The Cole Family

By Bobbye C. Winston

A passenger and immigration list shows Coles arriving in the United States in early 1600’s. This list named approximately 250 Cole families arriving in America from early 1600’s through the 1700’s. There were still other families arriving with spelling variations of Cole (Coles, Coule, Coales, Coale).

Elizabeth Cole, the widow of Stephen Cole, came to America from England in 1725 and settled in Chester, PA. Stephen and Elizabeth Cole are our earliest known Cole ancestors.

Numerous books and articles on the genealogy of the Cole family in America have been written. One of the earliest and most referred to articles written on the family is referred to as “Everett’s Sketches”. Captain William Isaac Everett (born 1835 and died 1911), a Cole descendant, was an early settler in Richmond County, NC and was the county historian.

He jointly owned 10,000 acres of land in the Wolf Pit Township and around 1872 John Euclid Covington and Captain Everett operated a mercantile store in Rockingham, NC (information from North Carolina Directory 1872). His sketches were preserved and were published in the Rockingham Post Dispatch on July 21, 1927. Much of the information that I have written on the early Cole generations was taken from Capt. Everett’s writings.

First Generation

Stephen Cole, Sr. His widow, Elizabeth, came to America as a widow in 1725 and settled in Chester, PA. Mrs. Stephen Cole, Sr. was the daughter of John Hunter (born 1664 and died 1734) and a resident of the North of England. John Hunter moved to Wickton County, Ireland and later to Chester, PA following his son-in-law, William Steele. Stephen Cole, Sr. and his wife had Stephen Cole, Jr. and Elizabeth Cole that married Thomas Wilcox.

Second Generation

Stephen Cole, Jr. was born 1700 and died 1744. He married Martha Hunter. Their children were:

A. John Cole was born Nov. 9, 1728 and died 1797 in Richmond Co. NC. He was bound to a shoemaker to learn a trade under the provision of Stephen Cole, Jr.’s Will. After this service, he moved to Bedford Co., VA and married Jane Bounds in 1753. Jane Bounds had two brothers named James and John Bounds.

After the birth of their first child, John and Jane Cole moved to Richmond Co. NC. She was riding a filly carrying the child on her lap while her husband walked. They settled on Drowning Creek at a place known as “Blues Bridge” but for years were known as “Coles Bridge”. This was the then much traveled road leading from the western part of the State to the head of navigation on the Cape Fear River, then known as Cross Creek, now Fayetteville. There they opened an ordinary (or hotel) for the convenience of the traveling public, as well as for their own welfare. At a later date they moved to the vicinity of Rockingham. It is said they built the first frame dwelling that was erected in the county.

On Aug. 29, 1769, William Raidford and wife, Mary, sold to John Cole 100 acres that had been granted to Robert Raiford by His Majesty, 26 Sept. 1766 on southwest side of Downing Creek (Lane Grant Office, Raleigh has plat). Anson Co. deed book 7, page 269, shows deed from William Raiford to John Cole.

On April 18, 1767, John Cole received a grant from His Majesty, William Tryon, for 100 acres lying on the road leading from Raiford’s Bridge to where John Crawford lived on Falling Creek and on a branch called Bostics Branch.

John Cole also got land from David Clark. Cole’s Bridge was located somewhere between Clark’s Crossing and where U.S. Highway 1 crosses Drowning Creek. It was much used during and after the Revolutionary War.
B. Stephen Cole was born 1729. He was bound to a hatter to learn a trade under the provision of his father’s Will.
C. Mark Cole was born 1730. He was bound to a miller to learn a trade under the provision of his father’s Will.
D. James Cole was born 1732 and died 1794 in Bedford Co., VA. Married Mary Renfroe.
E. William T. Cole was born 1734. Married Nellie Bounds.
F. Elizabeth Cole was born 1736. Married Pierre Valleau in 1757.

Third Generation

John Cole was born Nov. 9, 1728 in St. Paul Chester, PA and died 1797 in Richmond Co. NC. He married Jane Bounds, born ca. 1736 in Bedford Co. VA and is buried in Richmond Co. NC. She was the daughter of James Bounds, Sr. and Ann Dicks of Maryland. Their children were:

A. James Cole, born Sept. 5, 1755 in Bedford Co., VA and died 1832. Married Hannah Sweeny. They lived on land known as the “Bony Cole Place”. He served in the War of 1776.
B. Patsey Cole (or Martha), born 1758 in Anson Co., NC and died June 26, 1844. She married John Wall.
C. Stephen Cole III, born 1760 in Anson Co. NC. Married Nancy Terry. Served in War of 1776.
D. John Cole, born 1762 in Anson Co., NC. Married Betsey or Elizabeth Covington. Served in War of 1776.
E. Nancy Cole, born 1764 in Anson Co., NC. Married John Sneed.
F. William Cole, born 1767 in Anson Co. NC and died 1820 in Robertson Co. TN. Married Martha Bound, born ca. 1772. Martha died in 1844 in Robertson Co., TN. They moved to Tennessee about 1800-1805.
G. Mark Cole, born 1769 in NC. Married Joanna Clements (or Chambers). They moved to Wayne Co. MS.
H. Jesse Cole, born 1772 in Anson Co. NC. Married May Long. Moved to MS.
I. Peter Hunter Cole, born Dec. 13, 1774 in NC and died July 7, 1848. Married Nancy Love. They moved to Kemper Co. MS.
J. Reuben Cole, born 1778 in NC and died April 25, 1856. Married Celia Wadsworth. They moved to Kemper Co. MS.
K. Samuel Cole, born 1781 in Richmond Co. NC. Married Polly Gibson.



Fourth Generation

William Cole, born 1767 and died fall of 1820 married Martha Bounds. Martha died 1844. Their children were:

A. Elizabeth Cole married James Seal.
B. Holden W. Cole
C. John Russell Cole, Sr. was born Dec. 1, 1800 in NC (probably Richmond Co.). He died June 27, 1859 and is buried in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Lamar Co. AL. He married Elizabeth Thomas, the daughter of George and Elizabeth Coulter/Cother Thomas on Nov. 16, 1826 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL (at that time part of Pickens Co. was in Tuscaloosa Co.). Elizabeth was born Nov. 11, 1810 and died Nov. 17, 1862. The family lived in Pickens Co., AL.
D. Martha H. Cole married Thomas Stark.
E. Richmond L. Cole was born Feb. 22, 1805. He married Mary I. Foulks.
F. Reubin G. Cole was born 1808 and died 1851. Wife named Louisa.
G. Nancy Cole married Henry C. Stark.
H. William S. Cole was born 1812-14.
I. Jane Cole married a Mr. Hill.



Fifth Generation

John Russell Cole, Sr., my gr-gr-grandfather, was born Dec. 1, 1800 in North Carolina (probably Richmond Co.) and died June 27, 1859 of apoplexy. He married Elizabeth Thomas on Nov. 16, 1826 in Tuscaloosa Co., AL (at that time part of Pickens Co. was in Tuscaloosa Co.). Elizabeth Thomas Cole was born Nov. 11, 1810 and died Nov. 17, 1862. She was the daughter of George Thomas and Elizabeth Coulter/Cother. John Russell and Elizabeth Cole lived and reared their children in the Carrollton area. They are buried at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Lamar County. Elizabeth’s grave is marked but the grave adjoining hers is not marked and is said to be that of John Russell Cole, Sr. John Russell Cole’s children are all believed to have been born in Pickens Co. Some of the children moved to Lamar County, some moved to TX and Sallie lived in Benevola.

Elizabeth Thomas Cole had two brothers, one named William Thomas, born May 12, 1797 and died July 28, 1843 at 46 years of age. And Tristram Shandy Thomas, born Sept. 28, 1800 and died July 17, 1854, at 55 years old. Tristram Thomas was the first elected probate judge in Pickens Co., AL and was minister of the gospel, preaching at Ebenezer Baptist Church, located just outside Carrollton. The home Tristram Thomas built still stands in Carrollton, AL.

On June 27, 1827, George Thomas deeded a gift of a slave to his daughter, Elizabeth Cole, and her husband, John R. Cole.
< The Tuscaloosa County tract book shows that on February 18, 1829 John R. Cole entered from the government the West ½ SW ¼ of Section 15 Township 20 South Range 6 West, Huntsville Meridian, Certificate No. 7029.

On Feb. 21, 1829, land was deeded to John R. Cole from Joseph Lindsey and wife, Hannah, in Tuscaloosa County. On January 30, 1836 the land they owned in Tuscaloosa County was deeded to Alfred Acker of Tuscaloosa County.

The following land was granted to John Russell Cole in Pickens County, Alabama:

Township Range Part of Section Section Acres/100th Date Cert No.

21 14W NE ¼ of SW ¼ 7 40.16 ¼ 9/14/1855 34007
21 14W NE ¼ of NE ¼ 18 40.43 2/10/1836 18340
21 14W NW ¼ of NE ¼ 7 40.16 ¼ 1/6/1834 10427

According to the old Cole family Bible, John Russell Cole departed his life on Monday evening, June 27, 1859, and was buried on the day following in the graveyard near Anna McGee’s residence. (This graveyard was later named Walnut Grove Cemetery.) His wife, Elizabeth, joined him in death on Nov. 17, 1862. She is buried in that cemetery. There has recently (2006) been installed a marker for John Russell Cole, Sr.beside his wife.;

Marker for John Russell Cole, Sr. at Walnut Grove Cemetery in Lamar Co. AL. It is beside marker for his wife, Elizabeth Thomas Cole.

Children of John Russell Cole, Sr. and Elizabeth Thomas are (all children born in Alabama):

1. William Cole, born 1827 and died 1848. He married Elizabeth M. Windle on June 28, 1847.(Elizabeth Margaret Windle was the daughter of Andrew Moore Windle. She was born around 1830 in Carrollton, Pickens County, Alabama.She first married William Cole from Fayette County, later this part became Lamar County. They had a daughter, Sarah E. Cole. Elizabeth M. & Sarah were living in Andrew Windle's household in 1850. Elizabeth married Benjamin Edwards prior to 1860. In the 1860 Federal census, Elizabeth and Sarah Cole was a member of the Edwards's household.Benjamin Edwards may have died during the War for Southern Independence. Elizabeth and Sarah were members of Andrew Windle's household in the 1870 census. A nine year old girl. P. E. Edwards, is also listed.By 1880, Sarah Cole McDaniel was the mother of a young son. Her aunt, Augusta Windle, was residing with them.)(Info on Eliz. M. Windle Cole furnished by Buren Windle of Carrollton, AL)
2. Martha Cole, born April 2, 1829 and married Ben Cother on Jan. 26, 1843.
3. Nancy Cole, born July 18, 1830 and married James A. Burgin on Feb. 17, 1851.
4. Mary Ann Cole, born Oct. 4, 1831 and died Oct. 21, 1921. Married Francis Dumas Smith on Aug. 31, 1847. Lived in Texas.

During the winter of 1870-71 the first members of the Cole family moved to Texas. Many other members of this family have followed there through the years.

Their children were: Augustus Franklin Smith, b. Sept. 24, 1849 and drowned near Jonesboro, TN on May 22, 1876; William Thomas Smith, b. April 6, 1852 and d. May 25, 1934; John Russell Smith, b. Nov. 10, 1854; Nancy Doyle Smith, b. March 18, 1857; Andrew Lewis Smith, b. June 1, 1859; Martha Jane Smith, b. April 11, 1861; Francis Benjamin Smith, b. Aug. 4, 1867; George Gillam Smith, b. Oct. 27, 1869; Mary Susan Lavina Smith, b. Jan. 31, 1872; Elizabeth Lucanda Smith, b. Sept. 7, 1873; Charles Homer Smith, b. Sept. 30, 1886.

5. Elizabeth Cole, born July 20, 1833. Married William McGee.

6. Jane Cole, born March 27, 1835 and died July 10, 1836.

7. John Russell Cole, Jr., my gr-grandfather, was born June 11, 1837. Died May 5, 1862. Joined Ebenezer Baptist Church on Tuesday evening, Aug. 28, 1855 after stating his experience. He was unanimously elected Clerk of the church the Sat. before 3rd Sabbath in Feb. 1861. He enlisted in Civil War on Sept. 11, 1861 in Huntsville, AL. Served in Co. A, 19th Alabama Infantry. He died in the War and is buried in pasture behind a house in Marvin Chapel in Pickens County (sometimes referred to as Windle Cemetery). Married (1) Martha Jane Moris on Jan. 22, 1854 and after her death he married (2) Elizabeth Jane (Lizzie) Locke, born Feb. 16, 1841 and died March 6, 1875, the daughter of Thomas Locke and Elizabeth Noland. After John Russell Cole, Jr. died in Civil War, Lizzie remarried to Bryant Lewis but at her death, she was buried at Bunn Cemetery in Pickens Co. with her Locke and Noland family and her family had “Cole” engraved on her tombstone.

This entry made in August 1861 in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Pickens Co. AL by John R. Cole, Jr. as Church Clerk

8. Lewis T. Cole, born April 27, 1839 and died Nov. 24, 1917. Married Elvy Locke, sister of Lizzie Locke on Jan. 23, 1861.

Lewis T. Cole

They had three children:

A. John Cole who married Ida Vernon;

B. Mollie Cole who married Finnie Parker; and

C. William Harvey (Harve) Cole, who moved to Arkansas. Harve Cole was born March 26, 1866 in Pickens County, AL and died July 16, 1920. He is buried in Parks Cemetery in Parks, Arkansas. He married Emma Estel Mabry on Jan. 22, 1893 in Pickens County, AL. The family left for Arkansas from Pickens Co. AL in 1893. She went by train and was joined by her husband when Alabama crops were gathered.

Harve Cole with wife, Emma

Their children were:

(1) Lucian Grady Cole, born Aug. 14, 1896 and died Nov. 15, 1986. He married Ona Mae Hawkins; (2) Louis Harvey Cole, born Jan. 16, 1898 and died Sept. 24, 1974.He married Quilla Draper. (3) Cleburn Earlie Cole, born Dec. 17, 1900 and died June 16, 1903. (4) Tellie Estel Cole, born Oct. 9, 1902 and died Oct. 22, 1980. She married Delmar Jett, then Tom Cheeks, then Bratcher Hansard. (5) Vivian Faith Cole, born Jan. 29, 1906, married Caroll Hester Goolsby. (6) Howard Lowell Cole, born Sept. 18, 1907 and died Sept. 30, 1986 and married Lora Bell Teague. (7) Kiser Byrd Cole, born Jan. 1, 1910 and died Nov. 11, 1918. (8) Avo Milton Cole, born Jan. 27, 1915 and died June 11, 1985. He married Wilma Anthony, then Gracie Evelyn Hensley.

Louis Harvey Cole(center) with wife Quilla (right)

After the death of his first wife, Lewis T. Cole then married Willie Ann Strickland. Their children were:

A. James George Cole who married Ida Clines;

B. Joe Cole who married Martha Robertson;

C. Bennie Cole who married Emma McGee;

D. Jim Henry Cole – never married;

E. Fannie Cole who married (1) T. A. Vice and Mr. Guin;

F. Della Cole who married Hayes Clines;

G. Ella Cole who married William Foster Vice and

H. Elma Cole who married Johnny Newell.

Lewis T. Cole married for a third time after the death of his second wife to a Miss Moseley.

9. Malinda Cole, born July 17, 1841 and died Sept. 31, 1849.

10. George Cole, born Oct. 7, 1844.

11. Louiza Jane Cole, born Feb. 13, 1846. Died March 15, 1846.

12. Reubin Cole, born Sept. 28, 1847 and died Oct. 17, 1849.

13. Lucanda Cole, born Nov. 28, 1848. Died April 9, 1919. Married Isiah Draper, Sr.

14. James Cole, born Sept. 18, 1850. Moved to Texas.

15. Sarah E. (Sallie) Cole, born Dec. 10, 1852. Died Oct. 12, 1931. Married Nathaniel Meeken Winston. They lived in Benevola and have Winston descendants in that area.

Sarah E.(Sallie) Cole Winston

Sixth Generation

Child of John Russell Cole, Jr. and Martha Jane Morris is:
Thomas Cole was born ca. 1855.

Children of John Russell Cole, Jr. and Elizabeth Jane Locke are:

1. George Washington Cole, born 1859 and died Sept. 17, 1928. His mother died when he was 16 years old. After her death he lived with his uncle, Thomas Van Buren Locke, for a short while. His uncle tried to keep him at home but he ran away to Belton, TX where he became a successful businessman. He married Mary Jane Tomlinson in 1884. They had four sons.

George W. Cole and wife, Mary Jane Tomlinson Cole, with their four sons in Belton, TX

3. Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Cole, my great-grandmother, born Jan. 10, 1862 and died Aug. 23, 1914 with typhoid fever. Her physician was Dr. W. W. Duncan. She married John Anderson Craft and they lived in Benevola.

Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Cole

Children of Elizabeth Jane Locke Cole and 2nd husband John Bryant Lewis are:
Dick Lewis, lived in Starkville, MS
Ed Lewis
Ernest Lewis
Tom Lewis
Sally Lewis married a Mr. Bishop

(See Locke for more information and photos of this family.)

Seventh Generation

Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Cole was born Jan. 10, 1862 and died Aug. 23, 1914. She married John Anderson Craft, the son of John M. Craft and wife, Nancy Wren Lewis Craft. The Craft family lived in Benevola. The children of Mary Elizabeth (Mollie) Cole Craft and John Anderson Craft were:
1. Lela Jane Craft, born Nov. 6, 1879 and died Jan. 3, 1929. Married John Wesley Maughan.
2. Thomas V. Craft, born Feb. 25, 1881 and died Sept. 12, 1881. Buried at Bunn Cemetery.
3. Jessie Carl Craft, born Oct. 8, 1882 and died July 9, 1944. Married Lola Bell Maughan.
4. Alice Elva Craft, born Feb. 25, 1885 and died May 25, 1971. Married Locke Goings.
5. Nannie Elizabeth Craft, born 1886 and died 1972. Married Samuel Sanders.
6. John Dudley Craft, born May 17, 1889 and died Nov. 20, 1926. Married Cora Colson.
7. Hattie E. Craft, born and died 1965. Married Coleman Powell.
8. Carrie Mae Craft, born March 4, 1899 and died. Married William Strickland
9. Annie Maud Craft, born 1904 and died as an infant.

Eighth Generation

Jessie Carl Craft was born Oct. 8, 1882 and died July 9, 1944. Married Lola Bell Maughan. They lived in Benevola where Jessie was a farmer and ran a country store. They are buried in Bethesda Cemetery.

Their children were: (1) BRACY DAWSON (BILL) CRAFT was born February 16, 1907 in Pickens County, Alabama. He lived his entire life in Benevola where he farmed, raising cotton, corn, and cattle. He also ran a country store that was begun by his father. He married Ruby Gladys Nettles, born Nov. 25, 1907 in Wilcox County, AL near Camden. She was the daughter of Zachariah George Nettles and Ruby Sue Henderson. They met when Gladys came to teach school in Benevola. Gladys Craft died July 4, 1985 and four months later on Nov. 6, 1985, Bill Craft died. They are buried at Bethesda Cemetery in Benevola. Bracy Dawson (Bill) Craft Gladys Nettles Craft There were three children: Betty Jean Craft Banks, born Sept. 14, 1933. She married Judge Ralph Roundtree Banks, Jr. Betty lives in Eutaw, AL and is a retired nurse anesthetist. She now runs The Independent, a weekly Greene Co., AL newspaper. Bobbye Gayle Craft Winston, born March 17, 1941. She married Tommy Wilson Winston, born Dec. 3, 1938, son of Thomas and Effie Mae Wilson Winston of Benevola. Bobbye is a retired State of Alabama employee and lives in the Benevola Community of Pickens Co. C. Carl Cole Craft, b. Sept. 21, 1950.Carl is a victim of Downs Syndrome and lives in a group home in Aliceville, AL. Bill and Gladys had one granddaughter: ;Kimberly Faith Winston, born May 19, 1962, and married Andrew Dewey Criswell, born May 16, 1959. Andy is a Civil Engineer in Columbus MS and Kim is Director of Social Services at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus. Andy and Kim have two daughters, Haley Michelle Criswell born April 17, 1989 and a student at the University of Alabama and Robin Leigh Criswell born May 8, 1991 and a senior at New Hope High School with plans of attending the University of AL next year. Andy and Kim live on the river in Pickensville, AL. (2) Eula Bell Craft was born May 19, 1914 and died February 27, 1993. She married Burton Lofton Lancaster, born Aug. 21, 1898 and died April 30, 1961. They are both buried at Bethesda Presbyterian Cemetery in Benevola. They made their home in Carrollton, AL. Eula Bell retired from Bosch Manufacturing Co. in Columbus, MS. Eula Bell and Burton had one daughter, Joanne that married John Kirk Pate. Joanne has two children: Lynette Pate Franks and John Pate.   Dear Bobbye,    I have come back to your site because I am just sure we are of the same Cole line from years ago.  I too am from the South and my roots are in MS.  Jesse Cole was one of the sons of John L. Cole from NC=--there were two John Coles at about the same time so I specify my line has Jane Bounds in it.  I still don't know that much about all of them but Jesse Cole's daughter, Nanny Cole, married William Jackson Austin and they lived in Hinds Co., MS after that part of MS opened up Indian Territory.  Jesse Cole and W. J. Austin were on the Wayne Co., MS Census until then.  I believe Reubin Cole of Harrison Co., TX 1860 Census was a son of my Jesse Cole.  I do NOT think this Cole family is the same as the Jesse James bunch which some have claimed.  My Jesse Cole died in either Hinds or Yazoo Co., MS in abt. 1834-35.  William Jackson Austin died in Hinds Co., MS in 1863 during the War.  Some of these Coles and Austins married Scotts down in LA on the way to TX, I believe.       My paternal grandmother was a LACEY and some of them lived in Pickens Co., AL and my gr. grandfather was b. Jefferson Co., AL 1849 and died in Union Co., MS.  This Lacey line descends from Col. Edward Lacey of Revolutionary fame--see Heroes of Kings Mountain.  Edward Lacey lived in Chester Co., SC during the American Revolution and then moved to Montgomery Co., TN for a few years and on up into Livingston Co., KY where he died in 1813...his wife died soon thereafter.  In 1816 the Lacey/Sandefur families moved to Jefferson Co., AL and some moved on over there into western AL.  You had an old picture of a lady with the Lacy name and I wondered if she connected to my Lacey line in some way, for that area of where you live was certainly the area where my Grandmother's people once lived--Aliceville?    But back to the Cole/Scott/Austin lines.  These are the TX lines and remember I am of the MS line but I believe these families in Harrison Co., TX are from my Jesse Cole family.  I am still learning about them.  Scottsville Cemetery is just full of them!  I have two links for you to see, for I think you will find it fascinating.  There is an Index of the cemetery burials and you will find W. C. Austin who was married to Erie Scott---I am almost sure that W. C. Austin is Willliam Cole Austin and a son of my W. J. Austin and Nannie Cole Austin of Hinds Co., MS.  We believe Darling P. Austin and Richard Henry Austin are brothers of W. J. Austin.  You will also find many Coles buried there.  I think Samuel, Reubin, and Daniel are for sure sons of Jesse Cole of Hinds Co., MS.  There is also a connection to the Spell name but I am not sure about it.  I just thought you'd find all this very interesting and you might add some more light to all this information.  Harrison Co., TX is up in the northeast part of TX.   These are such delightful sites to view.  Anne Ponder in GA       Scottsville Cemetery   William Thomas Scott, Scottsville Cemetery, Scottsville, Texas.