Robert Coles Sr. (1598 - bef. 1654)

Born 1598 in England

Husband of Mary (Unknown) Coles — married about 1630 in England

Descendants

Died before 18 Oct 1654 before age 56 in Warwick, Kent, Rhode Island

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Robert Coles Sr. migrated to New England during the Puritan Great Migration (1621-1640). (See Great Migration Begins, by R. C. Anderson, Vol. 1, p. 435) Join: Puritan Great Migration Project Discuss: pgm

Note: This profile formerly had Sudbury, Suffolk, England place of birth for Robert Coles. Since Anderson in "Great Migration Begins" indicates only "England," that is what is presently in the data. ^{[1] [2]}

Biography

Robert Coles Sr. is Notable.

Robert Coles was born about 1605 (this year is established because of the approximate date of his first marriage). The specific location of his birth in England is not known. ^[1]

He migrated to New England in 1630 residing first at Roxbury where he was admitted to the church as member #8, "he came with the first company, 1630." He became a freeman of the colony on 18 May 1631. His wife, Mary (whom he married about 1630) was admitted to the Roxbury church as #34 - she was admitted with many other people who arrived in 1632. ^[1] Their children were: ^[1]

1. John who was born about 1630. He deposed that he was about thirty-three years on 08 Sep 1663, the eldest son of Robert Coles. He married Ann _____ (unknown surname) on 01 Jan 1683.
2. Deliverance was born about 1632 and married Richard Townsend about 1652.
3. Ann was born about 1634 and married Henry Townsend about 1653.

The General Court gave permission to settle Agawam (Ipswich) on 01 Apr 1633. Robert Coles was one of ten men who moved there. ^{[3] [1]} A court at Boston on 01 Apr 1633 said "It is ordered, that noe p[er]son wtsoeuer (sic) shall goe to plant or inhabit Aggawam, without leave from the Court, except those that [have] already gone, v[i]z: Mr John Winthrop, Junr, Mr Clerke, Robte Coles, Thomas Howlett, John Biggs, John Gage, Thomas Hardy, Will[ia]m Perkins, Mr Thornedicke, Will[ia]m Srient [Sargeant]. ^[4]

Court records indicate he was fined several times from 1631 through 1634 for drunkeness and disorderly conduct. It was for this reason he was excommunicated from the church and the Court ordered him to be disinfranchized and to wear a "D" about his neck made out of red cloth upon a background of white for a year...it was always to be worn when in anyone's company or he would be fined 40s for the 1st offense, and £5 for the second; thereafter if he should be found not wearing the "D" he could be punished by the court as they desire. ^[5] This punishment was countermanded on 14 May 1634 following his submission and testimony given of his good behavior. He was reinstated in the church. ^[1]

He moved to Salem in 1635 where on 28 Dec 1635 Salem "granted unto Rob[er]t Cole his heirs and assignees three hundred acres of land whereof forty acres is marsh fit to be mowed lying and being about 3 miles from Salem westward upon a freshwater brook called the North Brook" It is assumed that this is the same property in his name in the 1636 town grant. Emanuel Downing purchased this land by 16 Jul 1638 and by 25 Dec 1637 "Mr Cole" was given one acre of marsh and meadow for a household of eight. ^[1]

In about 1637, following the death of his first wife, Robert Coles married Mary Hawkshurst. ^[1] MacDonough in his work "The MacDonough-Hackstaff Ancestry" indicates that she was a sister of Christopher Hawkshurst and thus a daughter of Samson Hawshurst, Vicar of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, England. And that this relationship between Mary and Christopher is established by the Jamaica (Long Island) town records where Mary's children call Christopher their uncle. ^[6] Children of Robert Coles and his 2nd wife Mary: ^[1]

1. Daniel was born about 1637 and married Mahershallalhashbaz Gorton, daughter of Samuel Gorton by about 1662.
2. Nathaniel was born about 1642 and married on 30 Aug 1667 to Martha Jackson at Warwick.
3. Robert was born about 1644 and may have married Mercy Wright on 01 Jan 1670.
4. Sarah was born about 1646 and may have married Thomas Townsend.

He moved to Providence in 1638; by 22 Dec 1666 Robert Coles was "one of the principle men" of Providence ^[7] when at that time Roger Williams sold his Indian deed to the town's inhabitants. ^{[1] [8]} He was one of twelve men who, before 16 Mar 1638/9 founded the Baptist church in America since he was convinced of the need of immersion baptism. Ezekiel Holliman "a man of gifts and piety," was selected to be their minister. Holliman first baptized Roger Williams, who then baptized Mr Holliman and the ten other men. It is interesting to note the man's changed character for according to MacDonough in his "The MacDonough-Hackstaff Ancestry," "He (Robert Cole) seems to have reformed... and there is certainly nothing in the Providence town records or those of Warwick, where he afterwards resided, to indicate that he did not lead a perfectly correct life in both places." ^[6]

He seems to have moved to Pawtuxet before September 1642, and from there to Shawomet (later Warwick) ^[6] in 1653 where he was granted a share of meadow as a Patuxett (meaning "Little Falls" in the native language ^[9]) proprietor on 08 Oct 1638 and paid a tax at Providence on 02 Sep 1650 of £3 6s. 8d, which indicates he was one of the five wealthiest men in town. He was one of the men who in 1640 and 1642 attempted to bring Pawtuxet under the authority of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. His house and lot were sold on 03 Jan 1652/3 to Richard Pray. On 27 Feb 1653/4 "Robert Coles of Warwick by and with the consent of Mary his wife" sold a dwelling house, home land, a parcel of land near the fall and a parcel formerly of Fraunces Weston, and all the land belonging to them in the common near Pawtuxett. He kept only his Mashapauge meadow and an adjoining twenty-four acres. His meadow and twenty-five acres were sold on 27 Apr 1655 to Vall. Whitman. ^[1]

Robert Coles died intestate at Warwick between 27 Apr 1655 and 25 Oct 1654. The Warwick town council met on 28 Oct 1654 regarding his estate since an inventory indicated that the estate totalled £501 with debts of £112. His widow Mary was named administrator and the estate was to be distributed as follows: to "his eldest son John Coles" £80 and a mare; to "Nathaniell the third son" £40 when his is twenty-one; to "Robert Coles the fourth son" £40 when he is twenty-one; and to "Sarah Coles" £40 at marriage or at twenty-one; "said children which are under age shall be under the tuition of the said Mary Coles their mother. ^[1]

His wife, Mary (Hawkshurst) Coles married Matthias Harvye of Warwick and Oyster Bay between 05 Apr 1656 and 05 Feb 1656/7 ^[1] and moved to Long Island where she died. ^[6]

Research Notes

Robert Coles had two wives, both named Mary. We know this, because John Coles on 08 Dec 1655 called his father's widow "my mother-in-law." Her identity is disclosed by Nathaniel Coles on 18 Dec 1683 when he engaged in a transaction with "my uncle Christopher Hoackshurst (Hawkshurst)." As a result of this information, author Harriet Beach ["Matthias Harvye, A Very Public Man"] concluded that son John, along with daughters Deliverance and Ann were born to Robert Coles 1st wife and the other four children to his 2nd wife. ^[1]

Robert Coles Birth 1605 Sudbury, Babergh District, Suffolk, England Death 28 Oct 1664 (aged 58–59) Warwick, Kent County, Rhode Island, USA Burial Burial Details Unknown Memorial ID 148209040

He came from England in fleet with Governor John Winthrop in 1630 to either Ipswich or Roxbury, Massachusetts, and in October of that year requested to be a Freeman of Roxbury. He was made a Freeman in 1631. He was fined several times for intoxication. These fines were remitted possibly with the understanding that he was to leave the Massachusetts Colony. He came to Rhode Island in 1637 (possibly forced out of town because of drinking). He became a friend of Samuel Gorton when he came to Providence, Rhode Island. He was one of the original proprietors of Providence. He was one of the Pawtuxet settlers. He was one of the signers of Providence's agreement for a government in 1640. He reformed in earnest, and was one of the founders of the First Baptist Church along with Roger Williams and William Carpenter.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13} The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III. pp 435-439. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2010), (Originally Published as: New England Historic Genealogical Society. Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, Volumes I-III, 3 vols., 1995). Sketch of Robert Coles.subscribers$
2. ↑ Cole, Frank T “Early Genealogies of the Cole Family in America” : Columbus, Ohio 1887 p 89 https://archive.org/details/earlygenealogies00cole/page/89/mode/1up?view=theater
3. ↑ Felt, Joseph B “ History of Ipswich, Essex and Hamilton" : Charles Folsom, Cambridge 1834 p 10 https://archive.org/details/historyofipswich00felt/page/10/mode/1up?view=theater
4. ↑ The New England Historical and Genealogical Register. Boston, MA: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1847-. (Online database: AmericanAncestors.org, New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2001-2018.) Oct 2000. "Thorndikes of Aby in Greenfield, Lincolnshire, and Essex County, Massachusetts" Steward, Scott C p 468.subscribers$
5. ↑ Hosmer, James Kendall “John Winthrop’s Journal - History of New England” : Charles Scribner’s Sons New York 1908 Vol I p 120 https://archive.org/details/winthropsjournal01wint/page/120/mode/1up?view=theater
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3} "The MacDonough-Hackstaff Ancestry" MacDonough, Rodney. Press of Samuel Usher 171 Davonshire Street, Boston. 1901 pp 443-457.link
7. ↑ Perley, Sidney “History of Salem, Massachusetts 1627-1637" : Salem, MA 1924 Vol I p 273 https://archive.org/details/historyofsalemma01perl/page/269/mode/1up
8. ↑ Cocks, George William “History and Genealogy of the Cock, Cocks, Cox Family” : privately printed, New York 1914 pp 360-362 https://archive.org/details/historygenealogy00cock/page/360/mode/1up?view=theater
9. ↑ "Pawtuxet Village History" [1]

See Also:

• Wikipedia:Robert Coles (settler)
• Savage, James “Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England” : Boston Little Brown and Company 1860 Vol I p 429 https://archive.org/details/agenealogicaldi00unkngoog/page/n449/mode/1up
• Savage, James “Genealogical Dictionary of the First Settlers of New England” : Boston Little Brown and Company 1860 Vol I p 429 https://archive.org/details/agenealogicaldi00unkngoog/page/n449/mode/1up
• Hosmer, James Kendall “John Winthrop’s Journal “History of New England” : Charles Scribner’s Sons New York 1908 Vol I pp 27, 120, 154 https://archive.org/details/winthropsjournal01wint/page/120/mode/1up?view=theater
• Savage, "First Settlers of New England” Vol I p 17:
• The Coles Family of Long Island http://longislandgenealogy.com/Surname_Pages/coles.htm
• Glen Cove Heritage: Daniel E Russell City Historian, City of Glen Cove, New York. The Robert Coles Homestead. Accessed 27 Apr 2017. http://www.glencoveheritage.com/legacy_site/coleshomestead.pdf
• The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, 1901) Vol 32 "Hawkhurst Family"
• http://jliptrap.us/gen/hawxhurst.htm
• http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~azopp/data/fam/fam07324.htm NOTE: Dead link as of 22 Jul 2022
• http://genforum.genealogy.com/coles/messages/717.html
• Links in genealogy : memorial of Samuel Hicks Seaman and his wife Hannah Richardson Husband
• Massachusetts, U.S., Applications of Freemen, 1630-1691
• The ancient records of the town of Ipswich
• https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/148209040/robert-coles
• U.S., New England Marriages Prior to 1700
• Austin, John Osborne. Genealogical Dictionary of Rhode Island: Joel Munsell's Sons, Albany 1887 pp 50, 51. Internet Archive/