Ovid H. Corbin (1820-????) Papers (KC0129)

Ovid H. Corbin (1820-????) Papers (KC0129)

Little information is available to document the history of the account book and associated items beyond the clues found in the materials themselves. The records apparently were first kept by John Stone as an accounting of the financial activities of the firm, Stone and Umbarger, wagonmakers, wheelwrights, and perhaps blacksmiths, in Liberty, Missouri. By November of 1850, the company had changed its name to Stone, Everett, Corbin and Company, though it was often listed in the volume as simply Stone, Everett and Company. Another change had occurred by early 1853 with the firm being listed as Everett and Corbin; however, there are indications that Stone continued to work for the company. The personal names of the individuals involved are: John Stone, as mentioned above, Sollimon (sic) Umbarger, Anderson Everett, and Ovid H. Corbin.

Ovid Corbin seems to have been the final keeper of the records. Upon one page in the middle of the volume he wrote: “All the money / in this Book / is mine In– – (illegible) / O.H. Corbin”. Additionally, a portion of the loose items removed from the volume for separate filing can be identified as records of personal accounts held by Corbin with other local businesses.

Corbin was a native Virginian, born in Stafford County October 9, 1820, who settled with his family in Clay County in 1849. His father, Benjamin S. Corbin, was a carpenter–a trade which Ovid also followed for a time. A biography of O.H. Corbin published in the History of Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri (1885) states: “Here [Liberty, Missouri] he engaged in wagon and carriage making, and bought an established business in that line, which he continued until 1856, having in the meantime purchased the interest of his partner, with whom he had previously been in business.” In 1856, Corbin turned his attention to the flour milling trade and purchased, with partners, the Liberty Flouring Mills. Four years later he added a woolen mill to the enterprise. The company became the O.H. Corbin and Company and continued into the 20^th century.

The papers contain an account book of the wagon maker and wheelwright business, Stone and Umbarger, and its descendent companies which operated in Liberty, Missouri, from at least 1849 to about 1856. Also included are personal financial records of Ovid H. Corbin, one of the owners of the above mentioned company. 1848-1863.

Seven folders.

updated: Monday, February 07, 2011
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