The New York Times/1894/2/26/Alexander Isaac Cotheal obituary

Alexander Isaac Cotheal, an old resident of New-York, died at his residence, 62 West Thirty-sixth Street, yesterday morning. Mr. Cotheal was born in this city Nov. 5, 1804. He was educated here, and resided in the city all his life.

He was the eldest son of the late Henry Cotheal, a New-York merchant and the last male descendant of an old family. His grandfather was Isaac Cotheal of Revolutionary fame.

Mr. Cotheal was unmarried. Two sisters, widows, survive him—Mrs. Samuel Lawrence and Mrs. James R. Swords—who lived with him. He had seen the growth of New-York from the Battery to its present development.

At the age of twenty-one he entered the counting house of his father and uncle, at that time a well-known shipping firm. He retired from business early in life, however, and devoted himself to literary and scientific pursuits. He was a persistent student.

Mr. Cotheal was a member of various societies, social, literary, and scientific. He was a Director in the American Oriental Society, one of the founders of the American Geological Society, and President of the American Ethnological Society. He also filled various offices in the St. Nicholas Society, and at his death was the oldest member.

Mr. Cotheal was the author of "A Sketch of the the [sic!] Language of the Musquito Indian," and a translation of the rare Arabic text of "Attaff the Generous." He was a great student of Oriental languages.

In 1852, he made a visit to Nicaragua, and in 1871 was appointed Consul General of Nicaragua in the United States, which office he held at the time of his death. He was a life-long member of Trinity Parish, having attended originally St. Paul's Chapel, and latterly Trinity Chapel.

The funeral will be held from the residence Wednesday morning. There will be services in Trinity Chapel, and the burial will be in Trinity Cemetery.