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John Cochrane
Overview
John Cochrane (1813-1898), class of 1831, was a New York lawyer, politician, and Union Army general who became one of the most distinguished Hamilton alumni of the nineteenth century. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1857-1861), rose to the rank of Brigadier General in the Army of the Potomac during the Civil War, served as Attorney General of New York, and was briefly acting Mayor of New York City. In 1864 he was nominated for Vice President on the Radical Democracy ticket alongside General John C. Fremont, though he declined the nomination. He died February 7, 1898, in New York City.
Relevance to Research
All corpus mentions of Cochrane are retrospective, since he died in 1898. He appears in four sources spanning 1896-1933. The 1896-97 and 1897-98 catalogs list him in the alumni roll as a living alumnus at 7 East 62nd Street, New York City. The 1898-99 catalog carries a full obituary notice recording his life and Hamilton connection in detail. Hamilton Life references (1902, 1915, 1933) invoke his name as an exemplar of distinguished alumni when the college’s history is being celebrated, placing him alongside figures such as Elihu Root ‘64 and Theodore W. Dwight ‘40. The 1902 Hamilton Life lists him in “Who’s Who in America” (necrology), and the 1933 Hamilton Life mentions him among alumni present at a January 1869 alumni meeting that organized the college’s first major reunion.
Notes
Role: Lawyer; U.S. Congressman; Union Army Brigadier General; Attorney General of New York; acting Mayor of New York City Hamilton connection: Class of 1831; nephew of Hon. Gerrit Smith ‘18 Key events: - 1831: Graduates from Hamilton College - 1834: Admitted to the New York bar; practices in Oswego, then moves to New York City in 1835 - 1853-1857: Serves as Surveyor of the Port of New York - 1857-1861: Represents New York’s Sixth Congressional District in Congress - 1861: Commissioned Colonel of the 1st United States Chasseurs; delivers notable speech in favor of arming enslaved people - July 17, 1862: Promoted to Brigadier General of Volunteers in Couch’s Division, Army of the Potomac - February 27, 1863: Resigns commission due to broken health from active service - 1864: Nominated for Vice President on the Radical Democracy ticket with General Fremont at the Cleveland convention; declines the nomination - 1872: Serves as president of the New York Board of Aldermen; delegate to the Cincinnati Convention; serves briefly as acting Mayor of New York - 1881: Serves as Annalist for the Class of 1831 at the college’s Half-Century commencement; delivers a memorial letter on the class (documented in 1898-99 catalog obituary) - January 1869: Present at the preliminary alumni meeting that organized Hamilton’s first major reunion (documented retrospectively in 1933 Hamilton Life) - February 7, 1898: Dies at his home in New York City - 1896-97 and 1897-98 catalogs: Listed in alumni roll at 7 E. 62nd St., New York City - 1898-99 catalog: Full obituary notice published, documenting his life and service - October 1902: Named in Hamilton Life list of Hamilton men in “Who’s Who in America” (necrology) - January 1915: Cited in Hamilton Life retrospective of notable alumni alongside Elihu Root and Theodore Dwight - June 1933: Referenced in Hamilton Life account of the January 1869 alumni reunion