Catherine Thompson^{[1, 2]}

1768 - 1848  (80 years)

• Name	Catherine Thompson
  	Daughter of James and Catherine Walton Thompson
  Born	1768	New York
  Gender	Female
  Died	17 Jul 1848	Pittsylvania County, Virginia
  Person ID	I20775	My Reynolds Line
  Last Modified	22 Oct 2018

  
  

  Family	Isaac Coles,   b. 25 Feb 1747, Richmond, Henrico Co., Virginia ,   d. 3 Jun 1813, Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia  (Age 66 years)
  Children	+ 1. Walter Coles,   b. 8 Dec 1790, Halifax County, Virginia ,   d. 9 Nov 1857, Chatham, Pittsylvania County, Virginia  (Age 66 years)
  Last Modified	14 Oct 2018
  Family ID	F7728	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Photos

  Catherine Thompson p20775CatherineThompson.jpg

  
  

  Documents

  Catherine Thompson Coles-Obit Richmond Enquirer Oct 13, 1848

  
  

• Sources

  [S100] Internet Source, http://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/coles/isaac/sler/. While in New York, attending the sessions of Congress, Colonel [Isaac] Coles met Miss Catherine Thompson, a daughter of Mr. James Thompson and a sister of Mrs. Elbridge Gerry. Bishop Meade recorded that Colonel Coles and Miss Thompson were married by Bishop Provoost in 1790. When his services in Congress were concluded, Colonel Coles took his young wife to his large estates in Halifax and Pittsylvania counties. He held no official position in the new capital, but it is to be hoped that Colonel and Mrs. Coles sometimes visited their Cousin [Dolley] in the White House, as both were well-fitted to enjoy social life. Notes The portrait of Edward Coles is from Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Illinois, Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1887 (see associated article, and a further biographical sketch hosted by Illinois Periodicals Online). Apparently author Wharton is incorrect in her statement concerning Edward Coles' position as secretary to Jefferson. According to Nocholas Gordon, The Man Who Freed His Slaves: A Narrative of the Life of Edward Coles, Isaac Coles was secretary to Presidents Jefferson and Madison from 1805-1809; and Edward Coles was secretary to President Madison from 1810 to 1815. (Research assistance was provided by Melly Scofield.) The miniature portraits by John Ramage (see biography, which includes his portrait of Elbridge Gerry) of Mrs. Isaac Coles and her sister Mrs. Elbridge Gerry are from Anne Hollingsworth Wharton, Social Life in the Early Republic, J. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1902, facing p. 65. The same images are also found facing p. 200 of Maud Carter Clement, The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1929. Mrs. Clement states that the Thompson sisters were English, and notes that their brother Jacob Thompson was a member of the Queen's Guard. The names Elbridge Gerry and Jacob Thompson have been given to male offspring in the Coles family of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, down to the present era. On p. 201 of her History (see previous note), Mrs. Clement observes that ?when the question of slavery came before Congress, Col. [Isaac] Coles of Virginia voted to abolish the practice of slavery, while his brother-in-law Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts voted to retain the same.? Dolley Madison's mother Mary Coles Payne was a double-first-cousin of both the abovementioned Col. Coles brothers of Virginia: Col. John Coles of Albemarle County, and Col. Isaac Coles of Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties. The double-first-cousin relationship occurred because brothers William Coles (Mary's father) and John Coles (Col. John and Col. Isaac's father) had married sisters Lucy Winston and Mary Ann Winston. A third Winston sister Sarah married John Henry, and thus their son the patriot Patrick Henry was also a first cousin of Mary Coles Payne, Col. Isaac Coles, and Col. John Coles. (See a Winston and Coles genealogical website.) Edward Coles (mentioned in the Wharton text above), secretary to Jefferson and Madison and governor of Illinois, was a son of Col. John Coles of Albemarle County, and thus a brother of Sally, Emily, and Eliza. A third Coles brother (of Col. Isaac and Col. John), Walter, married Mildred Lightfoot, and therefore their children were also Dolley's double-second-cousins. Among them was Sarah ?Sally? Coles (not to be confused with her above-mentioned first cousin Sally), who married James Bruce of Halifax County. Their son James Coles Bruce expanded his father's home into the famed Greek Revival edifice Berry Hill along the Dan River in Halifax County. When Sarah Coles Bruce died, her husband married Elvira Cabell Henry, widow of Patrick Henry, Jr. (Sarah Coles Bruce's second cousin). James and Elvira Henry Bruce had a son Charles Bruce (therefore half-brother of James Coles Bruce) who built the also well-known Gothic ?castle? Staunton Hill along the Staunton River in Charlotte County. (See further discussion of the Bruces and Berry Hill.) Many of the given names of the Coles family are used in multiple generations, and multiple times within the same generation, a practice not uncommon for the era, but leading to many temporary puzzles for the modern researcher. The Dolley Madison Project at the University of Virginia discusses the various family relationships of individuals appearing in Madison White House documents; for example, Isaac Coles is listed as Dolley Madison's uncle. The designation ?uncle? is not necessarily in error, as it is often colloquially used in recognition of the fact that a double-first-cousin relationship is genetically similar to that of a sibling. Maud Carter Clement's ?Antrim Parish, Halifax County 1752-1767? seems to call into question author Whartons' assertion regarding the ?first? Episcopal Church in Halifax County. For more regarding Mrs. Madison, see ?Dolley Payne Madison: A Belle of a Washington Hostess?. Further information regarding Col. Isaac Coles is found in an article about Coles Ferry. Four of the homes of the children of Isaac and Catherine Coles still exist in Pittsylvania County: The Oaks (home of son Dr. Robert Coles) in Chatham; The Columns (its early portion was the home of daughter Mary Coles Whittle) in Chatham; Coles Hill (home of son Walter Coles) east of Chatham; and Elkhorn (home of son Jacob Thompson Coles) east of Chatham. Editorial notes are by Henry Mitchell. Research assistance was provided by Sarah E. Mitchell. Digital formatting is by Jonathan Mitchell. [S150] Photograph, http://www.victorianvilla.com/sims-mitchell/local/coles/isaac/sler/. Portrait of Catherine Thompson (Mrs. Isaac) Coles, by John Ramage. Notes The portrait of Edward Coles is from Portrait and Biographical Album of Champaign County, Illinois, Chapman Brothers, Chicago, 1887 (see associated article, and a further biographical sketch hosted by Illinois Periodicals Online). Apparently author Wharton is incorrect in her statement concerning Edward Coles' position as secretary to Jefferson. According to Nocholas Gordon, The Man Who Freed His Slaves: A Narrative of the Life of Edward Coles, Isaac Coles was secretary to Presidents Jefferson and Madison from 1805-1809; and Edward Coles was secretary to President Madison from 1810 to 1815. (Research assistance was provided by Melly Scofield.) The miniature portraits by John Ramage (see biography, which includes his portrait of Elbridge Gerry) of Mrs. Isaac Coles and her sister Mrs. Elbridge Gerry are from Anne Hollingsworth Wharton, Social Life in the Early Republic, J. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia, 1902, facing p. 65. The same images are also found facing p. 200 of Maud Carter Clement, The History of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, 1929. Mrs. Clement states that the Thompson sisters were English, and notes that their brother Jacob Thompson was a member of the Queen's Guard. The names Elbridge Gerry and Jacob Thompson have been given to male offspring in the Coles family of Pittsylvania County, Virginia, down to the present era. On p. 201 of her History (see previous note), Mrs. Clement observes that ?when the question of slavery came before Congress, Col. [Isaac] Coles of Virginia voted to abolish the practice of slavery, while his brother-in-law Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts voted to retain the same.? Dolley Madison's mother Mary Coles Payne was a double-first-cousin of both the abovementioned Col. Coles brothers of Virginia: Col. John Coles of Albemarle County, and Col. Isaac Coles of Halifax and Pittsylvania Counties. The double-first-cousin relationship occurred because brothers William Coles (Mary's father) and John Coles (Col. John and Col. Isaac's father) had married sisters Lucy Winston and Mary Ann Winston. A third Winston sister Sarah married John Henry, and thus their son the patriot Patrick Henry was also a first cousin of Mary Coles Payne, Col. Isaac Coles, and Col. John Coles. (See a Winston and Coles genealogical website.) Edward Coles (mentioned in the Wharton text above), secretary to Jefferson and Madison and governor of Illinois, was a son of Col. John Coles of Albemarle County, and thus a brother of Sally, Emily, and Eliza. A third Coles brother (of Col. Isaac and Col. John), Walter, married Mildred Lightfoot, and therefore their children were also Dolley's double-second-cousins. Among them was Sarah ?Sally? Coles (not to be confused with her above-mentioned first cousin Sally), who married James Bruce of Halifax County. Their son James Coles Bruce expanded his father's home into the famed Greek Revival edifice Berry Hill along the Dan River in Halifax County. When Sarah Coles Bruce died, her husband married Elvira Cabell Henry, widow of Patrick Henry, Jr. (Sarah Coles Bruce's second cousin). James and Elvira Henry Bruce had a son Charles Bruce (therefore half-brother of James Coles Bruce) who built the also well-known Gothic ?castle? Staunton Hill along the Staunton River in Charlotte County. (See further discussion of the Bruces and Berry Hill.) Many of the given names of the Coles family are used in multiple generations, and multiple times within the same generation, a practice not uncommon for the era, but leading to many temporary puzzles for the modern researcher. The Dolley Madison Project at the University of Virginia discusses the various family relationships of individuals appearing in Madison White House documents; for example, Isaac Coles is listed as Dolley Madison's uncle. The designation ?uncle? is not necessarily in error, as it is often colloquially used in recognition of the fact that a double-first-cousin relationship is genetically similar to that of a sibling. Maud Carter Clement's ?Antrim Parish, Halifax County 1752-1767? seems to call into question author Whartons' assertion regarding the ?first? Episcopal Church in Halifax County. For more regarding Mrs. Madison, see ?Dolley Payne Madison: A Belle of a Washington Hostess?. Further information regarding Col. Isaac Coles is found in an article about Coles Ferry. Four of the homes of the children of Isaac and Catherine Coles still exist in Pittsylvania County: The Oaks (home of son Dr. Robert Coles) in Chatham; The Columns (its early portion was the home of daughter Mary Coles Whittle) in Chatham; Coles Hill (home of son Walter Coles) east of Chatham; and Elkhorn (home of son Jacob Thompson Coles) east of Chatham. Editorial notes are by Henry Mitchell. Research assistance was provided by Sarah E. Mitchell. Digital formatting is by Jonathan Mitchell.