COLE Name Study

COLE (Irish Palatine) Name Study 

Flag of Germany

WHERE?  This is the home page of a currently unofficial one-name study of the family name COLE. This name study is particularly focused on the anglicization of the German form of the name borne by members of the Irish Palatine ethnic group whose ancestors emigrated from the Palatinate region of Germany in 1709. 

After a short stay in London, England, about 3,000 of this group marched north to Chester and crossed to Dublin, Ireland. Many families then made their way to a Palatine parent colony located at the Southwell estate in Co. Limerick, Ireland about 1720. A subset of families from this Co. Limerick colony -- including my COLE ancestors -- later formed a child colony at the Barker estate in Co. Tipperary, Ireland about 1770.

WHY?  This study is a natural extension of work currently underway by me on a genealogical record (i.e., a family history or pedigree) of the descendants of Irish-Palatine Ontario pioneer Henry COLE and his English-Irish spouse Elizabeth CHURCHILL, who immigrated to Upper Canada with Henry's brother Peter COLE and Peter's spouse Margaret STEEP(E) about 1825.

Flag Bearing the Irish Harp

WHEN?  The starting reference point is the lifetime of Henry COLE (my 4x great-grandfather). He was born about 1790 in Bawnlea Townland, Kilcooly parish, Tipperary, Ireland. His first mention in Upper Canada (Ontario) that I have found to date is a 7 Dec 1825 Land Petition for 200 acres in what is now within the municipality of Mississauga, Peel County, Ontario, Canada. 

Although Henry's brother Peter COLE also petitioned for land at the same time in the same region, Peter and his family put down roots west of this area, in Goderich Township, Huron County, Ontario, Canada.

WHAT?  I will list here links to sources, and references to information that I have collected or prepared on the Irish Palatine COLE family. The goal is, through collaboration, to pool ideas and information to attempt to compensate for a scarcity of available records due to the early time period (e.g., before regular civil censuses) or due to "black swan" events such as conflict (e.g., the destruction in 1922 of the records office during the Irish civil war). 

It is my hope that visitors to this page will leave comments about their own findings or potential sources.

COLE Name Variants: Kohl, Kölle, Kolb

The name COLE in the Irish Palatine context is an anglicization of the German name Kohl, Kölle, or Kolb. There may be other variants, but those currently listed are ones that I have encountered in my research so far.

COLE Research Links and Lists

Timelines

• Blog Post: COLE Family Timeline

Cemeteries

• HENRY COLE Family: Virtual Cemetery (Find-A-Grave)
• PETER COLE Family: Virtual Cemetery (Find-A-Grave)

Children of Henry COLE and Elizabeth CHURCHILL

• Blog Post: Mary Jane (COLE) ORR (1822-1901)
• Blog Post: Joshua Levi COLE (1835-1921)

Maps

• Palatinate region of Germany
• County Limerick, Ireland
• County Tipperary, Ireland
• Bawnlea Townland, Co. Tipperary, Ireland
• Blog Post: My Ancestors in County Tipperary, Ireland

Related Books, Journals, Articles

• Jones, Henry Z.: The Palatine Families of Ireland
  
• Knittle, Walter Allen: Early Eighteenth Century Palatine Emigration
• Neely, W. G.: Kilcooley: Land and People in Tipperary
• O'Connor, Patrick J.: People Make Places: The Story of the Irish Palatines
• Upshaw, Tom: "Palatine Route to Chester" in the Irish Palatine Association Journal (No. 31)

Page last updated on 2 November 2024.