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Cole Coale Coles genealogy |
10 Feb 2021 |
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Dr Geoffrey Mann | |
12 Robert COLE 1602-c1654 |
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m Rachel BUXTON 1628 |
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Robert Cole was born about 1602 at Tillingham in Essex where his father was the vicar. He was sent to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and obtained both BA and MA degrees. His father died in his third year leaving him clothing and books for his studies.
On leaving college at the age of 25 he was appointed Rector of Gt. Oakley in Essex, his father having bought the advowson there in 1614. The same year he married Rachel Buxton at Colchester, the daughter of an apothecary. He was appointed Rector of Little Oakley the next year and four sons were baptised between 1630 and 1637.
But the 1640s were difficult years for the clergy. Many clergymen were ejected from their living suspected of Royalist sympathies or of using forms of worship disliked by puritans. Robert made his last entry in the register on 25Mar1639/40 and gave up the Little Oakley parish in 1641, but there is no evidence that he was ejected from either parish, and one source notes that he was still the vicar of Gt. Oakely in 1650.
Four more children of Robert were born in the 1640s, but no record of their baptisms are known. And apart from the one source mentioned above no further records of Robert's life or death are known although his father-in-law's will proves he died before 1655. His widow had remarried by that date and her husband was installed as the new Rector of Great Oakley in 1657.
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age DATE RC RB |
EVENT |
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c1602 1648 46
36Jan1649 47
1650 58 |
Robert born at Tillingham, Essex |
PRINCIPAL RECORDS
b=born m=married d=died
C=Christened B=Buried
BIRTH
Robert Cole was admitted to Emmanuel College Cambridge in 1620 so a birth date around 1602 is expected. The 1623 will of Humphrey Cole, vicar of Tillingham leaves a bequest of books, cloth, corn and barley to his son Robert student of Emmanuel College Cambridge. The will also mentions the advowson of Great Oakley and it is noted that Robert named one of his sons Humphrey. Undoubtedly therefore, Robert was the son of Humphrey Cole of Tillingham. Unfortunately the baptismal registers of this parish have not survived before 1614 so at present a birth date about 1602 is assumed at Tillingham. Tillingham is about 50m from Gt Oakley by road, about 30m by sea.
MARRIAGE
Elizabeth Cole and her siblings were born before 1650 children of Robert and Rachel and there is a suitable m at Colchester St Nicholas
m 14May1628 Robert Cole clerk & Rachell Buxston
DESCENDANTS
from register of Colchester St Nicholas
C 6Jan1629/30 Robert s Robert & Rachell Cole
from register of Great Oakley:
C 15May1632 Humphrey s Robert and Rachel Cole
C 14Apr1635 Thomas s Robert Cole parson of this parish & Rachel his wife
C 11May1637 John s Robert & Rachel Cole [page signed Robert Cole minister]
no entries 1640-55 and few to 1663
Rachel Henry Susan and Elizabeth are known descendants from various wills discussed in Elizabeth Cole-11. They cannot have been baptised before 1640 at Gt Oakley as they would have been recorded in the register.Their birth dates have been estimated as follows:
1641? Rachel
1m Robert Blacksell; 2m 1683 John Scarpe; d1693; 1683 will "If I have a child will of no force" so of childbearing age in 1683 so b>1640; named after mother so probably eldest girl
1644? Henry
m Mary Reed 1677; said to be age 60 at death in 1704; admitted to Jesus college in 1665, normal age of admission 17/18; so b between 1644 and 1647
1647? Susan
m Jn Blacksell 1670 so b<1652
1649? Elizabeth
m Wm Amis 1670 d1678 so b<1652
m at Great Oakley
m 6Jul1670 Jno Blackell gent & Susan Cole spinster
m 16Aug1670 Wm Amis gent & Eliz Cole spinster
m 31Jan1682/3 John Scarpe wid of Maningtree & Rachel Blacksell wid of Lt Oakley
[page signed Henry Cole rector]
m at Wrabness translated from latin
m 27Nov1677 Henry Cole rector of Gt Oakley & Mary Reed eldest dau of Isaac Reed rector of Wrabness
There was another Rachel Cole born in nearby Ramsey:
C 29Oct1655 Rachel d William & Judith Cole
William & Judith also baptised William 1646 and Daniel 1651 at Ramsey, so William would have to be born before 1625 and cannot therefore be another son of Robert. He cannot either be his brother, as Robert's brother William emigrated to America. Nothing more is known of William and Judith and they may be from a different more distant family.
DEATH
Robert Cole's last entry in the Gtreat Oakley register was on 25Mar1639/40 and his last year as rector of Lt Oakley was 1641. There are no known records of him at any later date so it might be assumed that he died c1641. However, the evidence for the birth of four later children is compelling.
The will of Robert Buxton gentleman of St Nicholas Colchester, signed in 19Feb1654(/5?) makes bequests to his daughter Rachel Hubbert now the wife of John Hubbert clerke. Rachel must surely be Rachel Buxton who married Robert Cole at St Nicholas in 1628. The m of Rachel to Hubbert has not been found, but Robert Cole must have died before 1655.
A list of Essex vicars is reported to include Robert Cole at Gt. Oakley in 1646/7 and 1650 (from an edited register of admissions to Colchester Grammar School).
So Robert died between 1650 and 1655, perhaps c1654. Why he failed to leave any record of his life after 1641 remains a puzzle. This covers the civil war period, but Essex was not much affected until the siege of Colchester in 1648. However, the long parliament called in November 1640 brought about the ejection of a large number of vicars from their living if they were suspected or accused of loyalty to the king or slandering parliament, or of using the form of worship imposed by Archbishop Laud appointed by the King and opposed by puritans. But there is no evidence that Robert Cole was ejected,
Robert Cole's widow married John Hubbert who succeeded Robert Cole as vicar of Great Oakley in 1657. All three of her daughters married at the parish church.
OTHER
Cambridge Alumni: Robert Cole or Coole
Adm. pens. at EMMANUEL, Oct. 10, 1620. S. of Humphrey (1589). Matric. 1620; B.A. 1623-4; M.A. 1627. R. of Gt Oakley, Essex, 1627. R. of Little Oakley, 1629-41. Father of Henry (1665).
List of Vicars displayed in Gt Oakley church, extract:
1617 1627 MICHAIAH WOOD B.D.
1627 1651 ROBERT COLE M.A.
1651 1662 JOHN HUBBERT M.A.
1662 1678 JOHN BOCKENHAM M.A.
1673 1704 HENRY COLE M.A.
from British History Online
Boxted: John Hubbert, vicar 1644-c.1651, was a puritan who signed the Testimony in 1648 and the Watchword in 1649.
Extract from the Register of admissions to Colchester Grammar school edited by J Round
The only reference I can find to the "classes" for Essex is in "BIBLIOTHECA GRENVILLIANA" an index of the library of Thomas Grenville published in 1842 by Payne and Foss. Page 234 of vol 1 contains the following:
Henry Cole vicar of Gt Oakley
27May1670 BA at Jesus College Cambridge
ordained curate at Norwich age 25 so b1645 born "Okely"(database of Anglican clergy)
1673 vicar of Great Oakley
m 27Nov1677 Henry Cole rector of Gt Oakley & Mary Read d Isaac Read rector of Wrabness at Wrabness
C 8May1679 Henry s Henry & Mary clerk
B15Sep1679
C 26May1680 Jane d Henry & Mary clerk
C 2Jan1682/3 Elizabeth d Henry & Mary rector of Gt Oakley
C 16Sep1690 Susanna d Henry & Mary rector of Gt Oakley
B 19Nov1704 Henry Cole at Gt Oakley
1705 new vicar of Gt Oakley
Humphrey Cole
C 15May1632 s Robert & Rachel Cole
15Jan1680 Humphrey's youngest daughter Rachel left £20 by uncle Robert Blackshell husband of Rachel
26Feb1683 Humphrey mentioned in sister Rachel's will
B 3Jul1705 at Ramsey "of Little Oakley"