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Frank Cole July 1, 1837- April 6, 1917
My biggest and longest standing brick wall is my Cole family. My gggrandfather, Benjamin Franklin Cole (he always went by Frank) truely seems to have been brought by the stork! I have not been able to find parents or siblings for him.
Frank was born July 1, 1837 somewhere in Penna. His obit says he was born in Huntingdon County but I have done enough searching there to be fairly sure that is incorrect.
Family story has that he ran away from home and his obit says "His younger days were spent in the "Wild West" where he saw service as a mail carrier for several years". and another obit says "Deceased went west as a young man and drove overland stage on the old Santa Fe trail from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to the Pacific coast". The Santa Fe trail didn't go to the Pacific coast so that much is inaccurate. There was also the family story that he rode for the pony express.
I did find a Frank Cole on a 1859 Kansas state census living in the County of Leavenworth, township of Delaware but there isn't enough information to tell if this is "my" Frank Cole. I found Frank on the 1860 census for Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. He was living with 8 other men in their 20's in what I assume was a boarding house headed by E A Cox and his family. Frank was listed as a mail conducter and two of the other men were stage drivers.
I also found a Frank Cole that joined the Union army in Missouri in 1861 but again I haven't found enough information to know if it's my ancester.
His obit did say he returned east after the civil war and married, Jan. 1865 to Miss Harriet Giles of Johnstown, Cambria County. That's back again in Pa. However, I don't believe they got married in Johnstown because Frank was not listed on the yearly tax rolls for that county anywhere around those years.
Even if I found where they got married, I may not find any records. I'm sure they wouldn't have gotten married in a church because Harriet was Catholic and Frank was not.
After I first found them in Tyrone, Blair County on the 1870 census (with their name spelled Coal) and on the tax rolls from 1868- 1873 for there, I was able to follow them around central Pa.most of the time after that.
Harriet died in Jan. 1888 after she and Frank had had 13 children, 10 of which lived to adulthood. That was before county death records were kept so I only have her tombstone and Frank's obit. that records her death.
Frank died April 16, 1917 at the home of his daughter, in Clearfield, Pa. I have his death certificate and two obits but there is no mention of parents or siblings. And though Harriet died so much earlier than Frank, he never remarried.
Frank was born July 1, 1837 somewhere in Penna. His obit says he was born in Huntingdon County but I have done enough searching there to be fairly sure that is incorrect.
Family story has that he ran away from home and his obit says "His younger days were spent in the "Wild West" where he saw service as a mail carrier for several years". and another obit says "Deceased went west as a young man and drove overland stage on the old Santa Fe trail from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to the Pacific coast". The Santa Fe trail didn't go to the Pacific coast so that much is inaccurate. There was also the family story that he rode for the pony express.
I did find a Frank Cole on a 1859 Kansas state census living in the County of Leavenworth, township of Delaware but there isn't enough information to tell if this is "my" Frank Cole. I found Frank on the 1860 census for Independence, Jackson County, Missouri. He was living with 8 other men in their 20's in what I assume was a boarding house headed by E A Cox and his family. Frank was listed as a mail conducter and two of the other men were stage drivers.
I also found a Frank Cole that joined the Union army in Missouri in 1861 but again I haven't found enough information to know if it's my ancester.
His obit did say he returned east after the civil war and married, Jan. 1865 to Miss Harriet Giles of Johnstown, Cambria County. That's back again in Pa. However, I don't believe they got married in Johnstown because Frank was not listed on the yearly tax rolls for that county anywhere around those years.
Even if I found where they got married, I may not find any records. I'm sure they wouldn't have gotten married in a church because Harriet was Catholic and Frank was not.
After I first found them in Tyrone, Blair County on the 1870 census (with their name spelled Coal) and on the tax rolls from 1868- 1873 for there, I was able to follow them around central Pa.most of the time after that.
Harriet died in Jan. 1888 after she and Frank had had 13 children, 10 of which lived to adulthood. That was before county death records were kept so I only have her tombstone and Frank's obit. that records her death.
Frank died April 16, 1917 at the home of his daughter, in Clearfield, Pa. I have his death certificate and two obits but there is no mention of parents or siblings. And though Harriet died so much earlier than Frank, he never remarried.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Terri O'Connell on
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Lydia, I would still try the churches for some type of marriage record. My G Grandfather was divorced so when I searched for his burial place I was not looking at Catholic Cemeteries. Turns out, thats were he was.
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Permalink Reply by Lydia McVay on
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Yes, I do have all his Children and the majority of their spouses (of those who got married). Oldest was Benjamin Franklin Cole who went by BF or Frank- he married Eliza Wilkins (they are my great grandparents); William Cole married to Mary Evans; Burton Cole who was married to Connie Mullins who was the mother of his children and Della who he married later; Charles Cole; Paul Cole who also had itchy feet and worked on the Panama canal and in Alaska on a railroad, Guy Cole who was going to St Louis for a visit and disappeared; Gertrude Cole who married Lorrin Rowles- This is the daughter he was living with when he died; Clarence Cole who married Ethel; Malcolm Cole who was an old bachelor; and Harriet Cole married Isaac Poole she was born Jan 3 1888 and her mother Harriet died Jan 1888).
1900, 1910, 1920 censuses Frank was living in Clearfield, Clearfield County, Pa.
I do have a link to my Cole Family tree on Ancestry.com which I just realized I didn't add. http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/184100/recent?pg=42 -
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Oh, no. I made an error. I must have put Frank's (both Benjamin Franklins went by Frank) death date for William also. I have obits for both. Frank died of influenza during a the bad flu outbreak. William died in 1927 in Pittsburgh. I'm going to have to correct that. Thanks for pointing it out. I hate having errors in my trees. Other people pick those up without verifying and they can go on and on.
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I knew the Frank Cole that served in Pa. wasn't my ancester because I had seen enough information about that Frank. But that's some good information for someone whose ancester he is.
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I thought that was interesting that Frank lived alone in1900. His daughter Harriet was only 12 and Malcolm was 14. I don't know who they were living with.
Yes, I do have the deed for the property which he later sold to his daughter Gertrude for $1 and he lived with her and her family until he died.
I had never heard about Frank being in the civil war but there was that Frank Cole that enlisted in St. Louis in 1861 and was in the Missouri Union army. I thought there was a possibility that was him. I've never seen more than the index on it. -
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I have been searching for Franks family for about 20 years now and not having any luck. A few years ago when I was in Huntingdon County researching, I decided to try another tack. I decided to look for likely COLE couples that might have been his parents and work on them. I found an abstract at the genealogical society for a Richard Cole who married Lucina Everill in 1833. I started to track them down. I didn't find any likely Coles on the 1830 census so I started looking at tax rolls. I found Richard on the Henderson township tax roll under single freeman. I also found a Thomas Cole and a single Thomas Cole in the 1832 tax rollsof Woodbury townshp. In the 1833 Woodbury tax rolls, the married Thomas is still there but the single Thomas has been crossed out. On the 1833 Henderson tax rolls, thomas Cole is now on the married rolls, Richard is crossed off the single rolls and is now on the married rolls but both of them have been crossed off and someone has written in "ran away" for both of them. After I stopped laughing, I thought this must be my family! Neither of them were on any more tax rolls.
But now I can't find either of the Cole brothers. I do find Lucinda Cole on the 1840 census back in Huntingdon with 4 children. She has two males in the 0-4 range (Frank would have been two then), 1 male 5-9 and 1 female 5-9.
In 1843, there is a petiton in the Orphans Court of Lucinda Cole that since she believes her husband Richard has died, leaving four minor children under the age of fourteen, one of whom is William, she is asking the court to appoint a guardian to take charge of the person and estate of said minor William Cole.
And then Lucinda disappears. I can't find her on the 1850 census, though I do find a 12 year old Frank Cole living with Jacob and Susanna Hefner and their son, John in Hopewell township in Huntingdon County.
So I have never linked this family to Frank though they do seem likely. Even if they are not my family, I want to adopt them. they are squirrely enough to fit with my family! -
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Paul worked on the Panama Canal. And there was an article in the Clearfield paper when the Panama Canal was finished that Paul was headed to Alaska to work on a railroad. I have not tracked him down there yet. I can't find him in the 1920 census but in 1930 he is living in Georgia. In his obituary (he died in Pittsburgh) it said he had traveled in Central and South America. He was a wanderer.
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I had not ruled out Patrick Cole. I will have to look into Patrick. I didn't really look much at Cambria County because I couldn't find Frank on the tax rolls there before or after 1865 so I was thinking he and Harriet didn't get married there. They were married at least two years before Frank showed up on the tax rolls in Tyrone. I don't know where they were before then. Also on the tax rolls of Tyrone- Cole, Frank occ.- Saloon keeper for years 1868- 1872, in 1873 saloon keeper is crossed out and teamster is written in. ( in 1868 there is also a Cole, W. H. crossed out who is a saloon keeper). I'm thinking the W.H. Cole might be a brother and they moved to Tyrone together and W. H. didn't like it and left. Perhaps if I could find WH, I could find Frank on the tax rolls there.
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Now that I look at it, I did have the information for Malcolm. I guess it was just Harriet I couldn't find. I tried again recently on ancestry.com- I tried Harriet & Hattie with her age and Cole with that age and I couldn't find anyone that seemed to be her. Also in 1910, Egbert is living with his father. I've never been able to find out what happened to his wife which was Connie on their marriage certificate. I could find his son boarding with someone elsse but also could not find his daughters. But then Burt moved to Pittsburgh and married Della or Delia. I need to see their marriage certificate because it often says how the first marriage ended. Plus I don't know when they got married.
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I don't know where Ireland came from for his parents. In the 1910 census, it shows his father from New York and his mother from Pa. I can't find my copy of the 1900 census so I'm not sure what that says anymore for his parents. When I first saw the 1880 census, I was wondering who Eggbert was. I finely realized it was Burt who obviously didn't like Egbert. I've only ever seen that name twice and both times it was on the census with his father. Otherwise, I've seen E Burton, Burton, Bert and Burt.
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Wow!!!! This sounds like you did find him. As far as I know the family never found him. I had a copy of an article from a newpaper but the person that copied it didn't write down what paper or when but from Guy's age, I would guess it ran in 1914.
"newspaper article:
E. B. Cole of Lincoln Place, Pittsburgh, is searching for his brother, Guy Cole, aged 36, who disappeared seven years ago from his home in MeKees Rocks, and of whom nothing has been heard since.
Mr. Coles father, Frank Cole, aged 81, of Clearfield, Pa., is very ill and as he grows weaker inquires incessantly for his son, Guy. Of the aged man's 10 children, eight boys and two girls, Guy is the only one whose whereabouts is not known.
Guy is under medium height, weighs about 160 lbs., has dark, curly hair, dark eyes, and a fair complection. When he left home he was smooth shaven. He is a steel worker. When he left home, he said he was going to St. Louis." And I believe in everyones obits. Guy (and sometimes Paul) is whereabouts unknown. It's interesting that Guy would use his sister as a contact and not get in touch with his family. I am defintely going to try to find out more about this James Guy Cole. I have so often wondered what ever happened to him. You have given me some great leads and I forgive you for calling me Linda! -
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I went to the library today to try to find James Guy Cole on the 1920 and 1930 census but I didn't have any luck. I also tried finding him on newspaperarchives.com and genealogybank and didn't find anything at all. If he was working for the railroad he may have moved on to another state. I get frustrated but I need to remind myself that I found all the easy stuff years ago!! I'm going to write a book- "The Cole family and how they taught me to do genealogy research the hard way."
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