Boston Corbett

Dan,
Tracking down the correct Corbett family is very tricky. In 2006, I spoke about Bos' at the annual Surratt Society assassination conference and at that time I was unsure of the identify of any of Thomas/Boston's close relatives. In 2009 I had a breakthrough and was hot on the trail of Thomas's brother. In 2011 I found who I thought was the right guy (the brother) and did an update when I spoke again at the Surratt conference on digital research. The pieces mostly seemed to fit, but there was a slight edge of doubt in my identification. Shortly thereafter a researcher contacted me and convinced me that I was 'barking up the wrong family tree", so to speak. He presented me with evidence that I believe now and, whew, saved me from giving the wrong identification for the brother.

It was in the form of a letter, that I already had a copy of, BTW, but one that I had not checked over enough to understand the clues in it. He persuaded me that this was the right brother and as it stands now, I believe this to be the correct one. You'll pardon me if I keep this close to my vest for the time being. I AM writing a book, after all, and I have to save SOMETHING for the publisher. Suffice it to say that the brother was quite different from Bos' and that he died young and tragically.

During the last year I have been ferreting out the story of Thomas/Boston's father and his career in England. That, too, is quite an interesting. When I get things organized in the way that I'm comfortable with, perhaps I'll post something about what I've found. (Here's a hint: from time to time I use a photo of something the father was involved in as my Avatar on the forum.)

Steve