Solving TUMA-COLE Family Mysteries

As do most men, my grandfather told things which he had not done and did things which he did not tell. Separating fact from fiction cannot be done with complete accuracy. Nevertheless, many years and much money were spent trying to separate history from cherished family myths. This website is a review of a grandson's efforts since 1965 to accumulate an accurate biographical and genealogical record of a remarkable character and his ancestry. Learning more about my grandfather taught me about myself.

Unanswered questions:
• What is the real reason that my grandfather changed his surname from TUMA to COLEMAN to COLE?
• Why did my grandfather choose to sever all contact with his parents and all of their relatives?

With help from professional genealogists at Ancestry.com we found:
• My great-grandfather John W. TUMA was born in the village of Úsilov, Bohemia.
• My great-grandfather's ancestors in Europe.

                         me: Michael COLE (born 1955)
                  my father: Bill COLE (born 1935)
             my grandfather: William John COLE (born 1885)
                   formerly: William John COLEMAN (born 1876)
                   formerly: William John TUMA (born 1876)
       my great-grandfather: John Wenzl TUMA (born 1848)
       my gr-gr-grandfather: Jan TUMA (born 1798)
    my gr-gr-gr-grandfather: Wenceslaus (Wenzl) THUM (born 1766)
 my gr-gr-gr-gr-grandfather: Jan/Joannes THUM (born circa 1727)

I grew up in the community of Rock Springs, west of the town of Harrison in Boone County, Arkansas. My father grew up and still resides in this same community. My paternal grandmother and her mother lived their entire lives in Rock Springs.

Several months after my grandparents married, my grandfather moved from California to Rock Springs in 1934. He remained there till his death, 25 years later, when I was 4½ years old.

As I grew older, I became interested in learning more about my grandfather, whose COLE surname I share. For Christmas, while in grade school, I received a Bible containing a family tree chart. I immediately began searching for the names and dates to fill in the chart. That investigation for my ancestral heritage continues to this day.

Here are the facts, the presumptions, the bogus information, and the dead-end research about my Grandpa Cole. By placing the information on the Internet, perhaps it will help us to contact more of our lost cousins.