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Diana, Goddess of the Hunt — for Ancestors!
 
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Henry CORBIN
Alice ELTONHEAD
Our subjects are "gateway ancestors," whose pedigrees include Magna Carta sureties, Crusaders, and Charlemagne, so it's an understatement to say that American CORBIN genealogists have sought a connection to them for the better part of two centuries.  In fact, only a few CORBINs are known to have a solid paper connection, all through Henry's son, Col. Gawin CORBIN.  One of Gawin's patrilineal descendants has now been tested for the CORBIN Y-DNA Surname Project.  Results indicate that he is, so far, not a match with anyone, and that includes all the other CORBIN lines tested at this time.  This may very well have been the most widely anticipated — and most widely disappointing — test result, ever, in my projects!  The possibility remains that this one tested individual may have an NPE in his patrilineal line, so additional descendants are sought for testing, but as it stands, none of the many CORBIN claims of a connection appear valid, except for this descendant of Col. Gawin.

Based on Y-DNA test results, the following families have been excluded as biological relatives of Henry:  the Northern Neck CORBINs (desc/o John CORBIN of Richmond Co., VA), the Baltimore CORBINs (desc/o Nicholas CORBIN, 1671 immigrant to Maryland), the Muddy River CORBINs (desc/o Clement CORBIN of Woodstock, CT), the Delmarva CORBINs (desc/o George CORBIN of Northampton Co., VA), the Pickens CORBINs (desc/o Peter CORBIN of Pickens Co., SC), the Lexington CORBINS (desc/o Peter CORBIN of Lexington Co., SC), and so on... Please see this page to compare tested CORBIN lines.  Also, please see the refutations at the bottom of this page.

Husband:  Henry CORBIN
Birth:  1628/9, Hall End, Warwickshire, ENG
Death:  8 Jan 1675, Buckingham House, Middlesex Co., VA
Migration:  1654, made the crossing on the ship, Charity
Y-DNA Haplogroup:  R1b-L48
Father:  Thomas CORBIN
Mother:  Winifred GROSVENOR
Marriage:  1655-57
Wife:  Alice ELTONHEAD
Birth:  1627, Eltonhead, Lancashire, ENG
Death:  ca. 1685, Middlesex Co., VA
Other Spouses:  m1. 1645, Capt. Rowland BURNHAM; m3. Capt. Henry CRIYKE / CREYKE / CREEKE / CREEK
Father:  Richard ELTONHEAD (c1582-1664)
Mother:  Ann SUTTON (c1586-    )
Children with Alice ELTONHEAD — born in Lancaster [now Middlesex] Co., VA:
1.  Letitia / Lettice CORBIN, b. 1657; d. 6 Oct 1706; m. 1694, Col. Richard LEE — GG-grandparents of Gen. Robert E. LEE (1807-1870)
2.  Alice CORBIN, b. 14 Feb 1660/1; m. 28 Sep 1679, Hon. Philip LIGHTFOOT
3.  Winifred CORBIN, b. 3 Nov 1662; bap. 12 Apr 1662/3; d. 1709; m. Col. LeRoy GRIFFIN
4.  Ann CORBIN, b. 9 Feb 1664/5; bap. 29 Feb 1664/5; d. 1694; m. 1685, Hon. William TAYLOE
5.  Henry CORBIN, b. 12 Feb 1667/8; bap. 22 Mar 1667/8; died in infancy
6.  Thomas CORBIN, b. 1668; d. 4 Nov 1736; unmarried
7.  (Col.) Gawin CORBIN, b. 1669 
8.  Frances CORBIN, b. 1671
Keywords for search engines:  genealogy; UK, United Kingdom, GBR, GB, Great Britain, England, WAR, Warks, Lancs, LAN; USA, US, United States, Virginia

Sources (n.b., Middlesex Co. was formed in 1669 from Lancaster Co.):

1.  Robert K. Headley, Jr..  c2003.  Married Well and Often: Marriages of the Northern Neck of Virginia, 1649-1800: Marriages and Marriage references for the Counties of Lancaster, Northumberland, Old Rappahannock, Richmond, and Westmoreland.  Genealogical Publ. Co., Baltimore, MD (online at Ancestry.com; boldface added):
Chap. B,
p. 88
CORBIN, Henry & BURNHAM, Alice (wid.); bet. Mar 1656 - 5 Apr 1658; groom was born at Hall End, Warwickshire, Eng. in 1629, the 3rd son of Thos. CORBIN; bride was a dau. of Rich. & Ann (SUTTON) ELTONHEAD and the wid. of Rowland BURNHAM (d. LC late 1655 or early 1656); she mar. (3) Capt. Hen. CREEK; (LC DW 2:46, 150; Corbin: 374,376,378)

2.  Douglas Richardson.  2005.  Magna Carta Ancestry:  A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families.  Genealogial Publ. Co., Baltimore, MD; boldface added:
p. 230 Child of Thomas Corbin, Esq., by Winifred Grosvenor:

i. HENRY CORBIN, of London, draper, 3rd son, born about 1629 (aged 25 in 1654).  He immigrated to Virginia in the ship Charity in 1654; where he settled at Middlesex County, Virginia.  He married before 5 Apr 1658 ALICE ELTONHEAD, widow of Rowland Burnham (will proved 14 Jan. 1656/7), of York and Lancaster Counties, Virginia [see ELTONHEAD 16.v for issue of this marriage], and daughter of Richard Eltonhead, Gent., of Eltonhead (in Prescot), Lancashire, by Anne, Daughter of Edward Sutton, Gent. [see ELTONHEAD 16 for her ancestry].  They had three sons, Henry, Thomas, and Gawin, and five daughters, Letitia (wife of Richaard Lee, Esq.), Alice (wife of Philip Lightfoot), Winifred (wife of [Col.] Leroy Griffing), Ann (wife of [Col.] William Tayloe), and Frances (wife of Edmund Jennings, Esq.) [see JENNINGS 18].  HENRY CORBIN died testate 8 Jan. 1675.  His widow, Alice, married (3rd) before 22 April 1677 [Capt.] Henry Creyke (or Creeke) (will proved 6 Oct. 1684), of Middlesex County, Virginia.  They had no issue.  She left a will dated 23 Mar 1684/5, proved in King and Queen's County, Virginia.

  • Dugdale Vis. of Lancaster 1664-5 1 (Chetham Soc. 84) (1872): 103 (Eltonhead pedigree: "Alice [Eltonhead], wife of… Durnham.").
  • Hayden Virginia Gens. (1891): 221-290.
  • King & Dugdale Staffordshire Peds. Based on the Vis. of that County 1663-4 & 1680-1700 (H.S.P. 63) (1912): 58 (Corbin pedigree: "Henry [Corbin].").
  • VMHB 28 (1920): 281-283, 370-373; 29 (1921): 374-382, 520-526.
  • Ligon Madresfield Muniments (1929): 50-59.
  • Lee Abs. of Lancaster County, Virginia Wills 1653-1800 (1959): 30.
  • Hopkins Middlex County, Virginia Wills & Invs. 1673-1812 (1989): 282. 
  • Sparacio & Sparacio Virginia County Court Recs.: Deed & Will Abs. of Lancaster County, Virginia 1654-1661 (1991): 22-24, 78.
  • Sparacio & Sparacio Virginia County Court Recs.: Order Book Abs. of Middlesex County, Virginia 1680-1686 (1994): 76-77.
Douglas Richardson is a highly respected professional genealogist, so I would place great weight on his compilation.

3.  Return Jonathan Meigs.  1940.  The Corbins of Virginia:  a Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Henry Corbin who settled in Virginia in 1864.  Typescript, self-published; printed to order by The Apple Manor Press, Markham, VA.

4.  National Society of the Colonial Dames of America in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  1897.  Parish Register of Christ Church, Middlesex County, Virginia, from 1653 to 1812.  Richmond, VA (online at Ancestry.com):
Name: Lettice Corbin Alice Corbin Winifrid Corbin Ann Henry
Relationship: Daughter Daughter daughter Daughter Sone
Parents: Henry Corbin Esqr Henry Corbin Esqr Henry Corbin
Alice Corbin
Henry Corbin
Alice Corbin
Henry Corbin
Alice Corbin
Birth Date: 25 - 1657 14 Feb 1660 03 Nov - 09 Feb 1664 12 Feb 1667
Baptism Date: 25 - 1657   12 Apr 1662 29 Feb 1664 22 Mar 1667
Comment:   was borne half an
houre after five o'clock
in the evening
borne at 12 a Clock,
at night
  At one a Clock in the
Morning and was Christened
on Easter Tuesday

5.  William Armstrong Crozier.  1908.  Virginia Heraldica, Being a Registry of Virginia Gentry Entitled to Coat Armour, with Genealogical Notes of the Families.  Richmond, VA (online at Ancestry.com; boldface and color added):
Name: Corbin
Location: King and Queen County
Notes: Arms:  Sable on a chief or three ravens ppr.

Thomas Corbin of Hall End, Warwickshire, born 24 May, 1594, died June, 1637, buried at Kingswinford; married in 1620, Winifred, daughter of Gawin Grosvenor of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire.  Their third son, Henry Corbin, born in 1629, came to Virginia in 1654, and died 8 Jan., 1675.  He first settled in Stratton Major Parish, King and Queen county, but also owned land in Lancaster, Westmoreland and Middlesex. He was Burgess for Lancaster in 1659, Justice for Middlesex in 1673, and Member of the Council in 1663.  He married 25 July, 1645, Alice Eltonhead, daughter of Richard Eltonhead of Lancashire, England.  His son, Gawin Corbin, was Burgess in 1700, 1702, 1718 and 1736, and also member of the Council.  He died 1 Jan., 1745

Henry could not have married Alice until after the death of her first husband in 1656/7; Crozier may be the originator of this oft-repeated error.

6.  Stella Pickett Hardy.  1911.  Colonial Families of the Southern States of America.  T.A. Wright, New York, NY (republished 1958, Southern Book Co., Baltimore, MD; republished 1965, Genealogical Publ. Co., Baltimore, MD; online at books.google.com).
Please note that someone has made handwritten corrections and annotations to this copy of Hardy's book.  I've included these annotations highlighting them in red.
p. 172 18—3. HENRY CORBIN, the third son of Thomas and Winifred (Grosvenor) Corbin, of "Hall End," was the progenitor of the Corbins in Virginia.

HON. HENRY CORBIN, (18—3), of "Buckingham House," Middlesex Co., Va., b. 1629, at "Hall End," Warwick Co., England; d. Jan. 28, 1676, at Buckingham House, Middlesex Co., Va.  He came to the Colony in in 16504 in the ship Charity, resided first in the parish of Stratton Major, King and Queen Co. (this parish was named by the Corbins after their old home in the town of Stratton, Cornwall Co., England), resided after at "Buckingham House," and it is here that the ruins of an old Chapel, said to have been attached to his residence, are still visible; Bishop Meade speaks of him as being the first registrar of the parish in Middlesex Co., in 1663 (these old vestry books show that the Hon. Henry Corbin was registrar from 1663 to 1667, and that he gave back records to 1657, and that the Corbins gave largely of land and plate to the Established Church); he was one of the Vestry appointed to write to England for a minister for the parish; he was an influential member of the King's Council,1663 a Burgess from Lancaster Co., 1657, '59, '60 (Lancaster Co. embraced for about twenty years the territory that was formed into Middlesex, so prior to its formation, Hon. Henry Corbin was of the former Co.); his portrait, by an eminent artist, in his robes of Office as Councilor of State of the Commonwealth of England, is still preserved in the family, at "Mount Airy," Richmond Co., Va., the home of the Tayloes.  He made will July 25, 16??56 1675 and left large estates in England and Virginia.  He m. July 25, 164556, in EnglandLancaster Cove, Alice EltonheadBurnham, dau. of Richard and Ann (Sutton) Eltonhead, of "Eltonhead," Lancaster Co., England. & wid. of Rowland Burnham. She m. 3rd. Capt. Henry Criyke Issue:

19—15.  Henry, b. 164666 in England; d. in infancy.
19—26.  Thomas, of London, England, b. 164868, in England; d. unm. after 1732 d. 11-4-1736
p. 173
19—37.  GAWIN, b. 16691669; of whom later.

19—48.  Frances, b. 165371; m. Hon. Edmund Jennings, of "Ripon Hall," York Co., Va., son of Sir Edward and Margaret (Burkham) Jennings, of Ripon, York Co., England, and had issue. (See Jennings lineage.)

19—51.  Letitia, b. 1657; d. Oct. 6, 1706; m.1694Col. Richard Lee, of "Mount Pleasant," Westmoreland Co., Va., the progenitor of the "Stratford" Lees, son of Col. Richard and Ann ___ Lee. (See Lee lineage.)

19—62.  Alice, b. Feb 14, 1660; m. Sept. 28, 1679, Hon. Philip Lightfoot, of Taddington Gloucester Co., Va., the progenitor of the "Tedington," Lightfoots, son of Hon. John and Elizabeth (Philips) Lightfoot, of "Grays Inn," Middlesex Co., England. (See Lightfoot lineage.)

19—73.  Winifred, b. Nov. 3, 1662; d. 1709; m. Col. LeRoy Griffin, of Northumberland Co., Va.; he was in the Colony as early as 1675; he served as Justice of the Rappahannock, 1680-95; and had issue.

19—84. Ann, b. Feb. 9, 1664; d. 1694; m. 1685, Hon. William Taylor, of Lancaster and Richmond Co.'s, Va., the progenitor of the "Mount Airy," Tayloes. (See Tayloe lineage.)...

7.  Anon.  1915.  Encyclopedia of Virginia Biography.  Vol. III.  Richmond, VA (online at Ancestry.com; boldface and color added):
III--Colonial Councillors of State
Name: Henry Corbin
was a member of an ancient family in the counties of Stafford and Warwick in England, and the son of Thomas Corbin of Hall End, Warwickshire, and his wife Winifred, daughter of Gawin Grosvenor of Sutton Colfield in the same county. Henry Corbin was born, according to a deposition, about 1629, and came to Virginia in 1654.  There is an old family tradition which his residence in England makes probable, that he assisted Charles II. in his escape after Worcester.  Upon his arrival in Virginia, Corbin seems to have at once settled in that part of Lancaster county that is now Middlesex, and to have made his home there through life.  Upon June 5, 1657, the governor and council directed that Henry Corbin should be of the quorum in the court of Lancaster.  He remained a justice of Lancaster until the formation of Middlesex, and then became a member of the court of the new county.  He was a burgess from Lancaster in 1659 and 1660, and at the same time was collector of customs for his district.  He was a councillor in 1663, in which year he was appointed one of the commissioners on the part of Virginia to treat with Maryland with regard to the cessation of tobacco culture.  He was frequently present at the meetings of the council until his death, Jan. 8, 1676.  Col. Henry Corbin acquired a great landed estate, his chief residence being "Buckingham House" in Middlesex county.  He married Alice, daughter of Richard Eltonhead, of Eltonhead, Lancashire, and widow of Rowland Burnham of Middlesex, Virginia. The date of this marriage has been given as July 5, 1645, but 1655 is evidently intended. He has many descendants in Virginia and the south. 
While Henry CORBIN had, and continues to have, many alleged descendants, I would dispute that he had many actual descendants, at least not many males surnamed CORBIN.  The male lines in this family are nearly extinct, and it was with considerable difficulty that we found even one patrilineal line male descendant to Y-DNA test.

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


Refutations:

Henry's tested patrilineal descendant is Haplogroup R1b-L48, and people in different haplogroups cannot have had a common ancestor for thousands of years.  This result debunks all the other existing claims to a descent from Henry, except those through Henry's only son with male descendants, Col. Gawin.  The most common of these claims to a direct connection with Henry are through a supposed son, John, born ca. 1746, who is alleged to be one of these three men:

1)  John CORBIN (c1600- ), husband of Margaret HOLLAND, of Dorset, England, alleged father of Clement CORBIN (1626-1696) of MA and CT.  I've found nothing to prove this John is Clement's father, but even if he were, he was certainly born too early to be Henry's son.  In any case, this connection to Henry is disproven because the several tested descendants of Clement CORBIN are Haplogroup G-L140.

2)  John CORBIN I (<1630- ), husband of Elizabeth ELLIOTT, who is alleged to have been born ca. 1646, but whom records show must have been born by 1630 because he immigrated to King George Co., VA, in 1652, as an adult.  Not only did this John arrive in Virginia before Henry, he was born too early to be his son.  It is alleged by some — and probably correctly — that the next John, listed below, is his son. 

3)  John CORBIN II (1671-1748), husband of Elizabeth SMITH, of Richmond Co., VA.  Y-DNA testing of numerous descendants has shown that this John is the progenitor of a group of CORBINs I have dubbed the "Northern Neck" CORBINs (for the location of Richmond County on the northernmost of the three Virginia peninsulae extending into Chesapeake Bay).  This John was born late enough to be Henry's son, and Richmond County is not far from Middlesex County [which is on Virginia's Middle Neck], but mere geographic proximity is not sufficient grounds for making a connection, especially when his connection to the above John I is more plausible — and some would say proven.  In any case, this connection to Henry is disproven because the descendants of John CORBIN II are Haplogroup I1-Z138.

But the bottom line is:  Henry does not name a son, John, in his will, and I think it's time to give up the idea that he had a son of that name.  At most, it's plausible that Alice's son, John BURNHAM (b. ca. 1646), could have used his stepfather's surname, but then I have to ask, where is the evidence that he ever did?  And what actual evidence is there that the alleged John CORBIN, born ca. 1646, even existed?  I've not found any.

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