James Cochran (New York politician)


James Cochran was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.

Early life

Cochran was born in Albany, New York on February 11, 1769, the son of Dr. John Cochran and Gertrude Schuyler. His brother was Walter Livingston Cochran, father of General, congressman, and New York State Attorney General John Cochrane, and his maternal uncle was General Philip Schuyler. He graduated from Columbia College in New York City in 1788.

Career

He studied law, was admitted to the bar, and was commissioned as a major in the Army by President John Adams. He was a regent of the University of the State of New York from 1796 to 1820.
James Cochran was elected as a Federalist to the Fifth Congress, March 4, 1797 to March 3, 1799, succeeding Judge William Cooper, father of James Fenimore Cooper, the author.
He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1814 to 1818. He moved to Oswego, New York in 1826 and served as the city's postmaster from September 27, 1841 to July 21, 1845. For several years, he was the editor of the Oswego Democratic Gazette.

Personal life

He was first married to Eleanor P. Barclay, granddaughter of John Barclay of Philadelphia, on July 14, 1798. She died young.
In 1822, James Cochran married his first cousin, Catherine Van Rensselaer Schuyler, the youngest daughter of Philip Schuyler and Catharine Van Rensselaer. Catharine Schuyler was the widow of Samuel Bayard Malcolm, with whom she had two sons. Malcolm was a son of William Malcolm and served as Adam's secretary during his presidency. Through this marriage, he was the brother-in-law of Angelica Schuyler and John Barker Church ; Elizabeth Schuyler and Alexander Hamilton ; and Margarita "Peggy" Schuyler and Stephen Van Rensselaer III, 9th Patroon of Rensselaerswyck. Together, Catherine and James were said to have had one child.
Cochran died in Oswego on November 7, 1848 and was interred in Riverside Cemetery. His widow died in August 1857.