Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/772

 672 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI panj' in this city. In their religious faith the Boutin family are devout members of the Presbyterian church and they are popular factors in connection with the best social ac- tivities of Cape Girardeau. In his political affiliations Mr. Boutin is aligned as a stalwart in the ranks of the Re- publican party but aside from membership in the city council he has not been active in politics. In the time-honored Masonic order he is a valued and appreciative member of St. Marks Lodge, Free & Accepted Masons; Royal Ai'ch Masons; and St. John's Com- mandery, No. 21, Knights Templar. He is also connected with Za-Ga-Zig Temple, An- cient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mys- tic Shrine. IMr. Boutin is a man of fine men- tality and broad human sympathy. He thor- oughly enjoys home life and takes great pleasure in the society of his family and friends. He is always courteous, kindly and aft'able and those who know him personally accord him the highest esteem. His life has been exemplary in all respects and he has ever supported those interests which are calcu- lated to uplift and benefit humanity, while his own high moral worth is deserving of the highest commendation. Charles Austin Cole.. It is not to be gainsaid that there is no office carrying with it so much of responsibility as that of the instructor who moulds and fashions the plastic mind of youth ; who instills into the formative brain those principles which, when matured, will be the chief heritage of the active man who in due time will sway the multitudes, lead armies, govern nations or frame the laws by which civilized nations are governed. To say that all learned men are capable of filling this high and important office is by no means the truth. One inclines to the belief that the true instructor is born and not made ; he must have a vast knowl- edge of human nature; he must know not only what is in books, but what is in man. also, that is, he must understand his pupil and deal with his mind according to his in- dividuality. Professor Charles Austin Cole is one of the able and efficient educators of Franklin county and is superintendent of the Union ' public schools. He was born in this county and is descended from one of the earliest of the pioneers among the territorial settlers along the Missouri river. The honor of bringing the family patronymic into the state belongs to Jacob Cole, the grandfather of the subject, who came hither in 1797 from Lexington, Kentucky. Jacob Cole devoted his activities to pastoral and agricultural pursuits and was one of the highly known and highly honored men of his section. Jasper Cole, a son of Jacob, was born in Missouri in 1831. Following in the footsteps of his father, he adopted as his own the great ))asic industry and beyond his assumption of the duties of the office of justice of the peace he had little connection with public affairs. During the Civil war his sympathies were with the Union and its preservation and he did his part as a member of the Mis- souri State Militia. He was Republican in jiolitics. The death of this prominent man occurred at Shotwell in iDol, when his years numbered sevent3'-three. He married Mrs. Susan Cooper, widow of John Cooper and a daughter of Joseph Smith, a Kentue- kian. Four sons and a daughter were born to the union, making a large household, for iirs. Cole had the following children by her previous marriage with ilr. Cooper: John Thomas; Elizabeth, first Mrs. Seaton and afterward Mrs. Cowan; and James. The subject is the eldest in order of birth of the Cole family. The country schools served to provide Charles A. Cole with his elementary educa- tion. He left his desk in the rural school to ])reside over a school of the same kind as its teacher and thus began what proved to be a life work in the domain of public education. "While teaching he strengthened himself by home study and as a student in private schools, and advanced in the pedagogical pro- fession to supervisor of graded schools. Normal training in the state institution at Cape Girardeau aided him materially in grasping the essentials of success as a teacher and manager in graded work, which he be- gan as principal of the schools in Union in 1893. After a year he was elected principal of the schools of Washins1:on and remained in such capacity for four years. He returned to Union at the end of that period and has since carried on his work here. As an educator in the lu'oadest sense Jlr. Cole has acquitted himself creditably. For four years he was county school commissioner and during his regime the old practice of jiolding county institute prevailed and he was in command of the work of training the county teachers, as provided then by law. Since the abolishment of the old plan he has