In yesterday’s blog article, I shared how a reader’s question led me to the discovery of Israel Sanborn (1773-1836), a distant cousin with a very touching backstory. (See: A Reader’s Question Leads to the Discovery of a Touching Story of Generosity.) Israel’s descendants lived in Vermont for several generations before moving to Colorado and the West in the late 19th century. After finding that I was related to Israel, I decided to do some additional research on his descendants to see if I could discover any interesting details about the family after they moved west.
A quick scan of Israel’s family tree led me to his grandson, Corydon William Sanborn (1843-1923), who was born in Hardwick, Caledonia County, Vermont, served in the Union Army during the Civil War, and died in Boulder, Boulder County, Colorado.
To find out more, I searched on Corydon’s first and last names in GenealogyBank.
Because “Corydon” is an uncommon first name, this search returned only 16 results: 2 newspaper articles and 14 historical documents.
Nearly all of the 14 historical documents related to Corydon’s military service. He was a member of the Union forces during the Civil War and:
“…enlisted September 18, 1862, and to have served as sergeant and first sergeant Company B, Fifteenth Vermont Infantry, until August 5, 1863, when honorably discharged. He is further shown to have reenlisted September 3, 1864, as private in Company D, Tenth New York Heavy Artillery, and to have served until June 23, 1865, when again honorably discharged.”
According to the Denver Rocky Mountain News, after the war Corydon Sanborn (at age 42) was one of the special agents investigating fraudulent land transactions at the Federal Land Office.
In 1906 a Vermont newspaper, the Caledonian, reported that Corydon Sanborn (at age 62) attended the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic) Union veterans’ reunion held in Denver that year.
But, life was hard on Corydon. A few weeks after the reunion, it was reported:
“His last medical examination, made at his home April 11, 1906, shows that he is totally blind in [his] right eye, and that he is also afflicted with disease of [the] stomach and heart…”
He was granted a military pension increase from $12 to $40 per month because he was blind in one eye and completely disabled, rendering him unable to work.
Census records listed on FamilySearch helped me determine that Corydon lived in Boulder, Colorado, for the rest of his life. He was granted a pension increase again in 1919, and died a few years later at age 79, on 28 February 1923.
Genealogy Tip: Using a variety of sources – like census records, newspapers, and historical documents – can help you piece together information and get a more complete view of your ancestors. GenealogyBank gives you access to all types of records and makes it easy to find the stories of their lives.
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