Ebenezer Cole and Dorchester, New Brunswick

Ebenezer, along with Joseph Read, were founders of the Baptists of Sackville. Around 1802, Ebenezer moved to Dorchester where he continued to farm. Two of his older sons, Rufus, called Squire Rufus and Martin purchased the lands of their Uncle Martin, who had died in 1809. Here they quarried grinding stones and shipped them all up and down the east coast. Martin became the mariner and captained the ships that he and Rufus owned, while Rufus tended to the business of the quarries. Squire Rufus and Martin purchased a 60 ton schooner, Brant, and then they built a vessel of 100 tons and called it Martha Grace, which they sailed for 12 years.  According to some of the histories written about this area, this business became quite successful, until heavy duties imposed by the American Colonies made it cost prohibitive.

Squire Rufus Cole (1796-1884) m.1 Lavina Cutler (1797-1862) – 11 Children

          Seraphina Cutler (1819-1853) spinster

          Martha Grace (1821-1846) m. Charles Calhoun – 3 children

          Mary Ruth (1823-1890) m. Stephen Barnes (1807-1872) – 5 children

          Olive C. (1826-1862) spinster school teacher

          Rufus Cutler (1829-1918) m. Charlotte Smith  - 7 children

          Jonas Cutler (1831-1883) m. Adelia Jane Calkins (1851-1924) – 2 children

          Ruth Elizabeth (1834-1864) m. Thomas Anderson (1840-1918). They married in 1863      

          and Ruth was lost at sea in a storm in 1864.

          Lavinia V. (1837-1884) m. Edwin Bennett (1841-1870) – 1 child

          Charles W. (1840-1875)

          Augusta (1844-1866)

          Laleah Burpee (1845-1870) m. Alfred Bennett  They were married in 1867 and then      

          Laleah was lost at sea in a storm.

Ebenezer’s youngest son from his first marriage was Martin and he was the one who went into business with his older brother Squire Rufus. Martin settled in Sackville, married Mary Smith in 1830 and had 6 children.

          Mariner Lamb (1831-1862) m. Lucy Ann Snowden (1836-?) 2 children

          Alfred D. (1834-1912) m. Margaret McIntyre (1849-1916) – 4 children

          Ruth E. (1837-1912)

          Jonathan (1840 -?) Catherine Palmer (1841-1888) – 2 children

          Martha Ann Grace (1842-1877) – Asa Read (1831-1880) – 1 child

          Joseph Bedford (1850-1924) – Ada Tower (1856-1935) – 9 children

Ebenezer now had a second family, who were still quite young. Ebenezer’s oldest son, Jonathan and his oldest daughter Elizabeth (Cole) Palmer appear to be the only ones of his children, by his first marriage, who remained in Dorchester. His daughter Ruth (Cole) Calhoun removed to Albert Co., and his other daughter, Martha (Cole) Read went to CT. When Ebenezer died in 1826, his second wife, Margaret, would have been about 38 years old, with three children under the age of 11. I’ve found nothing written in any of the histories nor does there seem to be any family lore regarding how she managed the farm. Perhaps neighbors and family pitched in to help keep things going. However it was managed, she was able to keep the farm until her son Edward was old enough to take it over.

Edward was married in 1841 to Catherine Buck, d/o George and Phebe (Palmer) Buck and the Ebenezer Cole farm now became the home of the next generation of Coles. Edward and Catherine had 9 children. They were:

Ebenezer (1843-1867) m. Mary Ann Cook

Lucinda Jane (1845-1919) m1. Capt. William Edward Buck (1840-1887 lost at                          sea), s/o James R. and Sarah Mitton Buck. - 10 children;  

                                              m2. Capt. John A. Cook (1844-1909 lost at sea), s/o George and        

                                              Ann Coffee Cook

David (1850-1863)

Phebe (1851-1869)

*Rebecca Ellen (1854-1944) m. Alexander Scott Chambers (1855-1887 lost at                                                                                  

                                              sea), s/o James and Sarah MacPherson Chambers – 2 children                     

Edward William (1857-1908) m. Alice Dooe (1860-1934) – 7 children

Mary Abigail (1859-1925) m. John Muldoon (1847-1922), s/o Alexander and Mary Flynn  

                                               *1 Child

Emma Frances (1863-1948), m. Edmond Cole (1857-1918), s/o Martin and Sarah Crossman 

                                              Cole - 1 child

Margaret ((1866-1899) m. William Andrew Mitton (1858-1903), s/o Andrew and Ruth Mitton         

                                              – 4 children

A newspaper clipping says that Edward’s son, Ebenezer, died at his parents’ home. He was a sea Captain and his ship was the schooner William K. Chapman. Not all of the ships from this area of NB were ‘coasters.’ Many went on much longer voyages, The West Indies, Europe, Africa, even China. The clipping didn’t say what the cause of death was, but bringing back a tropical disease from some far distant port happened more often than one would think. Edward and Catherine had already lost their son, David, in 1863, then they lost Ebenezer and soon to follow, their daughter Phebe. In a matter of 6 years they lost three of their children. Lucinda became the eldest, nearly ten years older than my gt. grandmother Rebecca. The rest of the children grew to adulthood.

This was the day of sailing ships. Dorchester became a major ship building center, with plenty of available timber and a good harbor for launching ships.  There were three major ship builders in the Dorchester area. Gideon Palmer began his ship yard in 1854, in Dorchester, William Hickman moved to Dorchester in 1865 and took over an already established shipyard. Robert Chapman’s shipyard was in Rockland. Overall, the ship building industry lasted from about 1825 until 1899, but from mid-1820 to the 1860’s, it was considered the Golden Age of Sailing. Dorchester also became a port, of sorts. They exported timber, gypsum, and grinding stones which could end up in any one of the major seacoast cities. The return cargo might be coal or other goods that were not easily attainable in Dorchester.

Dorchester became a prosperous community and those connected to the shipyards or sailing became well respected citizens. Edward either gave up farming or greatly reduced the farming he did, because around 1847 he began to run the subsidized ferry between Hopewell Cape, Albert Co. and Cole’s Point.

As it is said, all good things must come to an end and that applies to the shipbuilding of sailing ships. A new age is arriving. There are now railroads springing up and ships are no longer relying on wind but on steam. As the industry began to decline, there were fewer and fewer jobs to be had. More and more of the Dorchester and Sackville inhabitants began to relocate. Many chose other shipbuilding sites along the east coast, other chose to go the bigger cities and take on a new trade all together. Those who had built ships were now building houses, using their carpenter’s skills. For many it was fortunate their skills were transferable. It was the end of an era.

Edward Cole’s mother, Margaret, died in 1876. Edward and Catherine continue to live in the Ebenezer house until he died in 1897. Catherine would live until 1904. Their son Edward, and his wife Alice, with their seven children also lived at the homestead.

 

http://www.archive.org/stream/RobertAndrewChapman-NewBrunswickShipbuilder/ArchiveApplicationForDesignation_djvu.txt

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorchester,_New_Brunswick

http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nbwestmo/cen1820.htm

http://www.census-online.com/links/Canada/NB/Westmorland/

Pictures

I have managed to resolve my problem importing images to this blog. Before I begin the next blog on Edward Cole, I wanted to send out the images I had hoped to put into the Ebenezer blog.

These pictures were taken in the late 80's early 90's. This was Ebenezer's farm that was passed on to his son and eventually to his grandson.  There were some flat stones near his headstone, indicating that babies were buried there. If Ebenezer did drown there is no information stating whether or not his body was recovered. Therefore there is no certainty he is actually buried here.  Apparently this is a rather difficult place to get to on a dirt road, which has become a lover's lane.  There are some local stories of this area being haunted. It may all be the overactive imaginations of teenagers, but I haven't had the opportunity to test it out.  Maybe someday.

As can be seen in these next two images, Ebenezer's stone has fallen over and is now in two pieces.  These were taken c. 2012. Time has taken its toll.  Since this is considered a private family plot there is no upkeep on the area.

RIP Ebenezer Cole.

Jonathan Cole’s New Brunswick Family

Information taken from Grant Records shows Jonathan Cole registered for a grant Nov. 22 1763 in Cumberland Township and received 500 acres. (Vol. A, p. 272, grant 121). Jonathan Cole registered for a grant on June 22 1774 in Sackville. He received 500 acres. (Vol. A, p. 266, grant 119). Both were originally received in Nova Scotia. Then, in 1786, both grants were registered in New Brunswick. His sons Edward and Ambrose, both received 250 acres in Sackville, registered on June 22 1774 (Vol. A, p. 266, grant 119). They would forfeit these lands by fighting with the Patriots.

Out of all of Jonathan Cole’s family, his two sons, Martin and Ebenezer were the only ones to remain in New Brunswick. Considering that much of the area they lived in was wilderness, the years after the American Revolution were a time of building and construction. Many of the original settlers in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, who had believed in and participated in the Colonists stand against the British, had left their lands in Canada behind. They had returned to the colonies and for those who fought against the British and survived, they received grants of land in return for their patriotism. Most of this land was in areas that became OH, western NY and PA.

Other factors were also at work that had an impact on NS and NB. The invitation to relocate to free lands had been extended to the Irish, the Scots and people living in northern England in Yorkshire. The Yorkists came in droves, settled and stayed, many in NB. New Scotland or Nova Scotia tells us that the Scots had a profound impact on the land they settled. As time wore on, people moved, assimilated, married – rinse and repeat. The main reason for people to move was to find a better life for themselves, a better source of income, and so it was for all the new settlers in the Maritime Provinces.

The resources available in that whole region were considerable. There were thousands of acres of forests, the marshes were full of salt hay, The Bay of Fundy provided fish, shellfish and ample waterfowl, and there were mines of gold, silver, precious stones and Lapis Lazuli. What’s not to like? Travel was slow and arduous as so few roads existed. For those worried about their souls, ministers and missionaries were few and far between. Church was held in homes, until meeting houses could be built, with lay readers offering what they could until the minister came round the circuit once again. Sometimes, four or five children would be baptized all at once. Settlers had to clear land, build roads and bridges, dike the marshes, build homes, barns and schools and farmers had to start raising crops. They had ten years to improve the property they had been granted.

Jonathan Cole must have started out with his sons James, Edward and Ambrose helping with the clearing, cutting, building and planting. But the war soon called these brothers back to New England and Jonathan had just his young sons, Martin and Ebenezer to help. Jonathan’s lands were in Sackville. His son Martin moved off to what is now called Rockport (Upper Joggins before) and built his farm at Peck’s Point.

This Martin (1762 - c.1808) m. before 1786, Zilpha Alverson (1766-1839), d/o                                    David and Elizabeth Sherman Alverson.  They had 9                                           children:

Ambrose (1786-1857) m. 1817 Elizabeth Palmer (1793-1878), d/o Gideon and                                  Catherine Harper Palmer – 10 children

David (1787-1861) m1. 1809 Lavinia Throop (1786-1824 at sea), d/o Ichabod                                    and Lavinia Tingley Throop – 5 children

                              m2. 1831 Elizabeth Ward (1796-1870), d/o Jonathan and                                    Dorothy Maxell Ward – 5 children

John (c. 1791-c. 1851) m. c. 1813  Kreziah Lockhart 1796-1851), d/o Timothy                                   and Elizabeth Teed Lockhart – 9 children                   

Martin (1794-1871) m. 1816 Elizabeth Dixon (1798-?), d/o Robert and Rachel                                    Peck Dixon – 11 children

Japhet (1796-1871) m. Ann Stultz (18??-1900) -  8 children

Benjamin Cole (1802-1874) in Lowell, MA) m. 1824 Jane Lockhart (1806-1888),                               d/o Timothy and Elizabeth Teed Lockhart – 12 children

James (1804-?) m. 1826 Olive Lockhart, ( 1826-??), d/o Timothy and Elizabeth                                 Teed Lockhart – 9 children

Ebenezer (1807- aft. 1828)

Zylpha (1808-1861) m. 1826 Benjamin Tower (1801-1851), s/o Benjamin and                                    Mehitable (?) Tower – 8 children

In all, 72 grandchildren were born to grandparents Martin and Zilpha Cole. Family stories say that Martin, s/o Jonathan and Abigail was gored by a bull in 1808, leaving Zilpha with a house full of children. Only the 2 or 3 oldest would have been on their own. I suppose they continued to help her run the farm until some of the younger children were able to help. It doesn’t appear that she married again, though that was a very common thing for a widow/widower to do.

For many long years the roads were poor, hardly more than trails. Most of the settlers relied on small boats to get them to and from other parts of the area. For this reason, many towns grew up on or near rivers or on or near the Bay of Fundy. Jonathan’s youngest, living son, Ebenezer headed to a new place. Into the Bay of Fundy juts a peninsula with easy access to boats which could take them across the tidal Memramcook River to Albert County. Ebenezer established his farm on this peninsula, which soon became known as Cole’s Point. Here, he and his first wife, moved with their growing family in about 1802. He had married Martha Grace in 1789. She was the d/o John and Mary Thompson Grace (Grace is the surname). They had 7 children:

Jonathan (1791-1872) m. 1815, Sarah Wade (1793-1859) – 10 children

Michael Grace (1792-1869), m. 1810, Cynthia Estabrooks (1791-1882) d/o                                        James and Sarah Lawrence Estabrooks – 13 children

Rufus (called Squire Rufus) (1796-1884) m. 1814, Lavinia Cutler (1797-1862),                                   d/o Ebenezer and Olivia Dixon Cutler – 11 children

Elizabeth (1797-1875) m. 1814, John Palmer (1789-1889), s/o Gideon and                                        Catherine Harper Palmer – 13 children

Ruth (1800-1826) m. 1820, John Calhoun (1795-1843), s/o John Rebecca                                         Rand Calhoun – 4 children

Martha (1805-1890) m. 1824, Caleb Read (1803-1865), s/o William and Jemima                               Finney Read – 12 children

Martin (1809-1885), m1. 1830, Mary Smith (1811-c. 1870) – 6 children

                              m2. 1871 Phebe Parsons (1814-?) – no children

Ebenezer and Martha Grace Cole were the grandparents of at least 69 children. Infant mortality was high. Often babies died and somehow the records for them never survived. There could have been more children, but no information of them seems to exist.

Martha Grace Cole died in 1809, possibly in childbirth. This left Ebenezer with 7 children, Jonathan the oldest at 18 and possibly a new born. The men of that day worked long, back breaking hours with little or no time to care for a family’s needs. So in 1810, Ebenezer married again. His second wife was Margaret Wade. She has been a brick wall for 30+ years. So far nothing has been found about her life before she lived in Dorchester NB. There were many Wades who came from New England and settled in Nova Scotia and it’s possible that she is connected to them somehow. The other possibility and I believe this is more probable, is that she came from Yorkshire. The Colpitts family, living in the area, came from Yorkshire and had family connections to Wade in Yorkshire.

Ebenezer and Margaret Wade were married on Aug. 10, 1810. Ordinarily, there would be a recorded birth within the first two years after the marriage, but none show up until the birth of Edward in 1815. Olive was b. on Jul. 14, 1817 and Silas was b. on Nov. 4, 1818.  It’s possible there a couple of children born before Edward and there is evidence of infant burials near Ebenezer’s grave. However, no names or dates are on the stones so it’s not known to which marriage they may have been born.

Edward is my gt. gt. grandfather. It will be his line that I follow in the next episode. Three of Edward’s older half-siblings were married by the time he was born. At least two of them had children the same age as Edward and one of them had 3 or 4 children older than him. So he would have grown up knowing his nieces and nephews better than he did his siblings. Ebenezer continued to farm his land at Cole’s Point. His sons Rufus and Martin had taken over the quarries of their Uncle Martin (the one killed by a bull) and together they prepared and shipped grindstones all up and down the east coast. Martin was the Mariner while Rufus ran the business at home.

Then on Nov. 12, 1826, Ebenezer died at the age of 59. One story is that he drowned and his body was never recovered. A burial site and a stone are located on the property that was once his farmland. But no one really knows if there is a body there or if the stone was put there as a memorial. By this time, Edward is just a boy of 11 years and must have felt a great deal of responsibility thrust onto his shoulders. Edward continued to live on the farm and this is where his children were born.

Ebenezer and Margaret Wade Cole had 3 children:

Edward (1815-1897) m. 1841, Catherine Buck (1824-1904), d/o George and                                               Phebe Palmer – 9 children

Olive (1817-1901) m. 1840, Reuben Salisbury Ward (1818-1895), s/o Jonathan                                           and Dorothy Maxwell Ward – 12 children

Silas (1818-1809) m. 1849, Mary Davidson (1829-1884), d/o Oliver Davidson –                                            10 children

Ebenezer and Margaret had 31 grandchildren.  All together, Ebenezer had (drum roll, please!!) 100 grandchildren and that’s only the ones that can be found. Granted he didn’t live long enough to know most of these grandchildren, in fact a quick scan of birth dates indicates he knew of 29 grandchildren before he died.

Ebenezer’s brother Martin had 72 grandchildren, combined with Ebenezer’s 100, amounts to 172 gt. grandchildren for Jonathan and Abigail Cole. This total does not include any children from the older two sons, James and Ambrose, back living in the States and any children of his one daughter, Patience Cole Halliday. It would be an easy stretch to stay that Jonathan and Abigail Cole had at least 200 gt. grandchildren.

Edward and Catherine Buck Cole will be the next agenda item.

http://newscotland1398.ca/hist/nshistory04.html

The Chignecto Isthmus and its First Settlers, Howard Trueman, 1902

History of Sackville New Brunswick, Dr. William Cochran Milner, 1934

 

I apologize for not having pictures. For some reason the feature for adding images does not give me a place to choose a file. Without that function, I'm unable to access any of my pictures. If anyone has a clue about how to fix that please email me  ThePyePlate@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Cole Family heads north

Jonathan Cole arrived in what was then Nova Scotia with his 2^nd wife Abigail Martin Estabrooks Cole, his two sons from his first marriage (who were not only step-sons to Abigail but half-nephews as well), his three step children from Abigail’s first marriage to William Estabrooks (who were also his half nieces and nephew by way of his first marriage) and the three children that had been born to them in RI. The children were James and Edward Cole (1^st marriage), Elizabeth, Grizzell and William Estabrooks, Ambrose, Patience and Martin Cole (2^nd marriage). Jonathan Cole’s name appears on lists as early as 1763 and then on lists for Sackville in 1766.

 

Jonathan and Abigail Martin Estabrooks Cole:

James Cole

Edward Cole

Elizabeth Esatabrooks

Grizzell Estabrooks

William Estabrooks

Ambrose Cole

Patience Cole

Martin Cole

 

Part of the agreement in receiving shares of land was to develop the acreage into arable land suitable for farming, dike the salt marshes wherever possible to make better use of the land and to build structures for habitation and keeping domestic animals. The salt marshes provided ample quantities of hay for livestock, there were large forests for wood to build homes and barns, but the work was back breaking daily intensive labor.  There were no roads, so they needed to be built. This became a community effort so when the men weren’t working on clearing, plowing or planting the land, they were doing their share to help build roads. In many ways Nova Scotia was an extension of New England since so many colonists made the move to settle there. Jonathan Eddy was another colonist from MA who settled in NS. It’s possible he was related to Jonathan’s family, through his grandmother Hannah Eddy, but there were a couple of Eddy families amongst the colonists and it hasn’t been determined exactly which family Jonathan Eddy belonged to.

 

While Jonathan and Abigail Cole were adding two more children to their family, Ebenezer and Jonathan, Eddy was determined to take Fort Cumberland away from the British. He failed to get the backing from the colonies that he had hoped for, but still besieged the Fort, in 1776, in an attempt to take control. Eddy was not successful in this. Jonathan Cole’s oldest two boys, James and Edward were members of Eddy’s Rebellion. They would have been in their early 20’s and apparently their loyalties were with the colonists. It is also believed that Ambrose Cole, the eldest child of the 2^nd marriage also joined Eddy’s rebels. Eventually it was learned through Eddy’s Return that Edward had been killed in a skirmish.  With James, Edward and probably Ambrose gone off to fight with the colonists, the Cole family was left with Patience, Martin, Ebenezer and Jonathan, plus the three Estabrooks children. Of the four remaining Cole children, nothing has been found about the son, Jonathan, and it is presumed he may have died young.

 

Jonathan continued to live until 1814 but his will does not reflect any generosity to James, Ambrose or Ebenezer. Each was given 5 shillings. This seems to be a token inheritance, perhaps meant more as an insult to sons who did not remain loyal to the Crown. There seems to be no other records for James and Ambrose in either NS or NB but their names in his will at least suggest they were both still alive. Then, as so often happens, while looking for something else, I stumbled across a history of Crawford OH, which included some biographies. It seems that our James Cole was the father of a Mrs. Reuben McDonald (aka Matilda Cole). Reuben received quite a write-up which ended with the following:

 

            James Cole, the father of Mrs. Reuben McDonald, was a native of Nova Scotia, born Nov. 13, 1752, of wealthy parentage. At the commencement of the American Revolution, he joined a company of Nova Scotia refugees and served in the Continental army throughout the war, for which he was disinherited; was at Valley Forge with Washington, afterward taken prisoner and incarcerated in a British prison ship in Boston Harbor,    where he was badly wounded in one of his limbs, by the explosion of a shell, which crippled him for life. After the war closed, he was released and received pay for his services in Continental money, not worth a—continental—and hobbled on his crutch to Cheshire, Western Mass., where he hired out to a wealthy farmer, named Jesse Mason, working for him nearly a year, and in the meantime marrying his daughter Elizabeth. They removed to Vermont, came back to Massachusetts, and afterward removed to Niagara Co., N. Y., where he died in November, 1826, at the age of 74 years.

 

History of Crawford Co. OH   P.788-789

 

Although it claims that he was b. in RI, which is incorrect, it does support the theory that he was disinherited. James and Ambrose, sons of Jonathan, were not mentioned after Jonathan’s will of 1814. Some references call Ambrose a Capt. In February 18, 1801 the Sixth Congress awarded to Ambrose Cole and James Cole, among others, three hundred and twenty acres each (in Ohio) for their participation as "Nova Scotia Refugee's." Ebenezer would have been too young to be one of Eddy’s rebels and did not appear on Eddy’s or Congress’s lists. Yet it still seems as though he did not have his father’s favor.  We may never know the reason Ebenezer inherited only 5 shillings while other family members received considerably more. Ebenezer continued to live near his father and raised a fairly large family but he had moved closer to the Bay of Fundy and occupied land that became known as Cole’s Point, in Dorchester, New Brunswick. Ebenezer is my GGG grandfather and his line will continue in the next blog. To sum up what is known about all his siblings, I have the following information:

 

James Cole, b. 1751, Scituate RI, d. Nov 26 1828, Wilson, Niagara Co., NY m. Elizabeth Mason c. 1780.  Land deed shows purchase of 16 acres from David Alverson on Lot #70B on Nov. 26, 1786 in Sackville. Since James did not appear to return to NB to live, this may have just been a land speculation.  

 

James and Elizabeth had children:

 

Mason, b. Dec 28 1782, Ira, Rutland Co., VT

Aaron, b. Feb 9 1787, Ira, Rutland Co., VT

James, Jul 29 1788, VT

Aaron I. b. Feb 9 1789, Ira, Rutland Co., VT

Matilda, b. Jan 28, 1803, d. Dec. 19 1887, Portage OH

 

It’s possible there were more children but I’ve not been able to locate them. I can’t find a death date for Elizabeth but apparently she died after 1803.  Another research note says that James was living in Westfield, Washington Co., NY in 1792 when he sold his land in Ira VT. . I have a research note that says James m. Jerusha Alverson, d/o David and had two children, Elizabeth  b. 1807 and Jerusha b. 1810. It’s claimed that the Alverson family moved to Poughkeepsie NY and then David returned to RI.  There is a David Alverson living in Smithfield RI in 1820. Unfortunately, I have no verification of the marriage to Jerusha. There is a claim that she died in Monson MA in 1863. James would have been 20 years older than her, she may have gone to live with one of her children.

 

Ambrose Cole, b. Jul 14 1756 in Warren RI, d. Oct 27 1828 in Greenfield, Saratoga Co., NY. He married Althea Martin, his first cousin. She was the daughter of his mother’s brother, Nathaniel Martin. I have found two sons for this couple, Jonathan C, Cole and Edward Cole, b. 1788 in RI, d. Oct 12 1851. He m. Susannah Griffin and they had ten children. The other son was Edward Cole, who married Chloe Griffin, sister of Susannah. They had 13 children : Henry, Jonathan, Althea, Edward, James, Philmena, Martin, Elizabeth, Sarah, Calvin, Phoebe, Polly and Ambrose. This Edward, d. Aug 28 1839 in Erie, NY.

 

Patience Cole, Oct 20 1759 in Warren RI, m. Samuel Halliday of Cobequid NS

Martin Cole b. Jan 17 1562 in Warren RI m. Zylpha Alverson, d/o David Alverson

 

Elizabeth Estabrooks, unmarried

Grizzell Estabrooks m. Jeremiah Alverson

William Estabrooks, m. Miriam Thornton

 

Martine and Zylpha Cole will appear again in the next blog, which will concentrate mostly on Ebenezer and his numerous progeny.

 

http://newscotland1398.ca/hist/nshistory04.html

 

The Chignecto Isthmus and its First Settlers, Howard Trueman, 1902

 

History of Sackville New Brunswick, Dr. William Cochran Milner, 1934

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jonathan Cole, 1728-1813, Swansea to Sackville

A brief recap of some of the history concerning the Maritime Provinces will help to make this all more understandable. The French had long been settled in those provinces, had built up their farms, built sturdy home and raised their families.  But along came the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. This was a peace treaty of sorts, more like a series of peace treaties. So nearly 100 years after the first French settlers arrived, King George of Britain decided there were too many of them and that they were a decided threat to his territories. It was then the Grand Derangement began, lasting from about 1755 - 1763. The French were driven from their homesteads, some were returned to France, some went to Maine, others scattered from Quebec to Georgia and many more ended up in LA. This is not meant to be a history of the politics of that time. It was not a peaceful time. It was time of the French and Indian War. There were skirmishes and battles. The French often destroyed their buildings and their crops before departing. The Indians also burned and looted. The population of the area was depleted which created the need to invite new settlers to these lands. In 1758, Governor Lawrence issued his first proclamation inviting New Englanders to come to Nova Scotia to settle the lands vacated by the French. This created a huge amount of interest and finally led to a considerable number of New Englanders settling in various parts of the Province. In some cases, the government offered to pay for the transportation of whole families to move them to Nova Scotia.  Many of these people were of the Baptist faith and whole congregations left as a group. In the 1760’s Nova Scotia included all the land that later became New Brunswick. For those doing any family research into the Sackville and Amherst areas of New Brunswick, it’s good to keep in mind that until about 1820 or so, those locations were still in Nova Scotia.

Jonathan Cole was still living in the area of Swansea/Warren/Barrington when he married Elizabeth West in 1750. She was from Rehoboth MA, the d/o Abigail Wheeler and John West. Elizabeth was the great granddaughter of Richard Bullock through her father John West, who was a Mayflower descendant through the Soules. Jonathan Cole was a great, great grandson of Richard Bullock through his father’s mother, Hannah Eddy. They were 3^rd cousins once removed. Jonathan and Elizabeth had two sons, James and Edward. But then Elizabeth died in 1755 leaving Jonathan with two young boys to care for. As often was the case, Jonathan then married a young widow, with three children. This was Abigail Martin Estabrooks, widow of William Estabrooks.  To complicate things just a bit more, Abigail was the half sister of Jonathan’s first wife, Elizabeth West. Their mother, Abigail Wheeler, had married John West first and later married Ebenezer Martin. So now Jonathan and Abigail had five children, two of his and three of hers. They were married in 1756 in Warren RI. They then had three more children all born in Warren by 1762. At some time after the third child was born, they joined the exodus to Nova Scotia and appear on the rolls of grantees in 1763.

It’s time for another sidebar. When Abigail Martin Estabrooks entered the scene, she brought with her the connection to the Wheelers. Her grandparents were James Wheeler and Grizzell Squire. Their daughter, Abigail Wheeler (who first married John West and then Ebenezer Martin) is my 5x gt. grandmother. Abigail’s brother James Wheeler (jr.) married Elizabeth West, sister of John West.  This James Wheeler and his wife Elizabeth West Wheeler are 7x gt. grandparents of President George W. Bush. That means President Bush and I are 7^th cousins twice removed.

Another interesting connection has been found through the Bullocks. Richard Bullock had three daughters who have played a role in the ancestry of many people. Elizabeth Bullock married Caleb Eddy; Abigail Bullock married Obadiah Bowen and Mehitable Bullock married John West (the father of the above John West). The Eddys and the Bowens are integral parts of the Cole family tree. Mehitable and John West were the parents of Elizabeth, the one who married James Wheeler jr. Therefore the Bullocks are also ancestors of the Bush family. But there’s more. Mehitable Bullock and John West are the 4x gt. grandparents of James A. Garfield, 20^th President of the United States, also making him my 5^th cousin twice removed, the common ancestor being Richard Bullock, Mehitable’s father.

 

Back to Jonathan Cole and the migration north – It’s not known if the whole family traveled with him and arrived en masse or not. Many lists of people taking advantage of the land exist, but in that day, women weren’t mentioned often so it’s difficult to know how many of the women and families were actually in Nova Scotia during the early stages of settlement and development. In 1763, nearly 70 people made application for lands in the Cumberland area, Jonathan Cole, Jonathan Eddy, Elijah, Obadiah and Joseph Ayre. Nehemiah Ward and Josiah Throop among them. There were also people named King, Peck, Walker, Winslow, Martin, Danks and Gardner. Many of these people came and settled, clearing land and building roads and homes, yet not all of them stayed. An Isaac Cole of Providence Plantation in RI was one such man. (Many farms were called plantations. Isaac had a farm in or near Providence.) He was a 2^nd cousin of Jonathan Cole, going back to Hugh and Mary Foxwell Cole as the common ancestors. Isaac was married to Sarah Estabrooks. She may have been related to the William Estabrooks who was Abigail Martin Estabrooks Cole’s first husband, but I haven’t tracked it yet, so I don’t know of any connection. The Estabrooks played a large role in the development of the new lands and the name shows up on a list of subscribers for the Township lying on the Tantramar River in 1761. A word of caution, this name has a variety of spellings, all of them for the same family. If you’re researching this name in Canada, look at all spellings. I’ve seen the name spelled three different ways all in the same document.  But Isaac Cole apparently did not go to Nova Scotia or settle there. He may have had good intentions, but for some reason, they fell through. Because Isaac did not settle in NS, it appears that Jonathan Cole was the only member of his family to go north. Other than Isaac, he is the only one named Cole to appear of any of the early lists.

Jonathan, his two sons, James and Edward, his wife Abigail and her three children, Elizabeth, Grizzell and William Estabrooks, and the three new Cole children Ambrose, Patience and Martin (all born in RI) settled in what is today Sackville, New Brunswick. Two more children were born in NB, Jonathan and Ebenezer (1767). Not much is known about Jonathan so it is possible this child died young. Ebenezer is my 3x gt. grandfather.

 

April 19 1775 the shot heard round the world was fired as the Minutemen and the Redcoats clashed at Lexington and Concord. This put considerable stress on all the families who had moved into Canada. They were still British citizens but many had deep loyalties toward the colonists and especially, family members who remained in New England. Some of the new settlers moved back to New England, some others joined various components of the Continental Army. It was a time of upheaval all up and down the eastern seaboard. How this affected Jonathan Cole’s family in Sackville, NB will be the subject of the next blog.

The Chignecto Isthmus and its First Settlers, Howard Trueman, 1902  

The History of Sackville, Dr. W. C. Milner, 1934

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expulsion_of_the_Acadians

http://www.wargs.com/political/bush.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield

 

Cole Family Goes to Swansea

James and Mary Tibbes Cole had at least four children. As mentioned earlier, it is not known where these two died or where they are buried. Their son Hugh acquired land in Swansea MA, near Rehoboth, which had already been settled. It’s possible that James and Mary were able to make that move with him, but that’s simply speculation. Their son, James, Jr., stayed behind and ran the family business, an ordinary.

This James married Mary Tilson Dec 23 1652 in Scituate, MA. They had six children, the youngest of who was Martha, b. 1672. Martha’s birth mother seems to be in question in many of the reports I read. Mary Tilson Cole died c 1679 and James, Jr. then married Abigail Davenport. The confusion seems to concern Mary’s death date. I have seen it stated that she died before 1660, that she died after 1670 and a variety of dates in between.  The most consistent date I have seen is 1679 so I will stick with that until it is proven false.  The reason I bring this couple into view as a tangent is because they became the ancestors of a very important historical figure.  Obviously, their children were all Mayflower descendants and all their progeny are also entitled to make that claim.  James Cole, Sr., of 1633 Plimouth, was the grandfather of the following Martha Cole.

 This is how the generations fall:

1. James Cole Sr. and Mary Tibbes
2. James Cole, Jr. and Mary Tilson
3. Nathaniel and Martha Cole Howland  
4. Nathaniel and Abigail Burt Howland
5. Joseph and Lydia Bill Howland
6. Susan Howland and John Aspinwall, Jr.
7. Mary Rebecca Aspinwall and Isaac Roosevelt
8. James Roosevelt and Sarah Delano
9. Franklin Delano Roosevelt

This is such a neat piece of history and FDR’s ancestry is so well documented. This makes me a 7^th cousin 2x removed to the 32^nd President of the United States.  How cool is that?!

 

 

 

But I really wanted to continue on with Hugh Cole who helped settle the area around Swansea MA. He and his wife Mary Foxwell had ten children. One of the boundaries of Hugh Cole’s land was a river, Coles River, which has the same name today. Parts of it are tidal and some of the area has been developed for recreational purposes.

 

Coles River at Ocean Grove

 

 

Their ten children were:

James Cole 1655-1717, m. Mary Cadman

Hugh Cole, Jr. 1658-1738, m. Deborah Buckland
John Cole 1660-1748, m. Susannah Gray
Martha Cole 1662-1711, m. Henry Sweeting
Anna Cole c. 1666-1693, Nathaniel Luther
Joseph Cole 1668-1705

Ebenezer Cole 1671-1719, m. Mehitable Luther

Mary Cole 1676-1756, m. Jonathan Kingsley
*Benjamin Cole 1677-1748, m. Hannah Eddy

Hugh Cole, the elder, is buried at Tyler Point Cemetery in Barrington RI. This land was all once part of the original lands purchased inn 1667. Over the years, the boundaries changed several times until finally, the land Hugh owned now resides in both RI and MA.  

His youngest son, Benjamin with his wife Hannah Eddy, continue the line I am following. Benjamin was a deacon in his church until his death. He was a farmer in the Swansea area. Benjamin and Hannah are both buried in the Kickemuit Cem. in Warren RI.

Their children were:

Hopestill, b. 1703, m. Joseph Butterworth
*Jonathan Cole 1704-1785, m. Elizabeth Bowen
Benjamin Cole 1706-1776, m. Elizabeth Nelson
Foxtil Cole, b. 1708
Israel Cole 1710-1789, m. Susannah Wheaton, moved to Shaftsbury VT
Ebenezer Cole 1712-1794, m. Mary Bosworth, moved to Shaftsbury VT
Andrew Cole 1714-1787, m. Priscilla Luther
Hannah Cole b. 1716, m. Ebenezer Ormsby

 

The eldest son, Jonathan, who married Elizabeth Bowen, continues the Cole line in the Swansea MA and RI areas. Jonathan and Elizabeth were 2^nd cousins, since Elizabeth’s grandmother, Abigail Bullock, and Jonathan’s grandmother, Elizabeth Bullock were sisters.

 Their children were:

Hope Cole - no dates

Rebecca Cole – no dates
Welthian Cole – no dates
Elizabeth Cole – 1727-1755
*Jonathan Cole – 1728-1813
James Cole – 1730-?
Rufus Cole – 1736-1810
Ambrose Cole – 1738-1770
Patience Cole – c 1745-?
Obadiah Cole – 1749-?

There is a totally unsubstantiated story about Elizabeth Bowen’s ancestry. It claims that Elizabeth Bowen’s paternal grandmother, Abigail Bullock, was the granddaughter of Elizabeth Ingraham.  That the first name was Elizabeth seems to be correct, but there is no – none – proof that her surname was Ingraham. The Ingraham line in this tale has very definite Royal connections and was apparently used for that reason. Richard Bullock, the husband of a woman named Elizabeth, died intestate, leaving few records about him or his wife behind. To claim that this Elizabeth was an Ingraham was pure fantasy. I might add that this pedigree was first put forth in the 1800’s when it was a true feather in your cap to have a Royal connection. But it did not stand the test of time and the scrutiny of today’s sharp-eyed researchers.

Jonathan Cole, the son of Jonathan and Elizabeth Bowen Cole is the ancestor who completely changed the family history for my mother’s maternal family tree. If you notice the dates are well into the 1700’s when so much was changing and happening, eventually leading to the American Revolution and our independence from Britain. This next Jonathan Cole was faced with many challenges, successes and sorrows.

My next blog will continue with Jonathan Cole, 1728-1813.

http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rockport/f000308.html

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=1544488

 
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~smason/html/fdr.htm

http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/g/a/r/J-H-Garner/FILE/0144page.html

http://www.mulvihill.net/genealogy/fullfamil/pafg04.htm

 

James Cole, Plimouth, 1633

Thanksgiving always brings back a plethora of childhood memories, family gatherings, cold, invigorating air, warm toasty house, smells of turkey and pies, lots of people around the table – oh! What a great tradition and what great fun.  This year it also brought back a reminder that I have another Plymouth connection. This is not a Mayflower connection, just a very early Plymouth one.

 As a child I heard conversations that we had ancestors who had been in Plymouth very early but no one was sure if they had come on the Mayflower. My gt. grandmother had claimed that there was money back in England for the person in the family who would be so brave as to go find/get it. I never knew of anyone who had attempted this and like all other family stories it got filed away.
As the years went by, my sister and I began to take very serious paths in the study of our family branches. I began to more intensely research the paternal ancestors and she took off on the trail of our maternal lines.

My grandmother Broderick lived with us and her maiden name had been Chambers. Her mother had been Rebecca Cole and both ladies had been born in Dorchester, NB, on the Bay of Fundy. It’s amazing to me that I have both maternal and paternal connections to Plymouth, but three out of four of my grandparents were born in Canada. The only one to be born in the USA was my grandfather, John Broderick, who parents were Irish immigrants just prior to his birth.

I’ve already spoken about my paternal connections to Stephen Hopkins and William Brewster, so I thought it was the appropriate time to speak of my mother’s ancestors.  My sister did hours, weeks, months of research in the day before computers when everything was on microfilm or microfiche. It was tedious viewing and you could only borrow the film for a certain length of time.  Bit by bit she pieced together the line of decent from James Cole of Plimouth Plantation to our Gt. Grandmother Rebecca Cole Chambers.

The information she had at the beginning of her research, although accepted at that time, has now proven to be inaccurate. Robert C. Anderson in his The Great Migration Begins states that James Cole was b. c 1600, based on his age at marriage.  It isn’t known where he was born or who his parents were, but there is a marriage record for James and Mary Tibbes in Barnstaple, Devonshire on May 1, 1625. There is information out there that says James Cole was the son of William, of Enniskillen, Ireland. This just isn’t true. I have seen the family tree of this William Cole of Enniskillen and although he had children there was not one named James for several generations after him.

 James and Mary had four children, the first two, James and Hugh, were baptized in Barnstaple, Devonshire. James was bapt. on Feb. 11, 1626/1627 and Hugh on June 29 1628. Another son, John, b. Nov. 21, 1637 and a daughter, Mary, b. 1639, were born in Plymouth. At this point it’s necessary to mention that there were at least two other men by the name of James Cole in the colonies at the same time. One went to Saco, ME and the other went to Boston. To add to all the confusion Daniel Cole and his family were also in Plymouth at about the same time and he had children with similar names. To date, no known family connection has been discovered between the Daniel Cole and James Cole families.

James Cole, his wife and children arrived in Plymouth sometime prior to 1633, when he was listed as a freeman. He has been called a sailor, a shoemaker and an innkeeper. He also was a surveyor of highways, served on several juries and was a constable for Plymouth. He must have had some education to be considered reliable for these positions. The land that became known as Cole’s Hill, was first known as Burial Hill. This is where it is said the Pilgrims buried their dead that first winter, 1621, so the Indians would not be aware that their numbers had dropped by half. There are many entries in the records of Plymouth concerning James as an innkeeper. He had many difficulties with the laws of Plymouth. He was fined for allowing people to become drunk, for selling spirits on the Sabbath, for selling spirits to the Indians and for being drunk himself. He lost his license to operate his tavern, but he continued to run his inn regardless. He was obviously a colorful figure in Plymouth society.

In 1670 his tavern was succeeded by his son James, Jr. The business operated smoothly after that as James, Jr. stayed well within the regulations set forth by the Plymouth magistrates.

 Today, Coles Hill has a roadside marker and other memorials to him and the Pilgrims. It faces Plymouth Rock and the Ocean. It was a good vantage point for seeing any approaching vessels bent on doing harm to them. One of the memorials says:

"In memory of James Cole
Born London England 1600
Died Plymouth Mass 1692
First settler of Coles Hill 1633
A soldier in Pequot Indian War 1637
This tablet erected by his descendants1917"

 There were no other entries in the Plymouth records concerning James after the late 1670’s. To follow him and his family we need to go to Swansea MA. It appears that James Jr. may have remained in Plymouth, while Hugh went to find new lands to farm. At first this whole area was known as Warren RI, until sometime later when the boundaries were redefined. It’s believed this is where James, Sr. died. Although there are no records to show where he died or where he was buried.

 Hugh Cole, in 1667, along with others, purchased 500 acres along a river from the Indians. This river became known as Cole River and is still so called today. Hugh’s allotment was 50 acres.  Hugh was also a shipwright, a civil engineer, and a selectman of Swansea for many years and a representative to the General Court.  He was a friend of King Philip, Indian Chief. King Philip's warriors organized against the colonists and terrorized the area for about a year.  In June of 1675, two of Hugh's sons were taken prisoner by the Indians and taken to Philip at Mount Hope.  Philip ordered them freed, but told Hugh he could no longer restrain his warriors.  He advised Hugh to take his family to Rhode Island, immediately.  Hugh did this and within the hour his house was in flames.  In 1677, he returned to Swansea and built a house.  There is no mention of James Sr. through any of this history so one assumes he may not have lived long enough to move to Swansea.

Hugh married Mary Foxwell, daughter of Richard and Ann Shelley Foxwell. The Foxwells left London on Sept. 16 1632 on board the ship Lyon, William Pierce, Master. Hugh and Mary had 10 children, 6 boys and 4 girls. When Mary died, Hugh married Elizabeth Lettice, and then after her death he married Mary Shelley. There are some discrepancies on dates in the various histories I have consulted. Hugh’s children all seem to be the offspring on his first wife. I have found no children attributed to the 2^nd and 3^rd marriages, but because all the dates don’t agree, I can’t be certain Mary Foxwell was the mother of all of them.

 My next blog will continue with a few more generations of the Coles. I’ve been so busy with substitute teaching that I haven’t been able to put much time into a  blog.

http://www.plimoth.org/media/pdf/cole_james.pdf

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=34205577

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cole's_Hill