George Washington Corbin was the blog author's great grandfather. By that virtue alone, one would think I ought to know more about him than any of his other siblings but that really isn't the case. He died in 1926, so my Grandfather Robert Corbin was only 26-years-old. My mother was born in 1921 and she was only 4-years-old when he died. I spent a great deal of time with my maternal grandparents, and yet I never remember hearing them talking about George Washington Corbin much. His daughter, my great aunt Edna Corbin lived with my parents for a couple of years before her death, and I don't recall her talking about him either. So what I know is what I've gathered from other Corbin genealogies and what I have learned from census and other records.
This is the earliest photo of George W. Corbin that I have and was given to me by his daughter, my great aunt Edna Corbin. She gave me two scrapbooks, one with photos and the other with post cards collected when she was a young girl.
George Washington Corbin was a boy of 10 when the Civil War broke out. He did not go off to war as his father, brother and two future brother-in-laws did, he stayed home and helped his mother and brothers and sisters with the work of their farm.
We don't know much of his youth except that I was able to find some of his school marks among the Putnam County Superintendent's records. He did complete eight years of elementary school and according to his grades, was a good student.
When his father returned from the Civil War he was injured and sick so George, along with his brother James Polk Corbin, continued to do much of the farm work. His oldest brother. William Thomas Corbin, had been killed in action during the Civil War and left a widow and baby. It is reasonable to assume that George may have also assisted with some of the work on that nearby farm.
In 1872 and 1873, James and Cynthia Ann (Casteel) Corbin and the majority of their children, their spouses and grandchildren moved to Ayr Township, Adams County, Nebraska and claimed 160-acre homesteads. I believe that George W. Corbin stayed behind and farmed their farm in Putnam County, Missouri. I can find no evidence of George W. Corbin ever owning land in Adams County, Nebraska.
George W. Corbin married a girl from the neighborhood, Sarah Ann "Sadie" Todd. Sadie was the daughter of Lawrenceberg "Liberty" and Sarah Ann "Sally" (Summers Thelkeld) Todd. "Liberty" Todd was the son of Thomas and Mary (VanHook) Todd whomoved their large family of seven from Henry County, Kentucky to Sangamon County, Illinois in the 1840s and there Thomas Todd died in 1866. Several of his children moved from Sangamon County, Illinois to Marshall County, Iowa, and then moved a second time to Putnam County, Missouri. Among them were the families of Benjamin Franklin "Frank" Todd and "Liberty" Lawrence Berg or Levenberg Todd.
"Liberty" Todd was the father of Sarah Ann "Sadie" Todd. He was married to Sarah Ann "Sally" (Summers Threlkeld) and they were the parents of: William Thomas (1855); Hannah Rett (1856); Mary R. (1959); Sarah Ann (1863); Liberty (1864); Alice (1867); Lee Ander (1869); Alma H. (1870); and Erastus (1871.) Sarah Ann "Sadie" Todd was born July 11, 1863 at Laural, Marshall County, Iowa.
Among some handwritten notes given to me by my great aunt, Edna Corbin, was this one: "Sarah Ann "Sadie" Todd's mother was Sarah Ann "Sally" Summers Threlkeld." There was no further information or explanation. I do not at this point know if my great grandmother's mother had the maiden name Summers and was married a first time to a Threlkeld or vice versa. The genealogy website "Ancestry.com" lists her maiden name as both Summers and Threlkeld. I don't know which is correct.
Sarah Ann "Sadie" Todd and George Washington Corbin were married on December 22, 1881 in Putnam County, Missouri. George was 28-years-old and Sadie Todd was 18-years-old when they married. George was farming near West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri and they began housekeeping there. Sometime during the next several months, George and Sadie Corbin moved to Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska where his parents and others family members were living. We know that because George and Sadie's first child was born there.
Sylvia Myrtle Corbin was born on October 29, 1882 in Ayr Township, Adams County, Nebraska. By the time their second child, Ira Lee Corbin was born, on February 26, 1884, the family was again living in West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri. The next six of their children would be born on their Putnam County, Missouri farm with the ninth child, Frankie Corbin, being born while Sadie Corbin was visiting her sister in Oklahoma. Here is a complete list of the nine children of George W. and Sarah Ann "Sadie" Todd's nine children:
Sylvia Myrtle Corbin - born October 29, 1882 at Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska
- died February 5, 1963 at Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas
Ira Lee Corbin - born February 26, 1884 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died February 25, 1974 at Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas
Pearly E. Corbin - born April 28, 1888 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died July 21, 1896 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
Goldie Mae Corbin - born November 18, 1889 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died May 3, 1896 at Ayr, Adams County, Nebraska
Raymond Corbin - born July 8, 1891 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died July 28, 1896 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
Hazel D. Corbin - born October 28, 1892 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died June 25, 1896 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
Edna Corbin - born March 11, 1898 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died July 9, 1975 at Maple Hill, Wabaunsee County, Kansas
Robert Corbin - died January 5, 1899 at West Liberty, Putnam County, Missouri
- died April 16, 1958 at Topeka, Shawnee County, Kansas
Frankie Corbin - born 1901 in Oklahoma
- died 1901 in Oklahoma
In 1892, George W. and Sadie (Todd) Corbin decided to sell their farm and leave Putnam County, Missouri. His sister, Nancy Anna (Corbin) Bell saved this newspaper article from the Unionville, Putnam County, Newspaper:
"West Liberty - Health in this part of the world is fair at present. There was a birthday dinner held in honor of the 75th birthday anniversary of Mother Corbin on October 8, 1892. At an early hour, the friends and relatives began to assemble at the resident of her son, George W. Corbin, where she is making her home.
The gathering was intended as a surprise to the old lady. By eleven a.am. the house and yard were full of happy smiling faces ready to greet Mother Corbin. Her son, James P. Corbin and family of Nebraska, Emily Corbin, James William Corbin and wife, George Casteel and wife, James Casteel and wife from Iowa, Lee Brisendine and family, L. B. Todd and wife, Mrs. Sarah Noland and other children and grandchildren too numerous to mention, all came with their baskets well filled to give Grandma Corbin a happy birthday dinner.
Dinner was served in the old Kentucky and Virginia manner, the younger people preparing dinner while the older people recounted the pleasures of the past year that they had been together. At 12 o'clock noon, dinner was announced, Mother Corbin taking her accustomed place at the head of the table which she has occupied for sos many years.
The blessing of God was invoked, then all partook of the bountiful repast. After dinner, there were several nice presents given to Mother Corbin by her children and friends. The day was spent pleasantly by all, hoping that Mother Corbin may live to see many such gatherings with her children and grandchildren and friends.
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George Corbin's sale went off well on October 9th. Sock sold low. There were but few that seemed to want to purchase at the extreme low price of stock. His sale ran some over nine hundred dollars. This shows that there is some that still hope that times will be better than next year.
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Mr. James P. Corbin is here and wants to buy a farm and become a citizen among us again. Can't someone cite him a farm for sale?
Hustler "
An 1898 baby photograph of Edna Corbin.George and Sadie Corbin must have moved back and forth from Missouri to Nebraska several times. One of their children was born there and one of them, Goldie Mae Corbin, died in Nebraska and is buried there. Their family was stricken by considerable grief during the 1890s when Pearlie E., Goldie Mae, Raymond and Hazel D. Corbin were all stricken with typhoid fever and died within a few weeks of each other. Goldie E. Corbin was the first to die on May 3, 1896 and Raymond Corbin, who died on July 28, 1896 was the last of the four children to succumb. This profound sadness caused George and Sadie Corbin to want to leave Putnam County, Missouri and seek a new beginning in a distant place.
History does not record how them made the decision but before 1900, they decided to become the operators of railroad hotels in small, southern Kansas towns. They managed hotels in Corwin and Freeport, Kansas and before 1910, moved to Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas where they George and Sadie Corbin spent the remainder of their lives.
A photo of the four surviving children of George and Sadie (Todd) Corbin: Standing are Sylvia M. Corbin and Ira L. Corbin. The little girl at the left is Edna Corbin and the baby is Robert Corbin.
George Corbin must have felt fate was truly against him when his wife, Sarah Ann "Sadie" Corbin, died of Typhoid Fever, the same disease that had taken four of their children. Sadie Corbin died in July, 1916 and is buried in Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas. George lived with his son Robert, and daughters Edna and Sylvia Corbin at that time.
Robert Corbin served as an ambulance driver in France during World War I. He was in the U. S. Army from 1917 to 1919. He returned to his father's home in Wichita, Kansas when his enlistment was completed. George W. Corbin, a widower, had three children living at home, Silvia Myrtle, Edna and Robert Corbin.
A photo of Sylvia M. and George W. Corbin at their home in Wichita, Kansas.
A photo of Sylvia M. and Edna Corbin taken in 1920. Sylvia would have been 38 years old and Edna would have been 20 years old.
Sylvia M. Corbin never married and suffered from chronic depression and associated nervous disorders all of her life. She stayed at home and cared for her father in her early life and after his death, she and Edna Corbin lived together for several years. Edna always worked out and had some kind of clerical job. As Sylvia aged, her mental illness made it necessary for her to be hospitalized. She spent much of the last half of her life in various mental hospitals. As a child, I remember making trips to the Kansas State Mental Hospital in Larned, Kansas with my maternal grandparents, Robert and Mildred Corbin, often accompanied by my mother, Lucille (Corbin) Clark and my brother Gary Wayne and I. She was able to leave the hospital and live with her sister, Edna Corbin, in the last few years of her life. She died there on February 5, 1963 and was buried in the Old Stone Church, Maple Hill, Kansas where her brother Robert and sister Edna Corbin would later be buried.
The author will write about Ira Lee Corbin, Edna Corbin and Robert Corbin in future blogs.
Happy Trails!
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