Résumé

Carpenter, Fall River, MA, c. 1891-1896.

Miltiary service, Massachusetts State Militia, Naval Reserves. This activity was likely done in Fall River, MA. The historian Clarence Bagley wrote of this military experience: "The military chapter in the life record of Mr. Cote covers service with the Naval Reserves of the Massachusetts State Militia. (See Clarence Bagley, "Joseph S. Cote," in History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume III, [Chicago: S.J. Clarkes Publishing Company, 1916], p. 965.) He later served as an engineer during World War I.

Project Architect, Heins and LaFarge, Architects, New York, NY, c. 1904; according to historian David Rash, Somervell and Coté were both sent from Heins and LaFarge's main office in New York to Seattle, WA, to supervise the construction of the Saint James Cathedral for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese. Coté, two years younger than Somervell, and less gregarious, worked as an assistant to the latter. Both architects elected to stay in Seattle to work. He worked as a Building Superintendent for Heins and LaFarge in 1905. (See Polk Seattle Directory Company's Seattle City Directory, 1905, p. 372.)

Principal, Joseph S. Coté, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1905; at this time, he had an office in the Erickson Building, Seattle.

Partner, Somervell and Coté, Architects, Seattle, WA, 1906-1909. A note in The Brickbuilder of 01/1910 indicated that the firm of Somervell and Cote had dissolved. It recorded: "Joseph S. Cote, former of Somervell & Cote, architects, Seattle, Washington, has opened offices in the Henry Building. Manufacturers' sample and catalogues desired." (See "Editorial, Comment and Miscellany," Brickbuilder, vol 19, no. 1, 01/1910, p. 19.)

Master Engineer, Junior Grade, US Army, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), Engineer Corps, joined 06/01/1917. Coté joined the US Army at an enlisted rank in 1917 and was ordered for active duty in the 18th U.S. Engineers Corps. Coté advanced up the ranks, becoming commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Engineers Corps on 10/23/1918, and a 1st Lieutenant, on 05/12/1919. He served overseas from 10/23/1918 until 08/17/1919, and received an honorable discharge from the US Army on 08/21/1919. Coté's name appeared in a passenger list for the 18th US Engineers (Ry.), departing from New York, NY, on 08/09/1917 aboard the S.S. Saxonia to the European theatre. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation The National Archives at College Park; College Park, Maryland; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774-1985; Record Group Number: 92; Roll or Box Number: 565, accessed 01/31/2020.)

Principal, Joseph S. Coté, Architect, Seattle, WA, 1910-1932. In 1909-1910, Somervell and Coté worked in the White and Henry Buildings respectively. In 1910, Coté operated his own practice in Room #340 of the Henry Building. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1910, p. 1914.) From 1911-1918, Coté practiced alone in Room #520 in the Haight Building; after 1920, when he had returned from military service he operated out of various rooms in the Lyon Building. In 1931, Coté maintained his office in Room #610 of the Lyon Building in Seattle. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1931, p. 2030.)

Captain, US Army, Engineering Section, Officers Reserve Corps,12/23/1933-04/04/1934. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Washington, WWI Service Statement Records [database on-line], accessed 01/31/2020 and Ancestry.com, Source Information Ancestry.com. U.S., National Cemetery Interment Control Forms, 1928-1962 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012, accessed 05/16/2023.)

Professional Activities

Patron, Seattle Architectural Club, Seattle, WA, 1910.

Member, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Washington Chapter.

Third Vice-President, American Institute of Architects (AIA), Washington Chapter, 1910-1911.

Coté was also active in the Architectural League of the Pacific Coast. He attended the group's annual conference in Portland, OR, on 06/09/1913 as a Seattle delegate. Ellis F. Lawrence (1879-1946), a Portland architect, served as President of the Architectural League of the Pacific Coast in 1913. At this conference the group emphasized its efforts in providing a $1,000 scholarship to architecture studenrts and sought to take a leadership role in the new area of city planning. As the conference was held in Portland, that city's architects predominated at the event. Portland delegates registered were: W.G. Holford, F.S. Allyn, Russell E. Collins, Chester H. Freiche, Ellis F. Lawrence, Alfred H. Smith, Edgar M. Lazarus, Howard Everts Weed, E.F. Gilstrap, Ray S. Mason, A.E. Doyle, Folger Johnson, Frank Logan, John G. Wilson, Robert F. Tegan, Charles K. Greene, C.M. Rogers, Lloyd H. Dittrich, W.I. Turner, Morris H. Whitehouse, A.F. Curtiss, Charles C. Rich, Jamieson K. Parker, and H. Goodwin Beckwith. Others attending from outside of Portland included: Warren C. Perry of Berkeley, CA; Carl F. Gould of Seattle; Fred Eustice of Vancouver, BC; F.B. Porter of Vancouver, BC; W. Marbury Somervell of Seattle; Clancey M. Lewis of Seattle; John Bakewell, Jr., of San Francisco; W.R.B. WIllcox of Seattle; C.H. Whitaker of Washington, DC; Harlan Thomas of Seattle; and Joseph S. Coté of Seattle. (See "League to Lead in City Planning," Oregon Daily Journal, 06/10/1913, p. 11.)

The architect lectured on the appreciation of art before an audience at the Seattle Fine Arts Society on the fourth floor of the Baillargeon Building, 03/07/1916.

Chair, AIA, Washington Chapter, Exhibits Committee, 1922. Coté supervised the American Institute of Architects' Small Home Exhibit of 04/1922. As noted in the Seattle Union Record on 04/03/1922: "Several unique colonial residences will be exhibited by Joseph S. Cote." (See “Seattle Architects Will Show Small House Plans,” Seattle Union Record, 04/03/1922, p. 3.) As Coté had spent time as a young man living in Fall River, MA, he would likely have become very familiar with New England Colonial buildings of the Boston area.

College

The architect likely went to secondary school in Quebec.

B.Arch., Columbia University, New York, NY, c. 1897. Clarence Bagley said of his education: "Liberal educational advantages were afforded Joseph S. Cote, who completed his studies in Columbia University of New York city, specializing in architecture." (See Clarence Bagley, "Joseph S. Cote," in History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume III, [Chicago: S.J. Clarkes Publishing Company, 1916], p. 965.) No corroboration of his education at Columbia University can be found, as yet, however.

Perhaps as a result of his training at Columbia, Coté would draw building details of cornices, moldings, or other revivalistic decorative elements, at full size. Seattle architect Lloyd Lovegren (1906-1989), who worked for Coté in the late 1920s, liked this method, calling it "...an excellent way to get the work done the way it should be done." He added, "He was a very conscientious architect and a very thorough one." (See Teresa Chebuhar, "Joseph Cote: familiar name," Seattle Times, 02/28/2012, p. K8.)

Relocation

The architect's name in baptismal records was written "Joseph Cyrille Simon Côté, but he never used "Cyrille" during his life, only the middle name "Simon." (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, Comp, accessed 05/16/2023.) World War I US Army registration records indicated that Côté was born in Trois Pistoles, QC, Canada, a town located in Quebec's Bas-Saint-Laurent region where both of his parents had also been born. (See Ancestry.com, Source Information Washington, WWI Service Statement Records [database on-line], accessed 01/31/2020.) The 1871 Canadian Census noted that the Côté Family lived on three adjoining farms in Trois-Pistoles. His parents, Simon and Philomène, occupied one farm, his brother Théophile (born c. 1846 in QC) and his family on another, and his father Simon on a third. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1871; Census Place: Trois Pistoles, Témiscouata, Quebec; Roll: C-10366; Page: 58; Family No: 177, accessed 05/16/2023.)

Clarence Bagley, early historian of Seattle, published a short biography of the architect in 1916: "Joseph S. Cote, a well known architect of Seattle, was born in the province of Quebec, Canada, March 9, 1874, and is a direct descendant of John and Ann (Martin) Cote, who were married at Stadeona, now called Quebec, in the year 1632, both arriving in Canada in 1619 with Champlain's second colony. Ann Martin was a daughter of Abraham Martin, in whose memory the historic Plains of Abraham were afterward named." (See Clarence Bagley, "Joseph S. Cote," in History of Seattle from the Earliest Settlement to the Present Time, Volume III, [Chicago: S.J. Clarkes Publishing Company, 1916], p. 965.)

The 1881 Census of Canada found his family continuing to live in Trois-Pistoles. The household included his parents, Simon and Philomène, and siblings Marie, Louis Marie, Marie Louise, Victor, and Germaine. In addition, others in the house were Joseph's aunt Lumina Lavoie (born c. 1860 in QC, Canada), a domestic servant, Émilina Brillant (born c. 1859 in QC, Canada), and three "journaliers," William Morency (born c. 1864 in QC, Canada), Rose Saint-Laurent (born c. 1816 in QC, Canada) and Monique Saint-Laurent (born c. 1838 in QC, Canada). In total, Joseph spent his first 17 years living in QC.

According to a Commonwealth of Massachusetts document of 07/23/1896, Joseph S. Coté worked as a carpenter in Fall River, MA, and he arrived in that city on 02/22/1891 at 17 years of age. At this time, he lived at 150 Flint Street, Fall River, MA; he was naturalized in the 2nd District Court of Bristol County, MA, Fall River, on 10/06/1896. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Archives at Boston; Waltham, Massachusetts; ARC Title: Copies of Petitions and Records of Naturalization in New England Courts, 1939 - ca. 1942; NAI Number: 4752894; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787-2004; Record Group Number: RG 85, accessed 05/17/2023.) As per the 1900 US Census, the rest of the Coté Family migrated from QC to Fall River by 1896.

it is thought that Joseph attended Columbia University in New York, NY. This may have been the case, and, if so, it likely had to have happened between 1896 and 1900 or between 1900 and 1904. For some of this time, he may have gone to college and worked for Heins and LaFarge at the same time.

This 1900 Census indicated Joseph, the second-eldest child of a large family, lived with his father, step-mother, four brothers and sisters and four half-brother and sisters in an apartment house at 82 Pitman Street in Fall River. Simon worked as a carpenter and Joseph likely assisted his father in construction work. His sister Germaine and brother Armand worked as weavers in a Fall River textile factory, while sister Anna was employed as a spooler. In addition to his four full siblings and four half-siblings, a boarder, Alphones Lapointe (born c. 1881 in QC, Canada), who had work as a weaver, lived with the Côtés. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1900; Census Place: Fall River Ward 6, Bristol, Massachusetts; Roll: 636; Page: 15; Enumeration District: 0145, accessed 05/16/2023.)

In his first year in Seattle (1904-1905), Coté lived at 1010 Union Street. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1905, p. 372.)

The 1910 US Census recorded that Coté immigrated to the US from Canada in 1894. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1910; Census Place: Seattle Ward 4, King, Washington; Roll: T624_1659; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 0100; FHL microfilm: 1375672, accessed 01/30/2020.)

As a building superintendent for the New York architectural firm of Heins and Lafarge in 1905, Cote boarded at 1010 Union Street in Seattle. (See Polk Seattle Directory Company's Seattle City Directory, 1905, p. 372.) By 1907, Coté had formed an architectural partnership with W. Marbury Somervell and resided at the Greystone Hotel at 1204 Marion Street in Seattle's Downtown-adjacent First Hill neighborhood. (See R.L. Polk and Company's Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1907, p. 350.)

According to the 1910 U.S. Census, Coté lived in the Madison Hotel, 1019 Madison Street, in the First Hill Neighborhood of Seattle, WA. At this time, his neighbors in the building were his fellow architects, Carl F. Gould, Sr., (1873-1939) and Edouard Frère Champney (1874-1929).

He had an address of 1532 2nd Avenue in Seattle c. 1918-1919. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Washington State Archives; Olympia, Washington; Military Records Source Information Ancestry.com. Washington, U.S., Military Records, 1855-1950 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2021, accessed 05/17/2023.)

Later, Coté inhabited rooms at the Rainier Club.

Coté lodged in 1930 with a former client, the merchant Charles L. Hibbard (born c. 1862 in IA), at his large residence (worth approximately $30,000) at 2807 West Galer Street in Seattle's Magnolia Neighborhood. This site had a stunning view of Elliott Bay, Mount Rainier and Downtown.

Coté lived in a Seattle residence at 2160 6th Avenue North from at least 1938 through 1941. (See Seattle, Washington, City Directory, 1938, p. 338, Ancestry.com, Source Citation Year: 1940; Census Place: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: m-t0627-04377; Page: 62B; Enumeration District: 40-115, accessed 01/31/2020, andSeattle, Washington, City Directory, 1941, p. 372.)

Coté appeared in the Seattle telephone book in 1948 and was listed as living at 2160 Franklin Avenue by the 1950 US Census. He lived alone at the time. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation United States of America, Bureau of the Census; Washington, D.C.; Seventeenth Census of the United States, 1950; Record Group: Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790-2007; Record Group Number: 29; Residence Date: 1950; Home in 1950: Seattle, King, Washington; Roll: 2804; Sheet Number: 78; Enumeration District: 40-362, accessed 05/16/2023.)

It appears that he returned East for the last years of his life. He died in the State of ME on 03/15/1957. One newspaper report of 1978 indicated that he may have lived in Bar Harbour, ME. (See Teresa Chebuhar, "Joseph Cote: familiar name," Seattle Times, 02/28/2012, p. K8.)

He was buried at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation National Cemetery Administration; U.S. Veterans' Gravesites Source Information National Cemetery Administration. U.S., Veterans' Gravesites, ca.1775-2019 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006, accessed 05/16/2023.)

Parents

His father was Simon Côté (born 06/06/1848 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada), his mother, Philomène Lavoie (born 10/26/1851 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada-d. 09/05/1889 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada). They wed on 02/07/1870 in Kamouraska, QC. (See Ancestry.com, Source Citation Bibliothèque Et Archives Nationales Du Québec; Montréal, Quebec, Canada; Collection: Fonds Cour Supérieure. District Judiciaire De Kamouraska. Cote Cn104. Greffes De Notaires, 1674-1932.; District: Kamouraska; Title: Fournier, Pierre [1834-1890], accessed 05/16/2023.)

Philomène died in 1889 and Simon remarried to Marie Césarie Dionne (born c. 02/1861 in QC, Canada-d. 1947) in 1892. (See Ancestry,com, Source Citation Institut Généalogique Drouin; Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Drouin Collection; Author: Gabriel Drouin, Comp, accessed 05/16/2023.)

Philomene Lavoie's father was Jean-Baptiste Fabien Lavoie (born 04/04/1810 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada-d. 10/20/1900 in Saint-Philippe-de-Neri, QC, Canada). Jean-Baptiste married twice. The first time to Mathilde Lebel (d. 1840 in QC, Canada) on or about 08/15/1835 in Kamouraska, QC, and the second to Suzanne-Anaciette Bernier (born 06/21/1821 in Cap-Saint-Ignace, QC, Canada-d. 1904 in Cap-Saint-Ignace, QC, Canada) on 06/09/1840 in Trois Pistoles, QC.

Simon's parents were Simon Côté (born 03/03/1804 in L'Isle-Verte, QC, Canada-d. 02/22/1894 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada) and Modeste Rioux (born 12/12/1806 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada-d. 04/04/1851 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada)

Simon and Philomène had at least nine children: Marie Côté (born c. 1872 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada), Joseph, Louis Marie (born c. 1876 in in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada), Marie Louise (born c. 1876 in in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada), Victor Côté (born c. 1879 in Trois-Pistoles, QC, Canada), Germaine Côté (born c. 07/1880 in QC, Canada), Armand Côté (born 04/1882 in QC, Canada), Anna Côté (born 08/1884 in QC, Canada), Hélène Côté Thuot (born 08/1886 in QC, Canada).

Simon and Cisarie had at least four children: Philippe Côté (born c. 03/1893 in QC, Canada), Charles Côté (born 07/1894 in QC, Canada), Joseph Victor Hervé Côté (born 02/18/1897 in MA-d. 01/05/1971), Joanne Côté (born 05/1898 in MA).

Côté was a common surname in QC at the time. A "Joseph Coté," a shoemaker born c. 1874 in Canada, lived in a boarding house in Spokane, WA in 1930. "Joseph Coté" was a common name at this time, with a number of Canadian-born men born in 1874 living across the US. A "Joseph S. Cote III" was an attorney with the law firm, Cote, Limpert and Van Dyke, Syracuse, NY, c. 2004. This Cote was related to another branch of the Coté Family.

Spouse

Coté never married.

Biographical Notes

Coté did not use the circumflex when he wrote his name. For PCAD purposes, his name was indexed without the circumflex and the accent aigu mark above the final "e" in order to simplify searching for English speakers. In the body of this record, for the most part, his name has been spelled "Coté."

There were a large number of "Joseph Cotes" in the late 19th century living in QC and New England. This would make sense as his family had lived in that region for about three centuries by the 1930s.

Member, Rainier Club, Seattle, WA, c. 1921. (See Social Blue Book of Seattle, 1921, [Seattle: Northern Publishing Company, 1921]. n.p.)

Member, College Club, Seattle, WA, c. 1916.

Member, Seattle Fine Arts Society, Seattle, WA, c. 1916.

According to the US Census of 1930, Coté immigrated from Canada to the US in 1891. The firm of Somervell and Coté had a modest but important and highly visible first commission in Seattle designing the entry steps and terraces of the Carnegie Library Downtown (1904-1905). (Seattle City Engineer R.H. Thomson [1856-1949] regraded 4th Avenue shortly after the library was built, lowering it ten feet. New stairs had to be put in to reach the new street surface.)

Coté was interred at Arlington National Cemetery on 03/22/1957, Section 10 Site 10965 Lh. He left the military with the rank of Captain, Engineer's Section, Officers Reserve Corps of the US Army.