Researching Richard Cottingham
Investigate the background of Richard Cottingham using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
![]() | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 798 people with the Cottingham surname? In that year Cottingham was ranked number 2784 for popularity in the UK. |

The name Richard means "strong ruler" and is of German origin.
Records of Richard Cottingham on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Richard Cottingham in your family tree. A vast range of data is available to search ranging from census records, births, deaths and marriages, military records and immigration records to name but a few. 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 Richard Cottingham. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Richard Cottingham. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Richard Cottingham. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Richard Cottingham. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Richard Cottingham. |
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. If you are lucky then you may find some previously undiscovered Cottingham 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 Cottingham Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Richard Cottingham and the Cottingham Family History
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Cottingham 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 Cottingham family tree.
Look at Parish Records for Richard Cottingham at Find My Past.
Look at for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Richard Cottingham using the FreeBMD database.
Study Genealogy Bank for Richard Cottingham records.
Explore MyHeritage for Richard Cottingham information.
Check out the LDS Database for records about Richard Cottingham.
Research the Cottingham surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Cottingham Military records.
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 1160 people with the Cottingham surname in the UK? Cottingham is now ranked number 2965 for popularity in the UK. |
Cottingham 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.
Search the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Richard Cottingham.
Study MyTrees for information on the Cottingham family and people looking to contact living Cottingham relations.
Look at One Great Family for Cottingham records submitted by people who are already researching the Cottingham Family Tree.
Find Richard Cottingham from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Cottingham 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 Cottingham surname using Genealogy.com forums .
![]() | Did you know that there are currently 6076 people with the Cottingham surname in the USA? Cottingham is ranked number 155 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Cottingham Databases
Study the Ellis Island Database for information on Richard Cottingham. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Richard Cottingham
Richard Cottingham
Richard Francis Cottingham (born November 25, 1946) is an American serial killer from New Jersey perpetrating murders in New York and New Jersey between 1967 and 1980. He was nicknamed The Torso Killer and Times Square Torso Ripper after his dismemberment and decapitation of two victims on December 2, 1979 in a Travel Inn hotel on West 42nd Street and Tenth Avenue in the vicinity of Times Square.
He tortured and murdered sex workers Deedeh Goodarzi, age 22, and a still unidentified teenage victim, severed their heads and hands, and set their torsos on fire. Cottingham fled the scene with the severed heads and hands, which were never recovered. He was eventually apprehended on May 22, 1980 in a New Jersey motel in the act of torturing a teenage sex worker he had lured and driven to the location from New York City.
In a series of trials in New Jersey and New York 1981 to 1984, Cottingham was convicted of five murders, two in New Jersey and three in New York, plus multiple charges of kidnapping and sexual assault. In 2010, Cottingham pleaded guilty to the 1967 murder of Nancy Vogel. He confessed under immunity to the murders of New Jersey school girls Jackie Harp, Irene Blase, and Denise Falasca in 1968–1969 in Bergen County, New Jersey. In 2021 he confessed and pleaded guilty in the double abduction rape/murders of Lorraine Marie Kelly, 16 and Mary Ann Pryor, 17.
Officially, Cottingham killed 11 people, but he claims to have committed between 85 and 100 murders. Cottingham is incarcerated in New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, New Jersey.
Source: Richard Cottingham, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Cottingham
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.
Cadman Cedamanos Chatman Coatman Codeman Codman Cootman Cotman Cotnam Cottman





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