LINE A — Samuel E. Cochran & Florence (Carpenter) Cochran

The deepest Cochran generation: census, directory, occupation, and family-structure pass

Compiled 2026-10-25 for Joel Cochran's family tree. Deceased ancestors and public historical records only. No paid sources, no Ancestry as a source, no library fee requests. Every fact below carries its source; candidates are labeled and never merged as proven.

SCOPE NOTE (coordination): a parallel Samuel-dedicated researcher covers Georgia origins and parents, county history books, and newspaper mentions; their dossier is filed at ~/workspace/family-tree/samuel-e-cochran-dossier.md. This file is the census / city-directory / occupation / family-structure lane. Overlaps are noted where the two lanes touch (the Akron gravestone plot and the 1921 Polk directory address were reached independently by both lanes and agree).

1. SAMUEL E. COCHRAN — verified facts

• Born 1859 (not ~1860 as first carried). Gravestone: "COCHRAN, Samuel E., father, 1859-1933," Akron Cemetery, Henry Township, Fulton County, IN. PeopleLegacy (Find a Grave-derived) independently gives 1859-1933, aged 74. Sources:
  • Tombaugh cemetery transcription, Fulton County Public Library (FCPL): http://genealogy.fulco.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Cemeteries_Henry_Township.pdf
  • PeopleLegacy cemetery listing surfaced via https://peoplelegacy.com/arlene_l_hammond_cole-0g4S3W1
• Born in Georgia. Carried from the proven trunk (Samuel's son Benjamin Sr.'s records name Georgia as his father's birthplace). No free source found in this lane names a Georgia county or town. See the not-found list.
• In Fulton County, Indiana by December 17, 1889, when he married Florence B. Carpenter there. Fulton County marriage index (brides, "C" volume): "Florence B. — Samuel E. Cochran — Dec 17, 1889 — Book E, p. 337." Source: http://genealogy.fulco.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Marriages_c.pdf
• Not in Fulton County in 1880. The complete Tombaugh 1880 Fulton County census transcription contains zero Cochran households under any spelling variant checked (Cochran/Cockran/Cochren). His arrival from Georgia therefore falls between the 1880 census and the December 1889 marriage. Source: http://genealogy.fulco.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Census_1880.pdf
• Occupation: lumberman. 1921 Polk South Bend city directory: "Samuel E [Cochran], lmbrmn, h 1406 Marine" (householder at 1406 Marine St., South Bend). His son Walter E. at the same address is listed as a lumber buyer, so the family was in the lumber trade in South Bend in 1921. Source (AI-OCR text of the 1921 Polk directory, LDS Genealogy; the site warns the text may contain OCR errors and points to Archive.org page images): https://ldsgenealogy.com/IN/books/Polk-South-Bend-Indiana-city-directory-1921-part-42.htm
• Widower from 1912. Florence died November 6, 1912 (see section 3). In 1921 Samuel heads the 1406 Marine household with three adult children still at home (section 4).
• Died September 1933, South Bend, IN (proven trunk; probable South Bend Tribune obituaries September 23 and 25, 1933; address at death 1750 Twyckenham, South Bend). His stone is at Akron, not South Bend: he was buried back in the Fulton County family plot beside Florence (section 2). Newspaper confirmation is the parallel lane's scope; flagged as overlap.
• The 1750 Twyckenham address is late. The 1921 directory's street guide contains NO Twyckenham street listing at all (checked the full T-street run, parts 27-29 of the directory text), and in 1921 Samuel lived at 1406 Marine. Twyckenham is documented only for 1933. Sources: https://ldsgenealogy.com/IN/books/Polk-South-Bend-Indiana-city-directory-1921-part-28.htm https://ldsgenealogy.com/IN/books/Polk-South-Bend-Indiana-city-directory-1921-part-29.htm

The police-department tradition, tested in this lane

Family tradition said a Cochran was big in the South Bend Police Department. Joel identified the actual link on 2026-10-25: it is Max A. Reeder (1926-2009), husband of Samuel's granddaughter Betty Jane (Cochran) Reeder, a Reeder by marriage, not a Cochran. A dedicated Max Reeder SBPD pass runs in the parent lane. For Samuel's own line, this lane's evidence is negative and specific:

• Samuel's only located occupation record (1921 Polk) is lumberman.
• His sons at home in 1921: Samuel S., machinist; Walter E., lumber buyer; daughter Martha, machine operator. No police occupation for any of them.
• The 1921 directory does print police ranks where they exist (for example an assistant chief of police and a police captain appear in the same C-section pages under other surnames). No Cochran holds any police listing in it.
• No Cochran appears in SBPD chief/officer records found in earlier passes (parent lane). Albert G. remains untested only because no record of him has been located at all (section 4).

2. THE GRAVESTONE PLOT — Akron Cemetery, Fulton County (Joel: "follow the gravestones")

Source: Tombaugh cemetery transcription, FCPL (readings made 1974, 1975, 1991): http://genealogy.fulco.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Cemeteries_Henry_Township.pdf

Cemetery header, verbatim in substance: "AKRON CEMETERY — Located on the east side of 1075E, one mile west and one-half mile south of the town of Akron, Henry Township, Fulton County, Indiana. It was formerly known as the I.O.O.F. Cemetery." (PeopleLegacy/Find a Grave calls the same ground "Akron IOOF Cemetery," S County Road 1075 E, Akron, IN 46910.)

Northwest Section, Row 4 — four consecutive stones, read north to south:

1. COCHRAN, Geneva, 1890-1894
2. COCHRAN, Ralph, 1891-1906
3. COCHRAN, Florence B., mother, 1864-1912
4. COCHRAN, Samuel E., father, 1859-1933

Northwest Section, Row 3 (the row immediately before) — Florence's parents' plot:

• CARPENTER (1) Eliza, wife of Benj., mother, d. Sep 13, 1903, ae 68y-7m-7d (computes to born February 6, 1835 — exact match to her memorial dates)
• (2) Benj., father, (no dates) — Benjamin Carpenter's stone carries no dates in the transcription; his 1830-1909 dates come from memorial data (below).
• Also in Row 3: CARPENTER (1) Francis, d. Aug 10, 1889, ae 27y-5m; (2) Earl, son of F. & E., d. Aug 21, 1889, ae 1m-9d — Florence's brother Francis and his infant son, buried weeks before Florence's December 1889 marriage.

More Carpenter stones in the same cemetery match the sibling list in section 3: Albert (1859-1938) & Alice (1862-1935); Elbridge (1866-1945); Elmore (1866-1955) & Mary Etta (1871-1953); George (1869-1950) & Rezina A. (1869-1949); Della (1876-1958).

What the plot proves: Samuel and Florence are buried together in a marked family plot in her home county, with two children who died young (Geneva, Ralph) beside them, and Florence's parents in the adjacent row. Samuel died in South Bend in 1933 but was carried back to Akron for burial. The plot cluster plus the marriage record is the proof package tying Samuel to the Henry Township Carpenter family.

Negative (parent lane, recorded in MEMORY.md 2026-10-25): a full search-index hunt found NO Find a Grave or BillionGraves memorials for Samuel or Florence by name; the Akron IOOF burials surface in those systems under other people's memorial pages (as above), consistent with thin indexing of this cemetery rather than absence of the burials.

3. FLORENCE (CARPENTER) COCHRAN — verified facts

• Florence B. Carpenter, born ~1864, Indiana; died November 6, 1912, South Bend (Tribune, November 7, 1912, per the proven trunk). Stone: "Florence B., mother, 1864-1912," Akron Cemetery NW Section Row 4 (source in section 2).
• NAME DISCREPANCY, KEPT OPEN: the handed-down trunk calls her "Florence Dell (Carpenter)." Every primary record found says Florence B.: the marriage index, her gravestone, and her memorial listing. "Dell" may be a nickname or a misreading; the B. name (Belle or similar) is not expanded in any record found. Do not resolve without a new record.
• Her parents, verified by the 1880 census. 1880 U.S. Census, Henry Township, Fulton County, IN, enumerated June 21, 1880, household 249-249 (Tombaugh transcription p. 26 / index p. 148): Source: http://genealogy.fulco.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Census_1880.pdf
  • Benjamin Carpenter, 50, married, farmer, b. Ohio (father b. Virginia, mother b. Maryland)
  • Mary E. Carpenter, 45, wife, b. Pennsylvania (parents b. Ohio / PA)
  • Nelson, son, 22, mason, b. Indiana
  • Albert, son, 21, farm laborer, b. Indiana
  • Alfred, son, 19, farm laborer, b. Indiana
  • Francis, son, 17, farm laborer, b. Indiana
  • Florence, daughter, 15, b. Indiana (so born 1864/65, matching the stone)
  • Elbridge, son, 13, b. Indiana
  • Elmore, son, 13, b. Indiana (twin of Elbridge)
  • George, son, 11, b. Indiana
  • Viola, daughter, 6, b. Indiana
• Parents' identities and dates (Find a Grave memorial data via PeopleLegacy): Benjamin Carpenter, b. August 13, 1830, d. August 25, 1909, buried Akron IOOF Cemetery; married Elizabeth Mary "Eliza" (Pollock) Carpenter, b. February 6, 1835, d. September 13, 1903, same cemetery. Their memorial child list names: Albert, Francis, Florence B. Carpenter Cochran, Elbridge, Elmore, George, Viola Carpenter Harrold. Sources: The census wife "Mary E." and the memorial "Elizabeth Mary 'Eliza'" are the same woman (age and death-date arithmetic agree, and Eliza's stone sits in the Row 3 plot as "wife of Benj."). The 1880 household adds two sons the memorial list omits, Nelson (b. ~1858, a mason) and Alfred (b. ~1861), presumably dead before the memorials were compiled or simply unlinked. One generation higher: Benjamin's father was born in Virginia and his mother in Maryland (1880 census parent-birthplace columns); their names are not in any free source found.
  • https://peoplelegacy.com/benjamin_carpenter-5j1g1l
  • https://peoplelegacy.com/elizabeth_mary_eliza_pollock_carpenter-1k1g1l
• Florence married Samuel on December 17, 1889 (section 1) and is buried beside him (section 2).

4. THE CHILDREN of Samuel & Florence

Verified from the stones (new to the tree)

• Geneva Cochran, 1890-1894 — Akron Cemetery, Row 4 plot. Died age ~4, which is why she appears in no census child list.
• Ralph Cochran, 1891-1906 — same plot. Died age ~15, before the 1910 census, which is why the handed-down 1910 list omits him. Birth spacing after the December 1889 marriage (Geneva 1890, Ralph 1891, Benjamin December 1892) fits the plot. Treat as children of Samuel & Florence unless a record contradicts.

Verified from the proven trunk

• Benjamin Thomas Cochran Sr., b. December 23, 1892, Akron, Fulton Co., IN; d. February 1959, South Bend; m. Leora Belle Etter, August 10, 1921, Marcellus, MI. Joel's great-grandfather. Full record in ~/workspace/family-tree/FAMILY-TREE-v1.md. Note: he does NOT appear in the 1921 South Bend directory's Cochran household at 1406 Marine (canvass timing vs. his August 1921 marriage; he may also appear in the directory's Mishawaka section, not yet checked).

Verified from the 1921 Polk directory (1406 Marine St., South Bend)

Source: https://ldsgenealogy.com/IN/books/Polk-South-Bend-Indiana-city-directory-1921-part-42.htm (AI-OCR text; verify spellings against the Archive.org page images before treating any single word as final.)

• Martha V. Cochran — "Martha, mach opr, r 1406 Marine" (machine operator, resides at her father's house). The surname heading is displaced in the OCR text flow, but the entry sits in the Cochran block at the family address.
• Samuel S. Cochran — "Samuel S, mach, r 1406 Marine" (machinist).
• Walter E. Cochran — "Walter E, lmbr buyer, r 1406 Marine" (lumber buyer, in his father's trade).

No spouses, later addresses, or death records for Martha, Samuel S., or Walter were found in free sources in this lane; see the not-found list.

Candidates — NOT verified, do not merge

• Albert G. Cochran = "Albert Guy Cochran"? Search-result snippets from Ancestry (NOT an approved source; candidate pointers only) describe an Albert Guy Cochran whose children include Albert G. Cochran (b. December 17, 1919, South Bend; d. July 8, 1998, Lucerne Valley, CA) and Joan Lea Cochran (b. November 17, 1932, Los Angeles, CA; d. November 14, 2008, Tarrant, TX), with mother Emma Jane Vanlue. If real, Samuel's son Albert moved to California. Albert is absent from the 1921 South Bend Cochran household, consistent with (but not proof of) an early move west or a separate household not yet found. No free source (draft card, California death index, SSDI) has confirmed any of it. Albert's absence is also why the police-tradition test cannot be run on him.
• Florence's brother George in South Bend? The 1921 directory lists "Carpenter, George (Rezina A), carp, h 930 9th" in South Bend. The Akron stones give Florence's brother George (1869-1950) a wife Rezina A. (1869-1949). Same name pair, plausible ages, and a carpenter named Carpenter: a strong candidate that George followed his widowed brother-in-law's family to South Bend, but not proven. Same directory part as the Cochran entries (part 40 of the directory text): https://ldsgenealogy.com/IN/books/Polk-South-Bend-Indiana-city-directory-1921-part-40.htm

Unrelated / do-not-merge Cochrans found along the way

• 1921 South Bend directory: "Cochran, Alice Mrs, housekpr, 1307 W Jefferson blvd" and "Cochran, Otto (Mellie), chauf, h 514 1/2 W Division." No evidence tying either to Samuel's family.
• SBAGS St. Joseph County census index (1870/1880/1910): the only Cochran entries are Chris C., Edith, Edward, Etta, Harry, Hazel, John L., Viola F. (all 1910). A separate household cluster; no Samuel/Florence/Benjamin.
• Fulton County deaths index: Loris E. Cochran, M, 48, d. October 4, 1912 (Book C-18, p. 57). Relationship unknown. Fulton marriages index: Amanda A. m. Wilbur C. Cochran, March 5, 1916 (Book J, p. 99). Relationship unknown.

5. CENSUS NEGATIVES THAT BOUND THE STORY (verified negatives)

• Fulton County 1900 census (Tombaugh, both volumes): zero Cochran entries.
• Fulton County 1910 census (Tombaugh, both volumes): zero Cochran entries. So despite the 1889 marriage, Benjamin's 1892 Akron birth, and the Akron burials of Geneva (1894), Ralph (1906), and Florence (1912), the family was NOT enumerated in Fulton County in 1900 or 1910. Their 1900/1910 residence is still unpinned; the handed-down "children per 1910 census" list therefore did not come from a Fulton County enumeration. Candidate counties for the missing households: Kosciusko (Akron sits near the line), Elkhart, Marshall, or St. Joseph (no 1900 St. Joseph index exists in the SBAGS set). Sources: http://genealogy.fulco.lib.in.us/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Census_1900v1.pdf and the companion 1900 v2 / 1910 v1 / 1910 v2 volumes on the same site.
• St. Joseph County (SBAGS index, 1870/1880/1910): no Samuel Cochran household under Cochran/Cochrane or the spelling variants checked.
• Fulton County 1880: no Cochran at all (section 1), bracketing Samuel's arrival from Georgia to 1880-1889.

6. EXPLICIT NOT-FOUND LIST

Nothing below was found in any free source searched in this lane; absence here is a statement about the search, not about the records' existence.

1. Samuel's exact birth date (only the year 1859, from his stone) and his Georgia county or town of birth.
2. Samuel's parents' names (Georgia origins are the parallel lane's scope; their dossier likewise reports not found in free sources).
3. What Samuel's middle initial "E" stands for. No record found expands it.
4. Why or exactly when Samuel moved from Georgia to Indiana (bounded only: after the 1880 census, by December 17, 1889). No migration record, letter, or history-book mention found.
5. Samuel's occupation in any census (no census household for him has been located at all). His only occupation record is the 1921 directory: lumberman.
6. The family's 1900, 1910, 1920, and 1930 census households — none located. (A signed-in FamilySearch census search is the known route; it needs a free FamilySearch account session, a live-browser task for the parent lane.)
7. Samuel's exact death day in September 1933 and the text of his Tribune obituary (index-level data only; newspaper scope is the parallel lane).
8. Marie L. Cochran: no record of any kind found — no marriage, death, burial, or directory entry. She is absent from the 1921 household; if she married before 1921 she would appear under a married name not yet known.
9. Albert G. Cochran: no verified record (see the unconfirmed California candidate in section 4). No WWI draft card located for Albert, Samuel S., or Walter E. in free sources.
10. Martha V., Samuel S., and Walter E. after 1921: no spouses, deaths, or burials found.
11. Florence's middle name behind "B." (see the Dell discrepancy, section 3).
12. Benjamin & Eliza Carpenter's parents' names (only the Virginia/Maryland and Ohio/Pennsylvania birthplaces from the 1880 census).

7. NEXT RECORDS THAT WOULD CRACK THE OPEN QUESTIONS

• Signed-in FamilySearch census search for Samuel's household in 1900/1910/ 1920/1930 (occupation, birthplace detail, children's birthplaces) — parent live-browser lane.
• Samuel's September 1933 Tribune obituary text (parallel lane / SJCPL index; the paid library pull remains declined per Joel, 2026-10-25).
• Indiana death certificate, Samuel E. Cochran, September 1933 — normally names parents and birthplaces; held in paid collections, off limits per Joel's no-paid-sources rule unless he re-approves.
• The 1921 directory's Mishawaka section for Benjamin Sr.'s 1921 listing.
• Tombaugh Fulton County school enumerations (1896-1925) for the Cochran children, which would date the family's Fulton County years precisely.