History of Springville, (Erie County) New York United States of America

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Biographies:

Delavan Bloodgood, naval surgeon, was born at Springville, N.Y., Aug. 20, 1831. He was graduated at Madison university in 1852, attended the college of physicians and surgeons, New York city, took his degree at the Jefferson medical college, Philadelphia, in 1857, and on March 13 of that year was made assistant surgeon in the navy. He was promoted passed assistant surgeon, Oct. 24, 1861, and surgeon, Jan. 24, 1862. He served efficiently throughout the civil war, and in 1867 was on the Jamestown at Panama during the yellow fever epidemic. On Feb. 23, 1875, he was promoted medical inspector, and on Aug. 22, 1884, medical director, being assigned to duty at the naval laboratory in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he served until his retirement, Aug. 20, 1893. For thirteen years he served on the sea and for twenty-two years on the shore. He was made a member of many prominent societies, among them the Hamilton club of Brooklyn, the Society of colonial wars, the Holland society, the Saint Nicholas society of Nassau Island, the Saint Nicholas club of New York city, He died in Brooklyn, N.Y., April 4, 1902.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor

David Henry Cochran, educator, was born in Springville, N.Y., July 5, 1828; son of Samuel and Catharine (Gallup) Cochran; grandson of Samuel Cochran, and a descendant of a Scotch refugee who settled in Londonderry, Ireland, and thence emigrated to Vermont, U.S.A. He was from the great Scotch clan which Dundonald and Admiral Cochran of the British navy have made famous. Catharine Gallup was a descendant, on the maternal side, of a Huguenot refugee, who met Cochran on shipboard. After arrival in America they were married and located in northern Vermont. David was graduated at Hamilton college A.B. 1850, A.M. 1853, and was a teacher in the Clinton liberal institute, 1850-51. He was afterward principal of the Fredonia academy, 1852-54; professor of natural sciences in the New York state normal college, Albany, 1854-55; and president of that institution from 1855 until 1864, when he accepted the presidency of the Brooklyn collegiate and polytechnic institute. As the head of the state normal college he made extended mineral researches throughout the far west and into the northwestern British provinces. He also visited Europe in 1862 to study educational methods and reported his observations to the executive committee of the normal school. His success as an educator was illustrated in the rapid and permanent growth of the Brooklyn collegiate and polytechnic institute which was incorporated as an academy in 1854, enlarged into a college of technical and liberal arts in 1870 and chartered and incorporated as the Polytechnic institute of Brooklyn in 1889. In 1896-97 it included the academy with six-year preparatory course; the institute with technical and collegiate courses with degrees B.A. and B.S., and a post-graduate year for degrees of Civil and of Electrical Engineer. The reference and study library embraced over 10,000 volumes. The Institute had fifty instructors and 719 students. Dr. Cochran was the originator of the plan of regents' examinations, adopted by the University of the state of New York, having at the request of Dr. Woolworth, secretary of the board, drawn up the same and presented it to Chancellor Pruyn. At one period over one thousand of his former pupils were engaged in teaching. He resigned the presidency of the Polytechnic institute of Brooklyn in March, 1899. The regents of the University of the state of New York conferred on him the degree of Ph.D. in 1862, and Hamilton college, of which he was a trustee from 1875, gave him the degree of LL. D. in 1869.

From: Twentieth Century Biographical Dictionary of Notable Americans, Johnson, Rossiter, editor