There is much confusion in the literature concerning the facts of Sarah Cogswell’s life. I follow here Donald James Cogswell’s Descendants of John Cogswell784 [DJC], and then note discrepancies in other sources.

DJC reports that Sarah Cogswell, daughter of John and Elizabeth (Thompson) Cogswell, was “Born circa 1632 in Westbury Leigh, Wiltshire, England. Died 25 Jan 1732 at age 100.” DJC further notes, with respect to son John Tuttle, that “The Tuttle Family Genealogy states that John Tuttle was the son of Simon Tuttle and Sarah Cogswell. The Burnham Family Genealogy states that John Tuttle was the son of Simon Tuttle and his first wife, Martha Ward.”785 (Gwen Campbell’s Tuttle genealogy786 identifies Martha Ward as son John’s wife, not his mother; the Burnham volume referred to is perhaps in error.) To add to the confusion, the list of Simon and Sarah (Cogswell) Tuttle’s children in DJC is prefixed by the words “Simon and Ruth (Cogswell) Tuttle had the following children:”785 The name ‘Ruth’ here would seem to be a simple error for ‘Sarah.’

Although DJC reports Sarah Cogswell’s birthdate as “circa 1632” and her deathdate as “25 Jan 1732”, Campbell’s Tuttle genealogy says Sarah Cogswell was born about 1645, and “d. 24 Jan 1732 Ipswich MA age 86”783 citing as sources for the couple “published vital records”, “Dawes-Gates Ancestral Lines, Ferris 1943; vol. 1, pg 600-605”, and “Hale, House and Related Families, Jacobus & Waterman 1952”. If this birthdate is correct then Sarah was born in New England rather than in England.

Both birthdates for Sarah Cogswell, abt 1632 and abt 1645, can be found in many other sources, especially on the web. Research in more nearly primary materials will be needed to clear up this confusion. It is possible there are two Sarah Cogswells combined here, or perhaps a missing generation.