Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
Pioneers of St. Clair County, Michigan - Person Sheet
NameGeorge H. COTTRELL 
Birth1782, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan3974
Settlement1810, Marine City, St. Clair, Michigan2486, p 6 Age: 28
DeathMay 1848, Marine City, St. Clair, Michigan3975, date only,3976 Age: 66
BurialMarine City, St. Clair, Michigan3977
FatherGeorge COTTRELL (1753-1818)
MotherCecilia CREQUI (1766-)
Individual Notes
• George Cottrell, father of George married to Archange Menys, was the original founder of the area now called Cottrellville township. He has a very interesting history in that he helped supply the British in early Detroit history. There are five of us cousins who work daily on the mystery (brick wall) of George Sr. He may be a Hoefer adopted by a Cottrell, but we believe that he is a Cottrell who adopted a Hoefer. He did not reveal his past, but his roots come from the Albany/Schenectady NY area.
I found “old George” listed in a NY regiment of the Rev. War, commanded by Udney Hays, quartermaster for the northern department, and led by Capt. Benjamin Stevenson of Westchester county NY. This is the first clue we have of him.2486, p 1
• [He} settled in the Marine City area in 1810, built a store and engaged in trading. He built a fort around his store and hired some Frenchmen to help him guard it from the Indians.2486, p 6
• George Jr. was raised in the Cottrellville/Marine City area. In 1808 when ownership claims to the land were being re-established by the US Government, George Jr. and three of his brothers were given 430 acres in the Cherry Beach area, about two miles south of Marine City by their father (Private Claim #187).
George was for several years prominent in the affairs of his community. He was a Captain in the St. Clair Territorial Militia in 1805-06. Returning to the area after the War of 1812, George married Archangel Meny and remained there for the rest of their lives.
Cottrellville Township was named in 1823 for him, as at the time he was a St. Clair County Commissioner. He also held the office in 1829-30 and it is believed that many of the early meetings were held at Cottrell’s Tavern. To this day the Marine City area schools are still known as the Ward-Cottrell schools. The first church built in St. Clair County (St. Felicity) was a Catholic Church erected near Avalon Beach in 1828 on land donated from the Cottrell farm.3976
I found “old George” listed in a NY regiment of the Rev. War, commanded by Udney Hays, quartermaster for the northern department, and led by Capt. Benjamin Stevenson of Westchester county NY. This is the first clue we have of him.2486, p 1
• [He} settled in the Marine City area in 1810, built a store and engaged in trading. He built a fort around his store and hired some Frenchmen to help him guard it from the Indians.2486, p 6
• George Jr. was raised in the Cottrellville/Marine City area. In 1808 when ownership claims to the land were being re-established by the US Government, George Jr. and three of his brothers were given 430 acres in the Cherry Beach area, about two miles south of Marine City by their father (Private Claim #187).
George was for several years prominent in the affairs of his community. He was a Captain in the St. Clair Territorial Militia in 1805-06. Returning to the area after the War of 1812, George married Archangel Meny and remained there for the rest of their lives.
Cottrellville Township was named in 1823 for him, as at the time he was a St. Clair County Commissioner. He also held the office in 1829-30 and it is believed that many of the early meetings were held at Cottrell’s Tavern. To this day the Marine City area schools are still known as the Ward-Cottrell schools. The first church built in St. Clair County (St. Felicity) was a Catholic Church erected near Avalon Beach in 1828 on land donated from the Cottrell farm.3976
Census
• 1830 Census: Cottrellville Township, Michigan Territory. 3020001/010001.1604, p 2
Spouses
Birth21 Oct 1795, Aspen Point, Clay Township, St. Clair, Michigan3974
Birth22 Oct 17972486, p 6
Baptism21 Jun 1798, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan3977 Age: 2
Death18832486, p 6 Age: 87
Burial29 Oct 1883, Marine City, St. Clair, Michigan3977
Ancestral File #QP39-KN3977
FatherPierre MENYS (1761-)
MotherMarie Ann PETIT (1778-1883)
Individual Notes
• Archange was born 22 Oct 1797 “on the river” and died in 1883 (being 89 years of age then). Archange was the first baptism administered by Rev. Gabriel Richard after the celebrated priest arrived in Detroit. She ws one of eleven children born to Pierre Meny and his second wife, Marie Anne Petit. After George’s death, she married Nicholas Frederic Hofmeister, on 19 Jan 1856.2486, p 6
ChildrenGeorge H. (1816-1907)
James M. (~1818-)
Elizabeth (1821-)
Joseph (1825-)
Richard (1827-)
Charles B. (1830-)
Mary Anne (1831-)
John Laurence (1833-)
Agnes (1834-)
Napoleon (1837-)
Archangel (1839-)
Margaret (1841-)