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Research in Other Countries => United States of America => Topic started by: hawk64 on Sunday 01 November 15 12:17 GMT (UK)
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Hello,
I am trying to find out what happened to John Silas Cole and his wife Mary.
According to the 1900 Census, they were living in Eureka Township, Humboldt County, California.
John was around 70 years old, his wife Mary around 63.
John was born in Middlesex, England - Mary apparently born in Ireland.
They had been living in California since the early 1860s, regularly appearing in the California Great Registers - living in Arcata, Ryans Slough and Eureka Nob. (Apologies for any incorrect spelling).
The trail goes cold after 1900 and if anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.
Regards, Michael, Australia
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Looking at the California voter registers, I see that Mr. Cole's year of birth fluctuates between 1826 and 1830. Could this possibly be him?
California Death Index
J S Cole, born c1827
Death: 25 September 1907, Humboldt
Would you know Mary's maiden name, please?
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Could this be your John?
1907 Eureka Directory
John S. Cole, McFarlan avenue, No. 1433
(In 1900, he was living on Harrison Street)
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During the early 1900s, I don't see another John S. Cole in the Eureka Directories (nor a Mary Cole).
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Hi Lisa,
Yes, on all records I have seen, John's age and DOB fluctuated so that death could very well be him.
As far as Mary is concerned, there's a little mystery there. He married in England in 1862 but her name was Harriet Hartshorne. I haven't found much on her but I did notice that her mother's name (if I have the correct family) was Mary. Maybe she dropped the name Harriet. However, the 1900 census seemed to indicate that Mary Cole had been in the USA slightly longer than John. Having said that, John was a mariner so he could have been at sea.
Thanks for your help so far.
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Is there any chance that John married Harriet and she either died soon after the marriage, or he left England for the states (intending to have her join him) and Mary is not the same person as Harriet? Have you found Harriet in England prior to her marriage? If so, does her birth place and year match up with Mary's?
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It's actually my belief that Harriet and Mary are not the same person. I cannot find any birth for Harriet or any other records apart from that marriage. Her father was English. In the 1900 census, Mary is down as Irish and so are her parents.
So the possibilities are that Harriet died early and John went off to America where he met Mary, who seems to have been there before him. Or John abandoned Harriet and ran off with Mary - this is something his father did with his mother. Long story, that one.
I might have to try and access that death record in 1907 somehow.
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Thank you for the explanation. I will have a look around again a little later tonight.
PS I believe on one of the census returns (1880?), Mary's middle initial is B, in case you haven't seen it. Not much help, but it's something to keep in mind.
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I've not read the voter registrations. Are you sure the John Silas Cole in Humboldt was "your" John?
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I am fairly sure it's him. There is a letter from the 1860s in the Sydney City Archives that he wrote regarding his father's will. He stated that any correspondence could be forwarded to him in San Francisco.
Also I think I have just found Harriet's birth (surname was spelled incorrectly). She was born in London in 1830. So she isn't Irish and nor were the parents. Harriet's mother's name was Mary Ann.
Very interesting. Talk to you soon and once again, many thanks
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You're welcome; I wish I could have been of more help, though.
I am not very familiar with Northern California records. Should you need any help with John's time in San Francisco during the 1860s, please do ask. I am much more familiar with documents from that area. ;)
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I thought I would type some of what I have noticed, to see if it makes sense or provides any clues
California Death Index
J S Cole, born c1827 - your John?
Death: 25 September 1907, Humboldt
1907 Eureka Directory
John S. Cole, McFarlan avenue, No. 1433 - your John?
1900 Eureka Census
John S Cole, born April 1829, married 40 years, born England as were parents, immigrated 1862, naturalized
Mary Cole, wife, born November 1837, married 40 years, no children, born Ireland as were parents
Harrison Street address
Harrison Avenue is two blocks away from McFarlan Avenue - they run the same direction.
1896 Humboldt Voter Registration
John Silas Cole, Farmer, age 70, 5'8", dark complexion, hazel eyes, white hair, born England, naturalized April 7, 1873, Humboldt Co.
1888 Humboldt Voter Registration
John Silas Cole, Farmer, age 60, born England, naturalized (same info as above). Local residence: Bay
1880 Arcata, Humboldt Co Census
John S. Cole, age 50 (born c1830) England as were parents, Farmer
Mary B. Cole, age 45 (born c1835) Ireland as were parents
1873 Voter Register
John Silas Cole, age 43, born England, Farmer, Arcata, same naturalization info as above, plus 8th Jud Dist
1870 Eureka Census
John Cole, age 39, ? Labourer, born England
Mary Cole, age 37, H.K.?, born Ireland
According to the voter registers in San Francisco, your John was not (different naturalization date and place than your John):
John Cole, age 36, Harnessmaker, 632 Second (1866 record)
:-\ Not much help. The only thing that I see is that he liked to use his middle name or initial.
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Hi Lisa
You have been more than just help - you've been terrific! That last message organises the information really well.
For starters, I have never had a description of him before. Funnily enough though, I have his handwriting when he wrote the letter back in the 1860s.
You make an interesting comment about him always using John Silas or John S. His brother did the same thing - he was Charles Colet Cole or Charles C. Cole on everything.
I think I am fairly convinced that Harriet and Mary are two different people. What happened to Harriet - well, I don't know. John's father had a wife in England and one in Australia so maybe that ran in the family, too.
We will probably never know who Mary was. The 1900 census says they were married for forty years, which would be 1860. He married Harriet in 1862 in England. Was he actually married to Mary? Did he marry her before Harriet? In those days, he was a mariner so he could have been anywhere. I know he sailed to Australia in the 1850s to find his father.
It's an interesting story and becomes more interesting with his father's activities.
Is there any point accessing the death record and if so, how do I go about it?
Once again Lisa, thanks for everything.
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Looking at the printed version of the death index here - https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-81SK-DGM - there is a column that refers to the first initial of the spouse, and the entry for J.S. Cole has nothing there. Perhaps that means that Mary predeceased him. I didn't see any entries for Mary/Harriet/Mrs. J. Cole on the death index that seemed to fit.
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Thanks for that. Unfortunately I seem to have a lot of trouble with viewing documents at FamilySearch and this one is no exception. I can't view the original but thanks for your input.
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You are very lucky to have a sample of his handwriting! To me, that's what makes genealogy so fun - it's wonderful (and necessary) to have certificates, but to actually have something personal from the individual is amazing.
Keeping in mind it appears that the brothers used their middle names and that John was a mariner, could this be John in 1867?
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01gev/
1867 SF Directory
John S Cole, ship rigger, dwelling E s Beale nr Howard
This man appears to only be in the 1867 and 1868 directories.
John Cole, rigger, dwl 327 Beale - 1868 directory (according to today's maps, this address is down the road from Howard)
If you are interested in history, information can be found online regarding this part of San Francisco. One good article is "Buried Ships"
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/history/hgshp1.htm
When I worked in San Francisco, I didn't realize the full history of the area. Under at least one of the buildings where I worked, pieces of ships were uncovered prior to the start of the building's construction.
While census returns are very helpful, I don't pay too much attention to what is stated. My Canadian ancestor was recorded as having arrived (in Canada) in 1867, when in fact I know that he and his wife sailed c1857. It was clearly a "6" on the image, not a 5. Don't give up hope on finding our more about the Cole's; records seem to be added all the time on the internet.
Perhaps if we have another look, we may find more for the Cole's in the early 1900s. I'll be back in a bit.
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I was hoping that the library in Eureka might have an "Ask A Librarian" feature; it seems that they do not. It would be a slow process, but you could try writing to the library, to their reference desk, to see if they have newspapers from around September 26-27, 1907, mentioning the passing of J.S. Cole. I might suggest asking first if there would be a fee for performing the search. Most libraries will do a search or two without a fee, but I ran across one that did the search, then asked for payment. [You might mention that you don't live in the states - perhaps they might be more willing to help.] ;) Note: Having just said that, I've always found library staff to be very helpful and appear to enjoy their jobs very much.
I'm not too sure how many (accurate) details would be included in the death certificate for J.S. Cole. If his wife passed away prior to his death, it seems that there wouldn't be any family members around to give too many details in which you would be interested. Of course, you might be able to find out for certain if it was John S. and possibly where he was buried.
One address for the library:
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01gew/
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Hmm. :-\
1861 SF Directory
John Cole, mariner, dwl 668 Howard
1862 SF Directory
John H Cole at the same address, boiler maker
Maybe this was the same man (since your John shouldn't have been in San Francisco at the time)
Link to San Francisco Directories, if you need them for future reference:
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/sfdatadir.htm
Click on "IA" to view the actual pages, please
San Francisco databases
http://www.sfgenealogy.com/sf/sfdata.htm
The newspapers can be helpful, but I didn't see anything for the Cole's c1900s.
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I don't know if this list is current, but there is a volunteer who does look-ups in Humboldt County listed here: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~obitl/volca.html
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Good find, Shelly! :)
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Excellent work from you both and I will explore those avenues.
John's letter to the Sydney City Corporation is dated Oct 9 1867 and asks for all correspondence to be forwarded to the Wells Fargo office in San Francisco. The letter date ties up with the directory reference of 1867 and 1868.
As for the earlier dates, they are also very possible. Even though he married in England in 1862, he could have been in the US in 1861. As he followed in his father's footsteps as a mariner, let me briefly tell you what I have discovered about the father. He married in England in 1819, fathered six children, sailed to Australia, married a convict widow in 1834, disappeared from Australia for a year (as he was back in England fathering another son with his English wife) then reappeared back in Australia where he remained. So as to what John got up to, I am not surprised of anything.
Having a copy of John's letter is wonderful. I only discovered it by accident when I was researching his father (who is connected to my family). John's letter brought up some anomalies which has led on this investigation. It's all very fascinating as John's father died a millionaire (in our money) and several of his houses still stand today in Sydney. They have a slight harbour view so they have million dollar price tags.
Now on to something exciting - I think I have found Harriet. There is a Harriet Cole appearing in the 1871 UK census. She is a lodger with some other people. The age recorded is close, the area she is living in is close to where the families were - and the place of birth is exactly correct (and it's not Ireland). If this is her, and I think it is, John has done a runner (as we say here). He may have already met Mary in his travels and may have already married her in the USA. Like father, like son.
All very interesting and once again thanks for the help
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Hi Michael:
Thank you for sharing your story. We get to know a little bit about the lives of our ancestors/ancestors' spouses when we find out day-to-day events. We also find out that our own ancestors and their siblings weren't the only ones to have double lives (I also have a relative in my tree who had a family in Canada and another one in the UK).
I wonder if there might be another possibility for John's and Harriet's split? I have an ancestor who got married in March 1857 (the same ancestor as mentioned above) and sailed to North America in April (I believe it was April). Did he propose to the girl, telling her he was headed to Canada and they rushed the wedding before his sailing? Did they marry and then decide to leave for Canada? I'll probably never know why they left England.
Could your John S. have married Harriet and then decided to live elsewhere? Perhaps Harriet didn't want to leave her family and chose to leave him instead, to remain in England?
If we can find documents (such as obituaries) about them after 1900, they might give more information about the Cole's earlier lives. There is a slight chance that it might mention how long they were married or where they were married. I'll have a look outside of California for their marriage.
PS It's great that you may have found Harriet!
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If the Coles were still living in San Francisco in 1868, and relocated soon after that, I think I may have found a good reason for them to have left the San Francisco Bay Area.
I don't like to recommend sites that I don't know are safe (so I won't) ;) but, if you do an internet search for the 1868 San Francisco earthquake (the epicentre was in Hayward, California), you can see images of the San Francisco buildings and read a bit about the quake.
If the Coles did live near Howard or Beale, I would imagine they would have felt pretty strong shaking. :-\
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Hi Lisa
Yes, it seems he and Mary headed north when the earthquake struck. I wonder if he ever got a reply to his letter of 1867. He was searching for a copy of his father's will - when he visited him in Australia during the 1850s, he would probably have realised that Dad was doing well financially but maybe not health-wise. His letter indicates that Dad said he would tend to his affairs - well, he did, but the members of his English family didn't receive a cracker. In fact, his English wife ended up dying in a poorhouse.
I'm also tracing the recipients of the father's will. He gave some real estate to a couple in Sydney and I can't find anything on them. It's just another twist in the mystery. Don't me get started on the convict wife's Australian husband who was allegedly murdered.
I have found John's (and his brother's) merchant navy registration. Believe it or not, he was even John Silas on that form. Anyway, he first went to sea at the age of 14 and served as a cuddy (which is a waiter/kitchen-hand). He was in Calcutta in 1846 and in Australia in the 1850s. He got around.
I might write a book on this.
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Sounds like a good plot for a movie!
You are really lucky to know as much as you do about this family. Many people search for years and never find what they are looking for.
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Hi,
Hoping you can help me with a brick wall I have please. I’ve come across your post to the Rootschat site dated back in 2015.
An ancestor of mine was Henry Thomas COLE who married Elizabeth Macdonald 1819 London.
The had 7 children, I descend from the last one, Elizabeth Jane who ended up in Australia, marrying Tom Tratt.
One of their children, Aline, married Joseph Perrin and one of their children Ada, was my dad’s mum.
She has notes that her grandmother (Elizabeth Jane) told her how she recalled coming out to Oz with her mum and maybe a brother (maybe Silas?) and waiting at the dock for their father’s ship to arrive. Apparently he walked right past them and went off with his Melbourne wife. In my Nana’s notes, his name was now George Ward Cole.
George Ward Cole ended up a very wealthy man, he became a ship’s captain, he was then an MP in Melbourne (Cole’s Wharf was named after him), he founded the Victorian seaside town of St Leonards, it was a ‘company’ town. He and his Melbourne wife, Thomas Ann McCrae, lived in a house on the cliff tops of Brighton and had 6 children, most dying young and seemingly all childless.
I have been trying to confirm he was actually Henry Thomas but to no avail. I found his IGI birth registration was submitted by an uncle, Thomas James (on George’s mother’s side) but Thomas Ann McCrae’s birth registration was also submitted by Thomas James! Makes me think they were both done when they were adults, perhaps prior to marrying and needing birth certificates?
George also married in 1824 to an English woman in India and they had a son, Luke Ward Cole who came out to Oz when he was 21 but one New Year’s Day was out in a boat with George and others, and Luke drowned.
I know Henry Thomas was a mariner. I can’t help but wonder if he was born Henry Thomas and became George Ward or born George and became Henry while he was married to Elizabeth!
But then I see in your Rootsweb post, how Henry Thomas lived in Sydney and was married to a convict’s wife and was a millionaire. I’m wondering what name he went by and if it was George Ward/Henry Thomas masquerading as someone else, or if George Ward has nothing to do with us after all. Although my Nana couldn’t have plucked his name from nowhere and the Ward was carried on as a middle name further along the line. She also had some news clippings re George.
I would love to hear of your connection and just who the Sydney man was and where it all fits in please!
Talk about having a wife in every port!!
I also note you had Henry’s London wife Elizabeth dying in a poorhouse – was that in Oz or did she return to England? The only possible death reg. I could find (way back when I first started this) was a death of an Eliza Cole in Sydney in 1869 aged 79.
Really hoping we can connect and maybe my brick wall might fall down!
Cheers Debbie
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I am trying to find out what happened to John Silas Cole and his wife Mary.
According to the 1900 Census, they were living in Eureka Township, Humboldt County, California.
John was around 70 years old, his wife Mary around 63.
The trail goes cold after 1900 and if anyone can help, it would be much appreciated.
California Death Index
J S Cole, born c1827
Death: 25 September 1907, Humboldt
Ferndale Enterprise
Ferndale, California
Friday, September 27, 1907
Page: 4
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John's wife Mary died 7 March 1906.
Humboldt Times
8 March 1906
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Humboldt Times
9 March 1906
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According to the inquest findings into his death, John was buried at Ocean View Cemetery.
Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/214199463/john-cole