Cole FANs: Joshua Levi Cole

Introducing my Cole FAN club.

In an earlier post, Cole: An Irish Palatine Family's Timeline, I talked about some challenges I encountered in researching my Irish Palatine ancestors, and specifically Canadian family founder Henry "Harry" Cole and his English-Irish spouse Elizabeth Churchill.

After beating my head against this substantial brick wall for years, I was given some wise advice: research around the brick wall. By broadening my search, instead of pursuing Henry and Elizabeth with such a laser focus, it is possible to find out facts and information about them in this more indirect manner. This approach to researching is known as using the "FAN club."

Such was my strategy for researching the friends, associates and neighbours (F-A-Ns) -- and in this case other family members such as children -- of this founding couple. My hope was that in researching associated individuals or locations where records were more plentiful, it would lead to previously undiscovered facts, or lend insight into the individuals who are my main research focus: Henry and Elizabeth. 

Also, researching FANs and writing summaries or profiles about their associates / neighbours and other related individuals, and establishing known locations, will help in my longer-term goal of writing a Cole family history. So, in this spirit, I introduce a member of Henry and Elizabeth's FAN club: their youngest child, Joshua Levi Cole.

Meet Cole FAN club member Joshua Levi Cole (1835-1921).

Figure 1: Joshua Levi Cole

Joshua Levi Cole (see Figure 1 at left) was the youngest of nine known children born to my family's Canadian Cole founders, parents Henry Cole and Elizabeth Churchill. A descendant of Irish Palatine and English-Irish settlers, Joshua was born in 1835 (alternate birth years are 1833 and 1834) near Streetsville, in what is now the Municipality of Mississauga, Peel County, Ontario during a time of cultural and political turbulence preceding the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions of 1837-1838. (See Note 1 below.)

After the death of his father Henry in 1849, teenage Joshua and his mother Elizabeth resided with his brother William and sister-in-law Elizabeth Simpson Cole (my direct ancestors), possibly at the original Cole homestead (located at Lot 8, Concession 6) near Streetsville. At that time in 1851, nearby neighbours of the Coles were the Sparling family and the Orr family.

Some time after 1851, probably about 1856, Joshua moved northeast to Medonte Township in Simcoe County, Ontario. He arrived with his older sister Mary Jane Cole and her spouse Guy Hamilton Orr. It was there that, in 1858, Joshua married Caroline Mary Walker, daughter of Medonte Township pioneer George Walker. 

The couple initially resided at Hobart and Fesserton, then settled down to farm and raise their family of nine children. The location of Joshua’s farm at Hobart is known. Ontario land records indicate that in 1868, on receiving the initial grant of 100 acres for the East 1/2 of Lot 9 in Concession 8, he received funds from his mother Elizabeth Churchill Cole, noted as a widow residing in what was then Toronto Township, and repaid her as an annuity registered against the property. (She later released him from any obligation for the price of "$1 and natural love and affection.") However, Joshua lost title to this property in 1878 due to foreclosure. (See Note 2 below.)

The location of his subsequent farm is currently unknown. It possibly could have been near his sister Mary Jane Cole Orr's farm (Lot 17, Concession 12 in the NE part of the township) or near any of the Walker farms near Hobart, or possibly near Fesserton.

Eventually, Joshua’s children left the family home, marrying and raising families of their own – some of whom for a time relocated west to the newly-minted province of Manitoba.

By 1901, at the age of 66, Joshua was still farming and resided with his spouse Caroline and one grandchild, George. On retiring, Joshua moved with Caroline to the town of Orillia about 1910. Sadly, Caroline died two years later, in 1912. After her death, Joshua resided with his eldest child, Elizabeth Jane Cole Stroud and her family at Barrie Road in Orillia. 

It was there that, on February 25, 1921, Joshua died of old age in his 86th year. A lifelong member of the Orange Order (of which his father Henry was also known to be a member) and the Church of England (an interesting detail since Irish Palatines were predominantly Methodist), Joshua was buried alongside his spouse Caroline, and several of their children, at St. Andrews and St. James Cemetery in Orillia.

                                                                                                                                                                      

Notes:

[1] From just his birthdate and location, I learned that the arrival year of his parents -- of which there are varying dates and sources -- could not have been later than 1835. It also places his parents in Upper Canada before the Rebellion of 1837, which confirms that Henry Cole was in the region by that time and so possibly could have been involved in local actions related to the rebellion (as family stories suggest).

[2] These details about the interaction -- and more broadly, the relationship -- between Joshua and his mother Elizabeth would not have been discovered without looking at these indirectly-associated records. Also, Joshua's land record confirms facts about his mother Elizabeth including her marriage status, residence, and that she was still living as late as 1874. The details also confirm that the individual was likely his mother, not his sister-in-law or his daughter, who all bore the name of Elizabeth.

                                                                                                                                                                      

Sources:

Research and sources attached to Brant-LeComte Family Tree, a public tree located on Ancestry.ca, accessed 26 June 2024.

Photo credit: davisandralee1, shared publicly on Ancestry on 8 April 2012.

Obituary for Joshua Levi Cole, as reproduced on his Find-A-Grave memorial page (ID 130327459) citing The Northern Advance, Barrie, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada dated Thursday, March 10, 1921, page 3. < https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/130327459/joshua-levi-cole > accessed on 25 June 2024.

FamilySearch.org, Canada / Ontario / Simcoe County Land Records. Abstract Index Books, ca. 1800-1959: Abstract Index of Medonte Township, ca. 1800-1959, v. 1; Film #008344387; Image #347 <  https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSTY-WSFY-2?i=346&cat=491658 > accessed on 26 Jun 2024.