Note: There is no grave marker or record of burial for John here. However, he was married in this church, he died in Providence, and his widow, who never remarried, was buried here. It is very unlikely that his widow would have been buried anywhere other than by her husband's side, particularly in light of the long association the couple had with this church.
John was the son of Elisha Cole and Elizabeth Dexter of Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was married at St. John's Church in Providence on 17 Jan 1759 to Elizabeth Updike, the daughter of Daniel Updike. He and Elizabeth had two known children.
John was a lawyer who became the 12th Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving for 15 months from 1764 to 1765. Following his short tenure as Chief Justice, he became a Providence legislator, and Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies. In this role he was on a committee to draft instructions to Providence citizens in regards to protesting the egregious Stamp Act passed by the British parliament to tax the American colonists. During the lead up to the American Revolutionary War, Cole was privy to the plan and execution of the burning of the British revenue schooner Gaspee that ran aground near Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. He was deeply complicit with Stephen Hopkins and other leading Providence citizens in withholding evidence from the British commission of inquiry that was established to find the instigators of the Gaspee Affair. After a year of collecting testimonies, the court dissolved, having failed to indict a single person. In 1775 Cole became the Advocate General of Rhode Island's Vice Admiralty Court, but died of smallpox just two years later.
John was the son of Elisha Cole and Elizabeth Dexter of Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was married at St. John's Church in Providence on 17 Jan 1759 to Elizabeth Updike, the daughter of Daniel Updike. He and Elizabeth had two known children.
John was a lawyer who became the 12th Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving for 15 months from 1764 to 1765. Following his short tenure as Chief Justice, he became a Providence legislator, and Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies. In this role he was on a committee to draft instructions to Providence citizens in regards to protesting the egregious Stamp Act passed by the British parliament to tax the American colonists. During the lead up to the American Revolutionary War, Cole was privy to the plan and execution of the burning of the British revenue schooner Gaspee that ran aground near Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. He was deeply complicit with Stephen Hopkins and other leading Providence citizens in withholding evidence from the British commission of inquiry that was established to find the instigators of the Gaspee Affair. After a year of collecting testimonies, the court dissolved, having failed to indict a single person. In 1775 Cole became the Advocate General of Rhode Island's Vice Admiralty Court, but died of smallpox just two years later.
Note: There is no grave marker or record of burial for John here. However, he was married in this church, he died in Providence, and his widow, who never remarried, was buried here. It is very unlikely that his widow would have been buried anywhere other than by her husband's side, particularly in light of the long association the couple had with this church.
John was the son of Elisha Cole and Elizabeth Dexter of Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was married at St. John's Church in Providence on 17 Jan 1759 to Elizabeth Updike, the daughter of Daniel Updike. He and Elizabeth had two known children.
John was a lawyer who became the 12th Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving for 15 months from 1764 to 1765. Following his short tenure as Chief Justice, he became a Providence legislator, and Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies. In this role he was on a committee to draft instructions to Providence citizens in regards to protesting the egregious Stamp Act passed by the British parliament to tax the American colonists. During the lead up to the American Revolutionary War, Cole was privy to the plan and execution of the burning of the British revenue schooner Gaspee that ran aground near Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. He was deeply complicit with Stephen Hopkins and other leading Providence citizens in withholding evidence from the British commission of inquiry that was established to find the instigators of the Gaspee Affair. After a year of collecting testimonies, the court dissolved, having failed to indict a single person. In 1775 Cole became the Advocate General of Rhode Island's Vice Admiralty Court, but died of smallpox just two years later.
John was the son of Elisha Cole and Elizabeth Dexter of Kingstown, Rhode Island. He was married at St. John's Church in Providence on 17 Jan 1759 to Elizabeth Updike, the daughter of Daniel Updike. He and Elizabeth had two known children.
John was a lawyer who became the 12th Chief Justice of the Rhode Island Supreme Court, serving for 15 months from 1764 to 1765. Following his short tenure as Chief Justice, he became a Providence legislator, and Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Deputies. In this role he was on a committee to draft instructions to Providence citizens in regards to protesting the egregious Stamp Act passed by the British parliament to tax the American colonists. During the lead up to the American Revolutionary War, Cole was privy to the plan and execution of the burning of the British revenue schooner Gaspee that ran aground near Pawtuxet, Rhode Island. He was deeply complicit with Stephen Hopkins and other leading Providence citizens in withholding evidence from the British commission of inquiry that was established to find the instigators of the Gaspee Affair. After a year of collecting testimonies, the court dissolved, having failed to indict a single person. In 1775 Cole became the Advocate General of Rhode Island's Vice Admiralty Court, but died of smallpox just two years later.
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