Researching Joseph Cotten
Delve into the history of Joseph Cotten using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 221 people with the Cotten surname? In that year Cotten was ranked number 3358 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Joseph means "God shall add (another son)" and is of Hebrew origin.
Records of Joseph Cotten on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Joseph Cotten in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Joseph Cotten. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Joseph Cotten. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Joseph Cotten. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Joseph Cotten. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Joseph Cotten. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Cotten ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Cotten Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Joseph Cotten and the Cotten Family Tree
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Cotten Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources listed below it will be possible to locate a birth record and, from that record, a birth certificate may be obtainable which is likely to list the names of the parents, therefore taking you back another generation. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Cotten family tree.
Check out Parish Records for Joseph Cotten at Find My Past.
Study for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Joseph Cotten using the FreeBMD database.
Check out Genealogy Bank for Joseph Cotten records.
Study MyHeritage for Joseph Cotten information.
Explore the LDS Database for records about Joseph Cotten.
Research the Cotten surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Cotten Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 116 people with the Cotten surname in the UK? Cotten is now ranked number 3933 for popularity in the UK. |
Cotten Genealogy Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Investigate the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Joseph Cotten.
Study MyTrees for information on the Cotten family and people looking to contact living Cotten relations.
Explore One Great Family for Cotten records submitted by people who are already researching the Cotten Family Tree.
Find Joseph Cotten from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Cotten Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Cotten surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 6076 people with the Cotten surname in the USA? Cotten is ranked number 155 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Cotten Databases
Look at the Ellis Island Database for information on Joseph Cotten. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cotten
Joseph Cheshire Cotten Jr. (May 15, 1905 – February 6, 1994) was an American film, stage, radio and television actor. Cotten achieved prominence on Broadway, starring in the original stage productions of The Philadelphia Story and Sabrina Fair.
He first gained worldwide fame in three Orson Welles films: Citizen Kane (1941), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and Journey into Fear (1943), for which Cotten was also credited with the screenplay. He went on to become one of the leading Hollywood actors of the 1940s, appearing in films such as Shadow of a Doubt (1943), Gaslight (1944), Love Letters (1945), Duel in the Sun (1946), Portrait of Jennie (1948), The Third Man (1949) and Niagara (1953). One of his final films was Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980).
Source: Joseph Cotten, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Cotten
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Cadamy Cadany Caddan Cadden Cadena Cadney Cadona Catania Catino Caton Catone Catonne Cattaneo Catten Cattin Cattini Catton Cauthen Cauthon Cawthon Cayton Cedeno Chaddoan Chaddoen Chadney Chadouin Chadwen Chadwin Chatain Chatan Chatham Chatin Chatom Chattan Chatten Chattin Chatwin Chaudoin Chaudowen Cheatham Cheatum Cheetam Cheetham Chetham Chetney Chetwin Chiodini Chitham Chittem Chittim Chittum Coaten Coatham Coatney Codden Codney Cotham Cotney Coton Cottam Cottem Cottham Cottoen Cottom Cotton Cottone Couden Couthon Coutinho Couton Coutton Cowden Cowdin Cowton Cuddem Cuddon Cudemo Cudney Cutten Cuttin





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