Roelof Cole

by

With both names spelled and referenced variously, Roelof Cole was christened at the Albany Dutch church in May 1750. He was the son of Lambert and Maria Kidney Cole. He probably was named for his mother's father. His parents raised a small family in a modest first ward home. Perhaps his father had passed on by March 1779 when the holdings of "Widow L. Cole" were valued modestly on the Albany assessment role.

"Roelof" first occasioned notice in October 1773, when he was sworn in and examined by the the city Council regarding his eligibility to vote. That enquiry provides unusual insight on his background. Although he had been born in Albany, had lived in the third ward, had been up to "Missilunama," (perhaps Missiquoi - lands associated with a tributary of northern Lake Champlain) and had lived with his father in the first ward, he had not lived in one place for the requisite six weeks, and thus was denied a vote.

In September 1774, he was appointed constable for the third ward. However, two months later he had left Albany and was to be replaced. In January 1775, he was disqualified from serving in Albany. After that, his name no longer has been found in an Albany context.

Marriage and family information for him has not been encountered in the extant records of Albany churches.

In his mid-twenties at the outbreak of hostilities in 1775, we expect to encounter information on the subsequent life of Albany native Roelof Cole. However, our most recent sweeps have not yielded additional material. In 1790, only the large household of "Lambert Cole" in the town of Livingston, Columbia County appeared on the first census in New York State.

With questions regarding his adult life and passing unanswered, we move on for now!


biography in-progress


notes

the people of colonial Albany Sources: The life of Roelof Cole is CAP biography number 7668. This sketch is derived chiefly from family and community-based resources.




first posted 4/30/15