Summary
Roswell Fenner Cottrell was a former Seventh Day Baptist who accepted the third angel’s message and became one of the most prolific writers in the early Seventh-day Adventist Church. Over a forty-year career of ministry, he contributed 1,692 articles, poems, and other items to the Review and Herald, serving as one of its original corresponding editors. An accomplished poet whose hymns were sung throughout the denomination, a faithful minister who served as president of the New York Conference, and a man of humble honesty who publicly acknowledged error in the church organization debate, Cottrell exemplified the spirit of a true pioneer who gave his all for the cause he believed was from heaven.
Family Heritage
The Cottrell family traced its heritage to southeastern France in the twelfth century, where they were counted among groups labeled as heretics by Pope Alexander III in 1178. The Pope’s decree resulted in terrible persecution, and John Cotterell, “one of the very few survivors… escaped into northern France” and eventually settled in England. The family name, which meant “cottage dwellers,” was later changed to “Cottrell.”
In 1638, Nicholas Cottrell, one of John’s descendants, settled in Rhode Island just two years after it was founded. He was a Seventh Day Baptist who sought freedom to worship according to his conscience. For generations, the Cottrell family maintained their commitment to Sabbath-keeping and religious liberty in the New World.
Early Life
Six generations after Nicholas, on January 17, 1814, Roswell Fenner Cottrell was born in Brookfield, New York, to John Cottrell (1774–1857) and Mary “Polly” Stillman (1779–1852). When he was 19 years old, his family moved to Mill Grove, New York. There he met, courted, and married Cathrane Harvey about 1835, and taught public school for ten years. They had three boys — Willet, Frank, and James Uriah (named for Uriah Smith) — and a daughter, Nancy. Two of his notable descendants, also known as R. F. C., were James’s son Roy Franklin, who served as a missionary to China, and grandson Raymond, who became a book editor of the Review.
R. F. C.’s father, John, taught his children to keep the seventh-day Sabbath, though “years before… this family had left the Seventh Day Baptists over the question of the immortality of the soul and other teachings.” John’s family had become so influential in the community that “a good-sized group grew up… called ‘Cottrellites.'” The family had long held to the Sabbath and to conditional immortality — two doctrines that would later become central to Seventh-day Adventism.
Conversion to the Advent Message
When the Millerites were preaching about the second advent of Christ in the early 1840s, R. F. C. was thirty years old. He had always believed in the personal coming of Christ but did not trust in the Millerite preaching. He explained his skepticism plainly: “I saw the proclaimers of the advent in darkness in regard to the commandments of God, and bowing to an institution of the Papacy… this was the reason I did not believe.”
But when “Elder Rhodes and Joseph Bates came preaching the definite message, explaining the truth of the heavenly sanctuary and the judgment hour that began in 1844, and lifting up the standard of ‘the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus,’ setting forth the great system of the advent faith in the framework of prophecy fulfilled,” Roswell, his father John, and brother John Jr. were interested. They made a nine-month investigation of the doctrine and wholeheartedly accepted the message. The Roswell Cottrell family became Seventh-day Adventists in 1851. Roswell testified: “I believe with all my heart, [the message]… was from Heaven.”
Evangelism and Tentmaster Work
Soon after accepting the message, Cottrell entered the gospel ministry full-time. He was ordained as a minister in 1854 and devoted himself to preaching and writing. Elder J. N. Loughborough held the first tent meetings in the State of New York on the land of Cottrell’s brother John. Roswell joined this evangelistic thrust of the Sabbatarian Adventists as “tentmaster,” responsible for the practical arrangements of the large tent used for public meetings. Through the years he often worked as tentmaster and preached at the meetings from time to time. He once preached, through an interpreter, to a group of Seneca Indians, demonstrating his willingness to share the message with all peoples.
Cottrell preached in western New York and Pennsylvania, and pioneered in Canada West (Ontario). His ministry was characterized by patient Bible study, clear reasoning, and a warmth of spirit that drew people to the message.
Prolific Writer
Cottrell’s greatest contribution to the Advent cause may well have been his pen. Over his forty years of service, he contributed 1,692 articles and other items to the Review and Herald. The entire denomination had become familiar with his initials “R. F. C.” He was listed as a member of the original “Publishing Committee,” with J. N. Andrews and Uriah Smith, and later as a “corresponding editor.”
Between August 1854 and July 1855, he wrote a series of Bible lessons much like those used for Sabbath School, including doctrines like “the law of God…, the faith of Jesus…, the falling stars of 1833…, national troubles, widespread perplexities, war talk, and… the three messages of Revelation 14.” This series was published weekly in the Youth’s Instructor and in 1855 as a book called The Bible Class.
His favorite subjects were the seventh-day Sabbath, the sanctuary, and conditional immortality, with titles like The Mark of the Beast, The Two-Horned Beast, The Sanctuary, Spiritualism, and The Nature and Destiny of Man. In 1858, he wrote an 11-page introduction to Spiritual Gifts, Volume I, by Ellen White, affirming his belief in the Spirit of Prophecy.
Many of his articles dealt with the Sabbath, which ever remained a precious treasure to him. As a former Seventh Day Baptist, he had a unique perspective on Sabbath truth, and repeatedly, through the columns of the Review, he appealed to his “dear” former Seventh Day Baptist “brethren” to espouse the Advent hope, as he had done.
Accomplished Poet and Hymn Writer
R. F. C. was an accomplished poet and hymn writer. Many of his poems were published in the Review, and several were set to music and included in the Seventh-day Adventist hymnals of 1941 and 1985. His poem “It’s Jewish,” printed on the front page of the October 21, 1851, Review and Herald, became a beloved defense of the Sabbath truth, using wit and scriptural reasoning to counter those who dismissed the Sabbath as merely “Jewish.” The poem systematically applied the same logic to other biblical doctrines — if the Sabbath is “Jewish” and therefore no longer binding, then so too would be the other commandments, faith in God, and even the Bible itself. The poem concludes by pointing forward to eternity when the Sabbath will be honored by all.
The Church Organization Debate
Perhaps the most dramatic episode in Cottrell’s career came during the late 1850s, when James White and other leaders were discussing the need for church organization. Cottrell wrote several letters published in the Review under the heading “Making Us a Name,” in which he calmly and seriously reasoned against what he saw as “spiritual fornication of Babylon with the kings of the earth.” Coming from his Seventh Day Baptist heritage, with its deep commitment to religious liberty and suspicion of ecclesiastical hierarchy, Cottrell feared that legal incorporation would lead the church into an unbiblical alliance with the state. The publication of these letters increased opposition to organization and created division on the issue among Review readers.
Ellen G. White rebuked Cottrell in Testimony No. 6 for his position on organization. When Elder Cottrell realized that his comments had created a spirit of division and insubordination, he responded with characteristic honesty and humility:
“I hope that no one will join my party, for when they have severed themselves from the body and look about for me, they will not find me there, for by the grace of God, I shall be found with the body. I do not believe in popery; neither do I believe in anarchy; but in Bible order, discipline, and government in the church of God.”
On May 12, 1861, the Review and Herald printed a letter of apology in which Cottrell acknowledged that he had not considered the matter prayerfully before speaking up. Later, when church organization and a church name were voted, R. F. C. “swung into line, and kept his place as a strong supporter of the cause.” His willingness to publicly acknowledge error stands as one of the most admirable displays of Christian humility among the pioneers.
The Trinity Article
In the Review and Herald of June 1, 1869, Cottrell published an article on the doctrine of the Trinity that reflected the attitude of many pioneers on this question. In it he expressed his commitment to believe all that Scripture says about Christ while questioning the unscriptural terminology and contradictory propositions of the Trinitarian formulation as expressed in the creeds. This article has been frequently cited by historians studying the development of Adventist theology on the Godhead.
Church Leadership
Cottrell held offices of Secretary and President of the New York Conference. As an elder pastor, he was Chaplain at the Battle Creek Sanitarium, providing spiritual care to patients at the denomination’s flagship health institution. He accepted the health message and endeavored to live in accordance with health reform principles.
Key Quotes
On rejecting the Millerites initially: “I saw the proclaimers of the advent in darkness in regard to the commandments of God, and bowing to an institution of the Papacy… this was the reason I did not believe.”
On accepting the third angel’s message: “I believe with all my heart, [the message]… was from Heaven.”
On the church organization controversy: “I hope that no one will join my party, for when they have severed themselves from the body and look about for me, they will not find me there, for by the grace of God, I shall be found with the body. I do not believe in popery; neither do I believe in anarchy; but in Bible order, discipline, and government in the church of God.” — Review and Herald, May 3, 1860.
On gratitude and faithfulness: “I thank God, and all his dear people who have kindly provided me a little place for a temporary home. May I never be left to apostatize from the truth, and pervert the gift of God and the… contributions of His people, by turning to fight against Him and His cause.” — Review and Herald, September 25, 1866.
On personal consecration: “Here is my heart, O Lord! what wilt thou have me to do? What can one so weak accomplish? By prayer, by consecration, and by labor, each one can, by the help of promised grace, do the very work assigned by the Master.” — Review and Herald, October 2, 1866.
On dependence upon God: “In the strength of the Lord we can run through a troop, and leap over a wall; but our own strength is weakness, and our wisdom is folly.” — Review and Herald, July 21, 1853.
Legacy
Roswell Fenner Cottrell remained faithful throughout the forty years he lived after accepting the three angels’ messages. He worked in evangelism, defended the seventh-day Sabbath and conditional immortality by the written and spoken word, accepted the health message, and held offices of Secretary and President of the New York Conference. He died on March 22, 1892, having never wavered from his decision to move up onto the platform of the apostles: the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
His willingness to acknowledge error on the church organization question — after initially opposing it — demonstrated his genuine humility and commitment to the body of believers above personal opinion. His poem “It’s Jewish” continues to resonate with Sabbath-keepers today, and his extensive body of writing in the Review and Herald helped shape the doctrinal foundations of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.
The secret of this pioneer’s faithful witness, as he expressed it himself, was to first consecrate his life to God, then ask what work he should do, and finally move forward to accomplish that revealed work — by prayer, by consecration, and by labor.
