Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Dear Tom,

aunt minerva collection...typed as written....all typos are of course mine...
blue folder

November 23 1991
typewritten letter
Dear Tom,
Gosh, I can say, "Hi, Cousin!" I'm delighted to find you. I visited with two other cousins, Karen WArd in Tacoma, WA, and Vergil VanDyke in Grand Junction, CO. Vergil is 86 years old. Now, you are Eva are added to the list! I was sorry to hear about Emma. I could tell by her letter to Karen Ward that she was one terrific person.
You lamented your lack of knowledge in genealogy, but that is not important. You can start out at almost any point. I knew very little alos, but went to the Las Vega Family History Center which is a part of the Mormon, LDS Church. They have these centers in almost every city in the US and parts of Europe. Any person can use the center whether they LDS or not. The folks who maintain the centers are Mormon church members who do missions for the church. They are very helpful and really go out of their way to help you find what or who you are looking for.
I feel that I "know" these family members that I have been researching. My dad, Guy Cole, son of Thomas Webster Cole, and Nancy Long Cole, was a sort of family historian, but he didn't write anything. He simply told me the family stories over and over. I worked with him a lot and helped feed the animals. We farmed and ranched. When I found that William Cole and his brother Melzar, had married sisters, the Kellams, Mary Ann and Elizabeth respectively, I just about jumped for joy. I knew that Melzar had to be a brother and I remember Dad telling about his dad's double cousins. That's what makes genealogy so fascinating. You "prove" some of your deductions. However, it is lon and tedious. I have gone through tapes galore---microreaders---just to find one tiny bit of info.
In OCtober I went to Salt Lake City to read many books that I can't get here. The Family History Center will copy the tapes and send them to branch centers, but the books are not to be checked out of SLC Center. Usually, or many times, there is only one copy.
I read many books and also tapes about the Coles. The name has many spellings. As you know, our ancestors could seldom spell well and had to rely on agents in various ports/places to write down their names. Unfortunately, many of the agent's couldn't spell either. So the name got perverted. There are Cole, Coles, Coale, Cowle, Kohl, Kool, Kowle, etc.
...sounds like an educator, doesn't it? We have a family full of them.
I did find a Coat of Arms in two different places. It was described in detail by both writers, thus I'm pretty sure it's authentic. Then when I was at the Excaliber Hotel in Las Vegas, I found a tile with the same Coat of Arms on it, although not as elaborate. I have enclosed a copy for you to share with Eva. As I stated, my sister's name is also Eva, but we call her Eve.
Back to the Coat of Arms: The background of the bull, called the argent, is silver color. The bull is red. The rondeles in the black border of the shield are gold color. That signifies that the bearer of the coat of arms fought against the Turks, thus showing that he was a crusader. The dragon on top is green and denotes bravery. A coat of arms does not indicate aristocracy. It shows that an ancestor did a favor for the king and was knighted. Knighthood was not inherited because it had to be earned altho the descendants were allowed to use the coat of arms. The English were particularly snobbish about their lineage and "upper classes". They still are.
The motto "Duem-Cole--SErva Regum", means "Honor God--Serve the King". I believe the Cole family always has because of the following quote,"Coles have proved themselves sturdy, courageous,self-reliant and independent. Theirs seems to have been the story of fair intelligence, solid respectability, innate piety, and consistent mediocrity."
"...good soldiers, prominent lawyers, fairly eminent divines, and accomplished physicians, but the "even" tenor of their way seems to have been mostly in the field of pioneer agriculture. Nevertheless, they have had no criminals and very few drunkards." from The Descendants of Elisha Cole by Joseph O. Curtis, N& 1909
There were three sets of Coles from England--one was from Holland and I ruled him out leaving James Cole of Sandwich to Boston in 1634 and three brothers, Job, John, and Daniel who appear in the annals of Plymouth Colony. I highly suspect James of being 'the master sire' but I can't tie him to our line of Coles. I have enclosed the material I have find of lineage so far.

Sincerely, Betty

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