Last Updated on October 16, 2011 by
O. W. Gogin, Justice of the Peace, Mattoon; was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1820; his father came from New Jersey and settled in Cincinnati in 1800; the family was six months making the journey, coming by teams to Pittsburgh, Penn., and thence floating down the Ohio in a keelboat to the point of destination; here the family remained some twenty-odd years; in the spring of 1841, his father came West, and settled in Crawford Co., Ill., where he began the labor of opening up a farm in the woods; O. W. was the youngest of the family, and remained at home till the death of his parents; they lived to enjoy the companionship of each other through a half-century of wedded life, and were consistent members of the M. E. Church for the same length of time. ‘Squire Gogin moved to Mattoon in the fall of 1862; here he engaged for some years in milling and in the fruit-growing business. He was married in 1842, to Eliza Eurle, a native of Virginia; have four children – A. Dorr, Emma, Eola and Nellie. Has held the office of Justice of the Peace, and transacts much business in the settlement of estates.