Robert Jarvis Cochran WALKER, Congress, PA (1838-1903)

WALKER Robert Jarvis Cochran , a Representative from Pennsylvania; born near West Chester, Chester County, Pa., October 20, 1838; attended school at East Hampton and Cambridge, Mass.; was graduated from the law department of Harvard University in 1858; was admitted to the bar in 1859 and commenced practice in Philadelphia; director of the first school district of Pennsylvania; twice elected to the council of Philadelphia; purchased the Saturday Evening Post in 1874 and was its editor for a short time; engaged in the production of oil; moved to Williamsport, Lycoming County, Pa., in 1875 and engaged in land, lumber, and coal developments; elected as a Republican to the Forty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1881-March 3, 1883); declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1882 but his name was presented by his friends; returned to Philadelphia in 1890 and became a manufacturing chemist; died in Philadelphia, Pa., December 19, 1903; interment in Laurel Hill Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present