Cato Cole

Bio

Cato's mother, Jin (Jenny, Jen), was from Guinea in West Africa, and was captured and enslaved as a young teen.  Her surname, “Cole”, was probably that of her first enslaver. A few years after her arrival, Jin and her infant son Cato were brought to Boston, Massachusetts for sale. They were purchased by the Reverend Jonathan Ashley of Deerfield, Massachusetts. Cato was baptized on August 13, 1739.

In 1756, he served in Elijah Williams' Company of militia during the French and Indian War (1754-1763). A man named Cato made his mark on an enlistment list in 1776 for the Revolutionary War (1775-1783) but there was more than one man with this name in Deerfield then, so it is unclear whether this was Cato Cole.

The Ashleys also enslaved a man named Titus and to add to his income, the reverend often rented out Titus and Cato to area farmers who needed extra hands. Renters included two free men of color- Abijah Prince and Caleb Sharp (Sharp Caleb). 

Cato had an account at Elijah Williams' store, where he purchased knee and shoe buckles, pipes, knives, rum, fabric and buttons, a snuff box, and a small pamphlet, indicating that he could read. He paid for his purchases with farmwork, deliveries of wood, and cash.

Cato and his mother served Jonathan Ashley until his death in 1780. They then served Ashley's son Elihu (1750-1817) and after his death they worked for Elihu's son, Thomas Williams Ashley (1776-1848). According to Deerfield's town historian George Sheldon, the Ashley family ceased holding Cato in slavery after Massachusetts ratified its state constitution in 1780, but he remained a servant in the household until his death in 1825.

George Sheldon was the author of The History of Deerfield, Massachusetts (published in 1896). He was six years old when Cato died and related the following remembrances. They come from Vol. II, pp. 896-898 of his book.

I recall seeing him when “dunging out”, use his hands instead of a shovel. It was probably the oddity of it that made this lasting impression, or it may have been his feeble, tottering steps. I remember seeing him often sitting on a bench in an outhouse, where he would spend hours singing in a gruff voice the famous ballad of Captain Kidd, drumming an accompaniment with both hands on the board at either side; his finger nails were long and thick and each one gave a blow which sounded like the stroke of a tack hammer.

Solomon, son of Parson Ashley, was a fine dancer, and Cato a fervent admirer of his skill, tried to imitate his steps. His practice was usually on the barn floor, and sometimes he was seen with a switch whipping his legs, “to make um go like Massa Solomon's.”

Cato was very fond of horses, and was a furious rider when he could indulge his passion unobserved. If caught, he would protest that the horse ran away with him….

Another favorite seat of Cato's was in the kitchen chimney corner, where he could get the full benefit of the blazing fire….. Col. T.W. Ashley, his latest “Massa”, was one of the earliest to substitute a cooking stove for the fireplace. Cato was disgusted with this change and was always cold after it. The big, black pile of iron yielded no warmth or comfort for him. He would hug the stove and sweat and shiver, and shiver and sweat, till he could stand it no longer; then he would go into the room of Madam Ashley, widow of the doctor, to warm himself at her blazing fire……..He also, like Jin, gathered trinkets to provide for his translation, his most valued possessions being brass or copper buttons.

Jin collected shells, buttons, interesting stones, beads, and bits of fabric, etc. This was not uncommon among the enslaved in the north and the south.  Jin's and Cato's trinkets might have comprised “spirit bundles”, believed to protect the owners of the items. Jin also believed that upon her death, she would return to Guinea and her spirit bundle would accompany her.

Cato Cole died on November 19, 1825, when he was 87 years old.