William Cole (councillor)

William Cole
Member of the Virginia Governor's Council
In office
1675-1692
Personal details
Bornca.1638
Warwick River County Colony of Virginia
DiedMarch 4, 1694
Boldrup Plantation, Warwick County, Colony of Virginia
Resting placeNewport News, Virginia
Spouse(s)3 including Anne Digges, Martha Lear
RelativesWilliam Cole (immigrant) (father)
William Cole (burgess)(son)
Occupationlawyer, planter, politician

William Cole (c. 1638-March 4, 1694) was a lawyer, planter and government official in the Colony of Virginia. He served decades on the Virginia Governor's Council and briefly as the Colony's Secretary of State. He aided Governor William Berkeley during Bacon's Rebellion but fell out of governmental favor when a letter he had written to former Governor Francis Howard, baron Howard of Effingham, was revealed to Lieutenant Governor Francis Nicholson.[1]

  1. ^ Marianne E. Julienne and Sara B. Bears, "Cole, William (1638-1684)" in Dictionary of Virginia Biography (Richmond: Library of Virginia 2006) pp.355-356, also available at https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/cole-william-1638-or-1639-1694/