1891 Ontario Census, Algoma, Barrie Island, Family #3
Cole Mathew Male 58 Single Head England England England CE Farmer
Cole Ellan Female 52 Married Wife England England England CE
Cole Samuel Male 30 Single Son England England England CE Farmer
Cole George A. Male 23 Single Son England England England CE Farmer
Cole Emely Female 21 Single Daughter England England England CE
Cole Fredrick Male 16 Single Son England England England CE Farmer
Cole Sarah Ellen Female 14 Single Daughter Ontario England England CE

1901 Ontario Census, Algoma, Barrie Island Con 8 Lot 10, Family #9
COLE Mathew Male Head married 30 October 1834 67 Eng 1875 Eng Can CE
COLE Elenor Female Wife married 16 August 1839 62 Eng 1875 Eng Can CE
COLE Fredrick Male Son single 5 June 1874 26 Eng 1875 Eng Can CE
COLE Victor M. Male GrandSon single 6 July 1887 13 Ont Eng Can CE

1911 Gore Bay Census, Algoma East, Page #8, Household #89
Cole Mathew Male Head Married October 1834 76
Cole Ellen Female Wife Married August 1839 72
??shing Helle? Female Lodger Single 1894 16
Matheson Sarah Female Lodger Single 1891 21
Carter E??n Female Lodger Single 1894 17
Carter Irene Female Lodger Single 1902 7
Meleg? Jane Female Lodger Single 1896 15

Ontario Vital Records - Deaths #020 077 - 1932
COLE, Matthew Haker, male, 4 June 1914 at Gore Bay. Cause: Old age at age 79 years, 7 months, 4 days. Born: England.

Barrie Island Tweedsmuir History, Volume II, page 76 - The Cole Family on Barrie Island
Matthew Harker Cole and his wife Ellen Clark were among the first settlers on Barrie Island, coming originally from the Isle of Wight. There is no record of when they came but, they must have brought their family with them because the youngest child Sarah was born in 1876. Mr. Cole bought Lot 10 concession 8 from the Crown. Built a house and log barns first then later a frame barn. He cleared the land when they first came there were no roads, just trails through the bush. When they needed supplies they had to walk to Gore Bay. There was no bridge at the shoal, they had to cross by boat. Mr. Cole believed he should not let his animals work on Sunday. If they went to church or visiting on Sunday they would walk rather than hitch up an animal. They had a family of six boys and two girls: William, Robert, John, George, Emily, Fred and Sarah. John died when an infant. William lived in Toronto.
Samuel married Helen (Nellie) Jennings, July 1891. They took up land on Lot 10 concession 7. There they built a small frame house and barn. All their family were born there: Winnifred, Florence, Grace, Keatha, Walter and Howard. In 1908 they moved to Gore Bay and in 1918 moved to Cookstown area.
Robert married Elizabeth Dobbson. They bought Lot 12 Concession 8 from Robert Lewis where they farmed for a few years then moved to Lot 14 Concession 6 later moving to the Cookstown area. They had no children.
George married Catharine (Kate) Witty. They built the house and barn and cleared the land on Lot 11 Concession 7. Their family of five were all born there: Vern, Clem, Laura, Willard and Herman. About 1918 they also left the Island and bought a farm near Alliston.
Emily married Ernest Letts. They lived first on Lot 13 Concession 8.Per haps they built the house and barn there. Later they moved to Lot 12 Concession 4 which they bought from George Coutts. Their family were all born on Barrie Island: Gertrude, Arthur, Harold, Nellie, Erwin and Ada.Gert rude married Fred Connors, Harold married Grace Greenman, Nellie married Harry Noble, and lived on Lot 10 Concession. The Letts also moved south to a farm at Everette, Ontario.
Fred married a widow Mrs. Mary Merrylees (Best) who had three children: Joseph, James and Kathleen. He took over his father's farm in 1914 and lived there a few years before retiring to Gore Bay.
Sarah married George Coutts. They lived on Lot 11 concession 3. In the early 1900's they sold out and moved west.
Matthew Harker Cole was born in 1834 and died in 1914. Elenor (Clark) Cole was born in 1839 and died in 1915. Both are buried in Gordon Cemetery.

The Recorder, Gore Bay, Thursday, June 11, 1914 -
Barrie Island
Many were sorry to hear of the death of Mr. M. Cole of Gore Bay which took place at one-thirty on Thursday morning. His sons Robert and Will were sent for but did not arrive until Thursday night. The funeral took place on Saturday to Gordon cemetery. Mrs. Cole and family have the sympathy of their Barrie Island friends in their bereavement.

Obituary - The Recorder, Gore Bay, Thursday, June 11, 1914 -
Mathew Cole Passes Away
Mathew Hakar (sic) Cole died at his home in Gore Bay on Thursday morning June 4th, 1914 , in his 80th year. The immediate cause of his death was pneumonia, being ill only a few days.
The deceased was born at Ryhall Lincolnshire England. He came to Canada in 1875 and resided in Simcoe County till he came to the Manitoulin 1881, where he resided till his death.
He leaves his widow, two daughters and five sons to mourn his death. The daughters are Mrs. Geo. Coutts, Gore Bay and Mrs. E. A. Letts, Barrie Island. The sons are, Samuel, Gore Bay and Robert, George, and Fred, Barrie Island, and William of Toronto.
The funeral took place at All Saints Church on Jun 6th, Rev. H. F. Hutton officiating. The pall bearers were his five sons and his nephew Victor.

Gordon Cemetery, Gordon and Allan, Manitoulin Island, #465
C / MATHEW H COLE / 1835-1914 / HIS WIFE / ELLEN CLARK / 1839-1915 / COLE fs FATHER

Tombstone photo.

• Married:
• Change Date: 1 Jul 2009

1. William Clark COLE b: 9 Dec 1858 in Aslackby , England
2. Samuel COLE b: 19 May 1860 in Lincoln, England
3. Robert COLE b: 3 Dec 1863
4. George Albert COLE b: 21 Jan 1867 in England
5. Emily Elizabeth COLE b: 14 Mar 1869 in Lincolnshire, England
6. John COLE b: 1 Dec 1872
7. Frederick COLE b: 5 Jun 1874 in England
8. Sarah Ellen COLE b: 25 Oct 1876 in Everett, Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada
9. Victor COLE b: 6 Jul 1888 in Ontario, Canada