This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Cottrell Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/TZ.2ADE/4827.1 Message Board Post: There's an Earl Cottrell in the Social Security Death Index that could be the one you're looking for. Westchester County is right next to Fairfield. However, there is an Earl Cottrell in the 1920 census living on Main St. in Bridgeport with wife Ethel and daughter Thelma, but born in 1896. He appears to be the same one listed in the WWI draft registration cards. In 1917 he was single, supporting a grandmother. In the 1930 census, Ethel is listed as a widow with her daughter Thelma. This does not necessarily mean that Earl was dead. In that time frame, many divorced or deserted wives saved face by calling themselves widows. If Earl died before 1930, he would not appear in the Social Security Death Index. I find no Earl Cottrell in the 1930 census that looks like the one you want. There is an Earl Cottrell in Groton, CT in 1962 and 1965, but there's not enough info in a city directory to know if it's the same one. I hope some of this will lead you to useful information. === Database: Social Security Death Index Name: Earl Cottrell SSN: 046-01-8893 Last Residence: 10803 Pelham, Westchester, New York, United States of America Born: 23 Dec 1906 Died: Jan 1985 State (Year) SSN issued: Connecticut (Before 1951 ) === Database: 1920 United States Federal Census Name: Earl Cotterell [Earl Cottrell] Age: 24 years Estimated birth year: abt 1896 Birthplace: Connecticut Race: White Home in 1920: Bridgeport Ward 6, Fairfield, Connecticut Home owned: Rent Sex: Male Marital status: Married Relation to Head of House: Head Able to read: Yes Able to Write: Yes Mother's Birth Place: Germany Father's Birth Place: Connecticut Image: 813 Image Source: Year: 1920; Census Place: Bridgeport Ward 6, Fairfield, Connecticut; Roll: T625_175; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 42; Image: 813. === Database: World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 Name: Earl Dewitt Cottrell City: Bridgeport County: Fairfield State: Connecticut Birthplace: Connecticut;United States of America Birth Date: 15 Mar 1896 Race: Caucasian Roll: 1561884 DraftBoard: 6 Source Information: Ancestry.com. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-18 [database online] Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2002. National Archives and Records Administration. World War I Selective Service System Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918. M1509, 4,277 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration. ===