Joseph Taylor Cotterell

Joseph Taylor Cotterell was born Feb 12, 1844 in Warsaw, Illinois to Samuel Jefferson and Ellenor Rachel Taylor Cotterell. Joseph is a Pioneer of Richmond.

History

Before Joseph was born, the Cotterell family lived in Muin Charlton, England when they were converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Joseph was their first child born in America after immigrating to live with the Saints in Nauvoo, Illinois. After the assassination of Church President Joseph Smith in 1844, the Cotterell family moved across Illinois and Iowa before finally having the means to travel west. They joined the Henry Bryant Manning Jolly Company on June 15, 1852.

Joseph's father was made captain of the Third Ten, which totaled 306 people. As the second oldest child and being 8 years old, Joseph helped as much as he possibly could while the company traveled west. One way that Joseph helped was by playing his father's violin, which he brought from England to help cheer up the Saints. The family arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on September 9, 1852.

After arriving in the valley, the Cotterell family moved to Davis County, Utah to farm. Joseph did not care for farming, so he went to help build the Salt Lake City Temple by blasting and dragging granite from Little Cottonwood Canyon with the oxen. He cut and polished stone, mixed mortar, laid stone, drove wooden pegs, and tied thongs in the rafters of the Tabernacle. He did this for many years.

In June 1866, Joseph married Sarah Ann Bowman in Richmond. Soon after, the family moved to Richmond, where all 11 children were born. While in Richmond, Joseph traveled throughout Utah and Southern Idaho, helping to teach and build the settlements that needed his talents and expertise most.

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