Col. Charles C. Weybrecht (1867-1919)
Class of 2026 – Military
Col. Charles C. Weybrecht was a prominent Alliance businessman, civic leader, and military officer whose life reflected a strong tradition of service and family enterprise.
Born into one of Alliance’s foundational families on December 6, 1868,, he was the son of Maragaret (Honacker) and fellow 2026 Alliance Historical Society Hall of Fame inductee John T. Weybrecht, a pioneering builder and lumber merchant.
On May 7, 1894, Charles C. Weybrecht married Emilie Brosius (1874-1934).
Weybrecht pursued a long and distinguished military career in the Ohio National Guard. He served during multiple periods of national mobilization, including the Spanish-American War and the Mexican Border Campaign, when he commanded “Weybrecht’s Bulldogs” in the 8th Ohio.
Over time, he rose steadily through the ranks, ultimately attaining the rank of colonel. His leadership and organizational skill earned him respect throughout Ohio’s military establishment and he played a significant role in World War I.
Upon his arrival home, he gave fellow members of the Alliance Rotary Club a brief account of his military service.
After organizing the 10th Ohio Infantry in July and August of 1917, he led his troops to Montgomery, Alabama. Due to lack of training, the large regiment was converted to machine gun battalions and a trench mortar battery soon after arrival.
Weybrecht was assigned command of the 146th U.S. Infantry, made up of the 2nd and 8th Ohio regiments. It reached battle strength in May of 1918 embarked for overseas duty on June 15, reaching France on June 22.
Along the front, he commanded the unit in a defensive sector known as Baccarat until August when he was detailed to formulate and organize a plan to salvage the region around Chateau Thierry, the Germans in their retreat having left $2 million worth of stores.
Weybrecht was then sent to command the port of Nantes, where 22,000 American troops, largely untrained and undisciplined, were stationed, and a large quantity of supplies was being sent through to the Allies lines.
When Nantes was abandoned in March 1919, he was sent to Rotterdam, Holland, to organize and command Base Section No. 9, where he remained until July 1919.
About a month following his return to Alliance, Colonel Weybrecht was honored at a celebratory banquet at the Lakeside Country Club near Canton on August 23, 1919. During the event, olives served at the table by hostess Helen Sebring Gehris were later determined to have been contaminated with botulism toxin, resulting in a sudden outbreak of illness among several attendees. The incident became known locally as the “Great Olive Poisoning” of 1919.
Colonel Weybrecht became critically ill shortly after the banquet and died on August 26, 1919, one of seven victims of the olives.
Shorly after, the American Legion Post No. 166 in Alliance was named in his honor.
He is buried in a family plot inside Alliance City Cemetery.