Husband Henry Cobham 1 2
Born: 24 Jan 1824 - England 2
Christened:
Died:
Buried:
Father: Henry Cobham (1795-1825) 1 3
Mother: Catherine Curry ( - ) 1 2
Marriage: 3 Apr 1860 4
• Additional Image: Henry Cobham.
Wife Ann Hodges 5
Born: 7 Aug 1839 - Warren, Warren Co, PA 6
Christened:
Died: 10 Nov 1912 4
Buried:
Father: Walter Wood Hodges (1799-1863) 7
Mother: Marvel Bowers Jackson (1815-1878) 6
• Additional Image: Ann Hodges Cobham.
Children
1 U [Infant] Cobham 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: in infancy
Buried:
2 U [Infant] Cobham 5
Born:
Christened:
Died: in infancy
Buried:
3 F Catherine Curry Cobham 5
Born: 1863 - Warren, Warren Co, PA 5
Christened:
Died: 27 Jul 1893 - ? Dayton, OH 5
Buried:
4 M Henry Oldcastle Cobham 5
Born: 29 Jul 1870 5
Christened:
Died: 1 Aug 1897 6
Buried:
General Notes: Husband - Henry Cobham
He was born in England and in 1832 he was taken to France by his stepfather, together with his younger brother, George; in 1834 he came to America with the rest of his family. The residence at Cobham Park was partly paid for by his younger brother and himself; and they also invested a portion of their own means in the erection of farm buildings and the saw mill on Hemlock Run, sharing expenses with their stepfather with whom they lived as own sons; and being repeatedly assured by him after the true relationship became known that they would receive an equal share with his other children in what property he might acquire. They worked and cleared the farm during summer and sawed lumber during the winter months until 1858, when George became disgusted with the treatment he received and left home. Henry continued on the farm lumbering in winter and farming in summer, being his step-father's confidant in all things, until the completion of the residence in 1863. Owing to the continued unpleasantness in the family, he, too, then left home, remaining in Warren until his brother's death. He then returned at the solicitation of his step-father, who declared that he could not live without him, and worked the place until the spring of 1866. There was much trouble in regard to pecuniary and property matters, which continued until the death of George Cobham in 1870, when the estate was found to be practically insolvent.
After his final departure from Cobham Park, Henry Cobham built a residence at No. 400 Fifth street, Warren, known as Cobham Place; he resided there until 1887, when he began building his another residence, Stony-lonesome, on a height of land overlooking the Allegheny Valley and the town of Warren. Standing as it did on one of the highest points in the county, it commanded a magnificent view of the surrounding country. Exceptional in its natural beauty, it was greatly improved by the addition of drives and walks. It was an exceedingly rich oil field and there were up to twenty oil wells in operation. Some of the greatest producers in the country were developed on the place, a number of them yielding as high as two thousand five hundred barrels of oil each per day. The house, which was a very handsome structure, was planned by Mr. Cobham, who superintended its erection, leaving nothing undone to make it complete in every detail. It was a veritable house of treasures, containing rare old volumes and paintings, and the pleasing arrangement of the interior reflected great credit on the artistic taste of the owner. Mr. Cobham, who was a literary man of marked ability, wrote numerous poems and prose articles, many of which were collected and published; his muse was of a deeply religious order, and the noble and tender sentiments to which he gave voice were suggestive of the works of that revered and world famous poet and hymn writer, Miss Fanny Crosby, who spent much time at his beautiful country place.
He served two terms as county surveyor, during which time he was the means of adding to the borough two parks which were state land and subject to entry by all. Previous to his obtaining patents for these, a commission was appointed upon his representation to survey the borough; and he became street commis-sioner, establishing landmarks at the corner of every square, the lack of which before this time had caused much litigation. He also was the means of adding about thirty acres to the borough, land which before was assessed in Conewango township, but he found it had been included in the borough by act of assembly in 1849, and so represented to the burgess. He was also a promoter and large stockholder in the Pickett Extension Table Company, an enterprise in which he unfortunately lost considerable money. The large sum of money which he brought to his adopted country was well expended in the improvement of the county. His interest in the public weal was shown in war time as well as in peace; for upon General Lee's first invasion of Pennsylvania during the civil war, Mr. Cobham responded to a call of the governor for volunteers to repel the invasion, and joined a company of Warren county men who were sent to the front. The modes of conveyance were so slow, however, that they failed to reach Harrisburg until after the battle of Antietam, and were afterward honorably discharged with the thanks of the government.
General Notes: Wife - Ann Hodges
She was a woman of very strong character and a most amiable disposition; her good works and public charities were many. Among these, the most conspicuous was her gift of Stonylonesome, which was deeded to her some years before by Mr. Cobham, to the Salvation Army, to whom she also left a large sum of money for the erection of another extensive building in addition to the existing castle and other edifices. This was to be devoted to an agricultural training school for orphan boys. The estate covered about six hundred acres of land upon which were many oil wells, which furnished a very handsome revenue for the maintenance of this noble charity.
Mrs. Cobham was also a woman of considerable literary ability and a valued and active member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, known and loved throughout the country. She was also a member of the Woman's Prohibition Club of Pennsylvania, and its chaplain at the time of her death.