Nathaniel Cotton was born in 1779 in Virginia. He served in the militia during the Revolutionary War, fought at Yorktown, and was with Lafayette when he joined the Continental Army. He studied law at William & Mary College, but eventually gave it up to write and sell his first book, A Treatise on Rhetoric and Oratory. He joined his brother John in publishing a newspaper, The Patriot, and wrote several more books: The Government of the United States: Made Known: To the People; The New York Gazetteer: A Directory of the City and County of New York; An Account of the State of Virginia; The Geography of America; A Visit to New York; The State of Iowa: Its Resources and Prospects; The History of Maine: From Its Discovery to the Present Time; A Tour Through Georgia, Georgia: A Tour Through Georgia; The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus; An Account of Major Robert Rogers; The Life and Death of General Jeffrey Amherst.
On God for all events depend You cannot want when God's your friend. Weigh well your part and do your best Leave to your Maker all the rest.Nathaniel Cotton
If solid happiness we prize within our breast this jewel lies And they are fools who roam the world has nothing to bestow From our own selves our bliss must flow And that dear hut-our home.Nathaniel Cotton
