Born Harriet Shoecraft, she was the daughter of Matthew and Mary J. Shoecraft. After graduation from college, she went west to California, accepting a job teaching school in Nevada City, California. There, she met and married Dr. George L. Cole, Phd. in 1888. The Cole's relocated to Los Angeles. As Dr. Cole's career met with success, it afforded Mrs. Cole the entrè into Southern California social circles. As the progressive era began, Mrs. Cole worked on behalf of settlement houses in Los Angeles, and worked on behalf of women's suffrage. However in 1913-1914, the Cole's found themselves at the center of personal scandal caused by Dr. Cole and his paramour. Mrs. Cole wrote "That while I am displeased to find that the doctor had acquired a diversion in the form of Miss Elizabeth Spencer, I was shocked to discover that once Miss Spencer married, that Dr. Cole continued to be included in her activities. A wife can manage her husband's indiscretion. She cannot condone an outright affair." Mrs. Cole met with the other injured party, Elizabeth's newly wedded husband, M.J. Monnette (who brought divorce action after two weeks of marriage), and the two formed a legal alliance designed to free themselves of their respective spouses and emerge in the best financial position possible. Wrote Mrs. Cole "For as painful as this is, the Doctor and his dalliance should answer for their actions." Mr. Monnette was freed of his matrimonial bonds in the fall of 1913, and Mrs. Cole in early months of 1914. Because she was the injured party, her place in Los Angeles society was preserved. In her later years, she resided in a bungalow at the Wilshire Park Hotel.
Born Harriet Shoecraft, she was the daughter of Matthew and Mary J. Shoecraft. After graduation from college, she went west to California, accepting a job teaching school in Nevada City, California. There, she met and married Dr. George L. Cole, Phd. in 1888. The Cole's relocated to Los Angeles. As Dr. Cole's career met with success, it afforded Mrs. Cole the entrè into Southern California social circles. As the progressive era began, Mrs. Cole worked on behalf of settlement houses in Los Angeles, and worked on behalf of women's suffrage. However in 1913-1914, the Cole's found themselves at the center of personal scandal caused by Dr. Cole and his paramour. Mrs. Cole wrote "That while I am displeased to find that the doctor had acquired a diversion in the form of Miss Elizabeth Spencer, I was shocked to discover that once Miss Spencer married, that Dr. Cole continued to be included in her activities. A wife can manage her husband's indiscretion. She cannot condone an outright affair." Mrs. Cole met with the other injured party, Elizabeth's newly wedded husband, M.J. Monnette (who brought divorce action after two weeks of marriage), and the two formed a legal alliance designed to free themselves of their respective spouses and emerge in the best financial position possible. Wrote Mrs. Cole "For as painful as this is, the Doctor and his dalliance should answer for their actions." Mr. Monnette was freed of his matrimonial bonds in the fall of 1913, and Mrs. Cole in early months of 1914. Because she was the injured party, her place in Los Angeles society was preserved. In her later years, she resided in a bungalow at the Wilshire Park Hotel.
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