Lewis Houston Cole was born in 1844 to teenager Mattie Cole in Giles Co., TN. Family lore passed down two different branches of the Cole family said his father was a married neighbor man. My branch of the family only knew that Lewis' father's last name was Jones and that he lived on Shoals Creek. My aunt also told me had children named Scott and Velia, but I would come to learn they were actually his grandchildren. After doing conventional research to conclude his father must have been William Anderson Jones, I excitedly called Cole family historian Estha Cole of Loretto, TN to tell her the news. After I told her of my conclusion, her response was, "Yes, that's right... William Anderson Jones." I was shocked that she knew and hadn't told me and inquired why. She told me that she didn't know me well enough. I can only assume she was worried I'd be offended somehow. Y-DNA testing has since proven that the Y-DNA from the Lewis Cole line does indeed match this Jones line, and autosomal DNA matches also tie us closely to the William Anderson Jones branch.

After Lewis' mother died, Lewis Houston was cared for by his grandmother Hannah Cole, his aunt Margaret Cole, and his uncle William F. Cole. William F. Cole is buried in Mt. Carmel cemetery with a headstone, and we believe it's likely that Mattie, Hannah, and Hannah's husband Thomas are buried in obvious unmarked graves around him. It should also be noted that the Y-DNA of both the Lewis H. Cole descendant and his Jones cousin both clearly show the Jones branch in question is actually carrying Talley Y-DNA. Somewhere up the Jones lines back in time, a Talley man fathered a male child who would carry the Jones surname.

Lewis served in the 32nd Tennessee Infantry, Company H during the Civil War. He enlisted on November 13, 1862 and was present on the company roll on August 31, 1864. More than half the men of the 32nd Tennessee were killed or wounded at the Battle of Kolb's Farm in Georgia on June 22, 1864. Confederate casualties were estimated to be 1000.

The Battle of Jonesboro, GA on August 31st took another heavy toll on what remained of the 32nd. This was the last battle of the Atlanta Campaign, after which Atlanta fell under Union control. What was left of the 32nd retreated back towards Tennessee with the goal of helping to free Nashville from Union control. On November 20th, they were reported to have made their way to Florence, AL which was only 50 miles from Lewis' home.

On January 11, 1865, Lewis signed an Amnesty Oath in Pulaski, TN which was an oath of loyalty to the United States as offered by President Lincoln to all who would sign. It was essentially a blanket pardon. His oath had the remark, "Deserted November 23, 1864." Apparently when his company had gotten so close to his home that third week of November, he simply had had enough after two years of what must have been hell, and just left his unit and went home.

Having miraculously survived the Civil War, Lewis married the much younger Louisa Elizabeth "Lizzie" Baulch in 1875, and they lived on land she inherited from her father Hiram Baulch. They had 9 children including two sets of fraternal twins. Lewis was also member of the International Order of Odd Fellows. He died at the age of 64 of pneumonia per family members.

Some stories I've heard about Lewis...

From cousin Estha Cole, a descendant of Lewis' uncle William F. Cole: During one battle during the war, Lewis was dancing around on the breastwork with bullets flying all around him and said, "Boys, it's getting hot up here!"

From Aunt Peggy and Aunt Mildred: Shortly before he died, Lewis was talking with his son Wilson about Wilson's courtship with Bertha Littrell. Lewis tried to dissuade him from marrying her saying that Bertha "wasn't sturdy and wouldn't make a good helpmate." Wilson would go on to marry her a couple of years later, and she would die after giving birth to their first child, who also didn't survive.

My aunts also related that it wasn't secret who his father was at the time. Lewis even played with his half-siblings. There was great shame and ridicule at the time because he was born out of wedlock, and it was not spoken about to younger generations until my grandmother finally spilled the beans when my aunt started looking into family history. When I started doing the same, I called and spoke with every one of Lewis' grandchildren who was still living, and only my aunts knew of the circumstances of his birth, so the rest of the family was kept in the dark. I would also learn from Willa "Zoo" Cole, who descended from William F. Cole, that when she asked her mother how they were related to my Cole branch, she was told to be quiet and that she knew everything she needed to know. They definitely tried to bury the truth, and here I am spreading it far and wide on the Internet.