The Cochran Family of Johnson County, Iowa

MATTHEW RUSSELL COCHRAN (Deceased)

According to family tradition, James Cochran, the earliest known ancestor of the family herein described, was a tailor by trade, born in Kilbarton, Scotland, and who lived to be a centennarian. His son James, of the second generation, followed the trade of weaver, was born in Kilbarton, and reached the age of ninety-eight years. General James Cochran, of the third generation, was born in the same place, became a manufacturer, removed to Ireland in 1788, and died in Dublin, at the age of about sixty years, being the father of three sons and four daughters. General James Cochran (2), son of the last-named, was the American progenitor of the family. He and Matthew Cochran returned to Scotland, the former home of the family, and came thence to America, some time later.

Matthew Russell Cochran, whose name stands at the head of this sketch, was a native of Glasgow, in "Bonnie Scotland," born March 6, 1828. He died in Johnson county, Iowa, March 22, 1896. He was a son of Matthew and Margaret (Russell) Cochran. The father was born September 23, 1793, and died in Johnson county in 1866. He was a Presbyterian in religious faith all his life. The mother, who was born in Scotland in 1798, and died in Johnson county in 1864, was a Congregationalist. These pioneers of Johnson county had made the voyage from the old world to the new in a sailing vessel, landing in New York when their son Matthew was a babe about six months old. They were parents of seven sons and two daughters, all of whom are now deceased. They arrived in what ie now Johnson county in 1843 and settled in Graham township. They made this interesting trip by canal and down the Ohio river, then up the Mississippi, finding the conditions in the new home to be the same as so ably described in the historical part of this work.

Matthew Cochran was some fifteen years of age when his parents located on the unsettled prairie. He did not then remain with them, but returned to St. Louis and worked with his brother-in-law, remaining until 1855, when he returned to make his permanent home in Johnson county. During this time he had made many trips back and forth to look after his land interests. He finally took up as a homestead the place now occupied by his widow, Mrs. Adeline Cochran. He erected a one story and a half log house, which was finished by his brother-in-law, J. M. Dixon, now of West Branch, and in that primitive home he and his bride, whose maiden name was Adeline Douglass, lived for a number of years, all their children being born there with the exception of Raymond and Grace, lie had six or eight yoke of oxen and in partnership with his next younger lirother, William, broke prairie for himself and many of his neighbors. They carried on their farming operations in partnership until 1876.

.Matthew Cochran kept adding to his holdings from time to time as he was able, and improved the place in every possible way, becoming one of the able and enterprising farmers of the county. He died on this place in 1896", in the second house which was erected there, being then the owner of four hundred acres of excellent farm land. His widow has 200 acres of land under cultivation and some eighty acres of timber land on Rapid creek. This is one of the oldest farms in the county and the homestead has never been transferred since it came from the government.

Mrs. Cochran was a teacher in the days when she was expected to make quill pens for her pupils. She taught the Pairview school, occupying a building erected in a very early day, 14 by ' feet, with seven foot posts, which stood just west of L. Douglass's farm in Section 2fi, Graham township. This was a frame building and Sunday school services were also held therein, under the auspices of the Methodist and later the Fairview Presbyterian church. Church services were also held there at irregular intervals, from May, 1855, during the ensuing two or three years. The location was selected by James Douglass, Sr., and there the people of the neighborhood gathered to listen to the preaching of Rev. F. A. Shearer and Rev. Conklin, a synodical missionary. While Miss Douglass was a teacher in this school she met Mr. Cochran and they were married at her father's house in Scott township, by Rev. F. A. Shearer, of Iowa City, January 22, 1857, after which they lived together nearly forty years. They were both charter members of Fairview church, Mrs. Cochran being one of the four charter members who now survive. Mr. Cochran was a man of superior intelligence, who took a keen interest in everything pertaining to the general welfare and prosperity, and was an active factor in promoting the best interests of his community. He kept well informed on current events and issues and had well defined opinions on subjects of public interest. He proposed that the township be named after Andrew Graham, and this suggestion met the approval of his neighbors and fellow-citizens, with the result that it was adopted. He was a farmer in primitive times and then often swung a cradle and used a single shovel plow. He also carried on agricultural operations in times when he was able to enjoy the advantages of modern machinery, and availed himself of them, for he was always the friend of progress. He left a record of a well-spent life and had the keen satisfaction of knowing that he had provided well for his family.

Eleven children were born to Mr. Cochran and his wife: The eldest died in infancy; Mary is the wife of Brewster W. Gardner, of Graham township; James A., of Cedar county, married Essie Spining; Miss Lura is housekeeper for the brother George L.; Agnes E. is the wife of Sydney Cozine; Charles D. lives near Wellman; George carries on the Lennoxfarm; Grace lives with her brother George L.: Raymond, the youngest, who is left with his mother and sister. The one brother and two sisters who live together near Elmira have a pleasant home. George L. Cochran has had this place since

Mrs. Matthew Russell Cochran is the only survivor of pioneer days in her immediate neighborhood and is a person of interest to all her neighbors. She has a host of friends and is held in great esteem for her fine qualities of mind and heart. Her children look upon her with love and reverence and appreciate her care and solicitude for their well-being. She remembers that when the family used to start for church they loaded firewood into the back part of the vehicle for heating the building. The sills for this church building were taken from the Matthew Cochran timber, Matthew and his brother William hauling the same May 23, 1855. Mr. Cochran and his wife gave the land for the site of the station at Ehnira, comprising the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of Section 22, Town 80, Range 5, and this gift was made conditional, with the proviso that if the requirements or conditions were not complied with the land should revert back to their heirs. The building which was then erected was removed to the present site of the Burlington, Cedar Rapids & Northern Railroad, April 6, 1870. The deed making the gift of land was dated December 10, 1870, signed by Matthew and Adaline Cochran, before William Haddock, Notary Public, and witnessed by E. R. Morse and W. II. O'Hare. Mr. Cochran broke the land with oxen and made the harness from hickory bark. Mr. Cochran made the trip up the Iowa river from St. Louis by boat, the only one that was ever made.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

MATHEW COCHRAN, farmer, Graham township, post-office Oasis; born March 6, 1828, in Glasgow, Scotland. Came to America in 1829, and settled in Johnson county. May 9, 1843, in what was then called Newport township, now Graham township, on section 28, township 80, range 5 west, a splendid farm. He is the oldest settler in Graham township. He was married January 22, 1857, to Miss Addina Douglass, a daughter of James Douglass, of Scott township; they have nine children, four boys and five girls: Mary C, Alvin, Laura A., Charles D., Agnes E., Jessie E., George B., Grace and Chester R. His wife is a member of the Presbyterian Church. He is a republican in politics. His father and mother both died in Graham township. He is the eldest brother of J. C. Cochran, the tinner and stove merchant of Iowa City, on Clinton street. When Graham township was organized they had quite a dispute over the name, and Mr. Cochran settled it by proposing to call it after Andrew Graham, the father of Alex. H. Graham, and it was agreed to without a dissenting voice.

As printed in the source². Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected.

JAMES C. COCHRAN

John Cochran, the father of the subject of this sketch, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and died in Iowa City, Iowa, in 1869. His wife was Jane Gould, born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1804, and died at Iowa City in 1884. Seven children, sturdy Scots every one, were born to John Cochran and Jane Gould. The family is pure Scotch, back to the earliest genealogical record, the first known ancestors being John and James Cochran. Our subject was born May 20, 1834, at Glasgow, Scotland. He left his native heath October 1, 1853, with his parents, bound for the new world. He has a perfect recollection of some of his boyhood experiences, one of the most vivid of g:

which was a trip with his father and a man named.John Robinson into western Ireland in 1845. That was the year of (he great famine, and John Cochran and John Robinson were commissioners from Scotland to distribute rations among the starving people. The twelve-year-old lad witnessed scenes which he can never forget. The potato crop that year and for ten years thereafter in Ireland was a failure, and that being the chief article of food of the poor masses, great distress was inevitable. Thousands died of absolute starvation, and still other thousands of combined disease and destitution. Generous America shipped loads of provisions, principally oat l!I>I)KX(E OK.JAMES ('. COC1IKAX flour and corn meal. Mr. Cochran recalls a one-story house, 100 feet long, in the famine district, where mush was made and distributed in rations to the people. They carried it away in noggens, and many of them were later found dead in their tracks, having gorged themselves with the mush. Some were found dying in the mountains. Mr. Cochran also recalls that the herring catch, a staple article of diet, was a failure these years, and to make matters worse poor laws were established and the constabulary confiscated everything they came in contact with. The unfortunate Irish were driven from their homes and compelled to seek refuge in other countries. In

County Galway the people planted their potatoes in the bogs and raised good crops, which in a measure relieved the situation there; but altogether the conditions were most deplorable. Mr. Cochran was vividly impressed by his trip.

On October 1, 1853, as heretofore stated, Mr. Cochran, in the company of his parents, left Scotland for America. The company took a sailing vessel, the Glennmana, by way of Galway for Dublin; thence via the West Indies, the Caribbean sea and the Gulf of Mexico to New Orleans. The voyage occupied nine weeks, and was tempestuous and fraught with thrilling experiences. The yellow fever broke out on board and sixty-nine died therefrom, among the number being a refugee Swedish nobleman and his wife. A daughter survived. John Cochran was named by the captain as one of the appraisers of the nobleman's estate. The vessel at this time was in the neighborhood of San Domingo, where it had been driven by the fierce winds of the southern route. Crippled by its combat with the elements, the ship began to drift, and John Cochran, being a skilled mechanic, was called by the skipper to fix the compass. The tempest-tossed and afflicted company at last reached New Orleans on January 1, 1854, after weathering a fierce gale four days out from port. From the Crescent City passage was taken on the Great Republic to St. Louis. January 4, 1854, was spent on a sandbar in the Mississippi river, the steamer being entangled for two days. At Natchez the first ice was seen floating down the Mississippi. Arriving at Cairo, our subject was sent on shore to procure some swine meat. The carcasses of two bears were hanging up at the dealer's, and young Cochran on returning to his father declared he had ' ' seen two Newfoundland dogs hanging up. ' ' This, of course, put the laugh on him, much to his chagrin. At Cairo the captain refused to risk his vessel any further in the ice, and said he would charge pro rata for the passage to that point. This being agreed to, the family continued their voyage to St. Louis on another boat, which they reached in due season. The trip Avas continued to Muscatine, which was then a port of entry, where they arrived June 10, 1854. Luckily, on arrival, they found a man who was just returning to Iowa City by wagon, and he was induced to take the Cochrans, eight in all, to their destination, seven miles beyond the then Capital City, to the home of Uncle Matthew

Cochran and Margaret (Russell) Cochran, in Graham township, then living on the present Chas. Dingleberry farm, in their log house (see sketch of Adaline Cochran).

After a few months John Cochran and his son, James, secured employment in Iowa City, the former at his trade of tinning and the latter running a sawmill. Said mill was a primitive affair, consisting of a saw and sawbuck, with himself as the motive power. With this plant he sawed, split, and piled up cordwood at $1.00 per cord. The elder Cochran was employed by Hart & Love, and our subject was soon made an apprentice with the same firm. Hart & Love soon afterwards sold out to J. S. Stafford, and our apprentice received $6.00 per week for one year, during which time he acquired a good insight into the trade. The business then passed into the hands of Mr. Choate, and our subject's wages were raised to $10.00 per week. In 1860, having saved up $400.00 in cash, with this amount and notes running for 1, 2, and 3 years at 10 per cent, he bought out Mr. Choate. After three years he had everything paid up.

The natural Scotch thrift of young Cochran began to be manifest, and he commenced buying dry hides at 5 cents a pound and storing them in a warehouse 25x100 feet which he had erected on the present site of Byron Stillwell's paint shop, on Washington street. In 1862 he had a capital of $2,000.00 invested in hides at 5 cents per pound. Mr. Blackburn offered him 20 cents per pound, and he finally accepted 30 cents per pound. That year he bought the Cochran property on South Clinton street, where his son, Frederick J. Cochran, now has his office, paying therefor the sum of $3,000.00. The building has been entirely remodeled and the property is worth today at least $20,000.00.

James Cochran was in active business in Iowa City thirty-seven years. He has invariably been a money-maker. At times he has cleaned up an average of $50.00 per day in his chosen business. At one time it is said of him that he bought dressed hogs for $2.00 and $2.05 and sold them at a large profit. During his long business career in Iowa City, Mr. Cochran has been associated with some of the leading enterprises of the city. He was vice president of the Johnson County Savings bank between thirty and forty years; was a director and the treasurer of the Iowa City Publishing company, and a director in the Iowa Packing and Provision company.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.

FREDERICK J. COCHRAN

Frederick J. Cochran, son of James C. Cochran and Maria Doty, was born July 9, 1870, at 314 South Clinton street, Iowa City. He was educated in the Iowa City public schools, and graduated from the Iowa City Academy in 1887. He then entered Williams College and took a commercial course. Later he entered (in 1887) the Law Department of the S. U. I., graduating in 1892. For a number of years he practiced his profession, but of late his time has been occupied with the legal work of his father and the business of real estate and loans. He was married in March, 1892, to Gail Huntsman, daughter of Dr. A. C. Huntsman, former regent of the State University, and a successful physician. Mrs. Huntsman was formerly Matilda Fulton. Mr. Cochran and his wife were married by the president of Penn College. Their union has been blessed with four children: Dorothy, Alice, Nell, mid James (Mark. They reside in their new home, 406 Summit avenue, Iowa City. M PS. Cochran is a native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and a graduate of the public schools of that city. She is an active member of social chilis of Iowa City and a prominent worker in the First Congregational church, of which both husband and wife are members.

Frederick J. Cochran is one of the up-to-date and progressive business men of the University City; an active member of the Commercial Club, the Automobile Club, and the Motor Club, in the latter two of which he takes an especial interest. He is an owner and fancier of good driving horses also, and takes nobody's dust either on the speeding track or the highway. He is a member of the I. 0. 0. F., K. of P., M. W. A., and Royal Arcanum. In the prime of life, well educated, experienced, alert, with the invisible urge of a long line of canny Scot ancestry in his veins, it is not difficult to prophesy for him success and worthy honors in the city and state of his birth.

As printed in the source¹. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.