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Ida Bell (Minard) Cole
(1859-1941)

Ida Bell (Minard) Cole was born on Sept. 30, 1859 at Gambier, Knox County, OH, the daughter of Nathan W. and Sarah Jane (Woodruff) Minard. She and her parents were pioneer settlers of Iowa and Missouri.

In 1865, when she was six, her father returned from the Civil War. The following year, at age seven, Ida Bell migrated with her family to Cedar County, IA. From there, in 1872, they moved to Caldwell County, MO. While in Missouri, she met Henry Harrison "Clark" Cole (1852-1935), the son of Harry and Candace (Hathaway) Cole of Watertown, NY.

On Sept. 15, 1878, at the home of her father at Kingston, Grant Township, Ida Bell and Clark were married. She was age 19 at the time, and he was 26. N.T. Brown, a minister of the gospel, performed the ceremony.

The Coles had 14 children -- born over a quarter-century, spanning the years 1881 and 1906 -- including Clarence Wilbur Cole, Clyde Francis Cole, William Cole, Florence Lenora Metsker, George Nathan Cole, Candace Naomi Thurber, Alice Myrtle Nelson, Harry Leonard Cole, Artemus Ward "Art" Cole, Laura Mae Forrest McKinney, Ruby Elnora Murphy, Ernest Kenneth Cole, Ida Isabel "Bell" Cook and Frank Leslie Cole. 

The photo seen here shows Clark and Ida Belle (second row from front, far left) and their family of grown children.

Sadly, son George died at age 10, when the family was in Richland, KS.

A history by Bernice (Cole) Wilson, called Meeting of the Grandparents, states that Ida Bell and Clark:

...left Missouri in a covered wagon for a homestead area in Nebraska. When they got there they had to build a sod house. They lived there until the 1894 drouth… Grandmother Cole struggled and didn't complain about the hardships. Grandpa [Cole] would run a wagon from Grand Island, Neb. to Loup City, Neb. With supplies and was caught in prairie fires and with great danger and gusto he came through without a mishap…. They used oxen to farm with and my father … told how the oxen learned to turn with two words, 'gee' and 'Haa' and this worked.

Adding to their pioneer story is W. Flora Shepherd's 1979 book, Family Records of Baxley and Hilliard, Cole and Hathaway. It states that after marriage, "Clark … went with his father and family to Sherman County, Nebr., homesteading the Loup City area. Nine of their children were born in Arcadia, Neb. In [1894], they traveled by wagon to Kansas, settling in the Richland area where five more of their children were born."

The Coles are thought to have moved in with Ida Bell's parents in Richland until they could find a place of their own.

Little is known about the rest of their lives, other than the fact that they experienced the ups and downs of raising children, earning a living and running a household. In September 1928, the Coles celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a large gathering, seen below.

Clark passed away in Richland on Sept. 2, 1935, at the age of 83.

Ida Bell outlived him by six years, and died at the home of daughter Florence in Lone Star near Lawrence, KS on Jan. 29, 1941. At the time of her death, Ida Bell had 24 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

Clark and Ida Bell are buried together at Pleasant Hill Cemetery near Berryton, KS.

Family reunion celebrating Clark and Ida Bell's 50th wedding anniversary in September 1928

Circa 1941, sons Clarence, Clyde and Ernest lived in San Bernardino, CA; sons Harry and Art in Richland, KS; and son Frank in Jerome, ID. Daughters Florence and Candace resided in Florence, KS; Alice in Fort Peirce, FL; Laura Mae in Topeka, KS; Ruby in Overbrook, KS; and Bell in Fair Oaks, CA.

Son Clarence Wilbur Cole (1881-1960) married Mary Helen Ahlstrom (1885-1955). They resided in San Bernardino, CA and had two children -- Harriet Cole and Ernestine Cole. Clarence died on May 18, 1960, at the age of 79.

Son Clyde Francis Cole (1882-1960) married Amy Banker ( ? -1960) at Topeka, KS. She was a native of Twi nMound, Douglas County. They lived in San Bernardino and had two sons -- Albertus Cole and Robert Dale Cole. Clyde passed away on Oct. 16, 1960, and Amy only lived for two more days, dying on Oct. 18, 1960.

Son William Cole (-1884-) was born in Arcadia, NE on Jan. 5, 1884 and died exactly one month later.

Daughter Florence Leona Cole (1885- ? ) married Andrew Elmer Metsker. Nothing further is known.

Son George Nathan Cole (1886-1896) was born in Arcadia on Oct. 1, 1886. Sadly, he died at the age of nine on Jan. 6, 1896. The cause of his untimely death is unknown.

Daughter Candace Naomi Cole (1888- ? ) married LeRoy Thurber on Dec. 9, 1908. They had one daughter, Ida Marie Thurber, born in 1910.

Daughter Alice Myrtle Cole (1890- ? ) married Roy Nelson on Sept. 1, 1912 at Topeka, KS. They had two children -- Ruby Nelson and Betty Nelson.

Son Harry Leonard Cole (1892- ? ) married Hazel Rachel Goff (1896- ? ) on New Year's Eve at Lone Star near Lawrence, Douglas County, KS. She was the daughter of George William and Mary (Mitchell) Goff. Harry was a member of the International Order of Odd Fellows in Richland, KS, and he and Hazel belonged to the United Brethren Church in Richland. They had two children:

• Viola Bernice Wilson (1919- ? ) who married Fred Howard Wilson (1915- ? ). Fred served in the U.S. Army infantry during World War II. Viola was employed by the Boilermakers-Blacksmith National Pension Trust in Kansas City, KS. Bernice was a historian of the Minard family and wrote the following: 
  "A brief addendum of the MINARD family ... may substantially be of help to others in their search of this particular Minard family. The family name was originally Von Minard-Minarde-Minard. Originating in France, they left going into Germany. We record here 3 generations with their several children: John Minard, b. 1790, d. 1894, lived to be 104 years of age, wife's name unknown. Their children were, Sophia, Mary, Samuel, Solomon, John, Burger and George; Solomon Minard, son of John, had a wife Rachel Little. They were Dunkards and had a family of 13 children: Andrew, Wesley, Joseph, NATHAN, C.C., Mary, Elizabeth, Electra, Maggie, Barbara, Jason, Albert and Forbes. Nathan Minard, b. Aug. 8, 1838, Mt. Vernon, Ohio, m. Sarah Jane Woodruff, b. June 9, 1839. Her father was from the House of Lords in Scotland. He married a commoner and changed his name to Woodruff. This is all that has been found on her side."

• Imogene May Cole (1923- ? ) who married Arthur C. Anderson on Jan. 27, 1945, at Lawrence, KS.

Son Articemus Ward Cole (1893- ? ) married Flora Clare Gress (1898-1975) at Richland, KS on April 20, 1919. They had four children -- Lawrence Cole, Wilbur Cole, Arlene Cole and one who died in infancy. Flora passed away on Jan. 30, 1975, and rests for eternity at Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Berry, KS.

Daughter Laura Mae Cole (1895- ? ) married twice. Her first spouse was John Forest, and her second husband was Frank McKinney. She and John had four children -- Ida Mary Forest, John Clark Forest, Myrtle Bell Forest and Marjorie May Forest.

Daughter Ruby Elanora Cole (1897- ? ) married James Phillip Murphy ( ? - ? ) on Feb. 22, 1917 at Topeka. Their three children were Delbert Murphy, James Murphy Jr. and Lois Ann Murphy.

Son Ernest Kenneth Cole (1899- ? ) married Edith Burbank ( ? - ? ). They had one son, Norman Cecil Cole

Daughter Ida Isabel Cole (1901- ? ) married Clinton William Cook Sr. ( ? - ? ) in Richland on Aug. 3, 1924. They had one son, Clinton William Cook Jr.

Son Frank Leslie Cole (1906-1975) was the youngest of 14 children. A full quarter century separated him in age from his eldest brother. Frank married Velma Miller at Overbrook, KS. They had two children -- Judy Cole and Dennis Cole. Frank died at the age of 69 on June 13, 1975.

For more information about this branch of our family, contact Jennifer Brackeen.