Cash Cole

Cash Cole
5th Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives
In office March 5, 1923 – March 2, 1925
Preceded by	Andrew Nerland
Succeeded by	C. H. Wilcox
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives from the 1st district
In office March 7, 1921 – March 2, 1925
Personal details
Born	Clarence Cash Cole (1891-02-12)February 12, 1891 Henderson Bay, Washington, U.S.
Died	November 8, 1959(1959-11-08) (aged 68) Bellingham, Washington, U.S.
Party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Ruby C. Worth ​ ​ (m. 1915, divorced)​ Ruth Marcella (Marsh) Gudbrandon ​ ​ (m. 1945)​
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Minnesota
Occupation	Politician, businessman

Clarence Cash Cole (February 12, 1891 – November 8, 1959) was an American politician and businessman from Juneau, Alaska, who served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1921 to 1925, representing the 1st district as a Republican in the 5th and 6th territorial legislatures. He served as the fifth speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1923 to 1925.

Early life and education

Cole was born in Henderson Bay, Washington, on February 12, 1891. He moved to Treadwell with his parents when he was four years old.^[1] Cole was educated at public schools in Juneau, Alaska, and attended the University of Minnesota.^[1][2]

Career

After college, Cole worked in the business sector in Juneau, engaging in draying, docking, and contracting. He was president and general manager of the Cole Transfer Company.^[1]

Cole served in the Alaska House of Representatives from 1921 to 1925, representing the 1st district as a Republican in the 5th and 6th territorial legislatures. He served as the fifth speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1923 to 1925 in the 5th territorial legislature.^[3]

Outside of the Alaska Legislature, Cole worked as an agent for American Railway Express. He also served as Alaska's first territorial auditor from 1929 to 1932.^[4]

Cole won the popular vote on a referendum for governor of Alaska in 1923.^[2] Despite this, George Alexander Parks was appointed territorial governor in 1924 through official federal channels.^[5]

Personal life and death

Cole married Ruby C. Worth in Juneau on March 7, 1915. They had three children: James Cash Cole (born June 25, 1916), Thomas Phillip Cole (born June 23, 1917), and Jerry Worth Cole (born March 22, 1926).^[1]

Cole and Worth divorced prior to 1940. He remarried to Ruth Marcella (Marsh) Gudbranson on January 20, 1945.^[1][6]

Cole was a member of The Elks and the Pioneers of Alaska.^[1][2] He served as president of Juneau Men's Igloo 6 in 1938.^[7] In the 1920s, Cole served as Exalted Cyclops of Mt. Juneau Klavern No. 2, a local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in Juneau.^[8][9]

Cole was a Presbyterian.^[10] He died at the age of 68 in Bellingham, Washington, on November 8, 1959.^[1]

References

1. "Cole, Clarence Cash". Pioneers of Alaska. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
2. "Cash Cole". 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature. Juneau, Alaska: Alaska Legislature. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
3. "Alaska Constitutional Convention" (PDF). Alaska State Legislature. pp. 9–10. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
4. "Cole House". Historic Structures Database. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
5. Alaska Daily Empire. Juneau, Alaska. February 13, 1924.
6. Ferrell, Ed. Biographies of Alaska-Yukon Pioneers 1850-1950. Vol. 3. p. 66.
7. "Past Igloo Presidents". Pioneers of Alaska. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
8. "MS10 Captain Lloyd H. "Kinky" Bayers Collection, 1898-1967 Juneau Historical Subjects Files" (PDF). Alaska State Library. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
9. "ALASKKKA - The Invisible Empire in the Last Frontier: A Look into the 1920s Klan of the North". ScholarWorks@UA. University of Alaska System. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
10. "Cole". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved May 11, 2023.

External links

• Cash Cole at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature
• Alaska State Representative Cash Cole. at Alaska's Digital Archives
• Clarence Cole Cash at The Political Graveyard