Edward Cole
Retyped from Beers' "History of Greene County", by Sylvia Hasenkopf
Edward M. Cole, son of Ahaz and Caroline M. Cole was born October 26th 1844, in the town of Conesville, Schoharie County, NY, where he resided for ten years. In 1854 his parents moved to Johnson Hollow, in the town of Roxbury, Delaware County, and in 1857 moved to Windham.
The only school Mr. Cole attended was a
district school, where he
gained a common school education. In 1862 he entered
the office of the Bloomville Mirror, Bloomville, NY, where he learned the
"art preservative" under the guidance of S.B. Champion, proprietor of
the Mirror. He was a member of the Mirror staff for upward of
seven years. In 1861 Mr. Cole bought one-half interest in the Windham Journal,
since when, with the exception of nine months, he has edited and published the
paper.
He has been nominated for several offices in the county, but because of his desire to do justice to the public was defeated by small majorities. In his profession he has become eminent throughout the county, having engaged with great zeal in the controversy concerning the wrongs being done in this county, and for this was recognized as an able leader of public opinion.
Mr. Cole has been and is still ready to strike at the wrongs heaped upon the taxpayers by certain politicians, and they in return have fought hard against him. He is a stirring man and has accomplished a vast amount of good for the county by his determination to expose the manifold wrongs done the inhabitants of Greene. For this he has gained a host of friends as well as a few enemies.
Mr. Cole was instrumental in connecting Windham with the outside world by telegraphy, in building up a first class local paper, and in many other enterprises worthy of note.
The Windham Journal, of which he is editor and publisher, has a circulation of over 1,200 and its subscription list is daily increasing. It is ably edited and visits every State in the Union.
Mr. Cole’s grandparents were among the early settlers of Schoharie County, from Massachusetts, and were well known.
In the autumn of 1874, Mr. Cole married Josephine M., daughter of Hon. Stephen H. Keeler, of Bloomville, NY, and by this union has two children, Keeler M and Bessie Louise.