This is the first post in a series of more than 40 Surname Saturday posts, each one featuring a different surname in my genealogical and family history research.

This week we take a look at the lineage of the Cole surname as it pertains to my family’s history.

Earliest Known Ancestor

In Memory of James Cole

James Cole is my 10th great grandfather.  He was born 25 Jul 1600 in Highgate, London, England.  He arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1633 with his wife Mary Tibbes, sons Hugh, John and James, and his daughter Mary.  James and his sons Hugh and James were innkeepers on Cole’s Hill in Plymouth, Massachusetts.  As entreprenuers, the Cole men understood the concept of supply and demand very well.  We believe James died around 1688 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The plaque at the top of Cole’s Hill in Plymouth reads:

IN MEMORY OF
JAMES COLE
BORN LONDON ENGLAND 1600
DIED PLYMOUTH MASS 1692
FIRST SETTLER OF COLE’S HILL 1633
A SOLDIER IN THE PEQUOT INDIAN
WAR 1637
THIS TABLET ERECTED BY HIS DESCENDANTS
1917

My Cole Lineage

Lineage

Jessica Marie Cole > Douglass Lyal Cole > Duane Lyal Cole > Lyal Newton Cole > Newton Leroy Cole > Christopher Columbus Cole > Edward Payne Cole > David Cole > Bethuel Cole >  Israel Cole > Benjamin Cole > Hugh Cole > James Cole

Standing atop Cole's Hill (2000)

Items of Interest

• Plymouth Rock used to sit on top of Cole’s Hill but it was moved by the town and relocated down by the shore.
• Cole’s Hill is home to the burial site of the remains of the Pilgrims who came to America in 1620.
• Bethuel Cole, my 6th great grandfather, was born 22 May 1750 in Rehoboth, Bristol, Massachusetts.  He fought in the Revolutionary War in Shaftsbury, Vermont.  Bethuel died 10 May 1792 in New York.
• Edward Payne Cole, my 4th great grandfather, was born 22 Apr 1807 in Cayuga, Cayuga County, New York.  He committed suicide on 09 Jun 1877 in Woodville, Porter County, Indiana.  The family has a copy of his suicide note.

Family Notes

Cole is my maiden name and it has always been near and dear to my heart.  My father Douglass has been researching the Cole line since 1981.  We have worked in conjunction with J. Timothy Cole of Chesterton, Indiana for many years.  The Cole family has been very heavily documented over the years.

Additional Information

• Check out my Ancestry Family Tree for James Cole.
• See the graves of several Cole family members by looking through my Cole Virtual Cemetery on Find A Grave.
• Read more about the Cole family in a book called Descendants of James Cole of Plymouth 1633 by Ernest Byron Cole published in 1907.
• Gain insight by checking out the research of J. Timothy Cole at ColesCorner.com.