Born in
Hiram,
Maine, Cole
read law to enter the bar in 1866, and received a
Bachelor of Laws from
Harvard Law School in 1867. He was a private in the
United States Army during the
American Civil War, serving in the 17th Maine Infantry, from 1862 to 1865. He was in private practice in
Portland, Maine from 1866 to 1867, in
West Union,
West Virginia from 1868 to 1870, and in
Parkersburg, West Virginia from 1870 to 1874. He was prosecuting attorney of
Doddridge County, West Virginia from 1869 to 1870, and was city solicitor of Parkersburg from 1874 to 1876, thereafter resuming his private practice in Parkersburg until 1878, and in
Washington, D.C. from 1878 to 1891. He was the
United States Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1891 to 1893. ==Federal judicial service==