Margaret Lynn Cochran (maiden name: Lewis) was born around 1808 in Virginia. She married John Cochran on September 28, 1826, and they had at least eight children: John, born around 1827; James, born around 1830; Howe, born around 1834; Henry, born on August 5, 1832; William, born around 1838; Mary, born around 1840; George, born around 1842; and Magdaline, born around 1844. They lived in Charlottesville, Virginia, and her husband worked as a merchant and farmer. By 1860, they owned $45,000 of real estate and $60,000 of personal property.

 

During the secession crisis, she expressed devotion to the Union. In April 1861, she feared that "God is about to pour out the vials of his wrath on us for our base ingratitude as a people--for he has certainly blessed us hereto fore as no other nation & all the thanks we have returned has been rebellion." She remained in Charlottesville after the war, and by 1870, the family owned $40,000 of real estate and $10,000 of personal property. She died in 1875.

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