Cole Younger Cole Younger Thomas Coleman Younger (January 15, 1844 – March 21, 1916) was an American Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War and later an outlaw leader with the James–Younger Gang. He was the eldest brother of Jim, John and Bob Younger, who were also members of the gang. Younger, was born on January 15, 1844 on the Younger family farm in Jackson County, Missouri. He was a son of Henry Washington Younger, a prosperous farmer from Greenwood, Missouri and Bersheba Leighton Fristoe, daughter of a prominent Jackson County farmer. Cole was the seventh of fourteen children. During the American
Bob Cole (composer) Cole influenced the development of black musical theater. His skills in acting, writing, and directing were brought to the public eye through his early works: first, he produced the black musical “A Trip to Coontown”, where he joined alliance with Billy Johnson, followed by the production of popular songs such as “ Under the Bamboo Tree,” where he worked with J. Rosamond Johnson. As stated in Thomas L. Riis’ “‘Bob’ Cole: His Life and His Legacy to Black Musical Theater,” few details of Cole's life before the transition into the development of black musicals can be found in research materials,