John Price Cochran (February 7, 1809 – December 27, 1898) was an American politician from Middletown in

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as

Governor of Delaware A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

Early life and family

Cochran was born in

Appoquinimink Hundred Appoquinimink Hundred is an unincorporated subdivision of New Castle County, Delaware. Hundreds were once used as a basis for representation in the Delaware General Assembly, and while their names still appear on all real estate transactions, the ...

, near

Middletown, Delaware Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the town is 24,164. Geography and climate Middletown is located at (39.4495560, –75.7163207) with an elevation of . According ...

, son of Robert and Rebecca Ryland Cochran. He married Eliza Polk in 1833 and had seven children: William R., Clara Rebecca, Charles Polk, John Price Jr., Eliza, Julian, and Cyrus. His wife, Eliza died in childbirth in 1855 and he married secondly, Mary Tumlin. There were no known children of this marriage. They lived at "

Cochran Grange The Cochran Grange, also known as John P. Cochran House, is a historic home located in Middletown, Delaware, United States. It was built between 1842 and 1845, and consists of a two-story, five-bay, main block with a two-story wing. The design ...

," one mile west of Middletown and were members of the

Presbyterian Church Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Christianity, Reformed Protestantism, Protestant tradition named for its form of ecclesiastical polity, church government by representative assemblies of Presbyterian polity#Elder, elders, known as ...

. He was a "leading farmer and fruit grower."

Professional and political career

Cochran was elected to the

New Castle County New Castle County is the northernmost of the three counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent, and Sussex). As of the 2020 census, the population was 570,719, making it the most populous county in Delaware, with nearly 60% of the ...

Levy Court in 1838 and 1846. In 1874 he was elected

by defeating

Isaac Jump Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, the Republican candidate and served from January 19, 1875, until January 21, 1879. He was the first governor from New Castle County in thirty years, and was regarded as a progressive governor, advocating improvements to the school law, and reapportionment of the General Assembly, to more fairly reflect the population of New Castle County. The reapportionment proposal was not approved. The General Assembly did, however, pass legislation requiring businesses serving the public "to provide equal accommodations for those who might be deemed obnoxious by others." This effort to deny civil rights to

African-Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

was to remain on the books until 1963.

Death and legacy

Cochran died at his home near Middletown and is buried in the Forest Presbyterian Cemetery at Middletown. One of his former homes,

, survives today. Another, Summerton, inherited by his daughter Eliza Green, remained in the Green family until 1953, after which it had a succession of owners. In the mid-1980s and mid-2016, Summerton was considered for historic preservation, but such was opposed by its owner since 2012, Bluegrass Investments LLC, which kept the property vacant and arranged for its demolition and replacement by a Royal Farms convenience store and gas station. The involved real estate agent, Lisa Johannsen, in light of the 500 online signatures to stop the demolition, arranged for a farewell picnic.Middletown Transcript p. A16 (April 28, 2016)

Almanac

Elections are held on the first Tuesday after November 1. The governor takes office the third Tuesday in January, and has a four-year term.

References

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Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery
''Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover''

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a statewide historical institution with several buildings, including Old Town Hall and the Delaware History M ...

website
505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161 *

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially known as UD, UDel, or Delaware) is a Statutory college#Delaware, privately governed, state-assisted Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Newark, Delaware, United States. UD offers f ...

Library website
181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965 {{DEFAULTSORT:Cochran, John P. 1809 births 1898 deaths American Presbyterians People from Middletown, Delaware Farmers from Delaware Democratic Party governors of Delaware Burials in New Castle County, Delaware 19th-century Delaware politicians County judges in the United States