A businesswoman and philanthropist. Served as director of several corporate boards in western Pennsylvania and one of the wealthiest women on the East Coast in the early 20th century.
Sarah Boyd Moore was born in Lower Tyrone Township, Pennsylvania, to a family of farmers. As a young adult, she worked as a housekeeper in James Cochran’s home, a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in coal and coke production. At 22, she married Cochran’s son, Philip Galley Cochran, and in the following year, she gave birth to her first and only child, James Philip Cochran.
In 1894, her father-in-law died, and her husband inherited the family business. He believed in his wife’s intellect and abilities and taught her all about the coal business. Five years later, passed away, and she and her son assumed control over the family’s estates. A few years later, her son died of pneumonia when he is only 21 years old, and she remained the single beneficiary. Cochran became president of the Brown & Cochran Coke Company, Juniata Coke Company, Dawson Bridge Company, Washington Coal & Coke Company, and First National Bank of Dawson.
Under her leadership, the business expanded and grew threefold. She founded and was a stockholder of various new companies, including the First National Bank of Perryopolis and the Cochran Coal & Coke Company of Morgantown, West Virginia. She also expanded her market and sold coke in Mexico, France, England, and Germany. During this period, Cochran was among the wealthiest women on the East Coast, nicknamed “the nation’s only coal queen.”
Cochran was also a generous philanthropist, giving donations to improve the education of individuals, institutions, and colleges. In 1905, she donated $50,000 to construct a men’s dormitory at Allegheny College and became the college’s first female trustee. She was also a trustee of Beaver College (now Arcadia University), and American University. Cochran used her social status to advocate for women’s suffrage, and in 1915, she hosted a suffrage tea fundraiser at Linden Hall with approximately 600 guests who donated for the cause.
Cochran was semi-invalid in her last 15 years after fracturing her hip and arm, though she remained active in her business and charity work. She died at the age of 79, and her memorial service at the Philip G. Cochran Memorial United Methodist Church was themed “The Ministry of Woman.” Read more...
