Abner Cole

Who was Abner Cole?

Abner Cole, also known by his pen name Obadiah Dogberry, Esq., was a 19th-century American newspaper editor. He is notable as one of the earliest critics of the spiritual claims of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement, having commented on the "Golden Bible" before it was even published as the Book of Mormon. Cole's publishing philosophy was one of freethought, which flourished in periodicals in the northeastern United States between 1825 and 1850.