I represent Rev. Nathaniel Cotton. I was from New Inn, Middlesex, England. I was Rector of the town of Pensacola and Chaplain of the garrison. I had previously been the chaplain aboard HMS Princess Amelia at the surrender of Quebec in 1763. I arrived in Pensacola in spring of 1768. The first thing I noticed about Pensacola is that there was no church, nor a rectory of any sort. I spent the next three years petitioning for resources: not only a building, but vestments, prayer books, everything needed for proper Anglican worship. We used the governor’s house for church services. I made records of all the births, baptisms, and burials in Pensacola while I was rector. Unfortunately, I fell victim to the many diseases that swept through Pensacola in the early years of the colony, dying of “dropsy and a complications of disorders” on July 3, 1771.
Sources: 1, 3, 8, 14, 16, 67, 80