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Benjamin Franklin Cole has been my brick wall for years. From his obituary, I have that he was born in Huntingdon County in July 1, 1838 ( on the 1900 census, Frank said he was born July 1837) but I have never been able to find where in Huntingdon County or his parents names. Neither his obituary nor his death certificate mentions them. Also according to his obituary, he married Harriet Giles Jan. 16, 1865. Again, I have not been able to find where they were married. I first caught up with them in 1867 in Tyrone, Blair County when their oldest daughter was baptized in St. Matthew Catholic church. But Frank was only on the tax rolls for 1868- 1873 in Tyrone.
I've followed Frank through the census- 1850 12 year old Frank was living with the Jacob Hefner family in Hopewell township in Huntingdon County; in 1860 Frank is on the Missouri State census in the city of Independence in Jackson County. He's living in a boarding house (with 8 men in their 20's) and he is a mail conducter. According to his obituary "his younger days were spent in the "wild west" where he saw service as a mail carrier" and from another obituary he "went west as a young man and drove overland stage on the old Santa Fe trail from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to the Pacific".
In the 1870 census, Frank and Harriet are in Tyrone with children Franklin (Benjamin Franklin) and William. Molly had died in 1868. Frank was a saloon keeper and on the the 1873 tax rolls that is crossed out and teamster written in and that is the last Tyrone tax roll he is listed on. I believe from there he moved to Lawrence township in Clearfield County but I have not checked the tax rolls yet.
In the 1880 census, Frank and Harriet are in Curwensville and he is now a coal miner. He is on the 1881 and 1882 tax rolls in Pike township and on the 1883 rolls, he is crossed out and it is written that he moved away.
In 1900 Frank is in Clearfield in Clearfield County. He is a widower, Harriet died Jan. 1888, and he is still a coal miner and owns his house. I have no idea where his children are living.
1910 Frank is still in Clearfield and his son Egbert, 32, is living with him.
1917, April 6 Frank dies at his daughter's house in Clearfield, he is 78 years old.
September 10, 2006 email to my family:
Paul Cole is one of Benjamin Franklin Cole’s younger sons. I particularly feel a kinship with him because he had itchy feet and traveled a fair amount.
Since I'm going to Georgia to visit, I wanted to find out what I could about him. The reason that sentence makes sense to me (and no one else) is that I found a mention of Paul in the May 19, 1931 “Gossip For Tonight’s Tea Table” in the Clearfield Progress: Paul Cole, who came up from his home in Lake Park, Georgia, Friday to visit his sister, Mrs. Isaac Poole, Jr., returned home Sunday.
I found Paul on the 1910 census, an undated article, and the above little blurb and that’s all I know about his whereabouts. I have not been able to find him on the 1920 or 1930 census or an obituary or death notice. I thought I’d try again to get information on Ancestry.com before my trip to Georgia.
I didn’t find Paul on the census but found something even better. I found Paul on two ship arrivals into New Orleans. The first, on Dec. 23, 1913, Paul is arriving on the ship Abangarez from Colon, Panama. The second arrival was Dec. 21, 1914 and Paul is on the ship Marowijne from Puerto Cortes, Honduras. And now I can finally date the article that someone had cut out of a newspaper. I assume the newspaper was the Clearfield Progress. And I will take this opportunity to suggest that if you cut or copy an article from the newspaper save the date and name of the newspaper.
I finally have a time frame for an article someone saved from the newspapers:
At Home After Four Years
Paul Cole, the fifth son of Frank Cole of this place, returned from Honduras, Central America, on Tuesday of last week, where he has been running a steam shovel since leaving the Isthmus of Panama in December last. Mr. Cole went first to the Isthmus in 1910, where he engaged as a locomotive engineer and so continued until the work was completed. He spent two vacations during that period in Clearfield, and will leave in a few days for Alaska where he expects to assist in the building of a govenrnment Railroad in that country.
Mr. Cole wears the Isthmian badge given him by the commission at the end of his first two years of continuous service and has also a strong testimonial signed by Geo. H. Gothals, chief engineer on the Isthmus. Thus another Clearfield boy, purely self made who was never in school after he was 12 years of age, has come to the front as among the distinguished young men of Clearfield and whose credentials show a steady promotion during the four years he was in the government employ.
While in Georgia, I was hoping to make a quick trip to Lake Park or it’s county, Lowndes, but it may be too far. My obsession has it’s limits.
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