Allen line: Edward Corbin of Baltimore County, dates unknown

This is another of those "I don't know much and some of what I do 'know' I don't quite believe" posts.  Edward Corbin is our ancestor, however, and so I'm writing about the little I know or suspect, hoping that with these bread crumbs someone will someday be able to pick up his trail.  Who knows?  I might even learn more, at some point. 

Some of our ancestors seem to have stayed beneath the radar for almost their whole lives, poking their heads up just long enough for a quick sighting before again disappearing.  Edward Corbin is one of those men.  To make matters worse, he named a son Edward, and many trees on line have confused the two.  So with very little documentation to back this up, here's a brief summary of Edward.

Edward's parents were Nicholas Corbin and (likely) Alice Bryen or Bryan,  He was born probably by 1684, although the year of 1676 is commonly used, with 1678 coming in a close second.  We know he was on the tax rolls, and thus 16 or older, in 1701.  There are church records for St Paul's Episcopal Church, locally known as Old St Paul's Church, with the births of some of the children of Edward and Jane Wilkinson Corbin.  They are believed to have married about 1710.  The church mentioned was in a small village at the time, but is now located (different building, but same plot of land) in downtown Baltimore.  It's believed that Edward and Jane had at least eight children. 

Edward and Jane (daughter of William and Elizabeth Clark Wilkinson) bought and sold land in Baltimore County like it was going out of style.  Most of their holdings seem to have been on the north side of the Patapsco River, although some was south of Gunpowder Falls.  Based on what I've learned about the economy in this time frame through the stories of other ancestors in this location, it is possible, even likely, that the Corbins had slaves, and it's likely that their main crop was tobacco.  I've not yet seen records that would document the slaveholding, and I've only seen one brief mention of tobacco, so don't hold my feet to the fire over this one. 

There don't seem to be land records for Edward after 1750, and I've seen a death date of November 30, 1753 for Edward.  I have also, much more frequently, seen a death date of November 30, 1770.  However, that Edward left a will which survived, and none of the children's names, nor his wife's name, match that of our Edward.  Speculation would say this this younger Edward was either the son or the grandson of our Edward. 

That is what little we know of Edward.  He was a land owner, who apparently turned the 100 acres at Corbin's Hill that he inherited from his father into a much larger estate, not necessarily all in the same location.  He was Anglican in religion.  We don't know whether he was ever called on to serve in the militia, although it's possible.  It's also possible, but pure speculation, that at some point he traveled to England to meet his paternal grandparents or on business, although there is not a shred of evidence to point to that.  There is still so much we don't know.  We need to keep looking! 

The line of descent is:

Edward Corbin-Jane Wilkinson
Mary Jane Corbin-Samuel Lane
Lambert Lane-Nancy Ann Anderson
Nancy Ann Lane-James McCoy
Vincent McCoy-Eleanor Jackson
Nancy McCoy-George Allen
Edward Allen-Edith Knott
Richard Allen-Gladys Holbrook
Their descendants