James Cotter, veteran of the War of 1812, was the son of a United Empire Loyalist, James Cotter Senior.  His father, in his Loyalist Claim (Ancestry.ca) stated that he was “a Native of Ireland”, that he “came to America 36 years ago”, that he “lived in Johnstown”, that he “came with Sir John [Johnson] to Canada at first”, and that he “served all the War”. His name appears in several sources including his Upper Canada Land Petition and the book, The History and Master Roll of The King’s Royal Regiment of New York, [KRRNY] Revised Edition (2006) by Brigadier General Ernest A. Cruikshank and Gavin K. Watt. This source identifies his wife as Lucretia. (This source also indicates a wife Magdalena (1785) but evidence to support this has not been found.) As well as James Cotter Junior, James Cotter Senior had an older son, Richard, who also served with the KRRNY, as a sergeant. Richard married Experience Rose, daughter of Loyalist Matthias Rose. He died in 1791 with one son, David Cotter. James Cotter Senior also had a daughter, Eleanor, who married Loyalist John Dusenbury. The couple had several children.

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