Hugh COLE

                   Sources:Cole Gen. by Ernest B. Cole, Washington DC A5C11 p59;
R.I. Biog & Gen. V3 p 1773 and 2263
Cole Genealogies by Frank T. Cole
Savage Gen. Dic. p 426-7; Gen. Notes of Barn. Families p 367.
SLParents- 08 Jun 1948 ARIZO also


Descendants of James Cole of Plymouth, 1633

by E.B. Cole, Swansea, Mass. page 11

       In the  spring of 1667 Hugh Cole, Constant Southworth, Josias Winslow, Capt. James Cudworth and seventeen others, all of Plymouth, Mass., purchased of Phillip, the Indian Chief (son of Massasoit) all the marsh and meadow land of Mettapoisett.
       Phillip conveyed to  Hugh Cole, Constant Southworth, Josias Winslow, Capt. James Cudworth and John Coggshell five hundred acres of land.
       Elder John Myles of Swansea, Wales, rector of the Baptist Church at that place, came to American with a number of followers.  They settled in Rehoboth.  A prosecution was brought against Mr. Myles and his followers, and the court fined each of them five pounds, and the court further found "the continuance of their meetings was prejudicial to the peace of the church and that town, and that they be not allowed, and all persons concerned therein were ordered to wholly desist from said meeting in that place or township.  Yet in case they shall remove their meeting to some other place where they shall not prejudice any other church, and shall give any reasonable satisfaction respecting their teaching, we know not but what they may be granted by this court liberty to do so."  (Plymouth Colony Records, Vol. 4, p. 163)
       In accordance with this plain intimation that there would be no objection to the organization of a Baptist Church, outside the jurisdiction of any other church, the town of Swansea was organized.
       From the organization of the town until the commencement of the Indian War in 1675, the selectmen of the town were James Brown, Nicholas Tanner, John Allen, Hugh Cole, Samuel Luther, Thomas Lewis, Benjamin Alby and John Butterworth.
       James Brown who was an assistant of the court of Plymouth and a man of considerable learning, Hugh Cole and others, with those before mentioned, contributed to form a group of remarkable men, whose influence was to extend over many generations and to have an effect upon the destinies of the nation almost as marked as the character of the men themselves.  (A.H. Mason, Sampson Mason Genealogy)
       Eight years after the organization of Swansea the war with King Phillip, the Indian Chief began, and Swansea was almost depopulated.  Most of the homes were burned and scores of its inhabitants slain, and all the others forced to find other place of refuge.
       The region constituting the town of Bristol, Warren and Barrington (originally a part of Swansea) and Sekonk in Massachusetts was called by the Indians Pokonoket, and was occupied by the tribe of Indians known as the Wampaniags, under the immediate government of Massasoit.


Newspaper clipping about Descendants of Hugh Cole
       by Hendry C. White

       As a girl my wife, the former Marjorie Hoar, was enthralled by the tales of Cole's Hotel which was founded by her great-great-great grandfather, Ebenezer Cole,  In addition, there were stories about the founding Warren by Hugh Cole and a group of friends in 1677.
       Hugh Cole is better known by Warren residents because the Warren High School was built on a plot of land which was held intact by the family for seven generations.  However, she is continually reminded of the family connection with the hotel by furniture, accessories and heavy crockery dishes which were used there.  Now they are used for family clambakes.
       Ebenezer was born in 1715.  He established the hotel in 1762 and ran it for 36 years.  He was one of the active members of the Baptist Church when it was organized in 1764.  He served as a Deacon in the church for many years.
       One of his duties was to supply a large table whenever there was to be a communion service.  Fortunately, the table was not in the church when the British burned the Baptist Church.  The antique communion table was later presented to the Baptist Church by the family.
       During the Revolutionary War, when General Lafayette was encamped in Warren, he was a frequent guest at the hotel.
       When Ebenezer died in 1798 the hotel passed on to his eleventh child, Benjamin, under the provision to take adequate care of his mother.  Under Benjamin, or Colonel Cole as he was commonly referred to, the hotel was enlarged and became one of the famous hotels in southern New England.
       It should be pointed out that extremely large groups, for that time, could be handled in the great hall of the hotel.  During one banquet in the Harrison presidential campaign the huge ovens were capable of handling 20 whole pigs.
       Because if its central location on the corner of Joyce and Main Streets, the great hall was used for town meetings and dancing classes.  Other civic events were held in smaller halls.  Important among these were the meetings at which St. Mark's Episcopal Church was established.
       Until the late 1800's Brown University students returned to the hotel for parties which evoked considerable excitement in the town.  It is not known whether they returned to Brown's original home-Warren-out of sentiment or whether they just came for food and fun.
       Not all of the customers paid their bills, and one of the family heirlooms is a man's ring which was left as a guarantee by a cashless customer.  It is now the property of Mrs. White's daughter Jeanie in Houston, Texas.
       Benjamin, who had 12 children, died in 1836.  His son, George Cole, took over the business and ran it until 1893.  George's brother William did not stay in the family business but became a carpenter.
       One of his best known buildings, still extant, is the Warren Methodist Church.  Another is the family homestead at 97 child Street where many of the wooden tools used in the construction of the church are still preserved by his great grand-daughter, along with one of his huge tool chests.
(Note: the hotel was destroyed by fire before the turn of the century.)


Letter to the descendants of Hugh Cole, written by Ernest B. Cole, Indianapolis, Indiana, February 1916:

       In the year 1664, Hugh Cole, son of James Cole of Plymouth, purchased of the famous Indian Sachem, King Phillip, a tract comprising 500 acres of land, situated in what was then Swansea, Mass., but now a part of Warren, R. I.
       In 1677 he dug a well upon a section of this land bordering the Kickemuit River, walling it with boulders.  This well is still in perfect condition.  Its water rises and falls with the tides of the nearby stream.
       A portion of the Hugh Cole farm has remained in the Cole family for seven generations.  The last of the name to inherit this land were Misses Asenath and Abby Cole.  Miss Asenath died May 30, 1903.  Her sister, Miss abby died December 5, 1913.  In her will she gave to the town of Warren, R.I. one acre of land upon which the well was located, and the sum of $500 for the purpose of erecting a suitably inscribed boulder to the memory of Hugh Cole, and for the perpetual care of the well and surrounding land.  Unfortunately the condition of Miss cole's estate is such that only a small portion of the $500 can be turned over to the town of Warren.  It is therefore proposed that the descendants of Hugh Cole be asked to contribute a sufficient sum to carry out the intention of Miss Cole.
       The cost of a boulder and bronze tablet, with the incidental expense, will be probably $200.  The town council of Warren has accepted the gift of the land and laid out a highway to the well.
       The object of this circular is to ask YOU as a descendant of Hugh Cole, to aid in the erecting of this memorial to our common ancestor.  Any sum from 25 cents up will be gratefully accepted.  From the children of Cole lineage we solicit sums of 5 cents and upward.
       We feel certain that the little ones will be glad to contribute their mite toward perpetuating the memory of one whom we are all proud to claim as out forefather.
       Money can be sent to Ernest B. Cole, 1936 Broadway, the author of The Descendants of James Cole, of Plymouth, 1633, or to Miss Virginia Baker, P.O. Box 44, Warren, R.I.
       References: Charles W. Greene, Town Treasurer, Warren, R.I. and administrator of the estate of Miss Abby Cole.
       Believing that every living descendant of Hugh Cole would like to contribute toward the erection of this memoria and as the address of a large number of his descendants are unknown, it is hoped that each one will take a personal interest in circulating this notice.
       In making this appeal I want personally to urge upon each one who receives this circular, PROMPTNESS, and to assure you that a proper use of the money will be made and a record kept of the name of each subscriber.
                                                      Very truly yours,
                                                              ERNEST B. COLE