My favorite find in 2021 was related to my husband's great-great-grandfather, George Allan Corbin. This is his death notice, published in The Weekly Express, of St. Johns, Newfoundland on December 7, 1858.
"On Monday morning, the 22nd inst after a protracted illness Captain George A. Corbin, aged 51 years, formerly of Strickland, England, well known and highly esteemed for many years as Commander of the Royal Main Steamer between this port (Halifax) and Newfoundland."From this notice, we knew he had been born in Dorset about 1806. More searching revealed the name of the place was actually Winterborne Stickland. Armed with that information, I started looking at the birth and baptismal records available online for that area but no George Corbin could be found born around 1806.
In additon to his deathn notice, the following bits of information and speculation about his past were in George's research file:
1) Unsourced information from another relative suggested George was not the only Corbin in his family to go to Newfoundland. It is reported that three of his brothers, Henry, Thomas and John, spent time there as well. No further data has been found to substantiate this.
2) One of George's sons traditionally known as Andrew Robert, may in fact be Andrew Roger as noted in the following baptismal record from St. Thomas Anglican Church in St John's Newfoundland
1) Unsourced information from another relative suggested George was not the only Corbin in his family to go to Newfoundland. It is reported that three of his brothers, Henry, Thomas and John, spent time there as well. No further data has been found to substantiate this.
2) One of George's sons traditionally known as Andrew Robert, may in fact be Andrew Roger as noted in the following baptismal record from St. Thomas Anglican Church in St John's Newfoundland
Pre 1891 Registration Records - Vol 29 - Baptisms - St Thomas Anglican Church, St Johns, Newfoundland (chebucto.org)
Or was it simply a transciption error ? Can't be certain.
3) George's second name was Allan. Perhaps he was named after his mother, Mary Allan.
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| Mary Corbin, sister of Roger Corbin |
Fast forward to 2021 when I found a new DNA match on Ancestry for my husband and the link was through a Corbin. Needless to say, I contacted the person immediately and he responded! It turns out that his 2X great-grandmother was Mary Corbin (born circa 1880), the daughter of Roger Corbin and Mary Allan. This was enough to send me back on the trail of this family with more confidence in a possible relationship.
Trolling through Corbin-related documents from Dorset, I found a will for one Jane Corbin who died on April 14, 1842, in Winterborne Stickland. The document states that she is the sister of Roger Corbin and lists various bequests to Roger and Mary Corbin's children...Thomas, John, Eliza, Mary, Jane, Henry and yes George !! Note that in addition to naming George, it also shows three brothers with the same names as those who supposedly spend some time in Newfoundland.
While it is not conclusve proof that our George being the son on Roger Corbin and Mary Allan, it is enough to keep me looking for more on this family. My husband's DNA match is in contact with a researcher in Dorset who is looking for more connections so maybe someday I will be able to get confirmation ... someday.
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"History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all"
Laurence Overmire
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"History remembers only the celebrated, genealogy remembers them all"
Laurence Overmire
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