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The theory that Ann's maiden name was Harrison is based on the assertion of Francis Burton Harrison who it is said did a great deal of research in England. I haven't read any of Mr. Harrison's writings but he is supposed to have said something to the effect that "Ann Cotton was related to the Harrisons of Gobion's Manor and was a cousin of Sir John Bernard of Abington in Northamptonshire". Thomas Harrison of Gobion was married to Elizabeth Bernard, Sir John's aunt. Unfortunately I have never seen anything that explains how Francis Harrison came to this conclusion. That doesn't mean it's not true, just that I don't know his sources.
I did suggest that the Ann Dunbar listed alongside John Cotton in the land grant records could be his wife but that is only a guess. Even is that is true, it doesn't eliminate the possiblity that her maiden name was Harrison; she could have married a Dunbar before she married John Cotton. It was pointed out to me that Elizabeth, the widow of Richard Harrison of York Co., VA, later remarried to a David Dunbar so we do have some connection between these surnames.
Jean Cotton recently found an online family tree that asserts that Eleanor Wheeler was married three times; to John Elison, Nicholas Comins and Francis Wheeler. This same tree says that Eleanor's maiden name was Harrison. If Ann Cotton was also a Harrison, that could explain the connection and a possibile answer of why Eleanor Wheeler left John Cotton a gold seal ring.
A couple of months ago, I found some very information online. It seems that Sir John Bernard, the man that Francis Burton Harrison says was a cousin of Ann Cotton, left three daughters as his heirs. The youngest of these daughters, Eleanor Bernard, married Samuel Cotton, the fourth son of Thomas Cotton of Laughton, Leicestershire. If these two cousins, Eleanor Bernard and Ann Harrison, both married men named Cotton, there would seem to be a good chance that their husbands were related. My goal right now is to locate some verifiable descendant of the Laughton Cottons for DNA testing. If anyone knows of one, please let me know.
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