Charles Cotton (April 28, 1630 - February 16, 1687)
Good friend and
fishing buddy of
Izaak Walton, Cotton collaborated with Walton on
The Compleat Angler. He was also the author of
The Compleat Gamester, a similar treatise on games and
gambling.
He married his cousin Isabella Hutchinson in 1656, and inherited the estates of Beresford and Bentley two years later, when his father died. Isabella died in 1670, survived by Charles and their three sons and five daughters. Cotton married the widow of the Earl of Ardglass five years later, which may have been a bit of a gold digging attempt to improve his declining fortunes.
Unfortunately, the income from his publications was not sufficient to maintain his estates, and he ended up selling Beresford Hall in 1681.
He is buried at St. James' church, in Picadilly.