Witness to Assassination - 52 Ancestors #10

Octavius K. Yates was my first cousin, 4 times removed. He was the son of James & Emma (Cole) Yates and the grandson of William & Martha (Morgan) Yates (my 4th great-grandparents). The Yates Book relates that Octavius was born on September 25, 1833 and after graduating from high school in Bethel, Maine, he enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. Octavius was at Ford's Theater on the night of April 15, 1865 when Abraham Lincoln was shot.

The following information comes from the web site www.fordstheater.org.

Ford's Theater was transformed from a church to a theater in 1861. The theater benefited from the influx of population as thousands of soldiers and wartime visitors passed through the city. The sloping ground level had about 600 wooden chairs. These could be removed for dances. The second floor balcony held 420 people in the same type of wooden chairs. The upper balcony seated 600-700 on wooden benches. There were four private boxes, two on either side of the stage.

It's hard to imagine what it was like for those in the theater on that night. The country was celebrating the end of the Civil War. They must have felt that the worst of the hard times was behind them.

After the Civil War, Octavius moved to Canada and was engaged in the oil business before returning to Maine and studying medicine. He became a respected physician in West Paris.

Sunday's Obituary - Annie Gibbs Cotton

I was very fortunate to know three of my great-grandparents. Annie Gibbs Cotton was one of them. She was the mother of Fern Lyndell Cotton, my grandmother. I remember my mother taking us to visit or run errands for her when she lived in Bethel and from visits to my grandmother's house when she lived in the Odd Fellows Home in Auburn. She died March 21, 1987 at the age of 94.

The Lewiston Journal - Mar 23, 1987

West Paris     Annie Gibbs Cotton, 94, died Saturday at Ledgeview Memorial Home, where she had been a patient since 1982. Prior to that she had been a resident at the Odd Fellows Home, Auburn, since 1973.

She was born at Paris, Aug. 19, 1892, the daughter of George and Nina Ellingwood Gibbs. She was educated in Paris grade schools and South Paris High School. She married Ray E. Cotton on July 21, 1909, at Paris; he died in April 1962. She worked at Cotton's Restaurant, Bethel, for 12 years. She was a practical nurse and cared for many persons in their homes in the area. 

At one time she had extensive doll collections, one of which was considered one of the best in New England. She also dealt in antiques at Mechanics Falls, Bethel, and Bridgton for several years. She was a member of the Mechanic Falls Baptist Church. She served as worthy matron of Dwinal Chapter, OES, was past noble grand of Sunset Rebekah Lodge and a past district deputy president of the Rebekahs. 

Surviving are a son, Albert Cotton of Bethel, two daughters, Mrs. Lyndell Carter of Bethel and Mrs. Ada Cummings of Rosell Park, N.J., 14 grandchildren; 24 great-grandchildren; and 10 great-great-grandchildren.