{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Rye Valley History","provider_url":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory","author_name":"Admin","author_url":"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/author\/admin\/","title":"Cole - Rye Valley History","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"XjshOKE8mb\"><a href=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/families\/cole\/\">Cole<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/families\/cole\/embed\/#?secret=XjshOKE8mb\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Cole&#8221; &#8212; Rye Valley History\" data-secret=\"XjshOKE8mb\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/socialmogul.us\/RyeValleyHistory\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n","description":"The Cole Family of the Rye Valley: Early Settlers, Baptist Leaders, and a Matrilineal Legacy The Cole family stands among the foundational names of the Holston settlements, woven tightly into the early history of Rye Valley, Sugar Grove, and the communities that later became Smyth County. Through their marriage into the Williams line, the Coles helped shape the religious, cultural, and genealogical landscape of the region\u2014leaving a legacy preserved most clearly through the remarkable line of daughters born to Richard Williams and Keziah (Cole) Williams. Roots in Pennsylvania, Loudoun County, and the Holston Settlements The story begins with Richard Williams (d. 1835), grandson of Jenkin Williams, one of the earliest settlers in the Rye Valley. Jenkin was the son of Richard Williams, a Welsh Quaker who migrated from Bucks County, Pennsylvania, to Loudoun County, Virginia. Although the family\u2019s earliest American generations were Quaker, most later became Baptists, reflecting the broader religious shift among settlers in the Holston region. The Williams family became deeply involved in the early mining and smelting industries near Sugar Grove\u2014industries that attracted many Welsh and German families to the valley. Their landholdings were extensive, and the settlement of Richard Williams\u2019s estate took many years, a testament to the size and complexity of the property. Richard\u2019s mother, Uria Marks, connected the family to another early Baptist line. She was the daughter of John Marks and Uriah Ledyard, Baptists from Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. This dual heritage\u2014Welsh Quaker turned Baptist on one side, Pennsylvania Baptist on the other\u2014set the stage for the family\u2019s religious leadership in the region. Richard Williams married Keziah Cole, whose family had settled early in the Holston region of Washington County (later Smyth County). Unlike the Welsh Williamses, the Coles were of English ancestry, but they too were early and active Baptists. Keziah carried a distinguished lineage: she was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Stephen Hopkins, one of the most storied figures of early Plymouth Colony. Her father, Sampson Cole, passed this line down to her, making the Cole\u2013Williams children part of one of America\u2019s earliest documented family lines. A Family of Daughters: Reconstructing a Matrilineal Line Richard and Keziah were the parents of at least eight daughters, a rare and genealogically challenging family structure in a county filled with Williams households. Keziah\u2019s 1845 Smyth County will mentions eight daughters but names only two\u2014Lucinda Quillen and Sally Williams. Fortunately, the will of their eldest daughter, Martha \u201cPatsy\u201d Williams, who died childless, listed all her sisters and became the key to reconstructing the family. The daughters were: Martha \u201cPatsy\u201d Williams (1793\u20131864) \u2014 Married James McClure; remained in Smyth County. Elizabeth Williams (1794\u20131866) \u2014 Married Aaron Blankenbeckler; had 11 known children; Smyth County. Mary \u201cPolly\u201d Williams (1797\u20131870) \u2014 Married Enoch Keene; moved to Blount County, Tennessee; had 6 children. Ura Williams (1801\u2013?) \u2014 Married John Shupe in Johnson County, Tennessee; later married David Cress; had 11 children. Sally Williams (1808\u2013?) \u2014 Likely remained in Smyth County; never married. Freelove Williams (1809\u20131870) \u2014 Married Davis Cress (a different man from Ura\u2019s husband); had 8 children. Malinda Williams (1812\u20131869) \u2014 Married Andrew Shupe; lived in Smyth County; had 5 children. Lucinda Williams (1813\u20131857) \u2014 Married Washington Quillen, nephew of Aaron Blankenbeckler; had 10 children who later married into other Smyth County families after the move to Tennessee. This network of daughters married into many of the region\u2019s most prominent early families\u2014McClure, Blankenbeckler, Keene, Shupe, Cress, and Quillen\u2014creating a web of kinship that shaped the social fabric of both Smyth County and the Tennessee counties to which several migrated. The Question of Sons: A Genealogical Puzzl While the daughters are well documented, the possibility of sons remains less certain. The 1810 census shows four male children in the household, and several researchers\u2014including early Cole historian Judge Redmond Cole\u2014have attributed up to five sons to Richard and Keziah: James Samuel Hugh Elisha Sampson These names fit the birth order gaps and family naming patterns, but no definitive documentation has surfaced. One theory suggests that if sons existed, they may have received their inheritance early\u2014possibly before leaving for Tennessee\u2014resulting in their absence from later wills. This uncertainty remains one of the most intriguing open questions in Cole\u2013Williams genealogy. Legacy of the Cole\u2013Williams Line The Cole family\u2019s influence in the Rye Valley is preserved not only through land and records but through the enduring presence of their descendants across Smyth County and East Tennessee. Their story reflects: Religious leadership in early Baptist communities Deep roots in the Holston settlements Connections to early American history, including the Mayflower A rare matrilineal legacy, with eight daughters whose marriages shaped regional genealogy Ongoing mysteries, such as the unconfirmed sons and their possible migration The Cole family\u2019s story is a reminder of how intertwined the early families of Rye Valley were\u2014Welsh, English, German, and Scots-Irish settlers building a community through faith, marriage, and shared labor in the rugged Appalachian frontier."}