In honor of March being Women’s History Month, I would like to
tell the story of Hannah Allison Cole, a woman whose life has
greatly impacted mine. Left out of traditional history books, it is
unlikely that any student will ever learn her story from a
classroom textbook.
In honor of March being Women’s History Month, I would like to tell the story of Hannah Allison Cole, a woman whose life has greatly impacted mine. Left out of traditional history books, it is unlikely that any student will ever learn her story from a classroom textbook.
It seems to me stories of women’s tenacity, courage and creativity throughout the centuries can be a tremendous source of strength. Until relatively recently, this sphere of women’s history was overlooked and undervalued. But, it is knowing our shared history that unites families, communities and nations. It brings strangers together.
Hannah, who lived from 1762 to 1843, was my fifth great-grandmother.
After her husband, William Temple Cole, was killed by American Indians on the journey westward from Virginia, Hannah became the first white woman to settle in central Missouri.
She was known for being a peacemaker. She once stopped an armed standoff between Native Americans and pioneers by going up to one of the white settlers and placing her own hand over the muzzle of his gun. Both sides gave up, and not one shot was fired.
This 50-year-old widow continued the journey west with her nine children after her husband was killed.
When they settled in what is now Cooper County, there were no white Americans living west of Franklin County and south of the Missouri River. Hannah’s only close neighbors were the Sauk and Fox tribes.
Settling in 1809 in what is today the Missouri town of Boonville, she became the first woman to own property, establish her own business and run her own fort in central Missouri. Her home became the site of the first school, church service, voting place and court session. She lived peaceably among the Sauk and Fox for the rest of her life.
Her son, Samuel, passed down many stories of the Cole family, which my family liked to tell around the table at family get-togethers.
According to Samuel, “Daniel Boone came to see us; he had been at the mouth of the Lamine River trapping and hunting. He was a cousin to my father. I knew him well and saw him a great deal while we were in Osage country. He was afflicted with rheumatism and would ask me to rub his back, which I always did. This hunting and trapping expedition to the mouth of the Lamine was the last the old man ever took.”
Today, Hannah Cole is recognized as a famous pioneer in her own right. Her descendants remember her in an annual wreath laying ceremony at her grave, under the direction of the Hannah Cole Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
An interesting local side note is the recent discovery I made while attending the Gilroy Lions Club speech contest two weeks ago. In comparing family history notes with longtime local Lion Bill Hart, we discovered he is descended from the family of Hannah Cole’s husband. That makes Hart and my mother sixth cousins. You never know if that stranger sitting right next to you might actually be a part of your family.
The families of Hannah Cole’s descendants maintain a family newsletter, hold reunions in Missouri and support a scholarship fund in her name. A 7.5 foot bronze statue of Hannah was created in 2004, using a composite image of photos of women directly descended from her. Though women’s achievements have often been distorted and denied in the historical record, knowing women’s stories provides essential role models for everyone. And role models are genuinely needed to face the extraordinary changes and challenges of the 21st century.
Hannah Allison Cole is one woman whose story has been rescued from the mists of time. Hopefully, her contributions will not be forgotten.
