I have just finished writing a story on a lady named Zilphia Cochran, whom I was able to trace from her birth into slavery on the homeplace of Mr Abraham B. Cochran and his wife Mary Marshall Lilly Cochran, in what was at the time, Allenton, Stanly County, NC around 1834, to Montgomery County, NC and the Zion area, where her young mistress, the Widow Cochran, had married attorney James Lowe Gaines. After freedom, Zilphia would return to Stanly County and marry a man nearly 20 years her senior, Ben Davis, a man who had been the slave of my own Davis ancestors.
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| Doves of Stained Glass Window of Cottonville AME Zion Church |
Ben and Zilphia had no children together, as he was 62 and she 46 upon their marriage. However, Ben had several children during his long marriage with his first wife, Fanny. Not so fortunate, Zilphia had had at least 6 children, 3 sons and 3 daughters, with several different men, which is in no way a reflection of morality, or lack of it, on her part. Her youngest daughter, Martha, was born in 1865, so all of Zilphia's pregnancies had occurred during her status as a slave. Two of her children are by Unknown fathers. They could have been one of the other fathers of the known ones, or someone else completely. Neither Zilphia, or any of her children, are ever referred to in the census records, or any other records as 'mulatto', or of mixed race. Zilphia and her children seem to have been of purely African decent. The fathers of her children that are known, were all mostly older men in the same communities where Zilphia had lived.
Two years after the death of Abraham (or Abram) Bruton Cochran, a son of David Cochran and Catherine Butler Cochran, in 1844, a probate of his property was made in Montgomery County, where he had spent his younger years. His widow, Mary, had married Attorney Gaines and went to live at his estate in the Zion Community of Pee Dee Township, taking her two surviving daughters, Mary Catherine, called Katie, and Martha Louisa, called Louisa. She left two children, Eliza and Calvin, who had been buried at the Allenton estate, behind in Stanly County, having lost them as children.
In the probate papers was a paper called the "Division of Negroes", and this paper named the individuals A. B. Cochran had held in slavery and most fortunately, named them as families.
"Jesse. Beck and her four children, viz, Martin, Mason, Jones and Ralph. Aggy and her four children viz Wallace, Zilphia, Toney and Sarah. Mariah and her two children, Jimmy and Sam."
Now, Aggy appeared in 3 census records before her death, 1870, 1880 and 1900. In those 3 documents, her year of birth indicated by her given age ranged between 1809 and 1823. A good middle ground guess would put her probable year of birth in the middle document of 1815. We know Ziphia was born in 1834 or 1835, so in 1846, she would have been around 12. Also in the Cochran probate papers, they placed values on each of the people listed, based on health and work equity, supposedly, which is the closest tool we have for guessing age. Aggy was valued at $335, at about 31. Zilphia was $360 at 12. Not knowing when her siblings were born, we have to guess using common sense and comparing a few others whoses birth years are known. Two of the sons of Jesse and Becca, Martin, born in 1844, and Mason, born in 1841 were valued at $150 and $290 respectively. Aggy's son Wallace was valued at $450, so he must have been somewhat older than Zilphia, and in prime working age. He couldn't be too much older, however, or he falls out of range to have been born in Aggy's childbearing years. If Aggy was 16 when Wallace was born, which is very feasible, that gives him a year of birth of around 1831 and age 16, himself in 1846. Toney, listed after Zilphia, was valued at $350, a little less than Zilphia, but he was a boy child, so he was probably around 10, or born in 1836. Sarah, the last listed, was no doubt the baby of the family thus far, was valued at $190, more than Martin (age 1) and less than Mason (age 5), and she was a girl, so maybe 3 years old with an estimated year of birth of 1843.
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| Yellow Rocking Chairwoman by Wallspice |
Aggy had 2 more daughters, that I have found, after 1846, Susan and Lucinda. In the 1900 census, she reports that she had been the mother of 8 children, with 4 living. Three of those were Zilphia, Susan and Lucinda. I've been trying to locate the 4th living child of Aggie in 1900. This could possibly have been Sarah, married to an unknown individual, or one of two unknown and unnamed children, as I've found only 6. After exploring the lives of Zilphia's six children, I will examine the other descendants of Aggie that I know about.
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| The Enterprise Albemarle, North Carolina 04 Jan 1906, Thu • Page 1 |
William M. Cochran
According to the records of the children of William M. Cochran, he was born in Montgomery County, North Carolina. It is believed the "M" in his middle named stood for 'Marshall'. Born about 1852, he was the first of Zilphia's known children, she being around 17 at his birth. His father, named in his two marriage certificates, was one Jacob Cochran. There was no Jacob Cochran mentioned in the 1844-1846 estate papers of Abraham Bruton Cochran, which lists his mother, Zilphia, his grandmother, Aggy, and other family members. I believe Jacob had been a slave in the congregate Cochran family of A. B. Cochran's father, David, and lived nearby, and with one of A. B. Cochran's siblings, perhaps one of his brothers who later migrated south and west.
The first document William appears in is his marriage, at age 28, to Harriett Howell, 24, on December 21, 1882. William is not to be found in the 1870 or 1880 census records. The wedding took place in Stanly County and both parties are noted as residents thereof. Harriett's parents were listed as Lot and Huldy Howell, and indeed, in 1870, Harriett is found as a child in her widowed mother's home.
| Name: | Harriet Howell | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1870: | 10 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1860 | ||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 85 | ||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1870: | Tyson, Stanly, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | ||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | ||||||||||||||||
| Post Office: | Albemarle | ||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | At Home | ||||||||||||||||
| Cannot Read: | Y | ||||||||||||||||
| Cannot Write: | Y | ||||||||||||||||
| Inferred Mother: | Halda Howell | ||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The marriage was performed by Justice of the Peace, B. C. Blalock at the Tyson Township home of Washington Christian. William was probably living near his mother and stepfather, Ben Davis. Witnesses to the ceremony were Dan Crump, Ed Christian and Doctor Capron, all of Stanly County. These individuals, and several other Howells are found close to my Davis family in the 1880 census, leading me to believe the Howell family originated with the Howells related to my Davis family as Job Davis's wife, Sarah, was married first to a Richard Howell, and her oldest son, Peter, took over his fathers lands as he grew up. One of Peter's daughters married a Capron, and that explains the Capron name, which I had never seen among the African-American community in this area before. The wedding must have been near Cottonville and near the Davis area.
Harriett didn't live a long life, as William remarried about a decade later. William and Harriett had one known child, Charles, or Charlie Cochran. He was born just before his father's second marriage, so perhaps Harriett had passed shortly after the delivery of this child.
On July 2, 1892, William Cochran married Patsy Christian. He was now about 40 years old and his bride only 19. Patsy was the daughter of Benjamin J. and Delia George Christian of Cottonville. The marriage was performed by M. R. McSwain, J. P., in Cottonville, and witnesses were Louis Christian, Patsy's brother, A. Hyatt and Gibs Turner.
| Name: | William M Coch[William M Cochran][] | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 49 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Nov 1850 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Mount Gilead, Montgomery, North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 5 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 78 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 79 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Paley Coch | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marriage Year: | 1892 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Years Married: | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farm Laborer | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| House Owned or Rented: | Rent | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | H | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
They would immediately set up housekeeping and begin bringing children into their large family that would eventually increase to 11 children for W. M. and Patsy. In 1900, they had moved back across the river to Mount Gilead, in Montgomery County and the first four children, Frazier, Henry, John and Zilphia, named for her grandmother, had been born.
By 1909, William would return to Stanly County and buy his own property. On February 12, 1909, in Deed Book 47, Page 247, William M. Cochran bought 5 and 3/4 acre of land from H. J. and Eliza Cotton, for $57.50. The location only is described as bordering David and William Colson.
| Name: | William Cochran[] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age in 1910: | 68[35][55] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1842[abt 1875][abt 1855] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1910: | Harris, Stanly, North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Head | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Married | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse's Name: | Patsy Cochran | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Native Tongue: | English | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Farmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | Grain & Cotton | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employer, Employee or Other: | Own Account | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Owned or Rented: | Own | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home Free or Mortgaged: | Free | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Farm or House: | Farm | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to read: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years Married: | 16 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Out of Work: | N | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
One year later, William is shown as operating his own farm, free and not mortgaged, and growing grain and cotton. That's not all he had been growing, the children now numbered 9. His neighbors were Cottons and Coggins and they are living in Harris Township. One group of neighbors, the Bunches, are in my family tree, and I know exactly where they lived, at the very end of Mountain Creek Road, placing the Cochrans between Whitney and Palmerville, near present Yadkin Brickyard area, I believe.
The next part of Williams story involves just his family, and reveals a decade of tragedy.
Two more child would join the fold after the 1910 census, Zorra May in 1913, and Ella on July 7, 1916. Ella didn't make the 1920 census, but I can not find a death certificate, so may have died as a child. But there were others, the 1910 census reveals Patsy as the mother of 12 children with 9 living. Existing death certificates reveal that most of the family was buried in the New Hope cemetery, in the old Isenhour area of Stanly County, just north of Badin.
Industry drew population, and the building of the dams, the electrical company, and the town of Badin, the railroads, the canal at Palmerville and Palmer Mountain, had created jobs, and the area between Old Whitney, Palmerville and Badin was abuzz with activity, constructions, work and tragedy.
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| Power plant and damning of the Yadin. |
It appears that William M. Cochran had died sometime between the birth (or conception) of youngest child, Ella, in 1916 and 1917, the year that brought deaths of some of his children and the settlement of the estates of two of his sons. A Death Certificate for him can not be found, nor any account of his death, or the cause of it, but Patsy was listed as alone in her sons estate papers, and as a widow in the 1920 census.
The year 1917 brought more than it's share of tragedy for the family of William M. Cochran. On June 11, 1917, Docia Cochran, seen as a 7 year old in the 1910 census, dies at 14 of pulminary tuberculosis, one of the many rampant and deadly diseases of that era.
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| Stock photo of a Coal Shoot |
Just one month later, on July 20, 1917, two of William and Patsy's middle sons were working for the Tallahassee Electric Company when a tragedy struck that took the lives of several young men, including that of Henry Hampton Cochran, 23, and John Jacob "Jake" Cochran, 17. A lawsuit, involving the Tallahassee Power Company and Patsy Cochran, mother and administrator of the estates of both Henry and Jake, take up most of the estate files of both.
The company and Patsy's attorneys, obviously, had two differing accounts of what happened that fateful day, but the truth of what happened blends in the middle. Both Henry and Jacob were employed as laborers for the company, located in Badin. They had been shoveling coal and with a group of other men, took refuge in the shade of the coal shute to break and eat their lunch. The shute collapsed, killing the brothers, among others who died that day. I found the Death Certificates of Aaron Stiles, 49, of Montgomery County, NC, who had also died on July 17, 1917, in Stanly County and was "Crushed beneath a carload of coal falling from trestle while working", and had suffered a broken spine and fracture. Also, that of Henry McLendon, originally of Anson County, son of James McLendon and Harriett Surrett, 36, who also suffered a skull fracture from being 'crushed beneath carload of coal falling from trestle."
The heirs of Henry Cochran were listed as his mother, Patsy, and his siblings Zilphia (Zethia in document), Frazier, John, Addie B., Viola (actually Theolia), Haywood, Zora May and Charley. Noticiably absent were the names of his father, William and baby sister, Ella, born in 1916.
After combing through both Henry and Jakes nearly identical probate papers (Jake's is included in the same pack as Henrys, and not filed in its own sheath), I've been able to determine certain facts that fall in the gray area between Patsy's story and the defense plea of her sons Tallahassee Electric Company supervisors.
Both 23 year old Henry and 17 year old Jacob (named for his grandfather), were employed by the company and had been shoveling coal. It had been a rainy season and began raining again that day. It was 20 minutes before the lunch whistle sounded, but due to the rain, the men took refuge under the shute, and began eating their packed lunches. There were at least 4 worker, Henry and Jake Cochran, Mr. McLendon and Mr. Stiles. The braces and bannisters of the shute were shoddy, rotting and ill-fitting. Due to the rain, and rain-soaked ground, the braces gave way and fell, crushing the men under a load of coal.
Patsy filed the suit alone, no mention of her husband, William. It can be assumed he was alread dead, perhaps he and Ella had died near the same time as Docia, but why did she have a death certificate, and they not?
First, she filed in Stanly County, where it happened, then seeing the tremendous pull the company had with the good ol' boys and powers that be in Stanly County, someone carted her off to Marshville, in Union County, where 2 days later, she had filled the same complaint. The action eventually ended up, also, in Anson County,
Patsy Cochran vs The Tallahassee Power Company, excerpts:
Page 56262 Patsy Cochran named as Admtrx of Jake and Henry Cochran.
Page 56274- Jake was named as 17 years old and Henry 23.
Page 56278- Patsy is allowed to sue as a Pauper.
Page 56280- The company claims that Patsy 'is now in Union County having been carried there simply for the purpose of bringing this action".
Much of the arguement concerning Patsy's suit was over where exactly she lived at the time of the suit, the deaths of her sons clearly happening in Stanly County. Enter the mystery of Jonah Huntley.
Jonah Huntley has clear, concise, and no missing records, of his life, his death, and his marriages. He was born on July 4, 1888, in Stanly County, was married twice, first to Lula Redfern and second, to Emma Myers and was the father of many chilrdren. All of his documentation names him as the son of Wilson and Rachel Brooks Huntley, and he shows up in the 1900 census with them. He lives most of his life in Marshville, NC, however, and dies there in November of 1953, at 65, but is buried in Anosn county at the Meltonville Baptist Church at White Store Township. What is mystifying is how he comes to be named as the stepson of Patsy Cochran.
There are two ways he could have legitimately been the stepson of Patsy Cochran. One: if he had been the son William B. Cochran, which he was not, and two, if Patsy had rapidly became the wife, or in the least, the common-law wife of Wilson Huntley before the date of the lawsuit. The death of William M. Cochran remains up in the air. He seems to have been alive at the birth of Ella Cochran in July of 1916, but was not mentioned in the estate papers of Henry and Jake, one year later.Wilson and Rebecca Huntley are together in the 1910 census of Marshville, but neither was to be found in 1920. Rebecca, however, has death records, and was a widow at her death in 1928. Wilson, however, has no such death records, so it if unknown if he had left his living wife, Rachel, for Patsy, sometime before July of 1917.
When Patsy Cochran filed as administratrix of the estates of her sons, she had two bondsmen, Charlie Cochran and Jonah Huntley. Charlie Cochran was her stepson, being the son of William by Harriett Howell, his first wife. But how did Jonah Huntley fit in? There was obviously a relationship.
Jonah Huntley gave a depostion in the estate files: Jonah Huntley, Patsy Cochran being his stepmother states that Patsy Cochran is now living at his home in Marshville Townhip on the lands of Mr. Ellison Moore and that said Patsy Cochran intends to reside in Union County permanently, or for an indefinate period and that Union County is the home of (both).
Several others gave statements that Patsy was a resisdent of Union County and Jonah was her stepson,. including J. F. Bivens, J. H. Marsh, S. W. Marsh, Lee Phillips and George White.
Mr. J.E.S.Thorpe, noted as being the General Superintendant of the Tallahassee Power Company at Badin, a large hydro-electric plant, (as if his importance was being emphasized for the court) stated that Jake and Patsy lived in Stanly County and "this affiant prays that this cause be moved to Stanly County for trial", where the company had significant connections and could pull important strings.
Thorpe also had a number of witnessess:
I. L. Sheets, a resident of Stanly County for 35 years testified that Patsy and her sons lived there.
As did C. J. Coggin, Postmaster of Palmerville, and a 25 year resident of the county. T. J. Cotton, and 18 year resident stated he knew the family and knew them to have lived in Stanly County, no mention at all of William M. Cochran.
Charlie Atkins, a Stanly resident, claimed Patsy and 'her small children', had been living on his property for 3 months as tenants, at the 'Charlie Atkins place'.
Shube Harris claimed he had known the family for 12 years and that they had lived for the last 3 months on the Charlie Atkins place.
D. G. Pickler, mail carrier for Rt. 2, New London, who claims he had delivered mail to the family for the past 8 years, stated she resided at "Charles Atkins place'.
A gentleman named Robert Crump testified as an associate and friend of Patsy and her family for 15 years, elaborated a bit more. He said that Patsy and her small children (as opposed to her older ones I suppose), had been living and working at Charlie Atkins farm, however, he said, at various times, Patsy Cochran does visit her stepson in "Munroe (sic), Union County', for weeks at a time.
The testimony ended at the consent of both parties to the case being heard at the May 1918 Term of Court in Wadesboro, Anson County, NC.
Who had been telling the truth? In the 1920 census, Patsy and her children are found living in Harris Township next to her married daughter, Zilphia Cochran Hudson and her husband. Two year old Geneva was not Patsy's daughter, she was actually Geneva Hudson, Zilphia and T. C. Hudson's daughter, and Patsy's granddaughter.
| Name: | Patsie Cockran[Peteris Cookson] | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 43 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth Year: | abt 1877 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1920: | Harris, Stanly, North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence Date: | 1920 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Female | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Widow | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Widowed | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Speak English: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | None | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to read: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Write: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
And who won the lawsuit? I've not ordered the entire court file from Archives because they are understaffed (or unstaffed) since the Covid 19 outbreak, but after the trial, Patsy Cochran was buying land.
On December 2, 1917, Patsy Cochran bought 25 1/2 acres of property in Harris Township from E. L. and Etta Kirk for $625.00. The property bordered E. V. Moss, Sibley Manufacturing Company and J. W. Davis.
On March 21, 1918, She sold a little more than 11 acres of that same property to John W. Davis.
She must have kept the remaining property, because she was taxed for it in 1925.
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| The Albemarle Press Albemarle, North Carolina 26 Nov 1925, Thu • Page 9 |
I don't believe Patsy, who sued as a pauper, could have came up with over $600 in 1917 unless she won the lawsuit.
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| The Monroe Journal Monroe, North Carolina 03 May 1918, Fri • Page 6 |
Below are the list of heirs of Henry Cochran living at the time of the lawsuit, his mother and siblings, including his half-brother, Charley. No father, no little Ella, no Jonah Huntley, either.
I can only assume that little Ella, born in the summer of 1916, did not live very long, and that William M. Cochran, who seems to have been living at Ella's birth, was deceased before the terrible accident that claimed the lives of his two sons.
Above is the draft registration for Henry Hampton Cochran dated June 5th, 1917, one month and 7 days before his death. He lived in Palmerville, was born in Norwood, was a laborer for the Tallahassee Power Company and his dependents were Father and Mother, brother(s) and sister(s). So William M Cochran was alive on June 5th, 1917, but not at the time of the lawsuit.
Did he die of TB, like his young teenagd daughter, Docia? Or did he work for this company, too, and die in an accident? Why can the death certificates of his children be found, but not his? The mystery remains.
| Name: | Patsey Cochran |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Age: | 72 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1852 |
| Marriage Date: | 22 Feb 1924 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Mother: | Delia Chistian |
| Spouse: | Thos Crump |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Age: | 47 |
| Spouse Father: | Joshua Crump |
| Spouse Mother: | Alice Crump |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
| Name: | Patsey Crump |
|---|---|
| Birth Date: | 1872 |
| Birth Place: | Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Death Date: | 16 Apr 1924 |
| Death Place: | Albemarle, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Cemetery: | New Hope - Cedar Grove Community Cemetery |
| Burial or Cremation Place: | New London, Stanly County, North Carolina, United States of America |
| Has Bio?: | N |
| Father: | Benjamin J Christian |
| Mother: | Delia Christian |
Patsy's estate file lists Frazier Cochran, John Cochran, Zilphia Hudson, Haywood Cochran, Addie Cochran, Leola (Theola?) Cochran and Zora Cochran. The only excetpion between hers and Henry's was the omission of Charley.
On the 4th day of January, 1949, by Frazier Cochran and wife Arion, of Rowan County, Zilphia Hudson and husband T. C. Hudson, Addie Bee Scott and husband, James Scott, Theola Harris and husband, Ottis Harris, of Stanly County, North Carolina, Haywood Cochran and wife, Ann Cochran of Philadelphia, Pennsylvaniea and Zora Mae Cochran (single) of Charlottesville, Virginia, parties of the first part, to R. H. Abernathy of Sanly County, party of the second part, the same lot that Patsy owned near Palmerville, next to J. W. Davis.
There is an adendum, in a last ditch effort to find the death records or possible fate of William M. Cochran, I found, instead, another son of his.
| Name: | Calvin Wooly |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Age: | 24 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1885 |
| Marriage Date: | 24 Dec 1909 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | William Cockran |
| Mother: | Laura Wooly |
| Spouse: | Sallie Ann Davis |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Spouse Age: | 20 |
| Spouse Father: | W T Lenson |
| Spouse Mother: | Ader Lenson |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
Just before his marriage to Patsy, and presumably after the death of his first wife, harriett, William had a son, Calvin Wooley, with a Montgomery County woman, Laura Wooley. Calvin married Sallie Ann Tomlinson Davis, daughter of Walter T. and Ada Davis Tomlinson and widow of Samuel Davis, thus diving back into the Davis family tree, which William's mother, Zilphia, had married into.
In Summary, the children of William M. Cochran were:
Calvin Wooley 1883-1927
Calvin Wooley was born in Montgomery County to Laura Wooley, a single woman, and William Cochran, who was married to Harriett Howell Cochran, at the time.
| Name: | Calvin Wooly | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age: | 17 | |||||||||||||||
| Birth Date: | Jul 1882 | |||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||
| Home in 1900: | Owharrie, Montgomery, North Carolina | |||||||||||||||
| Sheet Number: | 11 | |||||||||||||||
| Number of Dwelling in Order of Visitation: | 192 | |||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 192 | |||||||||||||||
| Race: | Black | |||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | |||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Son | |||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | |||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||
| Mother's Name: | Laura Wooly | |||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Day Laborer (Saw Mill) | |||||||||||||||
| Months Not Employed: | 3 | |||||||||||||||
| Attended School: | 0 | |||||||||||||||
| Can Read: | No | |||||||||||||||
| Can Write: | No | |||||||||||||||
| Can Speak English: | Yes | |||||||||||||||
| Neighbors: | ||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||
Calvin and his mother would move to Stanly County from the little town of Uwharrie , where he would marry Sallie Ann Tomlinson Davis, the widow of Samuel Davis, on New Year's Eve, 1909.
| Name: | Calvin Wooly |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Age: | 24 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1885 |
| Marriage Date: | 24 Dec 1909 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | William Cockran |
| Mother: | Laura Wooly |
| Spouse: | Sallie Ann Davis |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Spouse Age: | 20 |
| Spouse Father: | W T Lenson (Tomlinson) |
| Spouse Mother: | Ader Lenson (Tomlinson) |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
By 1910, the young couple are living in Albemarle and Calvin working on the railroad. Living with them is their first son, John B Wooley. In 1920, the family is living on the Norwood Road in Albemarle and Calvin is working as a laborer in the cotton industry. With them is a couple of boarders,including John Parker, who married is little sisiter, Mary Wooley. He is listed as a cousin and that may be through the Davis connection as John Parkers' mother was Tessie Davis.
Calvins' World War I draft card describes him as a medium-sized man with his right eye out, employed as a fireman by the Wiscassett Mill Company in Albemarle, NC. He and Sallie Ann were the parents of 6 children: John B. , Tine, Ardella, Callie Mae, Velaria and J. C.
Calvin Wooley died in 1927, in Albemarle, and was buried at the Sides Cemetery, near Anderson Grove Road. He was listed as divorced and his mother living. Laura would pass away 3 years later in 1930. Calvin died of pertoniitis due to a ruptured appendix.
Charles R. "Charley" Cochran
Charlie was the second son and only child of William M. Cochran and his first wife, Harriett Howell Cochran. Born about 1893, Charley managed to escape every census in his life, but he is listed in all other reocrds, that of his wife and children. Charels was a landowner and a farmer. He gave bond, along with Jonah Huntley, in the probate files of hsi borthers, Henry and Jacob. He is listed in the land records of buying and selling land in Tyson Tosnship, Stanly County, and he was heir to the property of Dan Crump.
| Name: | Charlie R Cockran |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Col |
| Age: | 25 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1893 |
| Marriage Date: | 7 Jul 1918 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Wm Cockran |
| Mother: | Hariett Cockran |
| Spouse: | Lilly May Crump |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | Col |
| Spouse Age: | 18 |
| Spouse Father: | Henry Crump |
| Spouse Mother: | Mary Crump |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
Charley married Lilly May Crump in 1918. The next census, 1920, was the only one that Lilly Mae hadn't been in since her birth .In 1930, Lilly Mae is living with her parents, as a widow. 6 known children:
Henry 1918-2011
Frazier 1920-1920
Craven 1921-1922
Horace 1922-1946
Callie Mae 1923-1988
Lucille 1925- before 1940
Charley Cochran must have died between 1925 and 1930, a young man in his 30's. His widow, Lilly Mae Crump Cochran lived a long life, into 1989.
John Adam Cochran
John Adam was the eldest of the children of William M.Cochran and his wife Patsy Christian. Born on December 1, 1895 in Stanly County, NC, he died June 26, 1947 in Durham, NC. His World War I Draft Registration stated he worked on the street force of a construction company and lived in New London, NC, having been born in Cottonville. Like his half-brother Calvin, he too, was of medium height and build.
| Name: | John Cochran |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Col |
| Age: | 24 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1895 |
| Marriage Date: | 14 Aug 1919 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | William Cochran |
| Mother: | Patsey Cochran |
| Spouse: | Lottie Pennington |
| Spouse Gender: | Female |
| Spouse Race: | Col |
| Spouse Age: | 23 |
| Spouse Father: | Dargan Pennington |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
He had married Lottie Pennington in 1919, and th e couple moved to Durham, a larger city, where John worked in the Army, and as a laborer wihle Lottie worked as a maid. There were no children. John died in 1947, of Cerebral Apoplexy, due to hypertension and heart disease, at the age of 53. Lottie lived until 1979.
Henry Hampton Cochran 1896-1917 Killed in the collapse of a coal shute.
Zilphia Ann Cochran
Zilphia, named for her grandmother, was the first daughter of William M. Cochran and Patsy Christian Cochran Crump.
| Name: | Zelphia Cochrane |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Age: | 21 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1896 |
| Marriage Date: | 28 Mar 1917 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Wm Cochrane |
| Mother: | Patsie Cochrane |
| Spouse: | T C Hudson |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Spouse Age: | 24 |
| Spouse Father: | John Hudson |
| Spouse Mother: | Larah Hudson |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
Zilphia married T. C. Hudson in 1917, at the age of 19. T. C. was the son of John Bunn Hudson and his wife, Laura Cole Hudson. Zilphia and T C. had one daughter, Geneva, whose records state she was born in Old Whitney. In 1930, Zilphia and her little family are living on Mayo Street in West Badin and TC is working at the Aluminum Plant. In 1940, they are in roughly the same place and T. C. is working for the WPA. Daughter Genevea married Charlie Anderson, in Virginia, and they made their home in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Zilphia died on April 216, 1952 a the age of 52, of blood clots. Her records state she was born in Palmerville and she was buried near T. C.'s parents farm at East Macedonia Church in Porter, between Albemarle and Norwood. T. C. retired to hisdaughters home in Virginia and died there in 1966.
Frazier Cochran 1918 - 1965
Frazier Cochran was born in 1918 or 1919 in Cottonville, Stanly County, NC. The transcriptionsts had a time with his name, as it is seen many different ways. Frazier would move to Salisbury, NC as a young man and work on the railroad. It appears he spent some time in Davidson County as well.
| Name: | Friger Cockrun[Friger Cockram] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth Year: | abt 1892 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gender: | Male | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Race: | Negro (Black)[Black] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Age in 1930: | 38 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birthplace: | North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marital Status: | Single | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relation to Head of House: | Boarder | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home in 1930: | Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina, USA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Map of Home: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dwelling Number: | 136 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Family Number: | 139 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attended School: | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Read and Write: | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Father's Birthplace: | North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mother's Birthplace: | North Carolina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Able to Speak English: | Yes | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation: | Hostler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Industry: | R R Shop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Class of Worker: | Wage or salary worker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Employment: | No | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frazier is seen in his brother's and mothers's estate reocrds. He met a girl named Grace Hairston from Davidson County and they had a daughter, Rachel, born in 1914, when Frazier was only 16.
He then had a long- term relationship with a woman named Mary Holmes from Rowan County. They never married, but had a large number of children together, though not all of them survived infancy. He's listed as a boarder in her home in this 1930 expert from the census, above, but is named as the father of her children in their records, including Ernest, Ollie, Moses, Mary, Thelma and Lucille.
| Name: | Mary Excel Hinley |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Colored (Black) |
| Age: | 12y |
| Marital status: | Single |
| Birth Date: | 1918 |
| Birth Place: | Salisbury, NC |
| Death Date: | 2 Jun 1930 |
| Death Place: | Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina |
| Burial Date: | 3 Jun 1930 |
| Cemetery: | Yodkin |
| Father: | Frazier Cockran |
| Mother: | Mary Holmes |
Young Mary Excell Holmes, died of TB at the tender age of 12.
Frazier would marry later in life to Arie Crawford, daughter of Pink Crawford and Maggie Crane, from South Carolina. She is shown as 'Arian' in the 1949 land record where the surving siblings sold William M. and Patsy's lands.
| Name: | Frazier Cochran |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Black |
| Age: | 67 |
| Birth Date: | 28 Feb 1898 |
| Birth Place: | Anson, North Carolina, United States |
| Residence Place: | Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina |
| Death Date: | 29 May 1965 |
| Death Place: | Salisbury, Rowan, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | William Cochran |
| Mother: | Patsy Lee |
| Spouse: | Arie Cochran |
Frazier Cochran died in 1965 at the age of 67. He was worknig as a laborer for Southern Railway and died of heart trouble. He is buried in Salisbury, N.C. Arie lived until 1971 and also died at 67.
Jacob Cochran 1902-1917 Died while working at Tallahassee Electric Company when the coal shute collapsed, killing young Jake and his brother, Henry.
Docia Cochran 1903-1917 Died of Typhod Fever as a young teen.
Addie Bee Cochran 1905-1974
Addie Bee married Cossie Hyatt in 1917 at the age of 21. In 1930, the young couple were in Albemarle, where Cossie worked as a plumber. but moved soon after to Charolotte, NC.
| Name: | Addie B Cochrane |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Black |
| Age: | 21 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1906 |
| Marriage Date: | 26 Feb 1927 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Wm Cochrane |
| Mother: | Patsy Cochrane |
| Spouse: | Cossie Hyatt |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Race: | Black |
| Spouse Age: | 33 |
| Spouse Father: | Herbert Hyatt |
| Spouse Mother: | Ellen Hyatt |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
Addie worked as a maid in the hotels of Charlotte after Cossie died in 1944. She helped him raise his 6 children by his first wife, Nannie Kendall Hyatt.
Addie died in 1974 in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina at the age of 69.
Fleeter Theola Cochran 1908 -1981
Theola was born in Palmerville and at the age of 18, in 1924, she had one son, whom she mnamed John Haywood. On Christmas eve, 1925, she married James Otis Harris. In the earlisest census reocrds, Johnny ,as he was called, is seen as Otiss's stepson, thereafter, he names Otis as his father, on military records and such, so he was adopted by Otis Harris. Johnny would be an only child.
| Name: | Theola Cochrane |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Black |
| Age: | 19 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1906 |
| Marriage Date: | 24 Dec 1925 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | Wm Cochrane |
| Mother: | Patsy Cochrane |
| Spouse: | Ottis Harris |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Race: | Black |
| Spouse Age: | 21 |
| Spouse Father: | Champion Harris |
| Spouse Mother: | Postelle Harris |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
The family would live on Lee Street in West Badin in 1930 and 1940, and Otis worked in the Aluminum plant. It paid above average wages and was a good living at the time. Theola stated in one census that her first marriage was at age 16, meaning she may have been briefly married to a Haywood, Johnny's father.
Theola was widowed in 1958, but lived herself until 1981, passing at age 73. She is buried at Parker Memorial Cemetery n New London. Her son Johnny Haywood Harris, married a lady named Willie and died in Salisbury, NC in 2006.
Daniel Haywood Cochran 1909-1989
Haywood Cochran was the youngest son of William and Patsy. He would serve in WWII and live for awhile in Charlottesville, Virginia. There, he would marry a lady named Annie Leola. Haywood worked as a Cook, and moved to Philladelphia, PA, where he would die in 1989. There were no children.
Zora May Cochran 1913-1979
Zora May was the youngest of the Cochran children to live to adulthood. She grew up in the Palmerville area and married Marvin Davis in 1927, at the age of 14. Her father died when she was very young. Her sister, Zilphia Cochran Hudson signed the consent form , as both paretnts were deceased by then. The document states that she was 18, but she was not.
| Name: | Zora Mae Cochran |
|---|---|
| Gender: | Female |
| Race: | Black |
| Age: | 18 |
| Birth Year: | abt 1909 |
| Marriage Date: | 24 Sep 1927 |
| Marriage Place: | Stanly, North Carolina, USA |
| Father: | William Cochran |
| Mother: | Patsy Cochran |
| Spouse: | Marvin Davis |
| Spouse Gender: | Male |
| Spouse Race: | Black |
| Spouse Age: | 21 |
| Spouse Father: | Marvin Davis |
| Spouse Mother: | Anna Davis |
| Event Type: | Marriage |
They would, like many in the family, move to Charlottesville, Virginia. She would die in 1979, of a Myocardial Infarction due to diabetes and Hypertension. in Charlottesville. Her second husband was a Godwin. Zora was 66 years old. The informant on her death certificate was her neice, Geneva Hudson Anderson, Zilphia's daughter. Her body was sent from Virginia to Stanly County for burial and she was interred at the Hudson Cemetery in Porter, NC, which was her sister's husband , T.C. Hudson's family cemetery.
Ella Cochran Born July 7, 1916 - before July 17, 1917.
Ella's birth was recorrded in the earliest of birth reocrds of Stanly County, N.C. she was the last child of William and Patsy Cochran. Neither Ella, or her father, William, was mentioned in the lawsuit Patsy took out against the Tallahassee Elecetric Company, not were they mentioned in Henry or Jake's estate papers. This means that both William and the infant child, Ella, were probably deceased by Jul 17, 1917. I've not found Death Certificates for either one.
William Marshall Cochran was the oldest and most prolific child of Zelphia Cochran. Next up, the rest of her children.
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