The diary of Henry Newton Cochran of Campbell County

Once again, lightning has struck and dropped a treasure right in my lap. No warning ... just "plop," and there it was ... from a completely unlikely source.

Bill Cochran of Lizella (Bibb County) wrote and said he had been following my columns in the newspaper. He was looking for the ancestors of a George Cochran, born about 1790 in South Carolina, who ended up in Campbell County. Bill said he had the diary of his grandfather, Henry Newton Cochran, George's son, who lived in Campbell County from the age of seven until his death in 1925. Was I interested, he asked?

Well, yes, mildly and for two reasons: one, I had two Cochran connections to my family in the same area and, two, it would make a wonderful topic for this column (whether I could connect or not).

So, Bill sent via e-mail the transcribed version of the diary (all 122 pages of it) but, since I was in the middle of remodeling projects here at home, I put off looking at it until I had the time to go over it thoroughly.

Monday he nudged me. "Did you get the diary?" he wrote. And, feeling a bit guilty that he would go to all that trouble to send it and I had not even looked at it, I sat down Monday night, opened the diary and started reading.

I had completed only a few pages when I had chill bumps. It appears that Bill's grandfather, Henry Newton Cochran, was married to one of the missing siblings of my great-grandmother, Lucinda Caroline Owens. That means that, by marriage, Henry Cochran was my great-great uncle. I read more.

Henry Cochran had worked on a farm for a John Fowler. Oh dear.

Henry Cochran had gone into a "shared land" farming deal with his brother-in-law, W.J. Fowler. Oh my Lord.

Here were my people when they were in Campbell County in the 1860s and 1870s. I had to get up from the computer and walk around a bit. This was almost too much to absorb.

I immediately wrote to Bill and told him of my discovery and asked if it would be okay to use the diary in the column since so many Campbell County people were mentioned. He replied that I was free to share it with whomever I pleased. So, for the next few weeks, we will live the daily life of Henry Newton Cochran and see what it was like to reside in Campbell County from the 1860s until 1924.

First, let me tell you a bit about Henry's family (Bill also sent the Cochran genealogy ... is this man wonderful, or what?).

Henry was born Dec. 15, 1848, in Abbeville District, S.C., the youngest child of George and Mary Gaffie Weed (Gray) Cochran. Both George and Mary had been married previously. Mary was the widow of William Gray. The name of George's first wife is unknown, as are the names of any children who may have resulted from that first marriage.

Although there may have been more children born to George and Mary, only six survived to adulthood: George Washington Cochran, b. 15 Oct. 1827-29; Felix Frank (Fielding?) Cochran, b. 12 Feb. 1837; Anne E. Cochran, b. 1838; Francis Maxwell Cochran, b. 9 Sept. 1844; Henry Newton Cochran, b. 15 Dec. 1848; and possibly another daughter, Sarah Cochran, b. abt 1855. Bill's notes reference a Don Cochran as collaborator and state that Sarah, who married W.D. Duggan in Campbell County, may not have been a daughter but perhaps a relative or friend living with the family, the relationship questioned because of the advanced ages of George and Mary at Sarah's birth date.

About 1853, George and Mary moved with their family from South Carolina to Campbell county, remained for about a year, then moved back to South Carolina. About 1855, they once again moved to Campbell County, where they remained the rest of their lives. In the 1880 census, Mary was 77 years old and living with her son, Felix. Her husband, George, died in 1869.

Henry Cochran, youngest son of George and Mary, married first (in 1869), Matilda Chatfield Owens, the orphaned daughter of Martin and Martha Owens. He married second (in 1901) Arabella Cordelia Dailey, daughter of Russell Dailey and Arabella Clementina Longino. The genealogies of seven of Henry's children are given in Bill's report, five with Matilda and two with Delia. The genealogies of Henry's brothers, George Washington and Felix Cochran, also are in the report.

Although Henry's diary was not begun until 1907, he devoted about 25 of the first pages to remembrances of his youth in Campbell County, going through the Civil War years, school, religious experiences, the activities of typically mischievous boys in that time, his marriages and feelings about his parents and children. The remainder of the diary is almost a day-to-day log of happenings, weather, visitations by family and friends, and Henry's feelings about his life and surroundings.

The diary is hand written in pencil in a ledger-type book used to keep accounts back in the early years. Bill's brother, Harold, is in possession of the original diary, which they found among their mother's belongings after she passed away.

Obviously, because of its length, I will not be able to publish the entire diary but, over the next few weeks, will select excerpts which I feel may be interesting to those with southside ancestors. Bill said he is willing to share the diary with others, so, if this family interests you, e-mail him at saltercoc@aol.com.

Do you have an interesting family history to share? Send it to The Citizen, Drawer 1719, Fayetteville, GA 30214; E-mail jkilgore@thecitizennews.com or jodiek444@aol.com.

Until next week, happy hunting!

(Judy regrets that time does not permit her to do personal research for others.)