Frank Cochran

Found on the 1930 census of Richland Township in Labette County, Kansas, and my father, Frankie was only three years old. Dad said he was born in Chetopa and raised in Chetopa but his parents did move around. Dad had several siblings, including two sets of twins. His mother's line has an abundance of twin births.

Luella's parents were Lattie Little and Benjamin Coonfield. Her husband's parents were Clora Jane Miller and Jacob Benjamin Cochran who were the first homesteaders of Hill City in Graham County, Kansas.

Frankie had served in the Korean War and also lost a brother there, named Freelon. There is a marker near the Neosho River with Freelon's name on it. However his tombstone has the name of Coonfield Cochran on it. The state of Kansas has had difficulty getting birth certificates processed correctly, according to my dad's 90 year old sister, most of theirs was wrong.

After Korea, Frankie was stationed at Maxwell AFB in Montgomery AL where he married Anne Carter in 1951. Both are buried there in Memorial Cemetery off of Bozeman Drive. Frankie spent 30 years of his life as a superintendent for Halstead Construction and had much to do with the beautiful buildings and colleges throughout the state, my favorite being the Shriner's Temple. Of course he built much of what you see along the Eastern Blvd when it was first coming to life. In the early years a man got paid only for a days work and he never took a day off even when he had the flu, worked rain, sleet or snow in his only pair of boots, which he placed by the heater to dry out when he got home. He drove through North Montgomery to find brick masons or anyone willing to work and there was always several men standing by a fire in a drum, willing to jump on the back on his truck to earn a days pay. Plus whenever he got back from a good fishing trip, he carried the excess back to that spot to share with his coworkers.

Luella and Frank were on the 1920 census of Chelsea, Rogers County, Oklahoma near many other Coonfields, one of which had married a full blood Cherokee, in fact, Luella stated that she was one quarter indian blood plus some of another tribe.

Reading a little about Chelsea and I learned that Rogers County was the home of the famous indian Will Rogers.

They are all now passed on and I am working on the family tree if anyone finds a connection, I would love to hear from you!

Here are some of my favorite websites:

His father (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kc90853/Cochran.html)
His inlaws (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kc90853/Coonfield.html)

Luella's Mother http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kc90853/GrannyLattieCedoniaLittleCoonfieldBorn1872.htm

Frank's mother Clora http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~kc90853/miller.txt

My grandfather Frank Delbert Cochran's parents were Jacob Benjamin Cochran born in 1822, and Clora Jane Miller who had married in Iowa after Jacob's first wife Mariah White had died. Both had children by their previous marriage.

Jacob's parents were Martha Henderson and William Cochran, a son of Alexander.

Jacob Cochran was one of the very first families to homestead in

Hill City, Kansas after they left Iowa. His daughter Clora kept my Aunt Bernice

informed of their history. The Cochrans had some awesome sky blue eyes and the men never went bald like we see some families like the Brooks men who had lost their hair before the age of 30.

Alexander Cochran raised his family in Pennsylvania and soon settled into Ohio, possibly Quakers, with several sons joining the Civil War and even living in California during the Gold Rush. Later these young men moved to Iowa to farm the new land, and after several years, Jacob Benjamin Cochran moved to Kansas with second wife Clora Jane Miller, a daughter of Mary Clara Parker and James Madison Miller. The Millers were Irish from Rockingham Virginia.

Many of these mixed migrations were referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch.

Family lore is that Mary Parker shared medicine with the indians and research shows that her ancestors were in the 1600s and 1700s New York Indian Country as well as Mass and Rhode Island, with one cousin, Joshua Tefft was killed by King Phillip. One Mr Sweete was banned from England as a Catholic Priest and lived in exile in France. These cousins from the 1600s do not really count but it is really touching to know they had something to do with our being on this earth.

As far as documenting the Cochran lineage, I have none beyond Jacob to prove the names of his parents or grandparents. Locating a census record or a will or more would help to prove this lineage.

Perhaps Jacob told his children about his parents but reading the census records, I can safely say there were dozens of Williams, Alexanders, and Jacob Cochrans in Pennsylvania and Ohio and even those who migrated to Iowa Territory. Apparently William Cochran married Martha Henderson in Ohio and had Jacob but this author has not located a marriage record. Several Cochrans came out of Pennsylvania and Maryland into Ohio and causes a bit of confusion in tracing our own, because they used the same names for their sons over and over.

Frank Delbert Cochran married Luella Ellen Coonfield in Arkansas 1914; he had met her while he was in Arkansas looking for work and he had worked in mines and in the farm during his life. Luella's parents were Lattie Cedonia Little and Benjamin Wallace Coonfield.

All of these families supported our country in the military services and several are found listed in the Rosters of the Civil War.

As far as my own family heritage goes, I know that Lattie and Luella said they were Cherokee, some write to me rejecting that, but it is so, my father and his sisters said so, so that is enough for me.

Fortunately for many other lineages, those before us have done a lot of research that I can go back and verify for myself leaving reason to believe most of what I can see.

Isaac and Barsheba Clark Coonfield spent many years in early Kentucky and then moved to Indiana with their grown children. She was found widowed on the 1830 census. Her son Isaac Benjamin Coonfield moved his family to Arkansas. This family is mentioned in the book of the Early History of Morgan County Indiana.

There was a John Martin Coonfield born about 1795 in Pennsylvania following Isaac who could have been a brother, surely not his son, but also found in KY and OH. There was a John McMasters Coonfield born 1796 Kentucky who might be the son of Isaac and Barsheba but at this point, it is so confusing. Those early 1800 census records did not give age nor location of birth, and it did not list the number nor names of the children, so we really do not know when nor where Barsheba Clark married Isaac Coonfield and thus far we can only guess at the names of their parents and surely Barsheba would have at least one son named after her own father which was the custom.

One of their daughters married an Obediah Clark, and one married Arch Clark, and I am thinking of how royalty preferred to keep it in the family. Both Clarks followed Barsheba to Indiana.

Now I wonder why the move? They leave their established homes and farms in Kentucky to start over and this is before 1830.

Grandma Barsheba also had a son named Isaac who married Lydia Epperson, named his son Isaac, while that John Coonfield named a son Isaac and Barsheba's other son James, also named a son Isaac, so we must be careful reading those census images.

Lydia died young and her sister Mary Epperson married Isaac and they moved to Arkansas having more children, and may have lost three sons in the civil war.

Lydia's son Benjamin Wylie Coonfield married Martha Frances Young in Indiana and moved to Arkansas, having a son named Ben. My Aunt Deloris Cochran said that Ben's hair was so black that it looked blue.

Martha's parents were possibly Minerva Evans and James Young of Kentucky and there was a George Young on the 1860 census in their household, probably a brother of James. Martha named sons George and James so this is only my theory of her genealogy. Martha's father and uncle appear to have been born in Pennsylvania while her mother if from Kentucky. Then the 1850 census shows us that the Uncle George was bron in New Jersey and that the first son of James, named Edward, was born in Iowa so now we get to research that state as well. There was only one James Young found in 1840 Iowa Territory, and he was in Des Moines.

When I look into 1820 Clark County Kentucky there are several Youngs and Evans families close together and even an Epperson family.

1810 shows Eddward, 2 James, William, Robert, John and Mr Original Young !! Original seems to the the elder and with no children in household. Also finding Peter, James, Abrahama nd a Mabra Evans. Then 1800 M Evans is in South Carolina.

Name: Original Young

State: VA

County: Fauquier County

Township: Rental Rolls

Year: 1777

Record Type: Rent Role

Database: VA Early Census Index

Name: Original Young

State: KY

County: Clark County

Township: No Township Listed

Year: 1800

Record Type: Tax list

Database: KY Early Census Index

Name: Original Young

State: OH

County: Army Lands

Township: VA Millitary Dist

Year: 1801

Record Type: Tax list

Page: 111

Database: OH Early Census Index

Great Grandpa Benjamin Wallace Coonfield married Lattie Cedonia Little and they had Amy, Ruth and Luella Coonfield, Harrison and several other children. Amy married Joe Gray and I had corresponded with their daughter Verna, who forwarded copies of her late sister's research ( Dorline Gray Teegardin ) who was trying to connect this lineage to Chief Powhatan. Cousin Verna even sent me a p;icture of my dad, Frankie Cochran, when he was very young. On the phone she was very sweet and glad that I was working on our lineage, saying that much of Dorline's work had been loaned out and there was not much she could copy for me to learn from, but thought that her sister, Dorline had joined a Pocahontas Club. Ruth married Bates and Harrison married Inez Gray.

Dorline had also been corresponding with our cousin Martha Hawes in Arizona, who also shared a great amount of research with me regarding L P Little. L P Little had a great way of leaving a trail of his elders by giving each child a middle name of one of his ancestors and I am honoring him and his work by writing about him on the Kentucky webpage. In fact Lucius had written articles about others that he knew and I would love to find a copy to add to my little collection of things in our genealogy.

Arkansas land records indicate that Isaac Coonfield bought land in 1856.

Hiram Lucius Little, was the father of our John Little and the son of Betsy Douglas and Jonas Little, had lost his wife, Catherine Wright, in Kentucky and moved to Texas. His son John Little served in the Civil War as a blacksmith, married, had several children, lost his wife and then moved his family into Arkansas.

Our grandma Betsy was found widowed and living with her daughter Betsy Roberts on the 1850 census.

Hiram Little married Rebecca Isabella Adams in Bosque County Texas and had more children including a Hiram jr. Most are buried at the Meridian Cemetery. Hiram's headstone refers to him as a doctor and a mason. Rebecca was from Tennessee and they lived beside her sister Kissiah Brooks and Rebecca named one of her sons Brooks Little. It is also quite possible that Hiram was visiting his Uncle John Little ( brother of Jonas ) in Tennessee when he met Rebecca.

Uncle John's family also went to Texas. John and Jonas had left other brothers behind in Newberry South Carolina so we do not know where they migrated.

Apparently some of the brothers of grandpa Jonas had already removed to Texas by 1800 and our Hiram had joined them. Our Texas migration needs further study.

Betsy Douglass Little had another son named Douglass Little who married Martha Ann Wright, his sister in law. Martha named her first son, Powhatan and he was a lawyer, and a judge, who was a great writer and did a lot of research on his lineage; as did his daughter, Laura Simmons Little.

They traced Mary Handley to parents Martha Mason and George Handley of Ireland, noting that Mary was born asea, on the trip over. Mary's brother was Captain John Handley. Their notes also chart a Thomas Jones settling in the 1600s on James River in Bermuda Hundred, Henrico County, Virginia and wrote about a Polly Jones who may have been the wife or companion of Charles Weatherford, but then again their work was blurred and Polly could have been related to L P's mother instead.

Mother of the Wright sisters was Catherine Weatherford, a daughter of Charles Weatherford in Charlotte VA. Alabama land records indicate land sold to a Charles in 1841 if this is his grandson by Red Eagle. So far records only indicate one Charles Weatherford born in this time period and it is quite possible that he had more than one wife than history would like for us to believe and if he was indian trader, he probably had many children that have not been noted.

History also indicates that the father of Red Eagle was from Scotland, and a his grandson on the creek indian mailing list says that Charles fathered many children with many women and then went back to Scotland but we may never know the facts. Some family trees indicate that Charles was the son of Martin Weatherford and an indian woman called Mary in Charlotte Virginia who migrated to Georgia and I did find documentation in the Georgia Archives onlne that show Martin was a wealthy planter and it mentions nothing at all about Scotland. Martin was a loyalist, very outspoken and the state of Ga banned him so he moved his family to the Bahamas and more documentation is found to prove that.

Hopefully something will surface to resolve the mystery.

Laura Little joined the DAR and had a monument dedicated to her great grandfather, Captain George Little in Kentucky. Laura's granddaughter, Martha, in Arizona has assisted with this research. Laura had studied the Weatherfords, Wrights and Chief Powhatan. Laura had joined the American Genealogical First Families. leaving a fantastic paper trail for her descendants to follow.

Parents of Betsy were Mary Handley and Alexander Douglass who were married in PA. MMary's brother Captain John Handley became a surveyor like Davy Crockett and on one trip to the new land in Kentucky, before 1800, his brother in law, Alexander Douglass went with him and never returned. Alexander was murdered by indians on his way back home. His wife took her girls and moved into a scottish settlement in South Carolina, where her daughter married Jonas little. Later the father of Jonas, George Little, married his son's mother in law. Both had become widowed but they had no children together that we know of.

Ironically there was an older Jonas Little in South Carolina, who's descendants moved southward and into Alabama and we can only suspect there may be some connection to George. The 1790 census of Newberry, Union, South Carolina shows George with a housefull of children but it also shows others around his home named Jonas, Joseph, William and John who could also be his Scottish siblings. Some of those came through Alabama and Texas but it is hard to configure.

Hiram Little's son was John Wright Little who married a Mary Catherine Crigler. John lived with her family before the marriage, with her parents Catherine Roby and Abraham Crigler.

Abraham's parents were Lydia Carpenter and Owen Crigler. Catherine's parents were Kitty Simmons and Reason Roby. These families left Virginia to settle in the new land of Kentucky about 1800 among friendly indians who were also migrating westward.

John and Mary were beautiful, dark complected, had black eyes and black hair and they had Cherokee blood.

Will of Abraham Crigler, 1847

Slave Appraisal of Abraham Crigler, 1848

Estate Appraisal of Lawrence Roby, 1817

Will of Owen Roby, 1838

Will of Reason Roby, 1844

Estate Sale of William Roby, (deceased), 1834

Estate Settlement of Edward Rogers, 1829

Will of Jesse Simmons, 1819

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Click here: KYGenWeb Archives, Bullitt County http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ky/bullitt/toc.html

The Battle of Alamo lists a soldier named Hiram Little and there is a possible connection to our lineage as some of the decendants are found in Texas census records. and one receiving a land grant in Texas.

Much of my research is being added to usgenweb.com

Descendant of all of these was Frankie Lavern Cochran born 1927.and Kathy Cochran who was born in Broken Arrow, Tulsa, Oklahoma later moved to Montgomery Alabama after spendng a few years in Arizona. Frankie had dark hair and blue eyes like his father and his younger pictures resemble his father, but as Frankie aged, he resembled his grandpa Coonfield very much.

Pictures of Catherine Crigler and then those of the Coonfield women show us they all had long dark hair in braids and dark eyes. Luella Coonfield and her mother in law Clora Jane both smoked pipes. The pipes are in the possession of cousin Stanley.

Aunt Irma talked of granny Clora Jane Miller Cochran being a sweet old lady who stayed with them for a while when grandpa Jacob died. Clora stayed with each of her children, taking turns, as she had no place to go. She taught them about corn and how to pop it. She mysteriously read the ashes of her pipe. Aunt Irma was the child born with a veil over her face. The doctor removed the veil twice as it seemed to grow back and on the third veil, her mother Luella took it and placed it in the Bible where it still exists to this day.

Frankie's sisters have assisted with this research. There are many documents, pictures, census records, letters marriage licenses, death certificates, land records, wills, and our other research posted on Kathy's webpages