Lake Maxinkuckee Its Intrigue History & Genealogy Culver, Marshall, Indiana

HON. HORACE CORBIN  



History of Marshall County, Indiana 1836 to 1880 by Daniel McDonald, printed in Chicago by Kingman Brothers, Lakeside Building, 1881

Mr. CORBIN was born May 21, 1827, in Tioga County, N. Y. His father, who was a native of one of the new England States, died when the subject was but three years old. The latter spent the days of his boyhood on the farm of his step-father until nineteen years of age, attending the common school during the winter. He was a diligent student, and improved the oppertunities offered for acquiring an education.

At the age of nineteen, he entered the academy at Oswego, N. Y., which he attended for two terms, teaching school during the winter to render his periods of study self-sustaining. It was through the kindness of his uncle that he was first permitted to enter the academy, and after leaving it he engaged with his uncle as a contractor on the North Branch Canal, but subsequently sold his interest in the contract and began the study of law in the office of Hon. John BRISBIN, in Wyoming County, Penn. His preceptor was an eminent man of his day, and at that time Member of Congress from Pennsylvania. Early in 1851, Mr. CORBIN was admitted to the bar of Wyoming County, Penn., and, in November of the same year, came to Plymouth, Ind., and entered upon the practice of his profession.

He began under favorable circumstances, and it was evident to observers that the young lawyer was a man of more than ordinary ability and merit.

In 1852, about a year after his arrival, he was nominated by the Democrats for the office of District Prosecuting Attorney, and was elected by a flattering majority. He resigned, however, after serving a year, and, finding more labor than profit in the office, he continued his law practice successfully and without interruption until 1862, when he was nominated by his party for State Senator. He was elected, and served one term, during which time there were four sessions of the Senate. He served as a member of several committees; notably those on Prisons and Benevolent Institutions.

At the expiration of his term of office, he returned to Plymouth to devote his entire attention to his practice. Upon the organization of Plymouth as a city, in 1873, he was chosen Mayor, and filled that position with honor and ability for nearly two years. He resigned this office to accept the appointment of Judge of the Forty-first Judicial District, tendered him by Gov. HENDRICKS. In every public capacity in which he has served, he has acquitted himself nobly, and manifested a zeal in his mission and a conscientious fidelity to trust that has gained for him the admiration of political friends and opponents alike. His practice has justified the ambitious hopes of his earlier years, and he stands now at the head of his profession in this county.

While he is a thorough and competent lawyer, he is equally so as a farmer, and now owns two large farms, in the cultivation of which he takes great pleasure. He has always been a public-spirited man, and a friend to every measure designed to improve the moral or temporal condition of the community. He was one of the early Secretaries of the Indianapolis, Peru & Chicago Railroad, and has been identified with many of the public improvements of the county. For more than twenty-five years, he has been an active member of the Masonic fraternity, and has taken the various degrees up to that of the Scottish Rite. He was one of the charter members of Plymouth Commandery, K. T., and Generalissimo of that order.

In 1855, he was united in marriage with Miss Catherine HOUGHTON, daughter of John HOUGHTON, a pioneer of Marshall County, and the second incumbent of the County Treasurer’s office. Of this union were born five children, viz., Manfred H., William K., Horace E., Charles E. and Cleon H.




Horace Corbin born May 21, 1827, in Tioga County, N. Y and died 1897

He married 15 May 1855 Marshall county Indiana Catherine HOUGHTON born 7 Jul 1832 Rush county Indiana and died Sep 1900 daughter of John Houghton and Rachel Logan

He was a Democrat and was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Indiana, 1864

The engraving of his estate as found in the 1875 Atlas of Indiana.


Horace Corbin had the home constructed in about 1865. At the time it was constructed Corbin owned the entire block on the west side of Michigan Street between Harrison and North Streets.

Was constructed in about 1865 and designed in the "cube" Italianate style. He lived in it with his wife until 1903.

About 1915 the estate was divided into building lots.

Corbin contracted with architect William S. Matthews to make renovations to his home in 1880. The original plan was called “execrably designed as to practically deprive its owner of at least one-third of the room which should have been at his disposal…the interior of the home was remodeled in its entirety”.

The Corbin-Bechaka House The home’s architecture developed with successive owners of the house.


Of this union were born five [sic seven] children, viz.,
    1 Manfred Houghton Corbin born 1 Apr 1856 and died Bet. 1887–1947 ; married Sept 1875 Elizabeth J. Logan daughter of Reuben Dooley Logan

    2 Francis Zenobia Corbin born 17 Feb 1858 and died 17 Sep 1859

    3 William Knight Corbin born 16 Oct 1859

    4 James Earnest Corbin born 26 Jan 1862 and died 08 May 1869

    5 Horace Edwin Corbin born 17 Sep 1864

    6 John Charles [Charles E ] Corbin 4 Oct 1867 in Marshall County, Indiana ; married Circa 1893 Adaline M. [-?-] born Sep 1869 in Wisconsin

    7 Harcourt Cleon [Cleon H] Corbin born 3 Jan 1870

Year: 1860; Census Place: Center, Marshall, Indiana; Roll: M653_278; Page: 656;
Household Members: Name Age
Horace Corbin 32
Catharine Corbin 27
M H Corbin 4
Wm K Corbin 1

Year: 1870; Census Place: Center, Marshall, Indiana; Roll: M593_342; Page: 38B;
Household Members: Name Age
Horace Corbin 42
Catherine Corbin 37
Manford Corbin 14
William Corbin 10
Edwin Corbin 5
Charles Corbin 2
Harcourt Corbin 5/12

Year: 1880; Census Place: Plymouth, Marshall, Indiana; Roll: 297
Household Members: Name Age
Hartman Corbin 56
Catharine Corbin 47
William K. Corbin 20
Horace Corbin 15
Charles Corbin 12
Cleon Corbin 9
Sarah Peterson 17
Charles Cressner 25