BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, BELMONT COUNTY, OHIO

"History of the Upper Ohio Valley" Vol. II, 1890.

Presented by Linda Fluharty from hard copies provided
by Mary Staley & Phyllis Slater.


Pages 526-527


JUDGE JOHN S. COCHRANE, a distinguished citizen of Martin's Ferry, was
born In Belmont county, Ohio, September 9, 1841. His family in this
country, prominent in the early settlement, is descended from William
Cochrane, who was a native of England, and a cousin of Sir Thomas
Cochrane, earl of Dumdonald, a British admiral. William Cochrane came
to America about 1765, and settled near West Liberty on what is now known
as the Jacobs and Dexton farms, which he acquired possession of by
tomahawk right. He lost his life at the hands of the Indians during that
savage raid, one incident of which was the famous leap of the frontiersman,
McCullough. He was shot after a desperate chase, just as he was in sight
of the block house at West Liberty. His companion, William Boggs, was
captured but made his escape and returned to his home at Wheeling, where
some of his descendants are still living. William Cochrane had three
sons, Thomas, James and Robert. The latter, grandfather of Judge Cochrane,
was born in 1770, and reared near West Liberty, but when quite a young man
he crossed to Ohio about the beginning of this century and settled near
Burlington, Belmont county, where he acquired a large tract of land, which
he resided upon until his death in 1860. Of his sixteen children, four are
living. His son, Robert, Jr., father of the subject of this sketch, was
born in Belmont county in 1814, and passed his life on a farm near Martin's
Ferry, being one of the leading citizens of that vicinity. He died in 1863,
from fever which he contracted in a southern hospital while trying to save
the life of his son, Watson, then a prisoner of war. He was married about
1835 to Susannah Davis, by whom he had thirteen children, eleven of whom
were reared. Six of the seven sons served in the Union army, but all
escaped death, though two were severely wounded. When the father went
south he left the large farm in charge of his wife and four daughters.
In the midst of a severe winter, and they were compelled to haul feed
through fifteen inches of snow to save their live stock with but slight
assistance from others. Their heroic efforts sufficed, however, to prevent
any loss until the arrival of one of the sons, who secured a discharge
and came home. They managed the farm until it was sold. The widow of
Robert, Jr., is still living. Judge Cochrane was reared in Belmont
county, and at twenty years of age, he enlisted in Company K, Fifteenth
Ohio regiment, in the fall of 1861, with his brother, R. H. Cochrane,
elsewhere mentioned. After one year's service he came home and administered
on the estate of his deceased father. After the close of the war he
determined to adopt the profession of law, and studied three years with
Hon. William Kennon, judge of the supreme court of Ohio. He then began
the practice at St. Clairsville, but soon afterward removed to Sedalia,
Mo., where he followed his profession with success for ten years. He was
elected prosecuting attorney and served one term, and in 1868 was
elected judge of the court of common pleas, a position he filled with
credit until 1872. In 1876 he removed to Wheeling, and practiced there
until 1882, when he removed to Martin's Ferry, where he is still in the
practice of law. He has always taken an active part in public affairs,
and has been public-spirited and enterprising. In the republican party
he has been quite prominent, and in 1888 was elected by his party as
elector for the seventeenth congressional district. Judge Cochrane is now
president of the Electric Light company of this place. He was married in
1867 to Mattie W. Weldin, of Wheeling. He and wife are members of the
Presbyterian church, and he is a member of the Knights of Honor, the
Maccabees and the National Union fraternities.