William C. Cochran (1848-1936), lawyer, scholar and trustee, was born in Oberlin, Ohio in 1848. His father, William Cochran, died before his birth, and his mother, Helen Finney Cochran, subsequently remarried in 1849 to Jacob D. Cox. Graduating from Oberlin College in 1869, Cochran joined the family in Washington, D.C; there, he served as a clerk (until 1870) at the Dept. of the Interior which was headed by his stepfather, Jacob D. Cox. Returning in 1871 from Europe, Cochran studied law and opened a law office in Cincinnati in 1872. As a lawyer, Cochran served on the Ohio State Board of Examiners (1901-1903), and as a clerk of the U.S. Curcuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati (1914-1919), as well as a trustee of Oberlin College (1901-1931). Cochran spent the later part of his years researching the life of Jacob Dolson Cox. Cochran, at the age of 88, died in 1936.
From the description of Papers 1839-1936. (Oberlin College Library). WorldCat record id: 26209155
