Jacob Cochran
Encyclopedia
Jacob Cochran was a non-denominational preacher born in Enfield, New Hampshire
, USA who founded the Cochranites in Saco, Maine
. Cochranite worship is said to have resembled Shakerism, but which also practiced a new doctrine called spiritual wifery
. Cochranism may have influenced the Mormon
doctrines of plural marriage
and the United Order
, as well as the free love
practice called complex marriage once favored by the Oneida Community
.
Christian church, a popular sentiment at that time. He also claimed success in miracle-working and exorcism
. Cochran also instituted holy dancing and a frenzy called reaping in which participants are "thrown into the greatest agitations; a violent exertion of the arms and body, for a long time together....To other violent motions of the arms and body, they give the appellation of winnowing, and separating the chaff from the wheat: another they call, gathering and burning the chaff."
Cochran dismissed traditional concepts of marriage, citing passages in the bible where seven wives shared one man. As early as 1818-1819 the group was referring to spiritual wivery. Cochran would assign women to the men since legal marriages were not considered valid. He would also shift these women between men as he saw fit as their prophet. It was said that about half of the women in the group were once assigned to him. Ephraim Stinchfield, who observed the community on a number of occasions, recorded 16 pages of "abominations" including unwed couples staying together, and Cochran's habit of taking young women into private rooms for extended periods of time.
Cochran also was working towards a communal order where everything was held in common. However, within a few years, Cochran was eventually convicted of gross lewdness, lascivious
behavior, and adultery
and spent four years in prison. His followers were once said to be in the thousands, but only a handful remained loyal to their prophet after his imprisonment.
A few years after his release from prison, Jacob Cochran established a colony for a portion of his followers, in what is now Grove township, Allegany Co., New York
. This little-known group lived in close proximity to several people who later became prominent members within the Latter Day Saint Movement
including Warren Cowdery, William Marks
and Lyman Wight
-- the first Mormon branches in Allegany County
were established in the area immediately surrounding the Cochranite colony, during the early 1830s.
Cochran has been called a "John the Baptist
" for Mormonism by Saco Valley historian G.T. Ridlon because so many Cochranites were among those who converted to Mormonism and moved west. Although the Cochranites practiced a type of "spiritual wifery" (see above) which sanctioned multiple female partners for each man in the group, their doctrines did not include the precept of "eternal marriage", and thus differed slightly from Utah Mormon polygamy.
Latter Day Saint historical sources indicate that Mormon missionaries were laboring successfully to make converts among Maine's
Cochranites as early as 1832: at the Church conference held in Saco, Maine
on August 21, 1835, at least seven of the newly ordained apostles were in attendance. John C. Bennett
, a leading Mormon who was excommunicated, is credited with introducing the Cochranite term spiritual wifery to Mormonism
. Bennett's version of the multiple female partners practice appears to have more closely resembled Jacob Cochran's doctrine than it did the precept of polygamy alleged to exist among the Latter Day Saints.
Enfield, New Hampshire
Enfield is a town in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,582 at the 2010 census. The town includes the villages of Enfield, Enfield Center, Upper Shaker Village, Lower Shaker Village, Lockehaven, and Montcalm....
, USA who founded the Cochranites in Saco, Maine
Saco, Maine
Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...
. Cochranite worship is said to have resembled Shakerism, but which also practiced a new doctrine called spiritual wifery
Spiritual wifery
Spiritual wifery is a term first used in America by the Immortalists in and near the Blackstone Valley of Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the 1740s...
. Cochranism may have influenced the Mormon
Mormon
The term Mormon most commonly denotes an adherent, practitioner, follower, or constituent of Mormonism, which is the largest branch of the Latter Day Saint movement in restorationist Christianity...
doctrines of plural marriage
Plural marriage
Polygamy was taught by leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for more than half of the 19th century, and practiced publicly from 1852 to 1890.The Church's practice of polygamy has been highly controversial, both within...
and the United Order
United Order
In the Latter Day Saint movement, the United Order was one of several 19th century church collectivist programs. Early versions of the Order beginning in 1831 attempted to implement the Law of Consecration, a form of Christian communism, modeled after the New Testament church which had "all things...
, as well as the free love
Free love
The term free love has been used to describe a social movement that rejects marriage, which is seen as a form of social bondage. The Free Love movement’s initial goal was to separate the state from sexual matters such as marriage, birth control, and adultery...
practice called complex marriage once favored by the Oneida Community
Oneida Community
The Oneida Community was a religious commune founded by John Humphrey Noyes in 1848 in Oneida, New York. The community believed that Jesus had already returned in the year 70 AD, making it possible for them to bring about Jesus's millennial kingdom themselves, and be free of sin and perfect in this...
.
Cochranites (aka "The Society of Free Brethren and Sisters")
Jacob Cochran was said to have promoted the restoration of the apostolicApostolic Age
The Apostolic Age of the history of Christianity is traditionally the period of the Twelve Apostles, dating from the Crucifixion of Jesus and the Great Commission in Jerusalem until the death of John the Apostle in Anatolia...
Christian church, a popular sentiment at that time. He also claimed success in miracle-working and exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
. Cochran also instituted holy dancing and a frenzy called reaping in which participants are "thrown into the greatest agitations; a violent exertion of the arms and body, for a long time together....To other violent motions of the arms and body, they give the appellation of winnowing, and separating the chaff from the wheat: another they call, gathering and burning the chaff."
Cochran dismissed traditional concepts of marriage, citing passages in the bible where seven wives shared one man. As early as 1818-1819 the group was referring to spiritual wivery. Cochran would assign women to the men since legal marriages were not considered valid. He would also shift these women between men as he saw fit as their prophet. It was said that about half of the women in the group were once assigned to him. Ephraim Stinchfield, who observed the community on a number of occasions, recorded 16 pages of "abominations" including unwed couples staying together, and Cochran's habit of taking young women into private rooms for extended periods of time.
After their meeting was over, I retired and spent the rest of the evening with six of this society, one of whom called himself an ordained minister in their society. I had now for the first time, an opportunity of inquiring into their distinguishing peculiar tenets. They, like all other enthusiasts, pretended to light superior to that of any other religious society, since the Apostles; and the power of healing the sick, raising the dead, and casting out devils -- all of which, they said, had been literally performed among them. Extraordinary dreams and visions, they asserted, had been experienced, and wonders wrought. They had private, sometimes dark, meetings; in which none, but such as were bound by oath, to the most inviolable secrecy, not to divulge what was transacted in the meeting, upon penalty of eternal damnation, or of having their names blotted out of the book of life, were admitted. That each brother and sister in this fraternity, has a spiritual husband, wife, mate, or yoke fellow, such as they choose, or their leaders choose for them. These spiritual mates, dissolve, or disannul, all former marriage connections; and many of them bed and board together, to the exclusion of all former vows. Such conduct as this, had not become general, and many of them would deny that such things existed among them, though proved by the most solemn declarating of persons of undoubted veracity. I had, before I left this place, such a discovery of the mystery of iniquity, working to the subverson of all social ties, between husband and wife, parents and children, rulers and ruled, ministers and people; the rising generation corrupted by the introduction of such vicious practices, under a cloak of religion, that it seemed as if I should be constrained to run from house to house, and cry day and night, against the abomination that maketh desolate.
Cochran also was working towards a communal order where everything was held in common. However, within a few years, Cochran was eventually convicted of gross lewdness, lascivious
Lascivious
"Lascivious" is a word synonymous with lustful or lewd or unruly .- Legal usage :In American legal jargon, lascivious is a semi-technical term indicating immoral sexual thoughts or actions. It is often used in the legal description of criminal acts in which some sort of sexual activity is...
behavior, and adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and spent four years in prison. His followers were once said to be in the thousands, but only a handful remained loyal to their prophet after his imprisonment.
A few years after his release from prison, Jacob Cochran established a colony for a portion of his followers, in what is now Grove township, Allegany Co., New York
Grove, New York
Grove is a town in Allegany County, New York, United States. The population was 533 at the 2000 census.The Town of Grove, in the northeast part of Allegany County, is northwest of Hornell, New York.- History :...
. This little-known group lived in close proximity to several people who later became prominent members within the Latter Day Saint Movement
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement is a group of independent churches tracing their origin to a Christian primitivist movement founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. in the late 1820s. Collectively, these churches have over 14 million members...
including Warren Cowdery, William Marks
William Marks
William Marks may refer to:*William Marks , American lawyer, U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania*William Marks , American early religious leader in the Latter Day Saint movement...
and Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight
Lyman Wight was an early leader in the Latter Day Saint movement. He was the leader of the Latter Day Saints in Daviess County, Missouri in 1838. In 1841, he was ordained a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. After the death of Joseph Smith, Jr...
-- the first Mormon branches in Allegany County
Allegany County, New York
Allegany County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 48,946. Its name derives from a Delaware Indian word, applied by settlers of Western New York State to a trail that followed the Allegheny River. Its county seat is...
were established in the area immediately surrounding the Cochranite colony, during the early 1830s.
Cochran has been called a "John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
" for Mormonism by Saco Valley historian G.T. Ridlon because so many Cochranites were among those who converted to Mormonism and moved west. Although the Cochranites practiced a type of "spiritual wifery" (see above) which sanctioned multiple female partners for each man in the group, their doctrines did not include the precept of "eternal marriage", and thus differed slightly from Utah Mormon polygamy.
Latter Day Saint historical sources indicate that Mormon missionaries were laboring successfully to make converts among Maine's
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
Cochranites as early as 1832: at the Church conference held in Saco, Maine
Saco, Maine
Saco is a city in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 18,482 at the 2010 census. It is home to Ferry Beach State Park, Funtown Splashtown USA, Thornton Academy, as well as General Dynamics Armament Systems , a subsidiary of the defense contractor General Dynamics...
on August 21, 1835, at least seven of the newly ordained apostles were in attendance. John C. Bennett
John C. Bennett
John Cook Bennett was an American physician and a ranking and influential—but short-lived—leader of the Latter Day Saint movement, who acted as second-in-command to Joseph Smith, Jr., for a brief period in the early 1840s....
, a leading Mormon who was excommunicated, is credited with introducing the Cochranite term spiritual wifery to Mormonism
Mormonism
Mormonism is the religion practiced by Mormons, and is the predominant religious tradition of the Latter Day Saint movement. This movement was founded by Joseph Smith, Jr. beginning in the 1820s as a form of Christian primitivism. During the 1830s and 1840s, Mormonism gradually distinguished itself...
. Bennett's version of the multiple female partners practice appears to have more closely resembled Jacob Cochran's doctrine than it did the precept of polygamy alleged to exist among the Latter Day Saints.