Ferdinand Louis Cottuli : Short Biography

Ferdinand was the seventh of nine sons borne by Marianne Cottuli (nee Wright), in Brighton. Three of Ferdinand's brothers died before he was born, and another three siblings died by the time he was twelve.

His parents were of genteel backgrounds, he a language teacher, she a music teacher. Their financial situation was deteriorating by the time Ferdinand was born, however, and by 1835 his father, Charles, was in Debtor's Prison.

Assuming his in-laws paid his debts, Charles moved the family away from Brighton and from one address to another in London and Norwich. By the time Ferdinand was fourteen, Charles was back in Debtor's prison. On his release in 1844, they moved to Cork, in Ireland. The following year, The Great Famine began and the Cottuli de Cothis returned to England, to Liverpool.

Ferdinand joined the British Navy in 1845, as a merchant seaman. He was just sixteen and had already experienced constant personal disruption. His travels took him to Australia, where he decided to start a new life. He was appointed a police officer in Melbourne on 30 August 1853, as a mounted trooper.

Back in England and Ireland, two of his older brothers, Charles and Albert (who stayed in Cork) , had married in the 1840s and his two surviving sisters, Marianne and Adelaide, married in 1853 and 1855 respectively. A third brother, Frederick, joined the Army and was posted to India to suppress the Mutiny there in 1857 - 1858. Marianne's husband died shortly after their wedding and she followed Ferdinand to Australia, where she was remarried by 1855.

The family had clearly scattered to the four winds, in Ireland, England and Australia. Contact was lost and in 1855 and 1857, notices from their mother appeared in the Victorian Government Gazette, trying to find both Ferdinand and Marianne. They were referenced as children of Baroness Cottuli of London. 

There is no indication if they ever saw each other again.

Copyright Audrey Mac Cready 2020