William Cole (burgess)
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William Cole | |
|---|---|
| Member of the House of Burgesses for Warwick County, Colony of Virginia | |
| In office 1715-1728 | |
| Preceded by | William Harwood |
| Succeeded by | William Harwood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1692 |
| Died | 1729 (aged 36–37) |
| Spouse | Mary Roscow |
| Parent(s) | William Cole (councillor), Martha Lear |
| Relatives | William Cole (immigrant)(grandfather) |
| Occupation | planter, politician |
William Cole (1691-1729) was a planter and politician who represented Warwick County in the House of Burgesses (1715-1728).[1]
Born to the former Martha Lear in 1692, he was descended from the First Families of Virginia. Both his father William Cole and his maternal grandfather John Lear were on the Virginia Governor's Council (sometimes known as the Council of State). His mother was his father's third wife, and married Council member Lewis Burwell after his father's death. His father had two sons by his second wife, Ann Digges, the daughter of former Councillor Edward Digges, but both appear to have died before attaining legal age (John at about 8 years old). He also had an elder half-sister Susanna (daughter of his father's first wife) who married Council member Dudley Digges (burgess), but died when this boy was a child.[2]
This boy also had not yet reached legal age when his father died, so he was placed under the guardianship of burgess Nicholas Curle of nearby Elizabeth City County, who arranged for his education.[2]
He may have been named to honor his father (probably the family's most distinguished member),[3] or his immigrant grandfather William Cole who in 1629 served as a burgess for Nutmegg Quarter, a predecessor of Warwick County.
He married Mary Roscow, the daughter of burgess William Roscow (d. 1700), who bore several children, none of whom carried on their family's political involvement. Their sons included John Cole (named in the will),[4] William Cole (named as underage in the will and who died circa 1750), Rev. Roscow Cole of Warwick Parish (who died in 1755) and James Cole (who moved to Goochland County and died in 1770). Their daughters Martha and Jane both survived multiple well born husbands. Martha married Thomas West, then Ferdinando Leigh of King William County. Jane Cole married Nathaniel Claiborne, then Stephen Bingham of King William County and finally Francis West. This man's widow remarried in 1738 to Thomas Wills.[2]