Jean Murray Cole

Background

Jean Murray Cole was born on November 7, 1927, in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. She is the daughter of Alexander A. and Gwendoline Rivers Murray.

Education

Jean Cole attended the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario.

Cole also holds an honorary degree from Trent University.

Career

Jean Cole began her career in the 1940s. From 1945 till 1946 she worked as a reporter at Brantford Expositor. In 1947 she joined the London Free Press as a feature writer, the position she held till 1949. Then she was a feature writer and assistant editor of Canadian Homes and Gardens at Maclean Hunter Publishing Co. After that in 1951, she became a freelance writer and editor. Her books and articles particularly concern nineteenth-century Ontario history and the fur trade in the Pacific Northwest.

The first book which she edited with her husband Alfred O. C. Cole and J. W. Deyman was Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County, 1825-1875 (1975). The other book edited with her husband was Kawartha Heritage: Proceedings of the Kawartha Conference, 1981.

Her first written book was Exile in the Wilderness: The Biography of HBC Chief Factor Archibald McDonald, 1790-1853 (1979). It is the biography of her great-great-grandfather, the man who by one decision placed himself in exile from the culture and society of his homeland, and forever afterward suffered the deprivations of that exile. Her very detailed account is based on the private journals and correspondence of McDonald which offer readers an insight into the personal life of a fur trader in the early 19th century. McDonald's many letters to family and friends provide a useful counterpoint to the business-like company reports which he, like other factors in the HBC, kept at each of their fur trade posts.

For the social historian, this book contains interesting information on the human aspects of the fur trade. It discusses the relationships between Indians and traders, and among traders. It also illustrates the ways in which these traders cultivated their scientific and literary interests, in spite of communication difficulties and lack of material for study.

The other books edited by Jean Cole include Sir Sandford Fleming: His Early Diaries, 1845-1853, The Peterborough Hydraulic Lift Lock, and This Blessed Wilderness: Archibald McDonald's Letters from the Columbia, 1822-44. Her popular books are The Loon Calls: A History of the Township of Chandos, Origins: The History of Dummer Township, and South Monaghan: The Garden of Eden.

She is also known as the author of booklets on local history topics and contributor to books, including Nastawgan: The Canadian North by Canoe and Snowshoe, to magazines and newspapers, including the Canadian Historical Review, Canadian Collector, the Canadian Forum, British Columbia Historical News, Idaho Yesterdays, and the Journal of Canadian Studies.

Achievements

• Jean Cole is known as an outstanding historian as well as an author and editor. Her numerous awards include the Canada Council Award (1969 and 1970), Heritage Canada Communications Award (1976), Local Histories Award from the Canadian Historical Association (1976), Local Histories Award from the Ontario Historical Society (1976), City of Peterborough Civic Award of Merit (1980), Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Award (1982), volunteer service awards from Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Culture (1985, 1988, 1996, and 2001), Millennium Award for Leadership in the Arts Community from the County of Peterborough (2000), F.H. Dobbin Award, and Senior Achievement Award from the Peterborough Historical Society (2010). Cole also holds the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship.

Works

More photos

• book

  • This Blessed Wilderness: Archibald McDonald's Letters from the Columbia, 1822-44

    (The twenty-five years between 1821 and 1846 were turbulen...)

    2001
  • Sir Sandford Fleming: His Early Diaries, 1845-1853

    (Best known for his major railway-building accomplishments...)

    2009
  • The Peterborough Hydraulic Lift Lock

    (The Peterborough Lift Lock is a boat lift located on the ...)

    1987
  • Nastawgan: The Canadian North by Canoe & Snowshoe

    (Nastawgan: The Canadian North by Canoe & Snowshoe is a co...)

    1985
  • Illustrated Historical Atlas of Peterborough County, 1825-1875 1975
  • Exile in the Wilderness: The Biography of HBC Chief Factor Archibald McDonald, 1790-1853 1979
  • Origins: The History of Dummer Township 1993
  • South Monaghan: The Garden of Eden 1998

Membership

Jean Cole was a member of the Trent-Severn Waterway advisory committee at Parks Canada, Christ Church Community Museum board, the executive of Friends of the Bata Library, chair of the management board at Hutchison House Museum, chair of Peterborough County Public Library Board and Lake Ontario Regional Library Board, board member of the Canadian Canoe Museum, TV Ontario Council, and Lang Pioneer Village, first vice president of the Ontario Historical Society, and a member of the board of directors and past chair of the Peterborough Historical Society.

Interests

• museology

Connections

Jean Cole married Alfred O. C. Cole on June 15, 1950. The marriage produced six children: Sally Cole Huberman, Leslie Cole Crump, Ian M. C., Alan D. C., Catherine Cole Wood, and Emily. Her husband died on October 21, 1996.

Father:

Alexander A. Murray

Mother:

Gwendoline Rivers Murray

Late Husband:

Alfred O. C. Cole

Alfred O. C. Cole (1925-1996) was an avid researcher, historian, and author. He was Registrar at Trent University from 1966 to 1987 and was a member of the History Department. He was also a political reporter for Toronto's Daily Mail and Globe and Mail and wrote several articles and books.