Solving a mystery

Yesterday I received a letter from my aunt that included a copy of a photo and letter from a Mrs. Louis Robare of Turtle Creek, PA.

Dated Dec 14, 1947, the salutation was "Dear Aunt Mary & Uncle Henry." She told of the death of Louis Robare on March 20, 1946 with the comment, "...well it sure is awful with out him the world just dont seem the same to me any more,..." She also said that "...all of the rest of the Robares are well we sure have a large family now. I am going to make a book & enter all the family in it so I will send you a copy & tell you how many there are now,..." She then asked, "Aunt Mary do you remember were [sic] Grandmother Robare was born at what part of France, & allso were Uncle Joe Father was born at as we want to put that in the ledger, & there is no one left but you to tell us, so please drop me a few lines so we can enter it....& please tell me all about Beulah children as I would love to know,..."

What is sad is that Aunt Mary, Mrs. Henry Dankmer died the previous month, November 24, 1947. A note at the bottom of the letter seemed to indicate that the writer was not in contact with the family often. She wrote, "P.S. Aunt Mary if you can't write, please get Beulah girl to do it for you, please." Beulah had died 24 years previously.

So who was this Louis Robare? A check of my genealogy database showed no matching Louis Robares. Since it was addressed to "Aunt" Mary, then a guess was that Louis was the son of a brother of Joseph H. Robare, either David L. Robare who married Nellie Aitken, or Frank Robare.

I first found Louis Robare in the 1930 U.S. census of Turtle Creek Borough, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania at 132 9th Street--the same address as given in the letter. He is enumerated as Louis D, a 40 year old white male born in West Virginia (either in 1889 or 1890). His parents were reportedly born in France and Scotland. His wife was Bertha F, a white female aged 37 born in Pennsylvania. Her parents were reportedly born in Germany. Others in the home included a 20 year old son, David L. (named for his grandfather?), Margaret A and eleven year old daughter, Charles J an eight year old son, and an 18 year old daughter Mary A Ayers with one year old grandson Robert H. Ayers.

In 1920 the family included Louis, Bertha, David, Mary, Margaret and Anna Korber, mother-in-law and Louis Korber, brother.

A check in World Connect at Rootsweb included a Bertha Korber married to a Louis Robare. No details of Louis were included, but the parents of Bertha were Joseph C. (or C. Joseph) Korber (b: 1860 and d: 1901 in Pittsburgh, Allegany, PA--buried in the Braddock Monongahala Cemetery) and Anna Tirch (b: 13 Jan 1862 and d: 3 Dec 1934 in Turtle Creek). Bertha was supposedly born 29 October 1893 and died July 1975 in Turtle Creek.

At Ancestry.com a few bits and pieces were found:
The Obituary of Mrs. Anna Korber was found in the Monessen Daily Independent of Monessen, Pennsylvania, 6 Dec 1934, page 5: "Mrs. Anna Korber, mother of Mrs. Thomas J. Wanko, of this city, died Monday afternoon at 1:45 at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Louis Robare, of Turtle Creek. She is survived by three daughters, one son, and thirteen grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 9 a.m. Friday, December 7, at St Joseph's church, with interment at St. Joseph's cemetery."

Nellie Robare aged 62, widowed, was listed as mother-in-law in household of Thomas S. Creighton and Mary E, his wife. Nellie Robare was listed as born in Scotland.

The Monongahela Cemetery of North Braddock, Pennsylvania tombstone inscriptions were found on Rootsweb and included:

• Robare, Bertha F 1975
• Robare, Louis D 1946

There were also a few other Robare family members listed.

Although not conclusive, I hypothesize that Louis Robare was the oldest son of David L. Robare and Nellie Aitken who were married in Belmont County, Ohio, 27 February 1888. His sister was likely Mary E. who married Thomas Creighton.

Now the question is did Bertha write a family book? If so, where might I obtain a copy? A quick search of the general area of Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania includes sixteen Robare households. Do they know more about my Robare family? I shall have to find out!