Edward and Catherine Buck Cole settled into the home built
by Ebenezer Cole at Cole’s Point, Dorchester ,
NB.
After Lucinda Jane, came my gt. grandmother, Rebecca Ellen
Cole, b. Dec 11, 1854 in Dorchester ,
NB. Hopewell , across the Memramcook River
So at the age of 23, Rebecca married Alexander Scott
Chambers. Alex’s father was a shipbuilder, who had moved his family from Wallace , Nova Scotia to Dorchester , NB Bath ME Dorchester . The Canadian 1881
census shows him back in Dorchester . It isn’t
certain just when Alex became a seaman instead of a builder. His
brother-in-law, Capt. William E. Buck, Lucinda’s husband, may have talked him
into joining him. That William owned shares in a few ships is on record, some
of them he sailed himself. It doesn’t take a huge leap of faith to believe that
William talked Alex into sailing with him.
My grandmother, Alvina May, was born in Nov. 1880, in Dorchester . They lived on the road that led to Lucinda’s
house at Cole’s Point. Another child, a son named Percy E. Chambers was born in
1886. Since there was such a gap between the two children I have often thought
there may have been other unsuccessful pregnancies. Then in the fall of 1887,
the Arabella set sail for New York City with a full
load of lumber and a passenger. On the return trip, we know the Arabella left NYC was hailed and warned
about a storm off the coast of Cape Cod and
then sailed on into eternity. The two
sisters, Lucinda and Rebecca, now had the dreadful time of waiting. Many ships
used the same shipping lanes the Arabella
had taken, so many eyes were looking for signs of wreckage. But after
several months, the ship was declared “Lost at Sea.” Lucinda is down the road
with two children and pregnant with another and Rebecca had her daughter and son
and neither of them had husbands who would be returning home. Nothing is known
of Lucinda’s financial circumstances. There may have been insurance policies in
place for her family. But for Rebecca, there was no insurance policy and no
means of income. Rebecca may have become a cleaning lady as this is what she
did a few years later. It seems unlikely that this would bring in enough income
to maintain this small family, but there was little or no other types of
opportunities for women in that locality. But then disaster struck again.
Rebecca’s younger sister, Maggie, came to visit and was playing with Percy.
Little did they know that she was coming down with Scarlet Fever and then, so
did Percy. Maggie recovered but Percy did not. He died Apr. 19 1889.
Sometime in the 1880’s, the Chambers in-laws had moved to Bath ME Bath . Rebecca and her
daughter went to live with the Chambers in Bath , but it’s uncertain how long they
remained there. My grandmother remembered living in Bath but not much else. Rebecca eventually
moved on to East Boston MA Winthrop MA , a peninsula in Boston Harbor
Edward William Cole was born May 30, 1857 at the house
Ebenezer built at Cole’s Point. He
assumed the title of Captain when his father died and also continued to run the
ferry business between Cole’s Point and Hopewell Cape
Mabel (1882-1929) m. 1904 James Dooe (1877- 1954) – 5
Children
Harley (1885-1906)
Catherine (Cassie) (1888-?)
m. 1910 Leon Houghton (1888-?) 6 children
Edgar William (1891-1972) m. 1920 Catherine Ellen Shea
(1896-1978) – 1 child
Alice Grace (1894-1988) m. 1914 Claude Marney (1892-1971) –
7 children
Margaret Luella (1898-1970) m. Randall Elder - 3 children
Marion Frances (1904-1975) m. George Morine (1901-1973) – 3
children
Capt. Cole died suddenly after falling from his ferry in Jul
1908. A newspaper article stated that he made a misstep as the ferry was
pulling away from the dock and he fell overboard. He was rescued after about 5
minutes in the water, his breathing was restored and a Dr. was brought to the
scene almost immediately. Edward remained in semi-conscious state, giving
incoherent answers to questions. He passed away about 11 PM, from heart
failure, never having regained full consciousness.
Next in line of Edward’s children came Mary Abigail (aka
Mame), (1859-1925). In 1882 Mame had a child out of wedlock. Walter Cole was
raised by his grandparents, Edward and Catherine Cole. Even Walter’s marriage
record states Edward Cole as his parent. Mame married John Muldoon in 1886 but
where that event occurred hasn’t been established yet. We do know they lived in
East Boston , MA Dorchester with his grandparents and John Muldoon was
never informed of his real connection to his wife, Mame. It’s unclear how much
Walter knew about his birth but he stayed in Dorchester ,
married Etta Cook in 1901 and had a family of 5 children. My grandmother told
me that John Muldoon was a hard man and liked his drink, so it appears the
information was withheld from because they weren’t sure what his reaction would
be. John Muldoon died in 1922 and soon after Walter Cole and his family (2
children had died earlier) moved to Framingham .
Now, finally Mame could enjoy her son and her grandchildren. But not for long –
in 1925 she died from pneumonia. In a strange twist of fate, Walter and his
wife died within four days of each other in Jan. 1929, both from pneumonia.
Another son, Harley died in 1930 leaving Albert and Fred as the two sons to
carry on the family. Albert had 4 children and Fred Cole had five. I’m sure
that a few people knew who Walter’s biological father was, but, to the best of
my knowledge, that was kept a very tight secret. Any of those with the
knowledge never passed it on.
Emma (1863-1948), the second youngest of Edward and
Catherine’s children remained in Dorchester, but through diaries and social
announcements in the newspapers, we know that she visited East Boston, Winthrop and Framingham
many times. Emma married (1881) her 2nd cousin Edmond Cole. They
lived next door to Capt. Demille Buck, who was married to Edmond ’s sister, Martha. Edmond worked for the railroad. As the story
goes, during a blizzard in 1918, he left his home for the railroad. The tracks
swung behind his house, so in the dark, with a lantern, he attempted to hail
the train to let them know the tracks were blocked. He was not seen by the
engineer and the train hit him, causing his death. Emma and Edmond had one son, George. George ran a
hotel in Minto , NB
Margaret (Maggie), the youngest of Edward and Catherine’s
children was born in 1866. She married William Mitton in 1885. Four sons were
born to them, the youngest one dying at the age of two. They lived in Bayfield , New
Brunswick New
Brunswick so I have not been successful in finding
out more details about this family. They were one of the Yorkshire families who
came to Canada
to restart their lives in the 1770’s-1780’s.
Several things have become apparent in researching these earlier
ancestors. They all wanted the same things we do today, to live free, to
prosper and to be able to worship in the manner they chose. They didn’t marry young, often times they
were in their mid-20’s. Families were large, but there were many deaths, leaving
the women with hungry children and no income or leaving many men with a houseful
of kids and no one to care for them while they worked. It was a society of
yours, mine and ours. But they worked hard, long hours and needed to remarry
again to keep the family unit flowing. There didn’t seem to be many, if any,
divorces. Schooling usually ended around the 8th grade for girls.
Physicians were spread pretty thin and there were no antibiotics. Death was
something they all faced nearly every day from almost any direction. Childbirth
was probably the scariest thing any woman had to face and so many died from
sepsis, leaving newborns to be raised by older brothers and sisters, until a
grandparent or a new wife stepped in to help. Sometimes the baby didn’t survive
either so mother and new born were buried together. In a day with no
electricity, little private and no public transportation, no indoor plumbing,
no grocery stores, no refrigeration, epidemics, no central heat or air
conditioning, etc., etc., etc., it appears that a good percentage of them lived
to a ripe old age. There were a few who lived to be 100 and even my gt.
grandmother, Rebecca Cole Chambers and her daughter Alvina May lived to their
90th year.
Family diaries, accounts, news clippings, photos
Thank you very much
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