Biography - George C. Cockrell
GEORGE C. COCKRELL was born in Jefferson township, Sciota county, Ohio, on
the 31st March, 1813. He was the eldest child of Jesse and Lucy Cockrell, of
whose family there are only three now living. Jesse Cockrell was a native of
Fairfax county, Virginia, and his wife of the same state; they were both of
English ancestry. The father of Jesse Cockrell was born in Turkey, while his
parents were sojourning in that country. After he grew to manhood, with one
of his brothers, at a very early day, he emigrated to America, and from
Simon and Peter Cockrell sprang the Cockrell family in this country. They
became planters on the eastern shore of Virginia, their plantations being
situated on the alluvial lands lying at the base of the Blue Ridge. Jesse
Cockrell was educated in the excellent schools of Fairfax. His father being
among the more wealthy planters, could afford his children much better
advantages for an education than many of the youth of Virginia possessed.
After he finished his education, young Cockrell engaged in merchandising,
which continued to be his principal business for many years. About the year
1803 he was married to Miss Harriet Wilcoxen, of Virginia, by whom he had
four children, all of whom are yet living. In the early part of 1811 Mrs.
Cockrell died. He afterward married a sister of his former wife, Lucy Went
Wilcoxen, and his last marriage took place in the state of Ohio, where Mr.
Cockrell had settled in 1806. When he settled there with his family his
wealth consisted of twenty-five cents in specie, a peck of meal, and one
horse. The reason of his being so poor was the fact of his losing large sums
by going security for parties in Virginia. But having an untiring energy, he
soon was enabled to retrieve his losses and place his family in more
comfortable circumstances. Step by step he climbed up the ladder of wealth,
so that in time he became among the well-to-do farmers in the county. On the
breaking out of hostilities between America and England in 1812, and at the
general call for volunteers, he enlisted, and, as fate would have it, was
soon after transferred to that part of the army which was surrendered to the
British at Sandusky, Ohio.
In 1835 his second wife died, and he afterward married Mary Glaze, by whom
he had two children, who are still living. He was elected sheriff of Sciota
county, Ohio, as the candidate of the democratic party, soon after becoming
a citizen of the state, and held the office of justice of the peace a great
many years. In May, 1871, he breathed his last at his residence.
George C. Cockrell grew up in the wilds of Ohio, and participated in most of
the hardships which are incident to a new country. His early education was
such as could be obtained in the district schools of Sciota county, and,
like most of the boys of that period, his principal opportunity for study
was by the fire-light at night, by the chimney fire-place. In the year 1835
he left home on a prospecting trip to Illinois, and first stopped in Greene
county, where he entered a tract of eighty acres of land in township 6,
range 11, within the present boundaries of Jersey county. His first work
after landing in that county was scoring logs at one dollar per day; and
after working a few months he took the mania for traveling, and started out
to see the country, which occupied his time until his money was all spent.
He is a genial, sociable man, and often quite humorous when in company. In
July, 1839, he returned to Ohio, and on the 29th of the following September,
was married to Miss Minerva Darlington, daughter of Abisha and Eve
Darlington. Mr. Darlington was a native of Pennsylvania, and his wife of
Virginia. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and among those troops
surrendered at Hull's capitulation. In 1813 he married and settled in Sciota
county, his occupation being that of a farmer. In the spring of 1840, he
settled with his family in Jersey county, on a farm situated about six miles
south of Jerseyville, where he continued to reside during the balance of his
life. Mrs. Darlington died in January, 1848; he survived her death until
October, 1851. Mr. Cockrell says he remembers being at the place where
Chicago is now situated when the Indians were being paid off by the
government agents. After his marriage, Mr. Cockrell and wife settled on his
farm in Jersey county, where they continued to reside for about six years.
They then bought the farm where they now reside, tow miles west of the town
of Kane. They have had a family of seven children, one of whom is deceased.
Their oldest daughter, Mary Cockrell, is the wife of John G. Erwin, now a
resident of Jersey county; Moses Cockrell is now married, and resides in
southwest Missouri; Thompson W. Cockrell is also a citizen of Jersey county;
Abisha D., John G., and Maggie are residing at home. Mrs. Cockrell has been
a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church about twenty-four years. The name
of George Cockrell is always associated with efforts for the amelioration of
mankind whenever opportunities present for such benevolent enterprises.
Honesty is a leading trait of his character. In tracing back his ancestorial
lineage, we find him descended from one of the ancient families of the "Old
Dominion." Democracy seems to have been an inborn principle in his
composition. His first vote was cast for Andrew Jackson, and he has
continued in that political line ever since. In 1860 he became a member of
the order of the "mystic tie," and was a Baltimore at the convention of the
Sir Knights of the United States in 1871. In Mr. Cockrell we find a
gentleman with many of the virtues of social and private life, and he is
highly esteemed by his fellow-citizens.
Extracted 07 Sep 2018 by Norma Hass from Atlas Map of Greene County Illinois, 1873, page 47.
