Josiah Cotton erected two similar memorials: this one and an earlier one (stone 4) that mentions two of his father’s sons and then seven of his own sons.
This particular gravestone mentions “here are interred” and
mentions of Josiah Cotton’s brothers where as previous stone number 4 mentions only two. As a result, it can be assumed that this is their actual burial site where as the earlier stone is a memorial that was erected later to name the children. In addition, Josiah Cotton memorializes his father, Rev. John Cotton Jr., who died in Charlestown, South Carolina in 1699.
The previous memorial (stone 4) details the names of the sons but has no mention of Josiah’s father. It also lists two of Josiah’s brothers that died before he was born. Samuel died age six in 1683 and Josiah died at five months in 1676. The memorial then commemorates seven of Josiah Cotton’s sons who died between 1719 and 1734. In total Josiah and his wife had fourteen children: three daughters and eleven sons. The first of his sons to die was Josiah at an age of seven months in 1719. The second showing “anonymous” was a male that only lived twenty-five days in 1721. The first Edward was stillborn in 1722. The second Josiah died at the age of three months in 1723. The second Edward died at three months in 1726. The first Roland died at age one month in 1727 and the second Roland died at age one and a half in 1734.