COCHREN FAMILY OF RENO CO., KANSAS

 

My grandfather was George Daniel COCHREN. He was born   25 Sep 1876 in Muncie, Delaware Co., IN  and died  9 Oct 1931 in Hutchinson, Reno Co., KS  He was buried  11 Oct 1931 Huntsville Cem., Reno Co., Ks. On 16 July 1912 he married Annie Byrthel Brown in Wichita, Kansas.

George Daniel Cochren 1876-1931

 

His occupation from 1912 through 1919 was farming. It is believed he, and his father and brothers may have been members of the Grand Army of the Republic (He was in the 'Sons of " organization and in the Odd Fellows of Hutchinson).

 

Shortly after their marriage Annie's family either moved or were residing in Coffey Co. During that time, however, in Reno Co. on 14 Nov. 1914 he entered into an agreement to work a person's land for a percentage of the harvest.

George is listed as a farmer in 1915 Halls Summit, Coffey, Kansas  He also helped his brothers and in-laws harvest their crops in around the Enterprise, Partridge, Plevna and Sylvia areas. Around 1917 he is thought to have worked for the railroad.  In 1919 with a growing family he bought property in Plevna (Property 1919 Plevna Twp., Reno Co., KS ;General Index to Deeds: Reno Co., KS Property 1919 Plevna, Reno Co., Ks ).  From at least 1920 to 1930 he was the Janitor  for the Plevna Public School in Plevna, Reno Co., Kansas.

 

George, James I.,
and Charles E. Cochren

Census records show him in 1877 Hunstville, Reno Co., Ks; 1880 Enterprise Twp., Reno Co., Ks ; 1910 in Huntsville Twp., Reno Co., Ks; In 1917 he may have been living in Harris, Ks, perhaps while employed by the railroad.; 1920 Plevna, Reno, Kansas ;  1930 Plevna, Reno Co., Kansas

He was the son of Civil War Veteran Newton Jasper COCHREN b: 18 Sep 1842 in Delaware Co., IN
and  Lucinda DRAKE b: 27 Jan 1839 in Starke Co., IN

Anne Byrthel BROWN b: 16 May 1889 in Garnett, Anderson Co., KS. She was the daughter of Burgess Franklin Brown and wife Ruhama Isadora Fenton Brown.  They were wed  16 Jul 1912 in Wichita, Sedgwick Co., KS.  She had been previously married to Perry M. King and had one son who died.

In 1931, after a short battle with stomach cancer, he died in Hutchinson, Reno Co., Ks.

 

 

 

 

 

Children

1. Infant COCHREN, b: about 1913 d:1913 Coffey Co., Kansas
2. Elva Ethel COCHREN b: 24 May 1914, Coffery Co., Kansas
3. Velma Dora COCHREN b: 16 Apr 1915 in Halls Summit, Coffey, Kansas
4. George Valjean COCHREN b: 10 Dec 1919, Plevna, Reno Co., Kansas
5. Stillborn COCHREN b: Apr 1929 in Plevna, Reno Co., Kansas

Plevna School while George was Custodian and his children students., ca. 1920's

Sources:
Death certificates
Marriage Certificates
Census records
Deeds
Family documents (Photos, papers, etc.)
For information and images on Plevna see this page.

The Plevna Place

In the early 1990's Velma Dora Cochren Priest Terry described her home as a child in Plevna, Reno, Kansas ca 1920.  Her parents were George Daniel Cochren and Annie B. Brown Cochren.  Her siblings were Elva  Ethel Cochren Merry and George Valjean Cochren.  It was white with green trim on the windows and door.  There were roses in the yard and around the front door.  Just beyond the back yard the railroad tracks ran past.  In the yard was the grave of one of the children who died at birth or was stillborn.  It was small but "tidy": a small parlor, two bedrooms, and a kitchen/eating area. Laundry was done outside - winter and summer. An outhouse was at the back of the yard. A small back porch also had a trellis with some type of green vine.  A curtain separated the living space from the bedroom and the children would entertain their mother with plays and musicals. The sketch was created based on memories shared of this residence by Marilyn A. Hudson.

GEORGE DANIEL COCHREN (1875-1931)

Velma Dora Cochren Terry remembered her father with very fond memories:

"My father moved to Plevna with his family around 1919. First worked in harvest fields, then was a track walker for Santa Fe Railroad for a short period, and then became janitor for Plevna Public School, and remained so until his death. When I attended school, daddy was always janitor, when weather was bad, he would fix our lunch in the cooking room in school (hot dogs with sandwich spread and drinks). Boy! We liked that. We always watched for him to ring the school bell. He walked home with us for lunch every day the weather was good. Daddy never owned a car, but he made us a comfortable and happy home.

He played violin and piano. He bought us a player piano when I was in my early teens. He would play and we would all sing.

He told us of when he first came to Plevna as a boy, there were buffalo roaming all over the plain. The first thing I can remember was going swimming, with me on his back. I was about 2 ½ years old, my mother said, but I can remember it clearly.

When pay day came, once a month, Daddy always bought a cigar and a big sack of candy. When we would smell the cigar smoke, we knew it was candy time. Daddy was a good moral man. He lived like a gentleman and set a good example for us. He was a positive man about manners. Was not a Christian until on his death bed 2 days before his death, he himself told me he had made his peace with God.

He (father) lived to only to see one grandchild, when Melvin Daniel Priest was one month old, he died. He and mother were very happy together. We were really poor, but didn’t know it, because we were happy, and never went hungry or ragged. "

Wheat Harvest in Reno Co., Kansas