{"id":99681,"date":"2026-06-30T03:45:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T07:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/?p=99681"},"modified":"2026-07-02T08:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:57:17","slug":"alumnus-trustee-emeritus-traces-family-tree-to-declaration-of-independence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/06_30_2026\/alumnus-trustee-emeritus-traces-family-tree-to-declaration-of-independence","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus, Trustee Emeritus Traces Family Tree to Declaration of Independence"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fifty-six men committed treason against the United Kingdom and its King George III in 1776 by signing the Declaration of Independence of the United States.<\/p>\n

At least one had such a common name that one of his co-signatories challenged his commitment to their cause, according to a story that\u2019s now been passed down for two and a half centuries: How many Charles Carrolls were there in what had heretofore been known as the British Colonies? How much was this one really putting at risk?<\/p>\n

\"Headshot

Jeff Cole is a two-time alumnus and trustee emeritus of UToledo. He currently serves on the board of the UToledo Foundation.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWithout hesitation he went back and added \u2018of Carrollton\u2019 to his signature,\u201d Jeff Cole said. \u201cAnd what he had to risk was considerable, as he was one of the wealthiest men in the colonies.\u201d<\/p>\n

The story is of particular interest to the alumnus and former trustee of The University of Toledo. As the United States approaches the semiquincenntennial anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on Saturday, Cole has been reflecting on his personal ties to this history as a descendant of the bold signer who became known to posterity as \u201cCharles Carroll of Carrollton.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a neat talking point,\u201d Cole said. \u201cOne of my ancestors signed the Declaration.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Carroll family looms large in the early history of Maryland and the United States. Charles Carroll, one of the wealthiest landowners and most influential politicians of his day, counted among his contemporary relatives Daniel Carroll, another politician who signed both the Articles of Confederation and the U.S. Constitution, and John Carroll, who became the first Catholic bishop in the United States and a founder of Georgetown University.<\/p>\n

Charles Carroll went on to be one of his state\u2019s first senators to the newly established U.S. Congress. But he\u2019s arguably best known for his involvement in the Second Continental Congress that produced the Declaration of Independence. Because he was the last living signer of the document for a period of about six years before he died at age 95 in 1832, he became one of the best-known signers behind Founding Fathers like John Adams and Thomas Jefferson \u2014 feted around the country, according to Cole.<\/p>\n

He grew up with stories of these early American Carrolls.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been passed down generation to generation that we\u2019re part of this family,\u201d he said. \u201cMy grandparents would always talk about it. They knew Mary Carroll, who would have been my great-great-great-grandmother. She was born in Maryland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mary Carroll eventually moved to Ohio. Cole, for his part, is a lifelong Toledoan.<\/p>\n

He graduated from St. Francis de Sales School before enrolling at his hometown University, where he earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in communication in 1989 and a master\u2019s degree in education in 2006. He began his professional career at UToledo, where he worked as an admissions counselor and a development director, and he retired as senior director of corporate communications at Dana Inc., the automotive manufacturing supplier on the Fortune 500 that\u2019s headquartered in Maumee, in 2024.<\/p>\n

Cole also served on the UToledo Board of Trustees between 2014 and 2020, and he currently sits on the UToledo Foundation Board of Trustees.<\/p>\n

He reflected on his formative years as a Rocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy experience at UToledo was about far more than earning a degree,\u201d he said. \u201cI didn’t just have professors and advisers; I had mentors. Many were giants in the fields of journalism, public relations and higher education who took a personal interest in my success. They challenged me, believed in me and opened doors I didn’t even know existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, the greatest gift they gave me wasn’t just knowledge \u2014 it was opportunity,\u201d he continued. \u201cThey connected me with experiences that stretched my abilities, broadened my perspective and prepared me for challenges I would later face throughout my career. That combination of exceptional mentorship and real-world experience gave me the confidence, skills and perspective that prepared me for a career far beyond what I could have imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cole said he always looks forward to family festivities and fireworks for the Fourth of July. While his celebration will look largely the same this year, he said he appreciates the added significance of the 250th anniversary of the United States \u2014 and his family ties to its history through Charles Carroll of Carrollton.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"Headshot<\/a>

Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the United States, Jeff Cole is reflecting on his familial ties to one of the signers of the historic document.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":908,"featured_media":99683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50,1,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99681"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/908"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99681"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99693,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99681\/revisions\/99693"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}