Cole

Cole is primarily an English surname, deriving from Old English “col,” meaning coal or charcoal, and usually referred to a person with dark hair or dark complexion. Our line of Coles connects into the Reeves family of Lancaster County and our earliest apparent Cole ancestor was Mark Cole who lived there in the early 1800’s and died in 1846.

Mark Cole

The connection to Mark Cole is inferred from his inclusion in the Hicklin Family Bible that was apparently passed down the Cole line.1 The Bible was printed in 1793 in Edinburgh and appears to have belonged to George Hicklin, born 1754 and died in 1824. In addition to several Hicklin entries, the Bible includes many entries on the Cole family with the connection becoming clear with the following marriage entry:

  • Henry H. Cole was married to Elizabeth Hicklin 21st day of Decr A.D. 1815

Our family descends from this Henry H. Cole. In addition to the spouse and children of Henry Cole, there are several apparently older Coles included in this Bible record:

  • Mark Cole departed this life February the 12th 1846
  • Sarah Cole was born Oct. the 4th 1763
  • Sarah Cole departed this life July 13 A.D. 1854
  • Susan Cole departed this life Feb. the 8th A.D. 1864

Given that this Bible was originally in the Hicklin family and was then used by the family of Henry H. Cole it would appear these older Cole individuals must be the immediate family of Henry H. Cole. The ages of the individuals further supports this. Henry H. Cole was born in 1792 and the census records indicate that Mark was born in the 1750’s, making him one generation older than Henry. It is reasonable to conclude given this and other circumstantial evidence that Mark was the father of Henry H. Cole.

Mark was living in Lancaster District in 18302 and 18403 according to census records. The 1830 census appears to have missed marking him in the age section of the household, but the 1840 census indicates he was age 80-90, thus born about the 1750’s. There is an older female in the household age 70-80, thus born around the 1760’s.

Since Mark died in 1846, he doesn’t appear on the 1850 census. However, there is a Cole household composed entirely of females in Lancaster District which appears to be Marks family.4 In the household are Mrs. S. Cole (87), A. Cole (60), S. Cole (50), E. Cole (45), and M. Cole (36). The age of Mrs. S. Cole matches that of Sarah Cole from the Family Bible listed next to Mark. This would appear to be his widow. S. Cole, age 50, is apparently Susan Cole, also listed in the Bible as dying in 1864. Susan, age 58, appears as head of household in 1860 with Edy (56) and Mary (46) in the household which matches the corresponding ages from the 1850 census.5

Since most of the Lancaster County probate records were destroyed during the Civil War, there doesn’t appear to be any extant probate records for Mark. But given the above evidence, it is reasonable to conclude that Mark and Sarah were the parents of Henry H. Cole.

Henry H. Cole

Henry H. Cole was born in 1792. As stated previously, he was married to Elizabeth Hicklin in 1815. He is found living in Lancaster District from 1820 to to the year of his death in 1870.6,7,8,9,10,11 Further entries in the Hicklin family Bible fill out the information on Henry’s family and attest to the Bible as an heirloom in the Cole family.

  • Henry H. Cole was born Septr the 2nd 1792
  • Sarah H. Cole was born Novr 15th 1816
  • Jane C. Cole was born Novr 26th 1818
  • William A. Cole was born April 14th 1821
  • Jinsey R. Cole was born Novr 12th 1824
  • Elizabeth Cole departed this life May the 15th A.D. 1849
  • Wm. A. Cole Departed this life January the 28th A.D. 1865
  • Jane C. Bell departed this life May the 28th A.D. 1866
  • Henry H. Cole departed this life August the 6th A.D. 1870
  • Henry H. Cole was married to Elizabeth Hicklin 21st day of Decr A.D. 1815
  • George W. Bell was married to Jane C. Cole November 22nd 1842
  • William A. Cole was married to Missouri Cauthen 23rd February A.D. 1843
  • N. B. Vanlandingham was married to Sarah H. Cole July 31st 1845

It appears from these entries that Henry and Elizabeth had four children named Sarah H., Jane C., William A., and Jinsey R. Henry’s wife Elizabeth died in 1849 which makes sense of her absence in the household in 1850. His daughter Jinsey, listed as “G. R. Cole” was the only only listed with him that year. She apparently never married as she was still living with him in 1870, age 45. The Bible record does not include a marriage entry for her.

Henry was a farmer. In 1850, the census lists the value of his real estate as $1000. In 1860, his real estate was valued at $1300 with his personal estate valued at $1577. By 1870, his read estate had dropped to $975 and person estate to $270.

Henry died in in August of 1870 and left a will dated 6 Jun 1870.12 His primary heir was his daughter “Jincie” R. Cole whom he appointed executrix and gave all his real and personal estate to. He mentions the plantation that he lived on, located on the waters of Camp Creek, containing one hundred and twenty seven acres. He mentions his other heirs, listing “my son William A Cole’s children, for the children of my deceased daughter Jane C. Bell & my daughter Sarah H. Vanlandingham” but states that they were to receive nothing as he had already given them everything that circumstances would allow and wished that his daughter Jincie was to receive everything as she had lived with him and taken care of him for many years.

William Arthur Cole

William was born 14 Apr 1821 according to the Hicklin Family Bible. He was married to Missouri Rebecca Cauthen, daughter of Thomas and Nancy Cauthen of Hanging Rock, in 1843. They had seven known children. In 1850, the family was living in Kershaw County.13 William’s occupation was farmer. Three daughters, R. J. (6), E. D. (4), and Nancy (1) were listed in the household. In 1860, they were back in Lancaster County.14 The census incorrectly gives his name as Wm. J. Cole (39). In the household are his wife “Misour” and children J. R. (16), E. D. (13), N. L. (11), Mary E. (8), John W. (6), Lewis T. (3), and Andrew (8mo).

His obituary indicates that he served in the Civil War. However, his service record has not been located. Additionally, the following letter was passed down the family that William wrote home to his wife during the war.15

May 16th, 1864                                  Dear Family

I Received your two letters of the past week & was glad to hear you was all well & doing as well as could bee expected this leavs me & our men quite well Capt Cauthen Returned Saturday evening & is tolerable well he got along on the Road verry well the cakes & Bread Butter & eggs was a treat to us we dont get anything of that sort unless its sent to us eggs is selling for $2.00 dollars per Doz butter $3 or 4 per lb tarts 75 cts a piece we have some verry good messes of fish they catch them in abundance we are drawing meal Rice pees Bacon salt &c all is quiet down here our men are getting Iron from an old Vessell that has been Rect they have brought to camp thre or four thousand pounds of first Rate iron & there is any quantity there yet they say its worth $1.00 per lb salt is worth $2 per bushel Capt DePass has Returned to camp our Co will not bee Disbanded & I expect we will Remain at or near this place through the summer we have been ordered to move out to where Barber's Co was campt but I dont know where we will go to yet or whither we will leave this camp our men is all on pickett this week & we are preparing to get off down ther as soon as we can it is a verry pleasant post & healthy & good water we was glad to see Capt Cauthen but was not expecting him so soon he had such hard work to get off we thought he would stay as long as he could get an excuse he is something better than when he left but he never will bee stout again I am affraid. we was glad to hear him talk about Home & you all although there is some confusion among the People but I fear that will allways be the case in that neighbor hood tell old ant Nice I am glad to hear of Her coming up to see you all ocasionally we must close Remember me in love & in your prayers wright soon an give me the nuse
                                                  W. A. Cole to Mrs

The reference to Capt. Cauthen could indicate that he was part of the 2nd South Carolina Infantry known as the Palmetto Regiment.

William died 28 Jan 1865 on the way home on sick furlough. His obituary gives more details along with praise of his character.

The Lancaster News, 30 Sep 1865

William left a will dated 28 Aug 1863.16 He mentions his wife Missouri R. Cole and “my seven children, viz. Rebecca Jane, Elizabeth Drucila, Nancy Louisa, Mary Elvira, John Wesley, Lewis Thomas, and Andrew Columbus.”

Rebecca Jane Cole

Rebecca was born 26 Apr 1844 according to her headstone. Her husband, John Jarrett Reeves, was a soldier in the Civil War. It appears that they married soon after the war ended. According to family information from Dora Reeves, John and Becky lived in a house in the right hand corner where Barrett Road connects with Rob Neal Road close to where Mr. Otis Reeves later lived.

Rebecca and John had at least eight children: William Thomas Reeves who died in 1886, Elizabeth Louisa Reeves who married Thomas M. Mahaffey, Erasmus Lafayette Reeves, Mary Emma Reeves who married Minor Vincent, James Arthur Reeves, Ida L. Reeves who married S. C. Vincent, Minnie Reeves who married W. G. Horton, and the youngest, Henry Oscar Reeves.

Although newspapers for Lancaster are not available from the time she passed away in 1909, The State included a short obituary for her. This obituary incorrectly gives her middle initial as “I” instead of “J.”

The State, 19 Aug 1909

Rebecca was buried beside her husband in the Fork Hill Baptist Church Cemetery.17 His grave was originally unmarked while she was given a headstone. At this point growth has caused it to fade and the details are difficult to discern in a picture.

  1. Hicklin Bible Record transcribed by Perry Belle Hough and included in the Viola Caston Floyd Collection, Folder 1-1 BIBLE RECORDS, Lancaster County Library, Lancaster, South Carolina ↩︎
  2. “United States, Census, 1830”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGY-7SL : Sun Mar 10 14:24:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Mark Cole, 1830. ↩︎
  3. “United States, Census, 1840”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYL-ZJN : Fri Mar 08 18:10:06 UTC 2024), Entry for Mark Cole, 1840.
    ↩︎
  4. “United States, Census, 1850”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QJ-LMQ : Fri Feb 20 17:00:12 UTC 2026), Entry for S Cole and A Cole, 1850. ↩︎
  5. “United States, Census, 1860”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZT8-WC7 : Mon Jul 08 22:44:11 UTC 2024), Entry for Susan Coales and Edy J Coales, 1860. ↩︎
  6. “United States, Census, 1820”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHL7-Q1F : Tue Jan 14 21:27:30 UTC 2025), Entry for Henry H Cole, 1820. ↩︎
  7. “United States, Census, 1830”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHGY-7DN : Fri Mar 08 12:55:45 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry Cole, 1830. ↩︎
  8. “United States, Census, 1840”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHYL-C6K : Sun Mar 10 10:47:02 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry H Cole, 1840. ↩︎
  9. “United States, Census, 1850”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QJ-3TG : Tue Oct 21 21:24:45 UTC 2025), Entry for H H Cole and G R Cole, 1850.
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  10. “United States, Census, 1860”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZT8-HMM : Mon Jul 08 22:54:03 UTC 2024), Entry for Henry H Coal and J R Coal, 1860. ↩︎
  11. “United States, Census, 1870”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8RK-82G : Tue Jan 21 09:40:56 UTC 2025), Entry for H.h. Cole and Jinny Cole, 1870. ↩︎
  12. Lancaster County, South Carolina Probate File 7274, Henry H. Cole, 1870, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-NQS9-M1) ↩︎
  13. “United States, Census, 1850”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8QJ-LRT : Thu Oct 23 03:00:28 UTC 2025), Entry for Wm A Coal and M R Coal, 1850. ↩︎
  14. “United States, Census, 1860”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZT8-X7H : Mon Jul 08 23:07:20 UTC 2024), Entry for Wm J Cole and Misour Cole, 1860. ↩︎
  15. A Confederate Soldier’s Letter submitted by D. Maring. Catawba-Wateree Messenger, (Aug-Sep 1995), p63. ↩︎
  16. Lancaster County, South Carolina Probate Estate File 7292, William A. Cole, 1865, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-NQSM-PC) ↩︎
  17. Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23521922/rebecca_jane-reeves: accessed February 21, 2026), memorial page for Rebecca Jane Cole Reeves (26 Apr 1844–13 Aug 1909), Find a Grave Memorial ID 23521922, citing Fork Hill Cemetery, Fork Hill Crossroads, Lancaster County, South Carolina, USA; Maintained by Jonathan Reeves (contributor 46928429). ↩︎