Line C, Wave 2: Young / Robrecht records pass (Donald, Dorothy, and the Wheeling Robrechts)

Compiled 2026-10-25 for Joel Cochran's family tree. Free public sources only. No fees, no accounts, no sign-ins, deceased people only. Follows wave 1: line-c-young-robrecht-ohio.md.

Standing facts carried in (wave 1, not re-derived here): Donald Nelson Young (b. June 6, 1899, Wheeling, WV; d. June 1, 1978; U.S. Army Oct 10 to Dec 21, 1918, VA BIRLS; SSN 272-01-4081) married Dorothy Jeanne Robrecht (b. about 1900, Mannington, Marion Co., WV) on September 24, 1921, in Wheeling, WV (WV marriage certificate, book p. 216; license September 22, 1921; officiant O. L. Moye; no parents named). Their daughter is Jean Ann (Young) Cochran (1934-2005) of Lakewood, OH. Charles Augustus Robrecht (1865-1931) of Wheeling is NOT established as Dorothy's father.

Headline result of wave 2: Dorothy's parents are still NOT named by any record found. But the Wheeling Robrecht family is now mapped: it descends from TWO German immigrant households in Ohio County, WV, and Dorothy is now excluded by record from both of the two best-documented Robrecht families of her father's generation. The remaining candidate fathers are named in section 3.

1. TASK 1: Dorothy as a Mannington girl (Marion County)

NOT FOUND in Marion County (explicit)

• No Robrecht household, marriage, burial, or any other record in Marion County, WV was found in any free source searched: web searches on the surname with Marion County, Fairmont, and Mannington; the WikiTree Marion County and Fairmont category listings (which do carry a local "Robe" family, a different surname); Marion County context sources. Mannington was an oil-boom town (oil struck 1891; population 1,681 in 1900, 2,672 in 1910, per Myers' History of West Virginia, https://www.wvgw.net/marion/towns/manningtonhis.html), so a Wheeling family could plausibly have been there for work around 1900, but no record places any Robrecht there.
• Dorothy's own birth record (Marion County births, about 1900) could not be pulled: the WV Vital Research Records search is an interactive form the text fetcher cannot submit. This remains the single record most likely to name her parents, and it needs a live browser session or a signed-in search.

What the marriage certificate already proves (wave 1)

• Dorothy was born in Mannington but was living in Wheeling when she married in 1921. Her family had therefore moved to (or back to) Wheeling by 1921, which is why the search concentrated on Wheeling households below.

2. The Wheeling Robrechts, mapped (VERIFIED pieces)

Two immigrant lines in Ohio County, WV

• Charles H. Robrecht (also written Carl H.), born in Germany, and his wife Louisa (Rust) Robrecht, born in Germany. They came to the Wheeling area in the late 1850s; he was a truck gardener / farmer in rural Ohio County. Source for the couple and Anna's parentage: Cranmer, History of Wheeling City and Ohio County (1902), biography of Alois Herman Weiss, https://www.wvgw.net/ohio/aweiss-bio.txt ; and Wilhelmine's WV death record detail, http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5674977 (father Charles H. Robrecht, mother Louise Rust, both born in Germany).
• John Robrecht, born February 12, 1828, on the river Weser, Germany; arrived in America 1848; plasterer and contractor in Wheeling, farmed 450 acres on Short Creek, proprietor of the New St. Charles hotel in Wheeling from January 1, 1872; married 1849 Mary Wilke, who died 1873 leaving five daughters and four sons. Source: History of the Upper Ohio Valley (Brant & Fuller, 1890), pp. 418-419, via LDSGenealogy part 52 (ldsgenealogy.com). John Robrecht held a lot at Mount Calvary Cemetery (1902 history, https://www.wvgw.net/ohio/how-18.htm).

Children of Charles H. and Louisa (Rust) Robrecht (each VERIFIED by its own source)

• Wilhelmine "Minnie" (Robrecht) Freise, b. July 5, 1859, Ohio County, WV; d. January 28, 1934, Wheeling; buried Mount Calvary Cemetery, February 1, 1934; husband John J. Freise; address 63 Indiana, Wheeling. Sources: WV death record detail http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5674977 ; PeopleLegacy memorial page (names her parents as Carl H Robrecht, d. 1915, and Louisa R Rust Robrecht, d. 1910, and lists her siblings) https://peoplelegacy.com/wilhelmine_minnie_robrecht_freise-5c6i7Z
• Anna (Robrecht) Weiss, m. Alois Herman Weiss in 1889; their children Angela (b. 1890), Charles (b. 1892), John (b. 1894), Elwood (b. 1896, d. 1898), Lewis (b. 1898). Source: Cranmer (1902), https://www.wvgw.net/ohio/aweiss-bio.txt
• Mary Ann (Robrecht) Ebbert, d. 1902 (sibling list, PeopleLegacy page above). A George Ebbert death record names his mother as Mary Robrecht and father John Ebbert: http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5663509
• Charles Augustus Robrecht (September 18, 1865 - March 31, 1931), the wholesale grocer of wave 1, "born in rural Ohio County, the son of a truck gardener," interred at Mount Calvary after a funeral Mass at St. Michael's. The truck-gardener detail ties him to Charles H.'s household. Source: https://www.mikeminder.com/ohio-valley-history-blog/previous/19
• Frederick George Robrecht (1870-1947), m. Clara Hellstern (1876-1965). Source for dates and marriage: FamilySearch Books catalog summary of Terry (Terence Anthony) Robrecht, You've Got People in Your Tree!, which traces their son Charles Henry Robrecht (b. 1907, Triadelphia, WV; m. Mary Claire Miller, 1933, Wheeling) and lists subject families Robrecht, Hellstern, Miller, Reilly, Rust, Smith, Wasemann (FamilySearch Books search result, familysearch.org/library/books). Also the sibling list on the PeopleLegacy Freise page above ("Frederick George Robrecht, Died 1947").
• Louise (Robrecht) Stenger, d. 1960 (sibling list, PeopleLegacy Freise page). Note the surname Stenger: Charles Augustus Robrecht's wife was a Theresa Stenger (wave 1); the two Wheeling German families intermarried more than once. No record ties Louise's marriage into Dorothy's line.
• Emma E. Robrecht, m. John Ferdinand Bott in 1904 in West Virginia; their son Paul A. Bott was b. May 30, 1914, Wheeling, d. May 7, 2007, Ohio, buried Mount Calvary Cemetery, Wheeling. Source: Birkenhördt Project person page https://www.birkenhoerdt.net/ahnentafel.php?personID=I192317&tree=1&parentset=0&generations=4&tngmore=1 (Emma's parents are not named on the fetched page; her placement as Charles H.'s daughter is by generation and place, so treat as CANDIDATE placement, name and marriage VERIFIED.)

Frederick G. Robrecht's children, fully named (VERIFIED) — Dorothy is NOT one of them

• Obituary of Clara Marie (Robrecht) Raab (b. June 29, 1921, Wheeling; d. May 3, 2005), daughter of Frederick and Clara Hellstern Robrecht, states she was preceded in death by five brothers, Thomas, George, Frederick, Albert and Charles, and three sisters, Elizabeth, Genevieve and Cecelia. Source: Wheeling-area obituary collection, Digital Shoebox (Belmont County, OH library), http://www.digitalshoebox.org/digital/api/collection/stclairful/id/44085/download
• With Charles Henry (b. 1907, Triadelphia) from the Robrecht book, Frederick G.'s family is fully accounted: nine children, no Dorothy. Frederick G. Robrecht is ruled out as Dorothy's father.

Charles Augustus Robrecht's children (wave 1, restated)

• Named in 1931 coverage: daughter Regina (married, in Amarillo, TX; her daughter Marguerita died of influenza there), daughter Marguerita (critically ill in Amarillo), daughter Theresa (at home, Wheeling), son Charles A. Jr. (Elizabeth, NJ). Source: https://www.archivingwheeling.org/blog/a-crash-of-coincidences
• Dorothy is not among them. Combined with the Mannington birth, Charles Augustus is ruled out as Dorothy's father on current evidence (kept out of her line, as ordered).

3. CANDIDATE fathers for Dorothy (NOT proven; do not merge)

• Frank Robrecht, of Wheeling, husband of Virginia Klapheck (b. January 5, 1868; d. April 6, 1931; buried Greenwood Cemetery, Wheeling; source: https://peoplelegacy.com/virginia_klapheck_robrecht-0Z3c7a1). Their daughter Magdaline (Robrecht) Steed was b. November 13, 1895, Wheeling; d. January 5, 1956, Wheeling; buried Greenwood Cemetery; her death record names her father as Frank Robrecht and mother as Virginia Klapheck. Source: WV death record detail http://archive.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5700805
  • Why he leads the candidate list: right surname, right city, right generation, a daughter born 1895, and Dorothy (b. about 1900) fits the same household's spacing. If Frank worked away from Wheeling around 1900 (oil country), a Mannington birth for a younger daughter is plausible. NO record names Dorothy as his daughter; Frank's own parentage (son of Charles H.? of John?) is also unproven.
• Henry M. Robrecht Sr., of Wheeling, implied by the death of his son: Pvt. Henry M. Robrecht Jr., of Wheeling, Co. B, 8th Engineers Regt., d. October 6, 1918, of influenza and broncho pneumonia. Source: WV WWI soldiers death list, USGenWeb WV-FOOTSTEPS, http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/wv-footsteps/1999/v99-142.txt . A Henry Sr. of the right generation existed in Wheeling; nothing names his children beyond the son.
• Also on record in Wheeling, generation unplaced: Anna (Robrecht) Johanning, wife of Frank Johanning (his WV death record, http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=5686139), and Augusta Robrecht, mother of Charles Fredrick Speaker (WV death record, http://www.wvculture.org/vrr/va_dcdetail.aspx?Id=1557982). These show the Wheeling Robrecht web is wider than the two mapped households; Dorothy could belong to a collateral branch.

The one book that may settle it

• You've Got People in Your Tree!: family - photos - facts - folklore by Terry (Terence Anthony) Robrecht (b. 1942) is a published genealogy of the Frederick G. Robrecht / Clara Hellstern family and the allied Rust line, held in FamilySearch Books (Family History Archive). Subject families include Rust, tying it to Charles H. and Louisa's line. The book itself is copyright-protected in FamilySearch Books and could not be opened without sign-in in this pass. If it covers Charles H.'s full descendant set, it either names Dorothy or closes the Charles H. branch for good.

4. TASK 2: Donald as a Wheeling child

NOT FOUND (explicit)

• Donald's parents' names: no free record found. His 1899 Ohio County birth entry and the 1900/1910 Wheeling census households sit behind interactive or sign-in search (WV Vital Research Records form; FamilySearch/Ancestry census indexes). No search-engine-indexed transcription of either surfaced.
• WWI draft registration: Donald registered in the third registration (September 12, 1918; he was 19) and was in the Army by October 10, 1918 (VA BIRLS, wave 1). His draft card is in the FamilySearch/Ancestry WWI draft collections; no free mirror or indexed transcription of his card was found. The card, when pulled, should give his Wheeling address, employer, and nearest relative (often a parent), which is the cheapest route to his parents' names.
• What IS established (wave 1, restated): b. June 6, 1899, born in Wheeling (his own statement on the 1921 marriage certificate), resident of Wheeling at marriage, Army service October 10 to December 21, 1918, d. June 1, 1978, SSN 272-01-4081 (Ohio-issued, so he applied while living in Ohio, consistent with the move to Lakewood).

5. TASK 3: Burials, SSDI, obituaries for Donald and Dorothy

NOT FOUND (explicit)

• Donald's burial: not located in any free source. The Lakewood Park Cemetery (Rocky River) visitor-submitted surname file lists nine Youngs (Cecil 1900-1969; Elmer; Francis T.; George 1869-1937; James; Joseph; Justin; Tommy 1950-1990; William 1902-1966) and no Donald and no Dorothy; that file is partial, so this is a weak negative only. Source: https://www.interment.net/data/us/oh/cuyahoga/lakewood/lake_uz.htm
• BillionGraves headstone records at Lakewood Park include George Young (1869-1937, https://billiongraves.com/grave/George-Young/79964859), Cecil H. Young (1900-1969, https://billiongraves.com/grave/Cecil-H-Young/16767693), and Clara L. Young (1909-1999, https://billiongraves.com/grave/Clara-L-Young/62975641). None is Donald or Dorothy.
• The cemetery office's own records on Interment.net (37,916 records; wave 1 read the Ro-Ry file in full: zero Robrechts) could not be fully checked for Young in this pass: the Y surname office file was not retrievable through free search. So Lakewood Park remains UNCHECKED for Donald and Dorothy in the office records, not a negative.
• Dorothy's death date, place, SSDI entry, and burial: nothing found in any free source. No SSDI transcription, obituary, or memorial for a Dorothy (Robrecht) Young of the right dates surfaced. She may have died before Social Security death reporting was complete, under a remarried name, or outside Ohio; none of those can be tested with the free indexes available here.
• Donald's SSDI entry and obituary: his death (June 1, 1978) is established by the VA BIRLS record (wave 1), but no SSDI transcription or obituary text was found. The Cleveland Necrology File ends at 1975, so a 1978 death falls to the Cleveland News Index (Plain Dealer notices 1976 onward), which is not freely searchable by text fetch. Source for the index coverage: Cleveland Public Library, https://cpl.org/newsindex/
• VA burial: Donald was a WWI veteran; no VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator or VA memorial page entry for him surfaced in free search.

6. TASK 4: Jean's siblings (the 1940 Lakewood household)

NOT FOUND (explicit)

• The 1940 census household of Donald and Dorothy Young in Lakewood, Cuyahoga Co., OH could not be retrieved from any free source in this pass. The census name index lives behind FamilySearch/Ancestry sign-in; LDSGenealogy's RootsPoint-based 1940 locality surname pages exist for other towns but the Lakewood page was not retrievable; the 1950 census household was likewise not retrievable by free search.
• No record found names any child of Donald and Dorothy other than Jean (b. March 28, 1934, Lakewood). Whether Jean had siblings remains OPEN, not answered "only child." Donald and Dorothy married in 1921, thirteen years before Jean's birth, so older children are a real possibility that only the 1930/1940 census households can settle.

7. Routes that remain (all free; they need a signed-in session or a live browser, both already flagged to Joel)

1. Signed-in FamilySearch (free account): Dorothy's Marion County birth record index entry; the 1900 and 1910 Marion County and Ohio County census households; Donald's WWI draft card; the 1930, 1940, and 1950 Lakewood households (Jean's siblings); Terry Robrecht's book in FamilySearch Books.
2. Live browser on WV Vital Research Records (wvculture.org): the interactive search can pull Dorothy's birth record and Donald's 1899 Ohio County birth record, both of which name parents.
3. Cleveland News Index via a library route for Donald's 1978 Plain Dealer death notice, which typically names the cemetery and funeral home, settling his burial and possibly Dorothy's death if she predeceased or survived him.

8. Ruled out in this wave (do not merge)

• Frederick G. Robrecht (1870-1947) as Dorothy's father: his nine children are fully named (section 2); Dorothy is not among them.
• Charles Augustus Robrecht (1865-1931) as Dorothy's father: stands ruled out (wave 1 caution now backed by his named children and her Mannington birth).
• Same-name Donalds from wave 1 stay ruled out (Donald Neil Young of Detroit; Donald N. Young of Paulding Co., OH; the two later Donald Nelson Youngs of Ontario and Warren, MI).
• The Marion County "Robe" family is a different surname and is not the Robrechts.