Frederick W. Cogswell, Prosecuting Attorney for Erie County

Frederick Whittlesey Cogswell was the oldest child of Mr. and Mrs. William Cogswell, born in Connecticut in 1823. He graduated from Yale University in 1849. After briefly studying law in Connecticut, F. W. Cogswell became ill, and he moved to Cleveland, Ohio where he sought treatment at the Cleveland Water Cure with Dr. T. T. Seele. By the early 1850s, Mr. Cogswell began practicing law in Sandusky, Ohio. He served as Sandusky’s City Clerk for a number of years, and he was Erie County’s Prosecuting Attorney from 1860 through 1873. During the Civil War, he achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant while serving in the 145th Ohio Volunteer Infantry.

In 1871, Frederick W. Cogswell married Julia Radcliffe. They had a family of four children, but two of the daughters died in early childhood. In the late 1880s, Mr. Cogswell suffered injuries from a fall, from which he never fully recovered. He died on January 4, 1893. Below is a portion of the lengthy obituary for Mr. Cogswell appeared in the January 5, 1893 issue of the Sandusky Register.

The following resolution from the McMeens Post, Grand Army of the Republic, was published in the January 21, 1893 issue of the Sandusky Register.

Frederick W. Cogswell

Another comrade has answered the last roll call,

Another soldier has gone the way of all.

WHEREAS, By the order of the Grand Commander of all the armies, our respected comrade Frederick W. Cogswell, late of Co. D 145th Regiment O.V.I. has been ordered to answer the last muster and roll call to meet the comrades who have gone before, therefore be it 

Resolved, That while we regret his loss and extend our heartfelt sympathy to his bereaved family, we hope and trust that our loss is his gain, that as he answered the last roll call on January 4, 1893, and his ashes now rest with those who preceded him, we hope and trust that in the spirit he has been duly mustered in as an honorable and worthy soldier, in that Grand Army above, where there is no more warring and dying in battle, where the tents are all set in the eternal camping ground, where the banners are never furled, and the sound of the surgeon’s call, the long roll and taps are never heard, where songs of joy do never cease, where the flowers of life do ever bloom, and eternal sun of everlasting day never sets, and when we are called may we meet and rejoice with him forever where a thousand years are but as a day. That a copy hereof be sent to his widow and bereaved children.

Frederick W. Cogswell’s final resting place was in the family lot at Oakland Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, a son, and a daughter. A silk bonnet, which once belonged to Mrs. Julia Radcliffe Cogswell, is now in the collections of the Follett House Museum.