Thanks very much Chris...
it's going to take a while for me to enter that info into my tree
The account of the battle for Mauritius was certainly an interesting window into Naval warfare two centuries ago.
Here are the details I found on James's death...
From National Archives Catalogue
ADM Records of the Admiralty, Naval Forces, Royal Marines, Coastguard, and related bodies
Division within ADM Records of Accounting and Pay Departments
ADM 45 Navy Board, and Admiralty, Accountant General's Department: Officers' and Civilians' Effects Papers
ADM 45/15 Series 4, Nos. 501-750. Described at item level
Record Summary
Scope and content Number: 556
James Cottell, Captain Royal Marines, who died: 30 April 1842. Notes on executor's application for money owed by the Royal Navy.
Covering dates 1842-1843
Availability Open Document, Open Description, Normal Closure before FOI Act: 30 years
Held by The National Archives, Kew
It seems unlikely to me that there would be more than one Captain James Cottell / Cottle in that time period. But I agree the Naval records would be good to access, they have some details on next of kin as well I believe.
I was checking the National Achives for references to Cottells and found several promising looking leads including evidence that we are not the first to research the Cottell family Tree... in Devon
http://www.devon.gov.uk/localstudies/MATCH COTPED1871 . Pedigree of the Cottle family. 1871.
MATCH GRAADD1908 . Additional notes to W.H.Cottell's ms. on the Cottle family. 1908.
MATCH COTHIS1871 . A history of the Cotel, Cottell or Cottle family of the counties of Devon.... 1871.
MATCH COTCOT1908 . The Cotel, Cottell or Cottle family of the counties of Wilts, Somerset, Gloucester, Devon and Cornwall.... 1908.
and Somerset http://www.somerset.gov.uk/archives/
DD\X\CTL PEDIGREES, ETC., OF THE COTTELL [OR COTTLE] FAMILY 12th century-20th century
DD\X\CTL/1 Cottle family tree of Radstock, Somerset and Wellington, New Zealand.
Some are several pages, one 2 "bundles" !! I'm thinking there is a lot of information there.... maybe related to our guys. Some of this was researched by William Henry Cottell in 1871... have you heard of him?
Talk to you later
GMR