Catherine Cole

Alternate Birthdate: Abt 1726, Ireland

Alternate Deathdate: 1766"

(Catherine's maiden name may have also been listed as O'Brien; however, the account below indicates that she gave it as "Bryan". Of course, the spelling could have been "Brien" or "Brian" or any sort of variation since it's very probable that she could not read/write.)

Robert McMahan and his wife Catherine Bryan McMahan (or MacMahon) left Dublin, Ireland in 1746, bound for Virginia. They were accompanied by their ten (some say 12) sons. Robert died at sea on the way over and the rest of his family settled in that part of Augusta Co., VA that later became Montgomery Co., VA, where Catherine worked as a housekeeper for David Stuart. She is given the surname Cole in some Augusta or Montgomery Co records, which I suspect was a second Husband who probably also worked for David Stuart. No record has been found of his given name nor are any children known from this second marriage.

Catherine McMahan signed a Court Paper when she became David Stuart's housekeeper in Augusta (now Montgomery) Co., VA in 1746, which stated that her maiden name was Bryan. (SOURCE: Pastricia McMahan Chambers a descendant of Redmon McMahan). She later married a Mr. Cole who probably also worked for David Stuart.

"Apprentices of Virginia, 1623-1800" by H.B. Gill
Redmond McMohan Augusta, Co., Master: Stuart, David Occupation: cooper Beginning Date: 08/09/1747 Ending Date: unspecified Sex: Male Race: white Mother: Cole, Catherine Source: Augusta Parish Vestry Book 1746-1780, 43 Further information on Catherine Cole is found in Chalkey, Volume 1, “Records of Augusta Co, VA, 1745-1800” ..... For the period 1747-1750, she is listed at various times as the servant of David Stuart, James Armstrong, Thomas Scot. She is also listed as Catherine Coleman, servant of James Armstrong.

“Records of Augusta Co, VA 1745-1800, Volume II”, Chalkey, p 223-224. Will of William Bryan of Roanoke in Botetourt County. Wife Elizabeth, sons, William, James, John; daughter Catherine Cole, wife of John Cole; grandson, Wm. cole, Dated 27th June 1805. Recorded in Botetourt, October 1806.

URL : http://members.tripod.com/~dickdfox/index-redmondmcmahan.html

In one webstite (http://trees.ancestry.com/tree/28852131/family/familyview), her death is shown to have occurred in 1766.

1. License to marry issued on 4 Sep 1786 with Jesse Hudson, James Bryan, and John Love as witnesses and security (Botetourt Co., VA Marriage Records as reported by Kegley (1938), p. 539)

2. Catherine died just a few months after John purchased the land on Breton Creek. She probably died at the home of her brother James. Buried in Bryan Cemetery on Big River, located on James’ farm.

3. Interment Record for Catherine (Bryan) Cole

Name: Catherine (Bryan) Cole

Born: 28 Jul 1766

Died or Buried: 26 Jan 1823

Buried: Jane Bryan Cemetery

County/State: Washington, MO

Notes: W/O JOHN COLE. OLDEST GRAVE IN THIS CEMETERY. BORN BOTETOURT CO, VA.

On 13 Dec 1786 when Catherine was 20, she married John Cole, 1053, M, son of Phillip Cole, 653, M (29 May 1730-) & Susannah (Elizabeth?) Egle, 652, F (~1732-), in Bryans on the Roanoke. Born on 6 Aug 1762 in near Reading, PA. John died in Washington Co., MO, in 1839; he was 76. Buried in Jane Bryan Cemetery, Potosi, MO.

1.Marriage recorded in Botetort Co. VA records in Fincastle, VA.

2. 15 Sep 1788, John purchased from John Love, 278 acres of land on the north side of the Roanoke River. Deed identifies him as “John Cole ‘the Blacksmith’” Deed witnessed by William Bryan Jr, his father-in-law and Samuel Cole, his brother. Fincastle Deed, Bk. IV, pg. 51.

3. In Kegley's Virgina Frontier (p.572) , under a date of 1790 is a grant of 700 acres to James Mason and Wm. Lewis joining the lands of John Walton and John Cole.

4. Louis Philippe, future King of France, discussed his travels through Roanoke on 19 and 20 Apr 1797: “The 20th. “...We dined at the home of Mr. Coles, a Pennsylvania German. The countryside unimpressive except here and there. Greenery thick, and in the oak forest whole groves are green...” When past is prologue: A history of Roanoke County by Deedie Kagey, p.71.

5. Kegley's (pp. 574-575), under a date of 7 Mar 1800, John Cole received a grant of 300 acres on the Roanoke from Wm. Lewis. Recorded in Pat. Bk45, pg.237.

6. From map in Kegley's we find that John Cole's land is shown adjoining the Bryan Great Spring Homestead on the west.

7. From Fincastle land records we find that John Cole sold holdings totalling 735 acres including “the old brick mansion house near Salem” in 1821. The house was built prior to 1790 and family legend says that it was visited by a young Davey Crockett.

8. Lead the Cole-Bryan Caravan of 40 wagons to MO in 1821. This was the second migration of Bryan’s to MO. John Cole established what became known as the Cole Plantation on Breton Creek some two miles north of Potosi in Washington Co. The caravan included slaves, furniture, tools and all the equipment they could take along. It was reported that there were 40 wagons in the caravan. Most of the Cole and Bryan children and their families were part of the caravan. (Family story in the Samuel Cole family: John was said to have brought considerable furniture from VA to MO.)

The caravan went southwest, picked up Boone’s Wilderness Road through the Cumberland Gap, turned northwest across Kentucky and Illinois to St. Genevieve, MO on the Mississippi. The caravan continued west to the Murphy Settlement where the Coles branched off northwest to Breton Creek north of Potosi and the Bryans continued southwest to Big River.

9 30 Oct 1822 John bought a tract of land on Mine Au Breton Creek. about two miles north of Potosi from John & Ruth Jones, containing 300 acres. (Washington Co. Deed Book - B, p. 89)

10. About 18 months later he sold 125 acres of his tract to sons William and James Under a date of 19 Nov 1836 he sold 170 acres to his son George B. (Washington Co. Deed Book - B, p. 197)

11. The section of the plantation sold to George was the main part of the plantation and the old mansion (standing in 1962) was said to have been built by him. The earliest structure, according to the owner of the plantation in 1962, Mrs. Edward Eversole, was a log cabin

standing just at the crest of the hill between the mansion and the big spring at the foot of the hill. This cabin is supposed to have been built by John Cole Sr.

12. Interment Record for John Cole

Name: John Cole

Born: 06 Aug 1762

Died or Buried: 26 Jan 1839

Buried: Jane Bryan Cemetery

County/State: Washington, MO

Notes: LED COLE-BRYAN CARAVAN. H/O CATHERINE (BRYAN)

13. 1810 Botetourt

M<10 Free white males under 10 years of age

10 - 16 " " " 10 years and under 16

16 - 26 " " " 16 " " " 26 including heads of families

26 - 45 " " " 26 " " " 45 " " " "

45 > " " " 45 " " upwards

F<10 Free white females under 10 years of age

10 - 16 " " " 10 years and under 16

16 - 26 " " " 16 " " " 26 including heads of families

26 - 45 " " " 26 " " " 45 " " " "

45 > " " " 45 " " upwards

Free All other free persons except Indians not taxed.

Slaves Slaves.

PG# LINE LAST NAME FIRST NAME & INI M< 10 10-16 16-26 26-45 45 > F< 10 10-16 16-26 26-45 45 > FREE SLAVE REMARKS

612 12 COLE JOHN 3 0 5 0 1 2 2 0 1 1 0 13

They had the following children:

     213            i.          William, 2733, M (1787-1868)

214 ii. Philip, 2734, M (1789-1862)
215 iii. John Bryan, 2735, M (1791-1856)
216 iv. Samuel, 2736, M (1793-1859)
217 v. James, 2737, M (1794-1797)
218 vi. Margaret, 2738, F (1796-1843)
219 vii. Salma, 2739, F (1798-1848)
220 viii. Susan, 2740, F (1800-1869)
221 ix. Watson, 2741, M (1802-1876)
222 x. Katherine, 2742, F (1804-1892)
223 xi. George Brown, 2743, M (1805-1886)
224 xii. Elizabeth, 4490, F (1809-1810)
225 xiii. David, 4489, M (1817-1817)
226 xiv. James, 4488, M (1799-1840)