Holbrook line: Thomas Cole, Immigrant

Thomas Cole is believed to be the son of Humphrey Cole and May Mott.  Humphrey must have been a person of some means because a son and a son in law were each rectors, and that would probably indicate a certain degree of schooling.  Humphrey himself had a BA from Pembroke College (part of Cambridge University) in 1593 and an MA in 1598.  The family was oriented toward education.

Thomas Cole was born about 1603 in Essex, England and had arrived in Virginia on July 4, 1635.  It's possible that he came in 1632, had returned to England for some reason and then come back to Virginia. Either date would put him in Virginia early.  He married a woman named Priscilla, who may or may not be Priscilla Godfrey, the daughter of John Godfrey.

Thomas and Priscilla were in Maryland by 1649, and were acknowledged Quakers a few years later.  Perhaps they left Virginia because they felt persecuted there, but that is speculation.  In 1666, he was voted 1000 pounds of tobacco in recompense for the loss of his stock, killed or stolen in raids by the native Americans.  John owned 550 acres of land, called Cole's Harbor in 1668.  This was in what is now the Inner Harbor of Baltimore, and even then may have been considered valuable.  It may also have been marshy, because we don't know that Thomas and Priscilla actually lived there.  He also patented 450 acres called Mayden's Choice in 1674, and a 200 acre tract called Saint Mary Borne in 1675. 

They seem to have settled in what is now Anne Arundel County, then called Providence County.  Thomas and Priscilla had just one known child, or at least one child who lived to adulthood. There may have been a son, John, but nothing more is known of him.  Sarah and her husband, Charles Gorsuch, sold the three Baltimore County tracts on December 8, 1679, Sarah being described as the sole heiress of Thomas Cole.  Priscilla therefore must have been gone by then, and Thomas also, although we don't have dates for either of them.  They may well have been buried in the early Quaker fashion, which was in unmarked graves, with only a flagstone to indicate the place of burial.

I wish we knew more about Thomas.  For instance, during the Indian attack when his stock was stolen, where was he and where was his family?  Did the family suffer other losses, or was this a one time thing?  As a Quaker, he probably wasn't part of the militia but I'd like to confirm that.  Was he a slave owner?   Was he educated, or at least literate? (I think yes, because his father and brother were educated, and because his daughter married into an influential family, but I'd like to know for sure).  What words of wisdom could he share with us, if we could talk face to face?

The line of descent is :

Thomas Cole-Priscilla
Sarah Cole-Charles Gorsuch
Charles Gorsuch Jr-Sarah Cole (it appears that these two were cousins)
Hannah Gorsuch-Thomas Stansbury
Rachel Stansbury-Alexis Lemmon
Sarah Lemmon-Abraham Hetrick
Isaac Hetrick-Elizabeth Black
Mary Alice Hetrick-Louis Stanard
Etta Stanard-Loren Holbrook
Gladys Holbrook-Richard Allen
Their descendants