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John Cochran (1760 - 1853)

John Cochran
Born in North Carolinamap
Ancestors ancestors
Son of and [mother unknown]
Husband of — married about 1794 in Mecklenburg, North Carolinamap
Descendants descendants
Died at age 92 in Ash Grove, Shelby, Illinoismap
Problems/Questions Profile manager: Amy Cook private message [send private message]
Profile last modified | Created 27 Nov 2016
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Contents

Biography

John was born in 1760. John Cochran ... He passed away in 1853.[1]

John Cochran. [2]

Born 15 October 1760. North Carolina, USA. [3]

Died Age: 92. 29 January 1853. Shelby County, Illinois, USA. [4]

Buried Shelby County, Illinois, USA. [5] Shelby County, Illinois, USA. [6]

File Format: jpg. Battle_marker_hanging_rock Format: jpg. John Cochran. Format: jpg. John Cochran. Format: jpg. John Cochran.

John Cochran John Cochran, the son of Thomas Cochran II, is identified only briefly in a letter Thomas' great-grandson wrote about his family history. “Grandpa Cochran had one half brother, John. He died in Illinois, White County. ”[7] (The grandpa William referred to was Thomas Cochran III.)

In 1790 he was over the age of 16, so born prior to 1774. In 1800 he is age 26-44 (born no earlier than 1756). In 1810 he is not found, but in 1820 he is 45+, so born prior to 1775. So the estimated birth years for John are 1756 to 1770.

John married Martha McCaslin around 1795. Their children are believed to be Rachel (1796-1875); John (1797-?); Jane (1800-1856); Martha (1810-1857); and James Hugh (1813-1835).

Life in Mecklenburg, NC

John is believed to be Thomas Cochran's son from a first marriage (wife's name unknown), and probably born around the time that Thomas bought his land on Mecklenburg County's Crooked Creek, in 1766.

There are two John Cochrans enumerated in the 1790 census of Mecklenburg County. The first is over 16 with two males under 16 and a free white female... and one slave. The second is over 16, with three females in his home.[8] The first John lives in the Back Creek district near to Paul and Robert Cochran. The second lives in the district by the Thomas Cochrans of Twelve Mile and Crooked Creeks. While the Twelve Mile Cochrans have two Johns in the family (one the son of Thomas I and the other the son of Thomas II), the John of the second generation is actually older than the John of the first... and is believed to be the John enumerated in 1790, as John son of Thomas I (born about 1770 or later) was not yet a landowner for that census.

Shortly after the census, in 1792, Cabarrus County was formed, taking the part of Mecklenburg where the first John lived near Back Creek.

On 31 Mar 1796, John purchased 147 acres of his father's land on Crooked Creek “for divers good cause and natural affection.”[9] It was a subdivision of (Thomas') old tract. The deed was witnessed by Sam Black and John Ritchie (both neighbors) and registered in court on 25 April 1800.

By 1797, tax records show that we once again, have two Johns in Mecklenburg; although one of the previous Johns is now in Cabarrus County, the son of Thomas I has now come of age. Tax records show both Johns being taxed in 1797, 1798, and 1799.[10] One has 66 acres (jumping to 98 acres in 1798 and 1799), and the other has 148 acres; the second, obviously, is this John.

The 1800 census in Mecklenburg[11] also lists two men named John Cochran, both between the ages of 26 and 44. One is listed as John Cochran C.C.

Is the C.C. a war service honorific? There was a John Cochran who served in the Revolution who lived in the portion of Mecklenburg that later became Cabarrus County, and then moved to Missouri, where he later sought to obtain a pension for his war service.[12] He stated in his application he was born in County Dairy [sic] Ireland; that he lived in Mecklenburg which later became Cabarrus until the year 1829, when he emigrated to Missouri. Clearly, this is the John who lived on Back Creek, and listed in the Census for Cabarrus County in 1800. So if the C.C. appended to a John in Mecklenburg refers to war service, then there might have been a second John who served in that capacity. All the Cochrans of age, of course, served in the militia as they were members in good standing with the North Carolina government.

Both of the Johns have young children. The first John on the list has a boy under ten and a girl under ten—and one slave. He is the only Cochran in Mecklenburg who is enumerated as a slave owner—and this is likely the slave Cleo, left to his sons in Thomas Cochran I's will. It is therefore the second John, noted as "C.C.," listed with three females under ten and (presumably) a wife, who is the John of this report.

We can assume that John was born around 1764. Although both the Johns in 1800 appear to be married, only one marriage record remains – a John Cochran married Dorcas McEwen on 3 Aug 1791, with Robert Cochran as a bondsman. Given the propensity of Cochrans to use the same names among different families, it can't be said whether this is the John who is the son of Thomas I, or the John who is the son of Thomas II. Although there is no marriage record, the John of this report is believed to have married Martha McCaslin. Martha is likely the sister of James McCaslin, a neighbor of the Thomas Cochrans of Mecklenburg, and who seems to have married a Cochran as well: Sarah Jane, a daughter of Thomas Cochran II and sister to the John Cochran of this report.

In September 1803, John sold his 147 acre parcel of land to his nephew, Thomas Cochran III (called Jr in the deed) for $350. The deed was witnessed by John's brother Moses, and by neighbor John Ritch, and recorded in April of 1804.[13]

There is only one John Cochran in the Mecklenburg tax list for 1807 (the slave-owning John), and only one John in 1810.[14] It appears that John Cochran has left Mecklenburg, therefore, sometime between 1803 and 1806.

Around this same time, John's father Thomas Cochran II also leaves the county, settling in Caldwell County Kentucky.

Life in Kentucky

Tax records for Caldwell County[15] give an interesting history of Cochrans in that area. A group of Cochrans are living northeast of the Land between the Lakes in the early 1810s, around the areas of Eddy Creek and Skinframe Ck., close to Eddyville. In 1809 John Cochran is paying a white poll tax and living on the Skinframe waterway. In 1810, he pays not only his poll tax but tax on four horses and 400 acres of land. His land was originally part of a grant given to the building of schools. In the 1810 census he is enumerated as John Cohern in Eddyville, Caldwell, Kentucky, with 1 free white male under ten; 1 FWM 16-25 1 FWM 45+, two females under ten, one female 16-25, and one female 26-44.[16]

In 1811 John is back in the tax rolls: he has five horses and 500 acres; 1812 has four horses and 400 acres; 1813 five horses and 400 acres; and 1814 six horses and 400 acres; 1815 six horses and 400 acres, 1816 eight horses and 400 acres; 1817 five horses, 400 acres; 1818 five horses, 400 acres; and in 1819 four horses, 400 acres. On 24 Feb 1817, the will of Godfrey Fowler was recorded with John Cochran as witness to the will.[17]

In the next two years, 1820 and 1821, John Cochran is not found in either the tax records or the census for Caldwell County. Was he simply missed? It appears that might be the case, as on 22 January 1821 the court minute books for Caldwell County record "John Cochran gives and swears to his list of taxable property for 1820 which is ordered to be certified."[18]

By 1822 he is back to being taxed again, this year on 2 polls, 200 acres, and 3 horses. He appears to have lost a couple hundred acres of land, but by 1823 he has it back, when he's taxed for 1 poll, 400 acres, 3 horses; in 1824, 1 poll, 400 acres, 3 horses; in 1825 400 acres, 1 poll, zero horses; and in 1826 1 poll, 400 acres, 4 horses; in 1827, '28 and '29 he is not found as John, close to 60 years old or more, has decided to pull up stakes once again.

Life in Illinois

In 1812 a John Cochran was serving as a Captain of Rangers in the Illinois Territory before he arrived in Caldwell, Kentucky. By 1827 he was heading back to Illinois – this time to Shelby County, where he would settle on a patch of land that would become known as Cochran, Cochran's Grove, or Cochranville (now called Ash Grove). A history book for Shelby County says this about John Cochran and his family. "On both the paternal and maternal sides they are of Irish ancestry. Several generations back they belonged to a sea-faring family: the great-grandfather [of the subject of the story] was born on board a vessel of which his father was commander. They came to America and settled in the colonies prior to the Revolutionary War.

“John Cochran, the grandfather of the subject of the present sketch [therefore the son of the man born on board a boat] was born in North Carolina, and was a soldier of the Revolution. He was in the irregular service, and for the greater portion of the time under Gen. Francis Marion, and with that gallant, dashing and patriotic leader, participated in the many engagements and skirmishes he had with the British forces. He was for a short time in the regular service, and was present and took part in the battle of the Cowpens, Kings Mountain, Eutaw Springs and Hanging Rock; at the latter battle he was severely wounded in the leg.

“After Independence was declared he removed to Kentucky and remained there until 1824, when he emigrated with his family to Illinois, and settled in Shelby county, at a point then and for many years after known as "Cochran's Grove," now Ash Grove township. There the old veteran and pioneer remained until his death, which occurred in January, 1853, in the ninety-fourth year of his age.

“He married Martha McCaslin, who was of Irish parentage, but a native of North Carolina. By this union there were five children that reached the age of maturity and had families, viz.: John, Rachel, Jane, Martha and James Cochran. The daughters married three brothers, named William, John and Daniel Price." [19]

A different story in the same book reads, “In the fall of 1826, came John Cochran accompanied by three sons-in-law, John, Daniel, and William Price. The three Price brothers married three sisters, daughters of John Cochran. and all had families when they came here. John Cochran was born near the state line of North and South Carolina. He married in North Carolina, where he lived a number of years. He then emigrated to Caldwell county, Kentucky, in 1802, where he lived twenty-four years. Upon arriving in what is now Ash Grove township, he settled on section 7, and built a cabin at the head of the West Fork of Little Wabash river, near where J. H. Cochran now lives. He lived there until his death in 1853, at the advanced age of ninety-two years; his wife preceded him seven years, at the age of seventy-three.”[20]

In the W.E. Parham papers there is a letter from Robert Cochran in Shelby County to his brother James (the pair were sons of Paul Cochran Jr) in Blount County, Tennessee. It reads, in part, "...since I left Tennessee, have met John Cochran, aged 93, a full cousin of father's. He is 15 miles east of Shelbyville, IL. He has a son John, son James at Cochin [sic] Grove... The aged John Cochran held on to my hand and said you are the first blood kin I have seen in over 40 years, then he told me of all the old friends in Carolina, which he left 42 years ago [that would be 1809], stayed 17 years in Kentucky, then here in Illinois ever since.”[21]

John seems to be the man enumerated as “John Croghan” in the 1830 census of Shelby County, living next door to his son John, and listed as age 60-70.[22]

John doesn't appear to have purchased any land in Shelby County; he and Martha possibly lived with his son James, who purchased quite a lot. (The John Cochran who did purchase land in the 1830s was likely his son, as John sold this land in 1854 – a year after his father died – to James D. Cochran.)

In the 1840 census in Shelby County,[23] John Cochran and his wife were both listed as between the age of 60 and 69... and one of them, obviously Martha, could not read or write.

In the 1850 census John, now 92, is living in the home of his son James in Cochren Grove.[24] Martha, it seems, has died.

John died on 29 January 1853 in Cochran Grove, Shelby, Illinois. Martha had died nine years prior, and both are buried in the Cochran cemetery in Windsor. A memorial stone has been placed for him there,[25] but there is no indication on the FindaGrave state that an original stone remains, though one seems to for his wife Martha.

This is clearly the same John Cochran we have tracked from Mecklenburg to Kentucky, and now on to Illinois, but the information above raises some questions.

Who was John Cochran's father?

The biographical information in the history book indicates that John was the son of Thomas Cochran I of Mecklenburg, as the William Carroll Cochran letter tells us that Thomas I is the man who was born either in Ireland or on a boat when the family was immigrating.

The letter fragment in the Parham papers suggests the same. Paul Cochran Jr. was the son of Paul Henry Cochran, who immigrated to Blount County from Mecklenburg County after the Revolutionary War. If Paul Jr. and John were first cousins, then Paul Henry Sr. and Thomas II would have been brothers, which is not the case.

Many believe that Paul's parents were either a Robert Cochran who married Elspey Brice, or a James Cochran who married a Janet. Paul's family is said to have come from Waterford, Ireland. It is possible, of course, that John and Paul Jr. were first cousins once removed; that would mean that Paul Jr and Thomas Cochran II shared the same grandparents – and the parents of Thomas I (Thomas II's grandparents) are still unknown.

The evidence available to us offers three instances that argue John is the son of Thomas II.

1 When John obtained property in Mecklenburg County from Thomas II, it was given to him “for divers good cause and natural affection,” which is generally the act of a father to a child.

2 John is believed to have married Martha McCaslin, who was sister to Thomas II's neighbor on Crooked Creek.

3 John of Shelby County is said to have died in 1853, at the age of 92, giving him a birth year of 1761. When Thomas Cochran I wrote his will in 1786, his son John was a minor, with an older brother who was also still a minor. The earliest possible date that John could have been born, therefore, is 1767. Other evidence suggests he was born a few years later than that.

4 John Cochran's stated Revolutionary service in the Shelby County history book has him fighting in battles that took place in 1780 and 1781. If his service record is true, then the John who was the son of Thomas I would have been fighting with the regular militia forces at the age of 13 – that's not impossible, but it's unlikely. (Andrew Jackson, who lived not far from the Cochrans in the Waxhaw district, quite famously joined the revolutionary forces at the age of 13.) John was likely older than 13 if he experienced the service record that is given for him. Although instinctively backward, the John who was the son of Thomas Cochran II was actually older by a couple of years than the John who was his brother... and therefore more likely the John who served in the war.

5. John Cochran is clearly not the son of Robert Cochran, as some have claimed, as Robert's son John is identified through his revolutionary war pension application; he left North Carolina to live in Missouri.

The evidence most heavily suggests that John was the son of Thomas Cochran II, and his unknown first wife.

Letter from Robert Cochran to James Cochran regarding John Cochran of Cochran's Grove

To James Cochran, Cloyds Creek, Blount County, Tenn Dear Brother I had letter from C.? [Cyrus] Cochran on June 9th; one from M.H. [Mat] Cochran, so I hear of all; that you are sick, fear dropsy; our soil is 18 inches deep up to two feet; black as tar, we raise 100 bu per ac.; cattle sell at 310 1/2 per head; cows & calf 18 dollars; oxen 375 per yoake; hogs 2 1/2 per lb.; horse $75; extra one $100; St Louis is our great market. the town is long, 4 miles wide; is on Bank of the Missippi River;

John Cochran, full cousin to our father, is 93 years old, lives 15 miles E. of Shelbyville; has sons James, John; he left NC 42 years ago; was 17 in Kentuckey, now in Illinois 25 years. the son James keeps Post Office and Public, at Cochran Grove, it is between Shelbyville and Te rre Haute; he has 4 sons, eldest William, next is Rufus; give regards to John Cochran and family; your brother

In another reference to this letter Parham wrote: A letter dated 13 June 1851 from Robert Cochran, Prairie Bird, Shelby Co., Ill. to Dear Brother [to James Cochran] Letters received from C.W. Cochran and M.H.(?) Cochran since I left Tennessee. Have met John Cochran, aged 93, a full cousin of Fathers, he is 15 miles east of Shelbyville, Ill., he has a son John, son James at Cochin (sic) Grove, he has four boys; a son William, a teacher, and Rufus; the aged John Cochran held on to my hand and said You are the first blood kin I have seen in over fourty years, then he told me of all the old friends in Carolina, which he left 42 years ago, stayed 17 years in Ky., then here in Illinois ever since he addressed his letter to East Tenn., Blount County, Cloyds Creek.

The letter was from Robert Cochran to James Cochran and dated 13 June 1851. Information in brackets is believed to have been added by Parham.

Sources

  1. A source for this information is needed.
  2. Source: #S-1693272999
  3. Source: #S-1693272999
  4. Source: #S-1693272999
  5. Source: #S-1693272999
  6. Source: #S-1693272999
  7. A copy of the original, handwritten letters can be viewed online here https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/memories/KPHK-4XK
  8. "United States Census, 1790", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2M-M5K : Thu Jul 20 16:18:48 UTC 2023), Entry for John Cochran, 1790.
  9. Mecklenburg County NC Deed book 17 p386 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-8983-Z383?i=195&cat=168633
  10. "Mecklenburg County North Carolina Will Abstracts by Herman W. Ferguson and Tax Lists for 1797, 1798, 1799, 1806 & 1807 transcribed by Ralph B. or Herman W. Ferguson" published by Herman W. Ferguson. Purchased online from sequiturbooks.com Tax List for 1797, Captain Secrest's Co., p 272; Tax List for 1798 Captain Secrest and Gray combined, p. 282; Tax list for 1799, Captain Secrest's Co. p. 286
  11. "United States Census, 1800", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHRW-7XB : Thu Jul 20 15:05:35 UTC 2023), Entry for John Cochran, 1800.
  12. https://revwarapps.org/s16720.pdf
  13. Mecklenburg County NC Deed book 18 p 71, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L983-ZSVN?cat=168633
  14. "Mecklenburg County North Carolina Will Abstracts by Herman W. Ferguson and Tax Lists for 1797, 1798, 1799, 1806 & 1807 transcribed by Ralph B. or Herman W. Ferguson" published by Herman W. Ferguson. Purchased online from sequiturbooks.com Tax List for 1797, Captain Secrest's Co., p 272; Tax List for 1798 Captain Secrest and Gray combined, p. 282; Tax list for 1799, Captain Secrest's Co. p. 286
  15. Caldwell County, KY Tax Books 1809-1848; tax books 1809-1829 online at Family Search at https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog/155037?availability=Family%20History%20Library
  16. "United States Census, 1810", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XH2S-2HG : Thu Jul 20 16:55:02 UTC 2023), Entry for John Cohern, 1810.
  17. Caldwell County, KY Order book B, 1815-1818, p. 110 http://genealogytrails.com/ken/caldwell/caldwell-county-court-order-book-b.html
  18. Caldwell County KY Court Order Book A p. 253 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9P3P-9LKS?i=178&cc=1875188&cat=131104
  19. Biography of W.A. Cochran in "Combined History of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois: With Illustrations Descriptive of Their Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers" p. 163. Published by Brink, McDonough & Company, 1881. https://tinyurl.com/mt6b7k3y
  20. Biography of W.A. Cochran in "Combined History of Shelby and Moultrie Counties, Illinois: With Illustrations Descriptive of Their Scenery, and Biographical Sketches of Some of Their Prominent Men and Pioneers" p. 305. Published by Brink, McDonough & Company, 1881. https://tinyurl.com/mt6b7k3y
  21. Will E. Parham (1860-1946), a state legislator for Tennessee and a chairman of the Blount County TN court, had an avid interest in the genealogy of Blount County families. His papers are held at the Knox County Public Library as part of the McClung Collection. His folder on the Cochran family includes notes and correspondence regarding his research. The information from the Cochran letter between Shelby, IL and Blount, TN is his transcription of what was contained in the letter. The full transcription is included at the end of this document.
  22. "United States Census, 1830", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHPY-V5C : Fri Jul 21 00:07:37 UTC 2023), Entry for John Croghan, 1830.
  23. "United States Census, 1840", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XHBJ-LKR : Thu Jul 20 18:17:34 UTC 2023), Entry for John Cochran, 1840.
  24. "United States Census, 1850", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M85S-2KL : Mon Jul 17 19:44:02 UTC 2023), Entry for James Otchren and Nancy Otchren, 1850.
  25. "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVVT-76GC : 1 June 2020), John Cochran, 1853; Burial, , Cochrans Grove Cemetery; citing record ID 25783245, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25783245/john-cochran

  • Source: S-1693272999 Repository: #R-2147289161 Web: Illinois, Find A Grave Index, 1809-2012 Ancestry.com Publication: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.
  • Repository: R-2147289161 Ancestry.com Note:




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