Moses B. Cole
Moses B. Cole, one of the leading citizens of Wells Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, a successful farmer and stock raiser, owns 220 acres of excellent land, which is situated in both Wells and Warren Townships, lying on both sides of the turnpike road and about five miles northwest of Rayland. He was born in Wayne Township, Jefferson County, Ohio, September 18, 1852, and is a son of John T. and Margaret A. (Blackburn) Cole.
John T. Cole was born also in Wayne Township and was a son of Ezekiel Cole, who, with his brother, came to Jefferson Coimty from Maryland and entered land in Wayne Township. Ezekiel Cole lived to be eighty years of age and died on his farm in Wayne Township. He had six children: Roland and John T., twins, Judiah, Catherine, Mary A. and Sarah, all of whom are now deceased. John T. Cole remained in his native township until he was thirty-five years old and then moved to Wells Township and bought a farm one mile east of Smithfield, and died there, in August, 1904. For many years he was in partnership with his twin brother, Roland, in farming and wool growing. He married Margaret A. Blackburn, a daughter of Moses Blackburn, who then was a well known wool buyer in Jefferson County, but later moved to Knox Countv, Ohio. Mrs. Cole died in May, 1910. To John T. Cole and his wife nine children were born, namely: Moses Blackburn; Sarah, wife of William Starr; Catherine, wife of William Varnholt; E. R.; Anna J., deceased, formerly the wife of Thomas Burriss; William and Charles, twins; Tabitha, wife of C. H. Hunter; and Edwin J., deceased.
Moses Blackburn Cole was a boy when his father moved to Wells Township and here he grew to manhood and obtained a district school education. In the fall of 1876 he visited for a short time through the West, but found no more desiralile section in which to settle than the home one, and in the spring of 1877 he located on his present farm, which he rented from his father for five years, and then bought the property. Mr. Cole has been making improvements ever since. In 1904 he erected the comfortable and attractive 12-room residence, which is supplied with everything in the way of convenience that a rural home can have, and in 1900 he had built his substantial barn, which, with its dimensions of 48 by 66 feet and 51½ feet in height, is the largest structure of its kind in the township. For his large operations Mr. Cole has needed plenty of accommodations. Formerly he was a large and successful sheep raiser and has taken many prizes for his fine flocks at different exhibits and fairs. In April, 1904, oil was found on his farm, and there are now four producing wells on the place. He has numerous business interests aside from his agricultural ones, being a stockholder in the Jefferson County Oil Company, a stockholder in the Findlay Lumber Company at Weems, O., and a director in the First National Bank at Smithfield, O.
Mr. Cole was married March 24, 1880, to Miss Sarah Sixsmith, a daughter of George and Jane (Lewis) Sixsmith, old residents of Jefferson County, and they have three children, Edna, Ida J. and Ethel. Mr. Cole and family belong to the Methodist Episcopal church. He is a Republican in his political sentiments but cares nothing for public office.
20th Century History of Steubenville and Jefferson County, Ohio, by Joseph B. Doyle. Richmond-Arnold Publishing Co., Chicago, 1910