot out of us.  Thirteen people on the boat and there was only three that didn't get hit.  

A Sailor's Story, Part 1

AJ Cotten (Eldest of Joseph and Lola Cotten) answered duty's call and served our country in World War II.  Like his father before him, he enlisted with the US Navy. This account, taken from Lola Cotten's book, shows the fears and frustrations that face mothers and wives who wait for the safe return of their men from the battlefield:

September 1943 Albert and Jo came to see us.  It was the first time Jo had been to our place.  I just couldn't get a letter from A.J.  I said, "Something has happened to A.J."  Albert said, "No news is good news.  Lola, it's not like you to be that way.  You have always taken everything."

The second of September, Luella, Joe, and the children went to the mailbox.  They said, "We bring you a letter!"  and when they came back the horn was blowing and all were hollering.  They had gotten a letter.  It was Jo's birthday the Second, and I was cooking her a dinner.  I tore open the letter.    He started, "Dear Mom.  I have been wounded.  I wanted you to know.  I expect I'll be sent home on a hospital ship."  Who ate the birthday dinner.  I don't know.  I just took off and didn't return for quite a while - -for I knew they don't ship people back unless they were hurt bad.  We didn't get a letter from the Navy for two months.  The letter said, " Your son has been wounded but he's alive and will recover."

Tracing The Cotten Surname With DNA

Thought DNA testing was only useful in crime scenes and paternity claims? Think again.  More and more, genetic analysis is being used to confirm genealogy.   While many tests are available, the most successful one traces male lineage.  I don't understand the science of it, but a common trait of the Y-chromosome is passed from father to son.

Steve Cotten has sent his DNA to the Cotton/Cotten database http://home.comcast.net/~cottondna/ and we hope to have a full report at the time of the family reunion.

Picture Update

I found the second half of the picture posted earlier.  Now how many people can you identify?

"Years Ago In Battle, Both The Grandpas Fought"

Lola loved Joe, and Joe loved Lola, but had their grandfathers met in the 1860's they would have tried to kill each other.

Joe's Grandpa, J H Cotten served for 3 years with the Confederate Army as a volunteer in Company B of the 19th Texas Infantry. 
The Regiment participated in the  battle at Milliken's Bend, the Red River Campaign, and at Jenkin's Ferry.

Lola's Grandpa, Thomas Alexander Rowlan, was a soldier in the Union Civil War at Adair Troop, Missouri.

Missouri was severely divided between Confederate and Union sentiments, and this regiment was mustered to protect the local township from rebel intruders.

Young Joseph Cotten Story

At the age of 94, Eula Mae Harris (wife of Joe Cotten's step brother) wrote down some of her early memories of the Cotten family.  The following story about Joesph Cotten is transcribed word for word:

"Joe was just like most little boys.  He loved my mama Alice Harris and he loved me, Eula, like a sister.  I remember one Christmas our fathers made their usual drinks for everyone, and they had some 100 proof ALCOHOL that they were going to put in some of the drinks, 'to flavor it', they said.  They were using a glass to measure it with and put the glass down to go have lunch.  And us kids were playing around, messin' around mostly, and Joe got the glass and drank some of the ALCOHOL.  It strangled him, and he passed out!  We thought he was dead.  It was terrible, we really thought he had died.  But he came around, and we were all thankful.  I guess you know he never drank any more alcohol for fear it night kill him.

Then one time my little brother Gaylord got a cold and Papa went to town and bought some 'Castoria'.  They used that a lot for kid's ailments.  It was sweet and tasted pretty good.  Well, Joe decided he would take some.  He drank most of the bottle.  Believe you me, Joe remembered that for a long time after.  We didn't have bathrooms in our homes back in those 'good ole days', so poor Joe spent that day and most of the night on the creek in the timber,  He didn't do that again either."

How many people can you identify in this photo?

We Have a Date and a Place!

We've reserved the Los Lagos clubhouse in Fort Mohave, AZ on Saturday October 12 from 1:00PM to 5:00PM.  Our reunion is pool party casual, and lunch will be provided.  Convenient lodging is available at the Laughlin NV area casinos (Particularly the Avi) and campgrounds on the Colorado River and Lake Mohave.