Dr. Cotterman is the leading dentist in Marseilles, LaSalle county, Illinois, having established an office in this city in 1891. He was born December 15, 1859, in Miami county, Indiana, his parents being Noah and Catherine (Weaver) Cotterman, and his grandfather Andrew Cotterman. The great-grandfather was a native of Germany. The mother is a daughter of David and Harriet (Mason) Weaver, and is now in her eighty-sixth year. As nearly as can be ascertained the Weavers were also descended from German origin.
David F. Cotterman spent his earlier years on the farm, and attended the district schools in his native state during the winter terms. He then entered a select school, and after leaving that engaged in teaching for six years. He then accepted a position with the United States government as railway postal clerk, his run being between Toledo, Ohio, and St. Louis, Missouri. He remained in this service four years and then began studying dentistry under Dr. J. H. Hutton, of Hoopeston, this state. Entering the Chicago College of Dental Surgery he graduated in the class of 1891, of which he was president. He at once came to Marseilles, purchased the busi^less and good will of Dr. R. N. Baughman, and is now established in a good, lucrative practice, while his offices are pleasantly furnished and equipped with the most approved appliances necessary to his craft. His work in all lines of modern dentistry has the reputation of giving the best satisfaction and being most durable in quality. He has a steadily increasing business, and his popularity is but the outgrowth of the conscientious performance of his work.
October 7, 1882, Dr. Cotterman was married to Miss Laura Rawlings, daughter of Mortimer Rawlings, of Indiana. She died in December, 1893, leaving four children: Jessie, born July 26, 1883; Homer, February 21, 1886; Laurance, March 31, 1891; and Frances, November 10, 1892.
The Doctor's residence is one of the handsomest in Marseilles, situated on the bluffs, and commanding a picturesque view of the village and the Illinois river. The Doctor is a member of the Knights of Pythias. He was president of the board of education for two years and rendered the cause of education much valuable service. He has been treasurer of a private library fund for some time, - an institution he was largely instrumental in establishing. He is the able manager of the Columbian opera-house in Marseilles, and it has been his endeavor to furnish the theater-loving public with a course of entertainments that would elevate as well as amuse. The Doctor is genial and pleasant to all and has endeared himself to the entire community by his upright, manly bearing.
Extracted by Norma Hass from Biographical and Genealogical Record of LaSalle County, Illinois published in 1900, volume 1, pages 74-75.
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