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Stoddard Benham Colby (1816–1867), son of Nehemiah Colby and Malinda Larrabee
Stoddard Benham Colby was born on 3 February 1816 in Derby, Orleans County, Vermont. He died on 21 September 1867 in Haverhill, Grafton, Vermont. He married first Harriet E. Proctor on 11 February 1840, probably in Derby. He married second Ellen C. Hunt on 12 July 1855 in Haverhill.
According to the Colby genealogy, Stoddard Benham Colby, the son of Captain Nehemiah Colby and Melinda Larrabee was born on 3 February 1816 in Derby and died on 21 September 1867, age 52 in Haverhill. He married first Harriet Elizabeth Proctor, the daughter of Hon. Jabez Proctor of Proctorsville, Vermont and sister of Governor Proctor of Vermont. He married second Ellen Cornelia Hunt, daughter of Caleb Hunt of Haverhill. He practiced law in Derby and was a representative of the town to the legislature. He was Register of the Treasury, 1876 to 1867. [1]
According to the Vermont vital records, Stoddard B. Colby married Harriet E. Proctor on 11 February (or in April, duplicate) 1840 in Derby or Cavendish County. Stoddard B. Colby married Helen C. Hunt on 12 July 1855 in Haverhill. In both sets of records Stoddard is referred to as an attorney. [2]
According to Dartmouth College, Stoddard Benham Colby of Derby was a freshman there in 1832. Stoddard B. Colby, Esq. was a graduate of the class of 1836. [3]
Stoddard was admitted to the bar in December 1838 in Orleans County and he practiced in Derby until 1846. [4] He went to Montpelier and was a partner of L.B. Peck for 17 years. [4] Stoddard was a justice of the peace in Montpelier in 1847. [5]
Stoddard B. Colby to John G. Nicolay: Has my confirmation gone to the Senate?
According to the census, in 1840, Stoddard B. headed a household in Derby with a male and a female [presumably Stoddard and Harriet] aged 20 to 29. In 1850 Stoddard B., age 34, lived in Montpelier with Harriet, age 30, Jabez P., age nine, Laura, age six, Edward age two, and a servant. Stoddard was a lawyer. In 1860 Stoddard B., age 43, lived in Montpelier with Ellen H., age 26, Laura M., age 17, Edward P., age 12, and three apparently unrelated people: Susan R. Spalding, age 20, Joanna Sexton, age 17, and William Rocks, age 14. Stoddard was a lawyer with real estate worth 7,000 dollars and a personal estate of 5,000 dollars. [6]
Stoddard B. Colby was sworn in as Register of the Treasury on 12 August 1864. [7] He held this position until his death. [8]
Stoddard went to the home of his kinsman, Mr. Woodard, in early August 1867 to rest. [8]
Stoddard B. Colby of Washington, D.C., being "in feeble health, and weak in body," made his will on 10 September 1867. He left one dollar each to his three adult children, Jabez P. Colby, Laura Cary, and Edward Colby, if they demanded it. He left the rest of his estate to the support of his wife Ellen C. Colby and his minor children Ellen Rebecca and Frank Moore Colby. He made his son Jabez and his wife the trustees of his estate and executors of his will. He said, "I earnestly enjoin upon all my adult children kind and considerate treatment towards my said beloved wife and said minor children." A witness to the will testified on 12 October 1867. [9]
According to an obituary, Hon. Stoddard B. Colby, Register U.S. Treasury, died on 21 September 1867 in Haverhill. [10]
Helen Hunt, the wife of Stoddard B. Colby, was the youngest daughter of Caleb Hunt. [11]
Stoddard Colby and Harriet Proctor letters
Children of Stoddard Benham Colby and Harriet Elizabeth Proctor:
i. Jabez Proctor Colby, the son of Stoddard and Harriet Colby, was born on 10 November 1840 in Rockingham County, Vermont. [2] He died in May 1893 and is buried in the Proctor Cemetery in Proctorsville. [12] He married Susan Scott Moore as her second husband on 18 January 1880 in Wells River, Vermont. [13] Susan, the daughter of Cyrus and Susan (Shedd) Scott, was born on 16 March 1846 in Wells River and died on 10 February 1930 in Nashua , New Hampshire. [14] She is buried in the Wells River Cemetery in Orange County. [12] She married first William Moore. [15]
According to his grave stone, Jabez was born on 10 November 1841[!] in Proctorsville and he died in May 1893. [12]
In 1857 Jabez P. Colby of Montpelier was a student at the Washington County Seminary in Fort Edwards, New York. [16] In 1858 he was a student at the Phillips Academy in Massachusetts. [17]
In May/June 1863 Jabez P. Colby was an unmarried railroad clerk in Vermont. [18]
According to the census, in 1880 Jabez P. Colby, a mail route agent, and Susan E. Colby, age 34, his wife, were living in Newbury, Orange County, Vermont. [6]
In 1928, Susan E. Colby, the widow of Jabez P. Colby, was living in Nashua, New Hampshire. [19]
ii. Laura Melinda Colby was born on 2 February 1846 in Vermont. She died on 14 December 1921. She married Brigadier General Asa Bacon Carey.
Photo of Laura Melinda and Edward Parker Colby
iii. Edward Parker Colby was born about 1845/8. He died on 31 December 1869 in Jefferson, Marion County, Texas.
Edward Parker Colby was a Civil War soldier. He enlisted on 20 February 1864 in Pennsylvania and was mustered out on 13 August 1864. [20]
In November 1867 Edward was appointed a first lieutenant in the 29th infantry at the Lincoln Barracks in Washington, D.C. In April 1869 he was serving at Greenville, Texas. On 25 April 1869 he was assigned as first lieutenant to company D of the 11th infantry. He served in Greenville until August 1869, when he was detached to be a member of a military commission in Jefferson, Texas. At the end of October he was still on detachment as a member of the military commission. At the end of November, his commanding officer at Greenville noted that he was relieved from duty there: "Undergoing sentence of G.C.M. at Jefferson, Texas per G.O. 193." [21]
First Lieutenant Edward P. Colby, 11th U.S. Infantry, age 24, shot himself in the head on New Year's Eve 1869. [22][23][24]
Transcription of a newspaper article: "Lieut. Edward P. Colby, who committed suicide at Jefferson, Texas, a few days ago, was a son of the late Stoddard B. Colby of Montpelier, whose autograph may be found on certain issues of greenbacks as 'register of the treasury.' His suicide is attributed to the fact that for some time past he had been addicted to gambling and drunkenness, and had lost heavily. On the mantle-piece in his room was found a small Sunday school book on the subject of the ruinous results of gaming. Written on this was, 'follow the teachings of this and you will be saved.'" [24]
A permit was obtained to transport Edward's body back from Jefferson, Texas to bury him in Haverhill. [25] He also has a gravestone in the Oakwood Cemetery in Jefferson; it says "Edward P. Colby / 1st Lieut / 11 US Inf / 1845 / 1869. [12] Either the permit was not used or the apparent gravestone is a cenotaph.
iv. Lucien Redfield Colby was born in February 1852. Lucien Redfield, the son of Stoddard B. Colby and Harriet E. Proctor, died on 14 September 1854, age two years and seven months, in Montpelier. [2] He is buried in the Proctor Cemetery in Proctorsville, Windsor County, Vermont. [12]
Children of Stoddard Benham Colby and Ellen C. Hunt:
i. Ellen Rebecca Colby was born about 1861. Ellen R., age 22, married Frederick A. Stokes on 10 May 1883 in Detroit. [26] Frederick Abbott Stokes, the son of Frederick A. and Caroline A. Stokes, was born on 4 November 1857 in Brooklyn. [27] He died on 15 November 1939. He is buried in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn. [2]
Frederick and Ellen were the parents of Horace Winston Stokes who married Mary Sanford Wheeler. [2]
ii. 
Frank Moore Colby was born on 10 February 1865. He died on 3 March 1925. He married Harriet Wood Fowler on 30 December 1896.
According to the Colby genealogy, Frank Moore Colby was born on 10 February 1865. He received his A.B. degree from Columbia in 1888 and his A.M. degree from there in 1889. He was an assistant professor of history at Amherst College from 1890 to 1891. He married Harriet Wood Fowler on 30 December 1896. He was an editor. [1]
Frank Moore Colby was the subject of a 5 November 1978 Peanuts cartoon.
References:
1. Frederick Lewis Weis, The Colby Family in Early America (Concord: Colonial Press, 1970).
2. "Vermont, U.S., Vital Records, 1720–1908," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/4661)> 1870 and prior > Colburn – Collier, L.
image 1021, Jabez Proctor Colby, birth
image 1190, Lucius Redfield Colby, death
image 1527, Stoddard B. Colby, second marriage
image 1529, Stoddard B. Colby, first marriage
images 1531, 1533 Stoddard B. Colby, first marriage, duplicate
3. Catalogue of the Officers and Students of Dartmouth College, Oct. 1832 (Newport, NY: Simon Brown, 1832), 14, digitized as "U.S. College Student Lists," 1763–1924," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2207) > New Hampshire > Dartmouth College > 1832, image 60.
4. William Adams, Gazetteer of Washington County, Vermont, 1783–1889, Part 1 (Syracuse: Hamilton Child, 1889), 82.
5. "Journal of House of Representatives of the State of Vermont, October Session, 1847," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/24013) > Back matter, 258, entry for Stoddard B. Colby.
6. U.S. Federal Census Collection, searchable databases, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/categories/usfedcen) > 1850 > Vermont > Washington > Montpelier, image 8, entry for Stoddard B. Colby; 1860 > Vermont > Washington > Montpelier, image 51, entry for Stoddard B. Colby; 1880 > Vermont > Orange > Newbury, image 139, entry for Jabez P. Colby.
7. "Dispatches to the Associated Press," New York Times 12 August 1864, 4.
8. Frederick W. Baldwin, Biography of the Bar of Orleans County, Vermont (Montpelier: Vermont Watchman and State Journal Press, 1886), 148–52.
9. "Washington, D.C., Wills and Probate Records, 1737–1952," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/9083) > District of Columbia > Wills, Boxes 32–36, Herbert, Samuel A., 1864–1867, images 873–4, entry for Stoddard B. Colby.
10. "Death of U.S. Register Colby," Daily Missouri Republican, St. Louis, Tuesday 24 September 1867, p. 3.
11. J.Q. Bittinger, History of Haverhill, N.H. (Haverhill: Cohos Steam Press, 1888), 327, digitized as "History of Haverhill, N.H.," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/24134), image 333.
12. Findagrave:
Jabez Proctor Colby, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13897126/jabez-p.-colby, inscription on gravestone (photo) says that he was born in Proctorsville on 10 Nov. 1841[!] and he died in May 1893.
Susan E. Scott Moore, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/59949308/susan-e-moore.
Edward P. Colby, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8849327/edward-parker-colby
Lucius Redfield Colby, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13897129/lucien-redfield-colby
Frederick A. Stokes, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/58038881/frederick-a.-stokes
Horace Winston Stokes, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/23351882/horace-winston-stokes
13. "Married," The Riverside, Wells River, Vermont, 24 January 1880, p. 5.
14. "New Hampshire, U.S. Death and Disinterment Records, 1754–1947," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/5242) > Deaths > Death Certificates, 1901–1937 > Colby, J.–Came, A., images 334–5, entry for Sue Moore Colby.15. "Bury Mrs. Colby," Burlington Free Press, 13 February 1930, p. 2.
16. "U.S., School Catalogues, 1765–1935," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2203) > New York > Washington County Seminary > 1857, image 19, entry for Jabez P. Colby.
17. "U.S., High School Student Lists, 1821–1923," database with images, Ancestry, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2395) > Massachusetts > Phillips Academy > 1858, image 12.
18. "U.S., Civil War Draft Registrations Records, 1863–1865," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1666) > Vermont > 1st > vol. 1, image 116, entry for Jabez P. Colby.
19. "U.S., City Directories, 1822–19905," database, (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2469) > New Hampshire > Nashua > 1928 > Nashua, New Hampshire City Directory, 1928, Susan E. Colby, widow Jabez P.
20. "U.S., Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861–1865, database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1555), Entry for Edward Parker Colby
| Name: | Edward Parker Colby |
|---|---|
| Birth Place: | Vermont |
| Enlistment Date: | 20 Feb 1864 |
| Enlistment Rank: | Private |
| Muster Date: | 20 Feb 1864 |
| Muster Place: | Pennsylvania |
| Muster Regiment: | Batty D LA |
| Muster Regiment Type: | Artillery |
| Muster Information: | Enlisted |
| Muster Out Date: | 13 Aug 1864 |
| Muster Out Information: | Transferred |
| Side of War: | Union |
| Survived War?: | Yes |
| Death Date: | 31 Dec 1869 |
| Title: | History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-1865; Heitman: Register of United States Army 1789-1903 |
21. "U.S., Returns from Military Posts, 1806–1916," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/1571), Entries for Edward P. Colby, District of Columbia > Washington, Lincoln Barracks > 1867 Nov –1869 Mar, images 3, 28; Texas > Greenville > 1869 Jan – 1870 May, inages 3, 10, 12, 16 , 26, 28, 32.
22/ War Department, Surgeon General's Office, A Report of Surgical Cases Treated in the Army of the United States, 1865–1871 (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Officem, 1871), 13.
23. "Suicide of an Army Officer," Brooklyn Eagle January 6, 1870. Shreveport, LA. January 5. Lieutenant E. P. Colby, of the United States army, committed suicide at Jefferson, Texas, on the 31st. nlt., by shooting himself through the head with a revolver. He was a son of S. C. Colby, of the Treasury Department.
23. "U.S., Registers of Deaths in the Regular Army, 1860–1889," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/2128) > Register of Death of Regular Army > 1869 (Jun)–1872 (June), image 25, Entry for Edward P. Colby.
24. Rutland Independent, Rutland, Vermont, Feb 5, 1870. Transcription from "Marion County, Texas Death Notices and Obituaries," webpage, Genealogy Trails (http://genealogytrails.com) > Texas > Pineywoods > Marion > Obituaries and Death Notices, accessed 7 November 2022.
25. "New York, New York, U.S., Bodies in Transit, 1859–1894," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/62040), Entry for Edward P. Colby
| Name: | Edward P Colby |
|---|---|
| Death Age: | 21 |
| Birth Date: | abt 1848 |
| Birth Place: | Vermont |
| Death Date: | 31 Dec 1869 |
| Death Place: | Jefferson Texas |
| Transit Date: | 15 Jan 1870 |
| Burial Place: | Haverhill N Hamp |
26. "Michigan, U.S., County Marriage Records, 1822–1940," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61374), Entry for Ellen R. Colby.
27. "U.S., Social Security Applications and Claims Index, 1936–2007," database, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/60901), Entry for Frederick Abbott Stokes.
Images: Letter form Stoddard B. Colby to John G. Nicolay, Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 2. General Correspondence. 1858-1864: Stoddard B. Colby to John G. Nicolay, Thursday, December 22, 1864 (Nomination), Library of Congress (https://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.4317600/?sp=1&r=-0.177,0.022,1.494,0.973,0).
Photograph of Stoddard B. Colby by Mathew Brady, "Mathew Brady Photographs of Civil War-Era Personalities and Scenes, 1921–1940," Record Group 111: Records of the Office of the Chief Signal Officer, 1860–1985, digitized, "Brady Civil War Photos," Fold3 (https://www.fold3.com/image/4292410).
Photograph of Laura Melinda and Edward, author's copy.
"Frederick A. Stokes, Book Publisher Dies," Star Tribune, Minneapolis, 17 November 1939, p.23.
"Frank Moore Colby Diees in Hospital," Boston Globe, 3 March 1925, p. 7.
©a. buiter
12-May-2023