Fifth Generation

90. Vesta Clay (Vestie) England^{28,51,101,102,103,104,105,106,107,108,109}.
Birth: 10 April 1840, Anderson County, Tennessee.^28,103,106 Vesta's tombstone says that she was born 10 Apr 1841. However, she must have been born 10 Apr 1840. She was listed as age 10 in 1850 and age 21 in 1861. But more importantly, her parents were enumerated with a female child age 00-04 in 1840. This child must have been Vesta. The 1840 birth date is consistent with her parents marriage date of 23 May 1839.
Parents: John England and Jane (Jennie) Peters.
Census: 1840, Anderson County, Tennessee.¹⁵
Household of her father John England.
Age 00-04.
Census: 1850, Anderson County, Tennessee.²⁸
Household of her father John England.
Vesta 10 f w TN attended school.
Census: 1860, Anderson County, Tennessee.
Household of her father John England.
Vesta 21 f w domestic TN.
Birth of Child: 3 July 1867, Ida Rhoda Cole, parent age: 27.
Birth of Child: 3 July 1867, Cordelia Rene (Cordie) Cole, parent age: 27.
Birth of Child: 29 June 1870, Sallie Jane Cole, parent age: 30.
Census: 1870, Knox County, Tennessee.
Household of her husband William Cole.
Vesta 30 f w keeping house TN.
Birth of Child: 22 October 1872, Mollie Caroline Cole, parent age: 32.
Birth of Child: after 1872, infant Cole, parent age: 32.
Census: 1880, Knox County, Tennessee.
Head of household.
Dist. 10, Knox County, Tennessee, 17 Jun 1880; page 387b, dwelling number 259, family number 264.
Cole Vesta C. 37 head female widowed white keeping house, born in TN, father and mother born in TN.
Cordie R. 11 daughter, female, single, white, at home, born in TN, father and mother born in TN, attended school
Mary I. 7 daughter, female, single, white, born in TN, father and mother born in TN
Vesta's daughter Ida age 11 (twin of Cordie) was enumerated household of one of Vesta's aunts in Anderson County, and Vesta's daughter Sallie age 10 was enumerated household of another of Vesta's aunts in Anderson County. As a widow with four young daughters and living in a different county than the rest of her family, Vesta apparently was financially unable to keep all her daughters together.
Census: 1900, Anderson County, Tennessee.¹⁰⁹
Household of her son-in-law Phillip Hancher Wells who married her daughter Ida Rhoda Cole.
Scarbrough Vesty 60 mother-in-law female widowed white Apr 1840, born in TN, father and mother born in TN, 5 children 4 living.
Four of Vesta's children are well documented. No information is available about the fifth child except the information from this census entry. For example, no information is available about when the child was born and died, whether the child was male or female, or if the child's father was Vesta's first husband or her second husband.
Census: 1910, Anderson County, Tennessee.
Household of her daughter Mollie Cole Peters.
Scarborough Vesta 70 mother female widowed white, born in TN, father and mother born in TN, can R/W.
Missing from census: 1920.
Because Vesta was enumerated household of her daughter Ida in 1900 and her daughter Mollie in 1910, it seems likely that Vesta would have been living with one of her daughters in 1920. However, 1920 census entries have been found for each of her four daughters and Vesta was not enumerated with any of the four. Also, Vesta has not been found in the 1920 census living alone nor living with a family other than the families of her daughters.
Death: 23 November 1924, age 84, [Anderson County], [Tennessee].¹⁰³
Her date of death is from her tombstone. Although Tennessee began requiring death certificates in 1914, there is not a Tennessee death certificate for Vesta. No obituary has been found in Knoxville newspapers or in Anderson County. Oral family history from Jo Peters (1908-2007) reported that Vesta lived in the Scarbrough community in Anderson County at the time of her death. Jo remembered that Vesta used to take walks along Edgemoor Road.
Burial: New Gray Cemetery, Knoxville, Knox County, Tennessee.¹⁰³ Grave marker: Mother, Vesta C. Scarbrough, Apr 10, 1841 - Nov 23, 1924. She was buried in the same family plot as her daughter Ida, her son-in-law Phillip Wells, and her granddaughter Lucy Clay Wells. According to Lucille Peters Wright and Jo Hackworth Peters, Vestie was short, wore her hair in a bun, and always wore an apron. She looked a great deal like her daughter Sallie Cole Peters. Vestie is remembered as having been called Grandma Scarbrough or Grandma Vestie or Aunt Vestie. She was remembered as Grandma Scarbrough rather than as Grandma Cole because a number of years after the death of her husband William Cole, she remarried to Chesley Scarbrough. All her children were with William Cole.

According to Jo Hackworth Peters, for the last years of her life, Vesta lived in the household of her daughter Cordie and Cordie's husband Ross Scarbrough. During this time, Vestie took long walks along Bethel Valley Road.

Vesta Clay (Vestie) England and William (Will) Cole.
Marriage: 5 December 1865, Anderson County, Tennessee, Vesta Clay (Vestie) England, to William (Will) Cole.¹⁰⁵ William Cole to Vestey England, John Gambel J.P., license issued 4 Dec 1865, marriage 5 Dec 1865.

William (Will) Cole^{104,105,106,110}, son of Martin Cole and Elizabeth Merritt,.
Birth: about 1846, [Hawkins County], Tennessee.^106,110 Irene Tarver has notes from oral family tradition which say that William Cole was born in Virginia, died in Blount County, Tennessee, and was buried in the Ebenezer Cemetery in Concord, Knox County, Tennessee. It has not been possible to substantiate any of these notes. William's 1870 census entry and the death certificate of his daughter Sallie Jane Cole both report that was born in Tennessee. There is considerable evidence to suggest that he was born in Hawkins County as the son of Martin Cole, but this conclusion is based on the preponderance of evidence and is not proven beyond reasonable doubt. Martin was the son of Richard Cole who was born in Virginia, so the oral family tradition of William having been born in Virginia may be based on the family originally having been from Virginia.
Parents: Martin Cole and Elizabeth Merritt.
Census: 1850, Hawkins County, Tennessee.¹¹⁰ William 4 m w TN, enumerated in the household of his father Martin Cole.
Census: 1860, Hawkins County, Tennessee. William 14 m w TN attended school.
Birth of Child: 3 July 1867, Ida Rhoda Cole, parent age: 21.
Birth of Child: 3 July 1867, Cordelia Rene (Cordie) Cole, parent age: 21.
Birth of Child: 29 June 1870, Sallie Jane Cole, parent age: 24.
Census: 1870, Knox County, Tennessee.¹¹¹
Head of household, Dist. 19, Beaver Ridge PO, Knox County, Tennessee, 20 Jun 1870.
page 339b, dwelling number 70 family number 71
Coal William 23 m w farmer $300 $100 TN
Vesta 30 f w keeping house TN
Ida 1 f w TN
Corda 1 f w TN

This is the only known census entry where it is 100% certain that the census entry is for the correct William Cole. The identification of several other census entries as belonging to William Cole who married Vesta Clay England is based on the preponderance of evidence and is not certain beyond a reasonable doubt.
Census: 1870, Knox County, Tennessee. Dist. 10, Knox County, Tennessee, 18 Aug 1870, Concord PO; page 187b, dwelling number 91, family number 91
Cole William 24 m w TN.
This appears to have been a second enumeration of William in the 1870 census, this time without his wife and children. In 1870, Martha M. Key was the widow of another William Cole who probably was William's first cousin. The second enumeration only makes sense if William was either visiting his cousins or living temporarily with his cousins at the time. His wife had a brand new baby and twin toddlers at the time of the second census enumeration, and probably was being attended by family members from her original home in Anderson County.
Birth of Child: 22 October 1872, Mollie Caroline Cole, parent age: 26.
Birth of Child: after 1872, infant Cole, parent age: 26.
Death: between 1873 and 1879, age 27, [Knox County], [Tennessee]. There is no known record of his death or burial. His youngest daughter was born in 1873 and his wife was listed as a widow in the 1880 census. There is an oral family tradition that he died in Blount County. However, it seems more likely that he died in Knox County.

There is an oral family tradition that he was buried in the Ebenezer Cemetery in Knox County, but no tombstone or other record of such a burial has been found. According to Elmer Lane, William (Will) Cole and William Thomas (Thomas) Lane were friends. Thomas's son Buck Lane married Will's granddaughter Nettie Peters. Thomas was born in Friendsville, Blount County, Tennessee in 1842. Will was born about 1846, probably in Hawkins County. If Will really was born in Hawkins County, then it's hard to make a Blount County connection, but there certainly no Cole families in Blount County during this time frame. Thomas Lane was a Quaker, so there might be a Quaker Connection with Will Cole. Thomas Lane's father was born in Orange County, North Carolina so there might be a North Carolina connection for Will Cole.

Vesta Clay (Vestie) England-3219 and William (Will) Cole-3218 had the following children:

Vesta Clay (Vestie) England and Chesley J. Scarbrough.
Marriage: 24 October 1885, Anderson County, Tennessee, Vesta Clay (Vestie) England, to Chesley J. Scarbrough.¹¹² C.J. Scarbrough to Vetsa (sic) Cole, issued 19 Oct 1885, I solemnized the Rites of Matrimony between the above named parties on the 24 day of October 1886 (sic), D.H. Gibson, J.P. All the marriages listed immediately before and after this marriage in the courthouse marriage book were in 1885. In addition, this license was issued in 1885. Therefore, the actual marriage date for Vesta and Chesley apparently was 24 Oct 1885 rather than 24 Oct 1886. Vestie's name in the marriage book is almost completely illegible, and it is an educated guess that was written as Vetsa rather than as Vesta.

Notes of unknown origin in the possession of Irene Tarver state that Vestie's second husband was either Chesley Scarbrough or Alex Scarbrough. Alex was James Alexander (Alex) Scarbrough who was Chesley's son. It has subsequently been verified that Vesta's second husband was in fact Chesley J. Scarbrough. The verification was difficult for several reasons. They were married after the 1880 census and Chesley died before the 1900 census, so there is no extant census which shows them living together. The illegibility of Vesta's name in the Anderson County marriage book and the fact that Chesley was listed as C.J. Scarbrough rather than as Chesley Scarbrough present that possibility that the marriage was for a different couple. Wallace Smith is a Scarbrough family historian who is the grandson of Robert Houston Scarbrough and the great grandson of Chesley J. Scarbrough. Wallace's family records and oral family history for the Scarbrough family contain no mention of a second marriage for Chesley. However, court records show that Chesley's estate was settled by members of Vestie's family, and this settlement is the final evidence that the nearly illegible courthouse record for the 1885 marriage of C.J. Scarbrough was in fact to Vesta Clay England Cole.

Chesley J. Scarbrough^{59,74,113,114}, son of James Scarbrough and Anna Rice,.
Birth: 29 June 1823, Tennessee.¹¹⁴
Parents: James Scarbrough and Anna (Annie) Rice.
Missing from census: 1830.
Census: 1840, Anderson County, Tennessee.
Household of his father James Scarbrough.
Age 15-19.
Birth of Child: 18 March 1848, James Alexander (Alec) Scarbrough, parent age: 24.
Birth of Child: about 1850, Joel M. Scarbrough, parent age: 27.
Census: 1850, Anderson County, Tennessee.¹¹⁴ 16th subdivision, Anderson County, Tennessee, 24 Aug 1850; page 2a, dwelling number 18, family number 18; Scarbrough Chestley J. 26 m w farmer TN cannot R/W; Sarah 28 f w TN; Jemima E. 6 f w TN; James E. 2 m w TN; Joel M. 4/12 m w TN.
Birth of Child: about 1852, William C. Scarbrough, parent age: 29.
Birth of Child: May 1855, Robert Houston Scarbrough, parent age: 31.
Birth of Child: 1857, John Black Scarbrough, parent age: 34.
Birth of Child: about 1860, Nancy J. Scarbrough, parent age: 37.
Census: 1860, Anderson County, Tennessee. Anderson County, Tennessee, 29 Jun 1860, Wilson PO; p.42, dwelling number 299, family number 299; Scarbro Chesley 37 m w farmer $300/$400 TN; Sarah 38 f w TN; Jemima E. 16 f w domestic TN; James A. 12 m w TN; Joel M. 10 m w TN; William C. 8 m w TN; Robert H. 6 m w TN; John B. 3 m w TN; Nancy J. 6/12 f w TN.
Birth of Child: 8 February 1864, Susan Ann Matilda Scarbrough, parent age: 40.
Census: 1870, Anderson County, Tennessee. Dist. 9, Anderson County, Tennessee, 29 Aug 1870, Scarbrough PO; page 87a, dwelling number 36, family number 36; Scarbrough Chesly 46 m w farmer $800/$100 TN cannot W; Sarah 48 f w keeping house TN; James A. 22 m w farm laborer TN; Joel M. 20 m w farm laborer TN; William C. 18 m w farm laborer TN; Robert 15 m w farm laborer TN; John 12 m w farm laborer TN attended school; Nancy 10 f w at home TN attended school; Susan A.T. 7 f w TN; Yarnell Joel 84 m w without occupation $700/ NC; Nancy 61 female widowed white without occupation TN.
Census: 1880, Anderson County, Tennessee.
Household of his son Joel Scarbrough. Chesley's wife Sarah Yarnell, Chesley's son Robert, Robert's wife Mary C. Oliver, and Robert's son Alvy were also enumerated in Joel's household.
Scarbrough Chesly 56 male married white, farmer, born in TN, father and mother born in TN.
Census: 1891, Anderson County, Tennessee. Name: C. J. Scarbrough; Age 66; State: TN; County: Anderson County; Township: Dist. 9 -Male Voters-; Year: 1891; Page: 009; Database: TN 1891 Voters List.
Death: 1 December 1899, age 76, [Anderson County], [Tennessee].
Burial: Anderson County, Tennessee. According to Wallace Smith, Chesley was buried in Robert Houston Scarbrough's cemetery plot at the family farm. However, Chesley's tombstone is at the Scarbrough Cemetery.