Among the substantial men of Hancock county whose depth of character and strict adherence to principle excite the admiration of his contemporaries, the subject of this review is numbered. Belonging to the large and eminently respectable class known as tillers of the soil, he has done much in a quiet way to promote the material interests of his community and by reason of his well-known integrity and high standing as a citizen was recently rewarded with an important official position through the suffrage of the people.

Amasa Cohee was born in Butler county, Ohio, on the 12^th day of March, 1852, and is the son of William and Eliza (Willis) Cohee, natives of Delaware and New Jersey, respectively. Shortly after their marriage these parents settled in Butler county, Ohio, where they lived on a farm until their removal to Bartholomew county, Indiana, in the year 1855. There William Cohee purchased land and engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, which he continued until his death in 1874, at the age of sixty-three; his wife survived him until 1901, in March of which year she too was called to the other life. They have thirteen children, ten of whom grew to mature years, namely: Catherine, who married James Cain, of Lockland, Ohio; Nathaniel, an ex-soldier and at the present time a mechanic, living at Elizabethtown, Indiana; Isaac, also a soldier in the late Civil war, residing in Hancock county, and who is a prosperous farmer; Benjamin served in the war of the Rebellion and now makes his home in Rushville, Indiana; Martha Jane, of Decatur, Indiana, is the wife of Nicholas Gross; Samuel B. lives in the county of Bartholomew; Amasa, the subject of this sketch; Rachael, Sophia and Joseph.

Amasa Cohee grew to manhood on a farm, attended the common schools in the winter seasons during his youth and when a young man taught one term not far from his home. Reared to agricultural pursuits he early decided to make that ancient and honorable calling his life work, accordingly, on attaining his majority, he began tilling the soil upon his own responsibility and has followed the same with fair success to the present time. In the year 1874 he was united in marriage to Miss Nancy J. Fielder, a native of Estell county, Kentucky, where her birth occurred April 11, 1851. Mrs. Cohee was brought to Indiana by her parents, Robert and Minerva Fielder, when eight years old, and grew to womanhood in Bartholomew county. She received a good common school education and by her sweet moral nature and lovable qualities won a large circle of friends both before and after her marriage. Of her five children, four are living and their names are Albert, Della, Dora and Harry. Albert H. was born November 3, 1874. He is a teacher in the public schools and has achieved a fine reputation as an instructor. He is a married man, his wife being formerly Miss Mary Dobbins, of Bartholomew county. Della was born March 4, 1877, married Albert Fralich and lives in the township of Sugar Creek. She has one child, Herbert Fralich. Dora, born November 16, 1879, is the wife of Noah Chappell, has one child named Lola Viola. Harry, born July 26, 1883, prepared himself for teaching and for some years past has been engaged in educational work in the schools of Hancock county. He is a young man of exemplary habits and fine intellectual attainments and bids fair to achieve distinction in his chosen work.

Mr. Cohee began life for himself in Bartholomew county and continued to live in that part of the state until 1878, when he disposed of his interests and moved to Fountaintown, in the county of Shelby. Subsequently, 1890, he took up his residence in Hancock county, purchasing a good farm in Vernon township which he still owns and operates. Like all good citizens he takes an active interest in politics and believes that man shirks his duty who neglects the right of the election franchise. A Democrat from principle, Mr. Cohee is a firm believer in the doctrines and traditions of his party and to the extent of his ability has contributed to its success ever since reaching the years of manhood. In 1900 he was nominated and elected county assessor, the duties of which office he has since discharged with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of the people, proving himself worthy of the confidence reposed in him by his party friends throughout the county. He made the race at the earnest solicitation of many of his associates and some idea of his personal popularity may be learned from the fact of his having defeated a very popular competitor by the almost unprecedented majority of five hundred and sixty votes.

Mr. Cohee is a man of earnest and well defined purpose and during his residence in Hancock county, covering a period of about eleven years, has become widely and favorably known among all classes of people. In all that constitutes correct living and good citizenship he is a conspicuous example; the rectitude of his intentions has not been questioned and his reputation has always been free from reproach. Of quiet and gentlemanly demeanor, he is a man of deeds rather than of words, and his upright walk is true index of the blameless character within. His religious belief is embodied in the plain simple teachings of the Christian (or Disciple) church, with which body his wife was also identified. In common with the majority of humanity, it has been Mr. Cohee’s misfortune to pass through the deep waters of affliction and bereavement. On the 1^st day of July, 1901, with but little previous warning, the death angel invaded his happy home and took therefrom the devoted wife and loving companion, whose kindly ministration had done so much to smooth the asperities of life and make bright his household. This loss he keenly feels, as Mrs. Cohee was a noted example of all that was good, kind and loving in womanhood. As indicated in a previous paragraph, she was popular in the social circle, but it was within the sacred precincts of home, surrounded by her husband and children, that her bright and genial virtues shone with peculiar luster and tenderness. She was a most devoted wife and loving mother and the influence which she exerted will be to those who mourn her loss a monument far more enduring that the most beautiful marble shaft that love or devotion could erect to perpetuate her memory.

Transcribed from Biographical Memoirs of Hancock County B. F. Bowen, Publisher, Logansport, Indiana, 1902 Pages 370-371.

Submitted by Sylvia (Rose) Duda, Laingsburg, MI September 25, 2002.

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