Cochran / Chopko Family Tree - v1

Built 2026-10-25 from Joel's own account + records already on file. Status key: [Joel] = Joel stated it directly. [Record] = on file from a verified record. [?] = unconfirmed, needs a record or Joel's confirmation. No dates are invented.

Joel's generation and down

Joel Mitchell Cochran [Joel/Record]

• Born: September 10 [Joel, on file]. Year on file from a booking form he supplied; kept in his private records, not published here.
• Home: Fort Wayne, IN

Parents:

• Father: Mark Cochran [Joel]
• Mother: Janice Cochran, born a Chopko [Joel: "Chopkos on my moms side" - maiden name inferred, ?]

Siblings of Joel:

• Benjamin (Ben) Cochran [Joel]
• Lauren Cochran, married name Lauren Beaudway [Joel]

Sons of Joel (4):

• Coltin Cochran [Joel 2026-10-25, first time on record - full name/spelling to confirm]
• Jaxon Cochran [Joel/Record - son, occupant on Fort Wayne lease, runs Jaxon Property Care]
• Jordan Cochran [Joel/Record - son, occupant on Fort Wayne lease]
• Dylan Cochran [Joel 2026-10-25, first time on record - full name/spelling to confirm]

Dad's side - Cochran, Mishawaka / Elkhart, IN

Benjamin T. (Ben) Cochran + Jean A. Cochran [Joel 2026-10-25, earlier today]

• Lived in Mishawaka, IN, worked in Elkhart, IN
• Co-founded Acousticom, Elkhart, Oct 1980 [Record - public business records]
• Jean A. Cochran (nee Young), b. March 28, 1934, Lakewood, Ohio, d. August 6, 2005, Mishawaka [Record - SSDI Numident + SJCPL index; CONFIRMED by Joel 2026-10-25]. Parents: Donald Nelson Young (b. June 6, 1899, d. June 1, 1978; U.S. Army Oct-Dec 1918) & Dorothy Jeanne (Robrecht) Young [Record - Numident + VA BIRLS + WV marriage index]. Donald and Dorothy married September 24, 1921, at Wheeling, West Virginia (marriage certificate pulled 2026-10-25, WV Vital Records, book p. 216; license Sept 22, 1921; officiant O. L. Moye). Certificate facts: Donald, age 22, was born in WHEELING, W.Va. and lived there; Dorothy, age 21 (b. about 1900), was born in MANNINGTON, W.Va. (Marion County) and lived in Wheeling. No parents named on the certificate. Dorothy's dates/parents and both burials: not yet found; the 1921 WV marriage certificate is the top next record. A Wheeling Robrecht cluster (Charles Augustus Robrecht, 1865-1931, Mount Calvary Cemetery, died in the 1931 plane crash that killed Knute Rockne) is probable kin but NOT proven as Dorothy's father - do not merge. Full line report: line-c-young-robrecht-ohio.md. WAVE 2 (2026-10-25, line-c2-young-records.md): the Wheeling Robrechts are now mapped as two German immigrant households in Ohio County - Charles H. "Carl" Robrecht (d. 1915) & Louisa (Rust) Robrecht (d. 1910), truck gardener/farmer, both of Mount Calvary Cemetery, whose verified children include Charles Augustus (1865-1931), Wilhelmine (1859-1934, m. Freise), Frederick G. (1870-1947, m. Clara Hellstern), Mary Ann (m. Ebbert, d. 1902), Louise (m. Stenger, d. 1960), Anna (m. Weiss), and Emma E. (m. Bott, 1904) - plus a separate line: John Robrecht (b. 1828 on the Weser, Germany, arrived 1848, hotel proprietor/farmer, m. Mary Wilke). Dorothy is now EXCLUDED BY RECORD from both best-documented families of her father's generation: Frederick G.'s nine children are fully named in his daughter Clara Raab's 2005 obituary and Dorothy is not among them, and Charles Augustus's named children (Regina, Marguerita, Theresa, Charles Jr.) do not include her either. Dorothy's parents remain UNNAMED in every record found. Leading UNPROVEN candidate father: Frank Robrecht of Wheeling (m. Virginia Klapheck; their daughter Magdaline b. 1895, Wheeling) - candidate only, do not merge; another candidate household head is Henry M. Robrecht Sr. (son Henry Jr. killed in WWI, 1918). No Robrecht record of any kind was found in Marion County. Also still NOT FOUND after wave 2: Donald's parents, his WWI draft card, both burials (Lakewood Park visitor file lists nine Youngs, none of them Donald or Dorothy; the cemetery office Y file could not be retrieved), Dorothy's death date/SSDI, and the 1940 Lakewood household, so Jean's siblings remain an open question. Standing next route: signed-in free FamilySearch (Dorothy's Marion Co. birth record, the census households, Donald's draft card, and Terry Robrecht's published Robrecht genealogy in FamilySearch Books). Buried St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger, IN. She ran Acousticom from Ben's death until her own passing; Mark became president in 2005, the year she died. A full obituary ran in the South Bend Tribune on Aug 10, 2005 (text still to obtain). Cause of death: no record states one; the family's cancer recollection is unverified and may trace to the other Jean Cochran's obituary.
• Ben (Benjamin T. Cochran Jr.): d. July 12, 1981, Mishawaka (105 Bercado Place) [Record - SJCPL index: Tribune July 13, 1981 p.26; Mishawaka Enterprise July 16, 1981 p.15; CONFIRMED by Joel 2026-10-25]. SSDI sweep 2026-10-25 (ssdi-exact-dates.md): the exact day is independently confirmed by the VA BIRLS file (d. July 12, 1981), and his Numident entry names his parents (Benjamin T Cochran + Leora Etter, SSN issued in Indiana). NEW: U.S. Army service, August 6, 1953 to June 9, 1955 (VA BIRLS). Cause per family: heart attack at a young age (48) [Joel - no record states it]. Career before Acousticom: family tradition says executive, possibly VP, at Gentex (PA, the helmet people) and/or David Clark; a full public-record search 2026-10-25 found NO public trace of either employment - undocumented publicly, stays family knowledge. The private founding story (David Clark loan) is NOT for this file or any public use.

PARENTS OF Benjamin T. Cochran Jr. - PROVEN (Social Security SS-5/Numident abstract for Benjamin Thomas Cochran Jr. names his parents directly: father Benjamin T Cochran, mother Leora Etter):

• Benjamin Thomas Cochran Sr., b. December 23, 1892, Akron, Fulton County, IN; d. February 1959, South Bend, IN [WWI draft card + SJCPL index, 708 Sorin St., Tribune notices Feb 9-10, 1959; exact death day needs his death certificate]. SSDI sweep 2026-10-25 (ssdi-exact-dates.md): his Numident entry exists (SSN issued in Indiana) but carries no death date, and the SSDI covers deaths only from 1962, so the exact day cannot come from Social Security records; the same entry shows a claim received at the South Bend field office on May 29, 1957. WWII draft 1942: self-employed. 1950 census: paint sprayer at an auto factory; the family home/store address was 708 Sorin St., South Bend.
• Leora Belle (Etter) Cochran, b. April 29, 1898, Volinia, Cass County, MI; d. May 3, 1989, South Bend [exact day VERIFIED 2026-10-25 by SSDI/Numident via SortedByName: b. April 29, 1898, d. May 3, 1989, SSN issued in Indiana, claim at the South Bend field office January 25, 1966; this supersedes the earlier ~May 1-2 inference from the May 3-4, 1989 Tribune notices (rec/402809)]. Married August 10, 1921, Marcellus, Cass County, MI. 1950 census: operator of the grocery store, her own business. Her parents: Lewis A. Etter and Jane (Cropsey) Etter of Cass County, MI - both now VERIFIED by their Michigan death certificates, transcribed in full on 2026-10-25 from the Archives of Michigan (Preservica) images; full transcripts in line-b2-etter-records.md, section 10. Jane (Cropsey) Etter: b. December 18, 1858, Cass County, MI; d. June 22, 1925, Volinia Township; buried at Marcellus on June 25, 1925 (the certificate names the town, not the cemetery). Her parents: Elexander Cropsey (born New York State; spelled "Elexander" on her certificate) and Mary Rogers - Leora's great-grandparents, Joel's great-great-great-grandparents on this line. Lewis A. Etter: b. September 28, 1854; d. January 2, 1928, Volinia; father John Etter (born New York State, per Lewis's certificate); mother unknown (the informant, his son Ernest Etter, wrote "Dont Know") - with a strong candidate found 2026-10-25 (line-etter-upward.md): Mary A. Etter (1827-1894), the only adult woman in John C.'s Bly Cemetery family lot (Lot 107), her ages fitting every child in the lot; CANDIDATE, not yet named as wife or mother by any record read, maiden name unknown. BIRTHPLACE CONFLICT, flagged not resolved: Lewis's certificate gives his birthplace as Volinia, while the death certificate index and WikiTree line say Ohio; both readings kept labeled. Line B passes 2026-10-25 (line-b-etter-cropsey-michigan.md, line-b2-etter-records.md): Cropsey stone clusters verified at Nicholsville/Rose Hill Cemetery, Volinia Twp (George Cropsy 1854-1923 + Elsie 1860-1922; Otis Cropsey 1886-1934 + Katie 1884-1927) and Crane Cemetery, Volinia (large cluster incl. Elvaro, Harmon G., Dale V., Samuel d. 1941, family monument; NO Etter stones); Etter cluster at Bly Cemetery, Marcellus, Lot 107 (John C. Etter, d. May 24, 1883, age 66y 8m 24d, birth computing to about Aug 1816, stone-confirmed 2026-10-25; Mary A. Etter 1827-1894; John Etter, d. Feb 20, 1874, age 21, CANDIDATE eldest son; Charles E. Etter 1858-1938, CANDIDATE brother of Lewis, strengthened 2026-10-25 by the 1888 Cass County case People v. Charles Etter and Lewis Etter, 72 Mich. 175, where the two were tried together as co-defendants; Gertrude Etter 1875-1913 per the stone reading against 1875-1933 per PeopleLegacy, conflict open, CANDIDATE wife of Charles), and Lewis's burial at Bly is verified (Find a Grave #111164669). The Cass Co. death index 1867-1960 conflict is resolved: it simply missed both Etter certificates. Still open on this line: the Lewis + Jane marriage record, the full 1900/1910 census households, proof of Mary A. as Lewis's mother (and her maiden name), Charles E. Etter's 1938 death certificate, Gertrude Etter's located-but-untranscribed Kalamazoo County death certificate, John C.'s 1883 Cass County probate, and his origin (New York per Lewis's certificate vs Pennsylvania per WikiTree, both readings kept).
• CROPSEY ORIGINS - VERIFIED 2026-10-25 (full report: line-cropsey-origins.md). Jane's father "Elexander Cropsey" is identified as Alexander Barton Cropsey (b. February 4, 1824, Rensselaer County, NY; d. August 9, 1889, Volinia Township, Cass County, MI; buried Crane Cemetery, Volinia, Find a Grave #31069178): Jane's death-certificate index names father Elexander Cropsey, and Jane appears in Alexander's Volinia households in 1860 (as "Lucinda," age 1, same census page/image as head "A B Cropsey") and 1870 (Jane, 11, same image as head Alexander Cropsey, 46). Jane's full name: Jane Lucinda Cropsey. Her mother "Mary Rogers" is Maria Louisa Rogers, who married Alexander B. Cropsey on August 13, 1846, at Wynantskill, Rensselaer County, NY (New York Marriages index); her stone, inscribed "Mary Louisa Rogers" Cropsey, stands in the Crane Cemetery family plot (USGenWeb photo index, 3 photos), though her exact death date is NOT FOUND - she died between December 1858 (Jane's birth) and June 5, 1869, when Alexander remarried Clarisa Nichols at Dowagiac. Jane's siblings (children of Alexander): VERIFIED - George Cropsey (b. January 31, 1854, NY; d. March 2, 1923, Volinia; m. Elsie McNinch 1877; the Nicholsville/Rose Hill shared stone "CROPSY George 1854-1923 + Elsie 1860-1922"; George is therefore Jane's BROTHER, the brother test is answered yes), Maria H. Cropsey (d. July 29, 1879, Volinia; her death record names Alexander B. as father), and by the second marriage Lester B. Cropsey (b. December 2, 1869, Volinia; d. July 2, 1924, Penn Twp) and Alfred Cropsey (d. July 25, 1912, Howard Twp; death record names Alexander as father). CANDIDATE only: Mary Alice (Cropsey) Huff (b. October 9, 1848, Poestenkill, NY; d. June 9, 1890, Volinia; buried Crane) as the eldest daughter - fits on age, birthplace, and burial, but no record read names her parents. One more generation VERIFIED: Alexander's father is Ananias V. Cropsey (b. abt July 29, 1793, NY; d. February 9, 1869; buried Rensselaer County, NY, Find a Grave #52282176), of Sand Lake and Poestenkill, Rensselaer County - father and son were Poestenkill neighbors in the 1850 and 1855 censuses (same census images); Ananias's wife's name is NOT FOUND (her dates, abt 1801 - March 21, 1871, appear on the compiled tree panels), and Ananias's parents are unknown - he is the current documented root of the Cropsey line. The family's New York home was the Poestenkill / Sand Lake / Wynantskill corner of Rensselaer County; the move to Volinia Township, Cass County, MI falls between 1855 (NY state census) and December 1858 (Jane's Cass County birth). The Crane Cemetery Cropsey cluster (wave 1) is Alexander and Louisa's family plot, by the Cropsey family monument. Still open on this line: Louisa's death date and stone inscription, her Rogers parents, Ananias's wife's name and his parents, Mary Alice's parentage, and the parents of Otis Cropsey (1886-1934) and Samuel Cropsey (d. 1941).
• CROPSEY DESCENDANCY - WAVE D3, 2026-10-25 (full report: descend-d3-cropsey.md). NEW VERIFIED: Ananias V. Cropsey's wife is identified as Sally Trumbull (b. June 12, 1801; d. March 21, 1871) - her dates match exactly the previously unnamed wife on the compiled panels (WikiTree Trumbull-565; VERIFIED at compiled level, primary confirmation still the 1850 Poestenkill household image or Ananias's 1869 probate). Ananias's verified children are Alexander (the Michigan migrant) and Levy Cropsey (d. April 6, 1905, The Bronx; his NYC death record names Ananias as father); no other children found in free sources, and the compiled tree is known incomplete for this family, so the child set stays open. GEORGE'S LINE DOWN: Elvaro Cropsey (b. December 20, 1895; d. September 19, 1981; Crane) is George's verified son; his wife was Marie Margaret Coble (b. March 15, 1900; d. August 1978; daughter of Harmon E. Coble and Elizabeth A. Horan). Their children: Harmon G. Cropsey (b. August 16, 1917, Volinia; d. March 13, 2009, DeWitt; Michigan State Senator; m. R. Marian Lindsay 1943; children named in his published obituary: Robert, David, Alan, Carolyn Toomey, George, Linda Jo Eddy, and a predeceased son Christopher), Dale V. Cropsey (b. 1920; d. in the 1990s; Helen Indergard is a CANDIDATE wife only), Dr. Mac Cropsey (living 2009, name and relationship only), and Bethel Elsye (Cropsey) LeMarbe/Turner (b. February 13, 1924; d. July 24, 1996; VERIFIED as Elvaro's daughter by her Numident entry naming both parents). George's daughter Irene is VERIFIED: a Cass County biography calls her "the only daughter of George and Elsie B. Cropsey of Volinia"; she married Frank Otis Huff (1875-1946), Marcellus lawyer and state legislator, on June 30, 1906, and their children were John W., Elsie B., and Donald O. Huff (Michigan Legislators database). A Nicholsville stone "CROPSY [unnamed] 1879-1879" in George and Elsie's plot area is a CANDIDATE infant child. OTIS TESTED, STILL OPEN: Otis Cropsey (1886-1934) + Katie L. Lillie - their daughter Mable (d. March 9, 1911) is VERIFIED by the Nicholsville transcription ("dau of Otis & Katie"), and Otis was Director of Goodenough School District 5 in 1907-08 with George as Moderator, but NO record names Otis's parents; he stays CANDIDATE as George's son (Lester or Alfred also fit by generation). The settling record is his 1934 Michigan death certificate (Preservica film 005363576 series, live-browser read), or George's 1900 Volinia household. SAMUEL (d. October 5, 1941, wife Pearl Skinner, Crane) stays UNPLACED; his 1941 death certificate is the settling record. MARY ALICE: still CANDIDATE as Alexander's daughter (no record names her parents; her WikiTree profile leaves them blank), but her line is now enumerated - m. Simeon J. Huff (b. January 1, 1844, PA; d. June 16, 1924; buried Crane) on December 8, 1865; children Louise Mary (1867), A. Inez (1868), I. Mirta (1871), B. Josie (1873), Mary Alta (b. August 13, 1876; d. May 21, 1924), and Roy (1878). DATE CONFLICTS FLAGGED on Mary Alice herself: birth October 9, 1848 (her profile/Find a Grave #101574049) vs February 1848 (the Huff profile), death June 9, 1890 vs June 9, 1886; her Crane stone photograph settles both. NEW UNPLACED BRANCH: Sherman Dewey Cropsey of Cass County + Bessie Irene Griffis (b. January 15, 1904, Cassopolis, daughter of Carson J. Griffis and Ida M. Haefner; d. November 4, 2005); their son Lee Roy Cropsey (b. May 4, 1924, Wakelee; d. August 29, 2014, Marcellus) is documented by his published obituaries (his children as named there: Virginia, Diane Ghastin, Daniel Lee, Samuel LeRoy; a sister Leta Ritter). Sherman's parentage is NOT FOUND - CANDIDATE son of Lester B. or Alfred by generation and place; settling records are his death certificate / WWI draft card and Lester's and Alfred's 1900-1920 households, which are also the open route for Lester's and Alfred's own children (none found in free sources this pass). Maria H. Cropsey: no marriage or descendants found; her line closes with her 1879 death.
• Cochran's Grocery, Sorin Street, South Bend: confirmed three ways - both daughters' obituaries (Bernice: "raised at her family's store, Cochran's Grocery, on Sorin Street"; Betty: "lived above and worked at Cochran's Grocery, the family store on Sorin Street"), the 1950 census, and Joel's own family knowledge (confirmed 2026-10-25).
• Their household (1940 census: Benjamin 47, Leora 41, Betty J 12, Bernice 9, Ben 6; 1950: Benjamin 57, Leora 51, Bernice 19, son Benjamin 16).

ONE GENERATION HIGHER:

• Samuel E. Cochran, b. 1859, GEORGIA (gravestone year; census said ~1860); d. September 1933, South Bend (1750 Twyckenham; Tribune Sept 23 & 25, 1933). Married Florence B. Carpenter on December 17, 1889, Fulton County, IN (Book E, p. 337) - he reached Indiana by 1889 and married a local woman. Buried AKRON CEMETERY, Henry Twp, Fulton Co. (Tombaugh stone transcription, Northwest Section): family plot of four stones: Geneva 1890-1894, Ralph 1891-1906, Florence B. "mother" 1864-1912, Samuel E. "father" 1859-1933. 1921 Polk directory: "Samuel E. Cochran, LUMBERMAN, h 1406 Marine," South Bend, with grown children at home: Samuel S. (machinist), Walter E. (lumber buyer, his father's trade), Martha (machine operator) [Line A report: line-a-samuel-cochran-georgia.md]. Arrival in Fulton Co. bracketed 1880 (no Cochrans in its census) to 1889 (his marriage). Full dossier: samuel-e-cochran-dossier.md. Georgia county, parents, and the E initial: NOT FOUND in any free source; the county histories are silent about him (verified full-text searches). Keys that remain: his 1933 IN death certificate, a signed-in FamilySearch census run, the full 1933 Tribune obituary text.
• Florence B. (Carpenter) Cochran, b. 1864, IN; d. November 6, 1912, South Bend (Tribune Nov 7, 1912); buried Akron Cemetery beside Samuel. NOTE: "B." in both the marriage index and her gravestone; family records carried "Dell" - discrepancy kept open, not resolved. Her parents VERIFIED by the 1880 census (Henry Twp, Fulton Co., Florence age 15 at home): Benjamin Carpenter (b. ~1830 OH, farmer) and Mary E. Carpenter; Benjamin Carpenter (1830-1909) and Elizabeth Mary "Eliza" (Pollock) Carpenter (1835-1903) are buried at Akron Cemetery in ROW 3, directly beside Samuel and Florence's ROW 4 plot. Florence's siblings: Nelson, Albert, Alfred, Francis, Elbridge and Elmore (twins), George, Viola. Their children: Geneva (1890-1894) and Ralph (1891-1906), both died young and new to the tree from the gravestones; plus (1910 census): Benjamin T (17), Marie L, Albert G, Martha V, Samuel S, Walter E. Outcomes found 2026-10-25 (SJCPL Obituary Index full pull, sjcpl-cochran-index-full.md): Samuel S. stayed in South Bend, married Vallerie L., lived at 1717 McKinley Ave., and died about late November 1960 (Tribune 11/30/1960); SSDI sweep 2026-10-25 (ssdi-exact-dates.md) found NO SSDI/Numident entry for him, which fits a 1960 death before SSDI coverage, so his exact day stays open on the Tribune item alone. His wife is now identified: Vallerie Lucille (Niles) Cochran, b. May 11, 1900, Elkhart, IN, daughter of Claude Niles and Neva Weybright, d. September 16, 1990 (Numident VERIFIED; one SSDI mirror gives her birth year as 1899, conflict flagged; her Numident entry also carries the alias "Vallerie Niles Honer," noted as printed, unexplained). Walter E. died June 20, 1965, at 2645 Tamarac Place (Tribune and Mishawaka Times 06/22/1965); the SSDI sweep found no matching SSDI/Numident entry for him, so that date remains single-source (SJCPL index). Martha: a candidate only, Martha L. (Cochran) Mull (m. Clifford L. Mull, d. July 26, 1946), initial conflicts with the family's Martha V., not merged. Marie L.: no record found. Albert G.: absent from the index entirely, consistent with the unverified California branch candidate. ALBERT BRANCH TESTED 2026-10-25 (ssdi-exact-dates.md): the California family is VERIFIED as real - Albert G. Cochran Jr. (b. December 17, 1919, South Bend; d. July 8, 1998, Lucerne Valley, CA) is on record in the Numident file as the son of Albert Cochran and Emma Vanlue (spelled "Vaulue" in his entry), and two more sons of Albert G. Cochran and Emma J. Vanlue are now on record, both born in South Bend: Ted Guy Cochran (b. April 14, 1915; d. July 1, 2000, Pahrump, NV) and Darrell Dean Cochran (b. December 25, 1929; d. August 31, 1997, Reno, NV). The candidate daughter Joan Lea (1932-2008) was not verified (no married name known). But NO record names the ELDER Albert's parents, so he stays CANDIDATE as Samuel E.'s son: right name, right city, right generation, and absent from the South Bend index as a man who left would be, but not proven. The settling record would be his California Death Index entry or death certificate (mother's maiden name field), a draft card, or a son's obituary naming grandparents; the CDI could not be read through any free text route (form-gated everywhere). D1 DESCENDANCY UPDATE 2026-10-25 (full report: descend-d1-samuel-children.md): Emma's own family is now VERIFIED. She was a daughter of Francis A. VanLue (b. December 2, 1863; d. May 26, 1938, of Niles, MI) and Elizabeth (Pettit) VanLue (m. December 16, 1882, Rochester, IN), proven by Francis's obituary in the Niles Daily Star, May 27, 1938, which lists among his surviving daughters "Mrs. Emma Cochran, Los Angeles, Calif." (transcribed at https://friendsofsilverbrook.org/site5/obituaries/5472-vanlue-francis-a). So Emma was alive and living in Los Angeles in May 1938, which fits the branch's path (sons born in South Bend 1915-1929, candidate daughter born in Los Angeles 1932). Francis was himself born in Fulton County, IN, with kin at Akron and Rochester, the same county Samuel E. came to; the geography fits the elder Albert marrying a Fulton County woman but does not prove his parentage, so the CANDIDATE label stands. Spelling: the VanLue family records use "VanLue"; the Numident entries use "Vanlue"/"Vaulue," kept as printed. Emma's own birth and death dates are still NOT FOUND (one SSDI candidate, b. 1902, was tested and rejected: she would have been 13 at Ted's 1915 birth). Spouses and children of Ted, Albert Jr., and Darrell: NOT FOUND in any free source this dig; their obituaries (Pahrump, Victorville/San Bernardino, Reno papers) are not free on the open web for those years. Joan Lea: NEW CANDIDATE married name ROBINSON, because the SSDI index (via AncientFaces) contains a Joan Robinson with exactly her dates (b. November 17, 1932; d. November 14, 2008); her residence under that name was not read and no record ties her to Albert and Emma, so both her place in the branch and the Robinson name stay CANDIDATE. Also from D1: children of Samuel S. and Vallerie remain NOT FOUND (no free record names one; the 1930/1940/1950 census households at 1717 McKinley Ave. are the settling records); Walter E.'s spouse, children, and burial remain NOT FOUND; the Martha L. (Cochran) Mull candidate is WEAKENED in writing (initial conflict, a separate Walkerton Cochran cluster she could belong to, no supporting fact found) but not killed, with her 1946 Indiana death certificate named as the decisive record; Marie L. remains NOT FOUND after one more hunt.

POLICE DEPARTMENT LEAD [Joel 2026-10-25, RESOLVED as to carrier]: Joel identified the link as MAX A. REEDER (1926-2009), husband of Betty Jane (Cochran) Reeder - a Reeder by marriage, not a Cochran. No Cochran officer exists in the public SBPD records searched; the Cochran-side test is a plain negative. VERDICT: CONFIRMED (max-reeder-sbpd.md). South Bend Common Council minutes, May 25, 1971, carry a return of service signed "Sgt. Max A. Reeder, Member of the South Bend Police Department" - Max was an SBPD Sergeant by May 1971. Tribune obituary: May 25, 2009, p. B4 (SJCPL rec/480039). His death day, May 24, 2009, was confirmed 2026-10-25 against SSDI-derived listings and the VA interment list for St. Joseph Valley Memorial Park (ssdi-exact-dates.md). Max was a son of Alvin and Tressie Reeder; the Reeders were a city-service family: Alvin was South Bend's Parking Meter Dept. superintendent in the 1960s and Max's brother Harley was a South Bend firefighter for 21 years (ret. 1973). Still open: Max's hire/retirement dates, assignments, any rank above Sergeant, 1950 census occupation.

• Daniel D. Ricker (Bernice's husband): b. February 7, 1928, d. September 9, 2000; U.S. Army, Korea; buried Saint Joseph Valley Memorial Park, Granger (VA Veterans Legacy Memorial page + PeopleLegacy: two sources) [verified 2026-10-25, graves-granger-alternatives.md]. Granger plot/section data for all eight park burials: not published anywhere free; the park office (574-367-7643) is the only remaining route and has not been contacted.

Their children:

• Mark Cochran (Joel's dad) [Joel] - full name Mark Benjamin Cochran of Granger, IN [Record - 2010 Sound Egg surround-sound chair patent application 20110051962]; president of Acousticom from 2005 in public records; worked at Gentex Corp in Pennsylvania (grunt/production work) during the family's Scranton-area years [Joel 2026-10-25]
• Doug Cochran [Joel] - VP of Acousticom in public records. Married Claudia, so Claudia Cochran, aunt by marriage [Joel 2026-10-25]
• Cindy Cochran (Cynthia) [Joel] - married Terry Fisher, so Cindy Fisher; Terry Fisher is an uncle by marriage [Joel 2026-10-25, correcting his earlier "Doug and Cindy Fisher" listing: those were the two siblings, not a couple. There is no Doug Fisher.]

Mom's side - Chopko

Janice (Chopko) Cochran's brothers [Joel 2026-10-25]:

• George Chopko
• Richard (Rick) Chopko
• Jerry Chopko
• A fourth brother, deceased, name unsure - Joel recalls possibly Robert / Rob [? - searched 2026-10-25 across obituaries/SSDI/cemetery: NO conclusive record found and Robert/Rob was NOT confirmed. See chopko-brother-research.md]

Chopko parents (Joel's maternal grandparents): names not yet known [? - also not found in the 2026-10-25 search; a parent's obituary is the key next lead, and it usually lists all children at once]

Research in flight / next

1. OBTAIN THE THREE TRIBUNE TEXTS (SJCPL index): Ben Cochran, July 13, 1981 (p.26); Jean A. Cochran full obituary, Aug 10, 2005; elder Benjamin T. Cochran, Feb 9-10, 1959. Together they should document the whole chain and name Jean's and the elder Benjamin's parents.
2. UPWARD LINE: PROVEN 2026-10-25 to Samuel E. Cochran (b. ~1860, Georgia) and Florence Dell Carpenter. Still open: Samuel's parents and his Georgia county of origin; the exact death day for Benjamin Sr. (his death certificate; SSDI cannot cover a 1959 death - Leora's exact day was resolved May 3, 1989 by the 2026-10-25 SSDI sweep, ssdi-exact-dates.md); full Tribune obituary texts (SJCPL microfilm, Local & Family History, 574.282.4621).
3. SOUTH BEND POLICE DEPARTMENT LEAD: searched 2026-10-25, NOT corroborated online; remaining routes are the SJCPL-held records above. Status: family tradition, unproven either way.
4. Deceased Chopko brother - identify by name, dates, obituary. Parents' obituary is the key missing lead (would name all children at once).
5. Mark's Ancestry.com tree exists [Joel 2026-10-25]: Joel's decision is to build independently and cross-check against it later when access is available - a comparison, not a blocker.
6. Birth dates: for deceased relatives these come from obituaries/SSDI/cemetery records and will be added with a source for each. For living relatives, dates will only be added when Joel supplies/confirms them - people-search sites are not a reliable or appropriate source for living family, especially the kids.