Many researchers appear to have mis-read the 1880 Census and taken our subject to be the wife of the John H. CORBIN in Cherokee Co., GA (read by some as John N. CORBIN).  She is not.  The woman's name in the 1880 census is not, "Amanda," it's "Arminda," as a careful reading of the page will show.  John Henry CORBIN is not Amanda CORBIN's husband, he is her brother; John's wife is Arminda (née KING).  Some researches have this couple in 1880 as John N. & Amanda (née THOMAS) CORBIN; please see John Newton CORBIN's page for a discussion of this assertion.  I do not find our subject, Amanda CORBIN, in the 1880 census, at all. 

In 1903, Amanda married Virgil GRIFFIN; and, in the 1910 census, Virgil is shown as being on his 4th marriage while Amanda is on her first marriage (see below).  It does appear that Amanda's children were born out of wedlock.  A patrilineal descendant of her son, John A. CORBIN, has been Y-DNA tested, and his results match no known CORBIN, including Amanda's CORBIN kin.  Please see John A. CORBIN's page for a further discussion.  There seems little reason to doubt Amanda is the mother of all six children, though they may not all have had the same father.  I recommend digging into county records, if extant, for bastardy claims and guardianship records.  Note that, at the time, women had no legal rights, so they could not be the legal guardian of their own children.  Children were considered "orphans" when their father died, even if the mother was still living, so do check any "Orphans' Court" proceedings.

There is a romantic legend circulating among secondary sources that Amanda's partner was a full-blooded Cherokee named, "Tick-cou-a-whe-leh."  He is said to have taken the name of Amanda's "uncle," John H. CORBIN, which seems to be a case of mistaking Amanda's brother for an uncle and of mis-reading the 1880 census record mentioned above.  It appears to me this elaborate tale has been spun to make the fact that Amanda's children were born out of wedlock more palatable.  I appreciate the social pressures that would be responsible for the creation of the tale, which I presume was told by Amanda and other adults to her children and their children, all of whom would sincerely believe the tale, but it might be time for all of her descendants to be Family Finder (autosomal-DNA) tested to determine if they have any Amerindian heritage.  We do know, with certainty, that the father of son, John, was not an Amerind.

Females do not have a Y-chromosome, so only the males can be Y-DNA tested.  Unfortunately, James and Henry have no surviving male descendants, so the only one whose patrilineal ancestry can be checked with Y-DNA testing is John.  It may be possible to determine more via autosomal DNA testing (FTDNA's FamilyFinder test), which any of Amanda's descendants can usefully take — male or female.  The more of you who take the test, the more likely you are to find matching chromosome segments with other descendants of your unidentified father(s).

1.  Marriage Record:

2.  1860 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  Amanda CARBAN (æ 9/12, b. GA) is living in Pickens Co., GA, with her parents (q.v.).  She is the only Amanda CORBIN (or variation) around this age living in and born in Georgia in the 1860 census.

3.  1870 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  Amanda CORBIN (æ 10, b. GA) is living in Pickens Co., GA, with her widowed mother (q.v.).  She is the only white Amanda CORBIN (or variation) around this age living in and born in Georgia in the 1870 census.

4a.  1880 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com):  I cannot find Amanda or her mother or her siblings, except for her brother, John H. CORBIN, who is in Cherokee Co., GA.  It appears they were missed by the enumerator, which does happen.  Amanda's daughter, Susan, is said by a descendant to be living with Amanda's grandmother (see next source).

4b.  1880 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #9 of 14):  Townsends, Pickens Co., GA, Roll T9_161, p. 543D, PN 24, SD 1, ED 164, enumerated 16/17 Jun 1880, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1880 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1880:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1

2

3

4

5

6

8

9

11

13

14

21

22

23

24

25

26

221

221

Corben Delilah

W

M

75

/

Keeping house

/

/

SC

Ger

Ger

______ Susanah

W

F

34

Dau

/

At home

/

/

GA

VA

SC

______ Malinda

W

F

32

Dau

/

At home

/

GA

VA

SC

______ Anderson Moses

W

M

19

GSon

/

works on farm

4

/

GA

GA

SC

______ Caldonia

W

F

13

GDau

/

At home

/

/

GA

GA

SC

______ Sarah E

W

F

11

GDau

/

At home

/

GA

GA

SC

______ John

W

M

10

GSon

/

works on farm

5

/

/

GA

GA

SC

______ Susan

W

F

3

GDau

/

At home

GA

GA

SC

Delilah (WHITMIRE) CORBIN is Amanda's paternal grandmother (i.e., Susan's great-grandmother).

5.  1890 Census:  the 1890 Census Population Schedules were destroyed.

6.  1900 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #7 of 7 — indexed "Manelio Carlson"):  Ridgeway Dist., Gilmer Co., GA, Roll T623_200, p. 107A, SN 12, SD 39?, ED 44, enumerated 20 Jun 1900, official enumeration date 1 Jun 1900 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1900:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

11

12

13

14

15

19

20

22

23

24

25

27

28

201

202

Carbon Mandio?/Mandie?

Head

W

F

Oct 1859

40

Wd

6

6

GA

NC

GA

Farmer

0

N

N

Y

R

F

199

______ Susan

Dau

W

F

May 1878

20

Wd

1

1

GA

NC

GA

Farm labor

0

Y

Y

Y

______ Joseph

Son

W

M

Dec 1884

15

S

GA

NC

GA

Farm labor

0

Y

N

Y

______ Margret

Dau

W

F

Aug 1888

11

S

GA

NC

GA

Farm labor

0

N

N

Y

______ Henry D?

Son

W

M

Apl 1897

2

S

GA

NC

GA

______ John A

Son

W

M

Dec 1899

5/12

S

GA

NC

GA

______ Hearley? C

GSon

W

M

Mar 1900

2/12

S

GA

GA

GA

Mandy's father was born in SC.  In all other censuses, the children give their father's birthplace as GA.  Listed next to Henry WOODRING, whom Y-DNA testing has shown is, if not the actual father of Amanda's son, John A. CORBIN, his grandfather or uncle.

7.  1910 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #13 of 14):  Coosawattee River Road, Coosawattee Dist., Gordon Co., GA, Roll T624_188, p. 265A, SH 16A, SD 7, ED 92, enumerated 13 May 1910, official enumeration date 15 Apr 1910 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1910:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

17

18

19

23

24

26

28

29

278

284

Griffin Virgil

Head

M

W

37

M4

6

GA

NC

NC

Eng

General farm

OA

Y

Y

R

F

228

_______ Manda

Wife

F

W

44

M1

6

3

3

GA

GA

GA

Eng

None

Corban Margarett

Stepdau

F

W

15

S

GA

GA

GA

Eng

None

Y

______ Henry

Stepson

M

W

11

S

GA

GA

GA

Eng

None

Y

______ John A

Stepson

M

W

10

S

GA

GA

GA

Eng

None

Y

Mandy's father was born in SC; her mother was born in GA.  Margaret should be ca. age 21.

8a.  1920 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #8 of 17):  Coosawattee Dist., Gordon Co., GA, Roll T625_258, p. 271B, SN 4B, SD 7, ED 115, enumerated 2/3 Feb 1920, official enumeration date 1 Jan 1920 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1920:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

2

3

4

5

6

7

9

10

11

12

17

18

19

21

23

25

26

27

28

29

Fm

75

79

Griffin Virgil L

Head

R

M

W

47

M

Y

Y

GA

NC

NC

Y

Farmer

General Farm

OA

45

_______ Mandia

Wife

F

W

54

M

N

N

GA

GA

GA

Y

None

Corbin Margaret

Stepdau

F

W

32

S

Y

N

GA

GA

GA

Y

None

Mandy's father was born in SC.  Listed next to married son, John CORBIN (æ 19, b. GA), and his family.

8b.  1920 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #20-21 of 27):  Rear of 23 Olive Street, Dayton City (Ward 7), Dayton Twp. (Pct. B), Montgomery Co., OH, Roll T625_1422, pp. 24A-24B, SN 11A-11B, SD 249, ED 141, enumerated 10 Jan 1920, official enumeration date 1 Jan 1920 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):

1920:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

9

10

11

12

16

17

18

19

21

23

25

26

27

28

*

Rear

241

267

Ledbetter Susie

Head

R

F

W

38

Wd

Y

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

none

_________ Columbus

Son

M

W

20

S

N

Y

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

cutter

paper

W

_________ Robert

Son

M

W

14

S

N

Y

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

none

_________ Sybil

Dau

F

W

12

S

Y

Y

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

none

_________ Carter

Son

M

W

6

S

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

none

_________ Clara

Dau

F

W

4

S

GA

GA

GA

none

_________ Felton

Dau

F

W

1 6/12

S

OH

GA

GA

None

Corbin Henry

Bro

M

W

21

S

N

Y

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

[indeciperable]

[indeciperable]

W

Holbert Maynard

Roomer

M

W

19

S

N

Y

Y

GA

GA

GA

Y

laborer

? factory

W

[next page]

*

Johnson Geo

Roomer

M

W

40

?

Y

Y

OH

OH

OH

Y

laborer

? factory

W

*Olive Street

9.  1930 Census Every-Name-Index/Images (online at Ancestry.com, Image #4 of 10 — Mandy is mis-indexed "Maudy"):  Coosawattee Milita District, Murray Co., GA, Roll 377, p. 234B, SN 2B, ED 107-16, SD 2, enumerated 17 Apr 1930, official enumeration date 1 Apr 1930 (extracted by Diana Gale Matthiesen):¤•

1930:  for an explanation of the column headings, please see What the Numbers in the Federal Census Mean (missing columns contained no data).
3	4	5	6	7	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	24	25	26	27	28	30	32
35	35	Griffin V L	Head	O	Y	M	W	55	M	21	N	Y	GA	GA	GA	Y	Farmer	Farm	O	Y	N	34
		_______ Mandy	Wife		X	F	W	59	M	24	N	Y	GA	GA	GA	Y	None
		_______ Marget?	Dau		X	F	W	34	S		N	N	GA	GA	GA	Y	None

Mandy's father was born in SC.  Margaret should be ca. age 41.

10.  Messages posted to the CORBAN Surname Board (online at Ancestry.com).

11.  Public Member Trees (online at Ancestry.com).

12.  WorldConnect / Ancestry World Trees (online at RootsWeb.com/Ancestry.com).