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Camden C. Cochran
CAMDEN C. COCHRAN, justice of the peace and a prosperous farmer,
residing in Wayne township, Armstrong Co., Pa., was born on the farm on which
he lives July 4, 1853, son of John Cochran, grandson of William Cochran and a
great-grandson of William Cochran.William Cochran, the great-grandfather, came to America from Ireland and
was one of the pioneer settlers in what is now Cowanshannock township,
Armstrong county, where he passed the remainder of his life, dying in old age.William Cochran, son of William, may have accompanied his father from
Ireland. He was married in Armstrong county, in 1814, to Mary Marshall, a
daughter of John and Jane (Scott) Marshall. Mr. Cochran died Nov. 1, 1876, and
the death of his wife occurred, Aug. 3, 1878. They had twelve children, as
follows: Nancy, born Dec. 20, 1816, married James Robert Calhoun; Jane, born
July 3, 1818, married W. W. Marshall; Eliza M., born Jan. 23, 1820, married
Watson S. Marshall; John, born Jan. 16, 1822, married Martha E. McComb; Mary
died unmarried; William M., born in 1826, married Martha J. McGaughey; James
L., born Aug. 12, 1828, married Mary C. Bricker; Samuel never married; Robert,
born Oct. 2, 1832, married Mary Adair; David S., born Feb. 19, 1835, married
Lois C. Marshall, Oct. 29, 1867; Levi, born in 1837, died when eleven months
old; Sarah Ellen, born June 19, 1839, married, R. L. McGaughey.The father of the above family cleared a tract of land in Cowanshannock
township and built his log cabin around stumps of trees in order to utilize
them as seats after the house was completed. The family lived on that farm and
did considerable improving as the years went by, until 1831, when they sold
and bought a farm at Glade Run, which later came into possession of their son
Samuel. William Cochran cleared the native forest growth from this land and
developed a good farm, and it was here that both he and his wife passed away.
They were quiet, worthy, virtuous people, respected and esteemed by all who
knew them, ancestors to whom their descendants may refer with pride.John Cochran, son of William and father of Camden C. Cochran, was born in
Cowanshannock township, Jan. 16, 1822, near the present borough of Atwood, and
accompanied his parents to Wayne township in 1831, there spending the rest of
his life, remaining at home until his marriage. In 1850 he settled on a farm
near Dayton, Pa., which he had pu rchased, and followed farming as his main
occupation, although he also did some carpenter work, being skillful in the
handling of tools.. In the spring of 1878 he established a dairy, disposing of
his milk in the town of Dayton and continued this industry for some time. He
was an honest and upright business man and was well known all over Wayne
township. He was a Democrat in his political views. On Dec. 21, 1848, he was
united in marriage with Martha E. McComb, who was born Nov. 14, 1825, a
daughter of George and Elizabeth (Marshall) McComb. George McComb was born
Oct. 1, 1793, and was a son of General McComb, of Revolutionary fame. He
married Elizabeth Marshall, the second and youngest daughter of James and
Elizabeth (Whitesides) Marshall. They lived, in Indiana county, Pa., until
1815, when they moved to near Glade Run, Armstrong county, where George McComb
followed farming until 1823, when he built a tannery on his farm, having
learned the tanning business in his youth. He conducted it for some years and
it was operated later by his sons. Mr. McComb served as a soldier in the War
of 1812. He was a useful and representative man, for many years a justice of
the peace and an elder in the Glade Run Presbyterian Church. His, death
occurred Feb. 17, 1859, and that of his wife on May 26, 1857. They had the
following children: Margaret T., James H., Nancy J., John C., Joseph W., Eliza
J., Maria E., Martha E., Sarah A., Robert N., Cynthia and Marshall.To John and Martha E. Cochran two children were born: Camden C. and a
daughter who did not survive infancy. John Cochran died Sept. 6, 1884. He was
a Democrat in politics, and for many years was a member of the Glade Run
Presbyterian Church.Camden C. Cochran was educated in the township schools and Glade Run
Academy and remained at home, assisting his father on the homestead near
Dayton, which is now his own property. He became associated in business with
his uncle, Samuel Cochran, and together they opened a coal mine on the home
property and did a coal business for twenty or twenty-five years, when they
sold out to the Dayton Coal Company. Since when Mr. Cochran has given his
entire attention to his agricultural pursuits. For many years he has served as
secretary of the Dayton Fair Association and as one of its managers. From
early manhood he has been more or less interested in public matters,
especially in local affairs, and has frequently been elected to office on the
Republican ticket, having served with the utmost efficiency as township
auditor, secretary of the school board as roadmaster, and in the fall of 1911
he was elected to the office of justice of the peace for Wayne township. With
other representative men of this section, he is a stockholder in the Dayton
Normal Institute. A natural as well as trained musician for twenty or thirty
years Mr. Cochran was prominent in the borough’s musical concerns, teaching
singing and serving as leader of the Dayton Cornet Band. For seventeen years
he has been an elder in the Glade Run Presbyterian Church and for the last
nineteen years has led the church choir, and he still takes an active part in
the Sunday school.Mr. Cochran has been twice married. On June 15, 1882, he was united in
marriage to Stella Wilson, who was born April 5, 1863, and died May 2, 1901,
survived by four children, viz.: Charles W., who is a student in the Western
Theological Seminary, preparing for the Presbyterian ministry, married Dessie
Shields; Edna is the wife of John P. Stockdale, residing in Wayne township;
John L., who resides at home, married Alice Hawk, and they have a daughter,
Arabelle Jane; Alfred M., who is a farmer in Illinois, married Nora Dooling.
Mr. Cochran’s second marriage took place February 28, 1907, to Mrs. Arabelle
(Kirkpatrick) Marshall, widow of Robert M. Marshall, formerly a justice of the
peace in Wayne township. She is a daughter of James C. and Mary (McMillen)
Kirkpatrick, and the venerable Mr. Kirkpatrick resides with Mr. and Mrs.
Cochran.Source: Pages 436, Armstrong County, Pa., Her People, Past and
Present, J.H. Beers & Co., 1914
Transcribed September 2001 by Vaughn Davis for the Armstrong County Beers
Project
Contributed for use by the Armstrong County Genealogy Project (http://www.pa-roots.com/armstrong/)Armstrong County Genealogy Project Notice:
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