Page:The Biographical Dictionary of America, vol. 02.djvu/311

 COBURN

COBURN

in 1771. He was educated at Bloomfield acad- emy and took up the business of land surveying in 1825, after which he became an extensive dealer in lumber. In 18o4 lie began to build railroads and as director and president became prominent in railroad enterprises. He was

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elected to the state legislature in 1838, 1840 and 1844, and was an elector on the Whig presidential ticket of 1852. In 1855 he was elected a member of the governor's council and again in 1857. He was presidential elector in 1860 and 1884, and governor of Maine, 1862-63. He was president of the board of managers of the Maine state college of agriculture and Coburn hall was named in his honor. He was trustee of Colby university, 1845- S5, and president of the board, 1874—85. He left numerous bequests, aggregating 8900,000, among them 8200,000 to Colby university; 8100,000 to the Maine state college of agriculture; 8200,000 to the American Baptist home mission society; $100,000 to the American Baptist missionary union; 8100,000 to the Maine general hospital; $50,000 to the Maine insane hospital; 850,000 to Wayland seminary, and 830,000 to erect and fur- nish the Skowhegan free public library. He died at Skowhegan, Maine, Jan. 4, 1885.

COBURN, Frank Potter, representative, was born in Hamilton, Wis., Dec. 6, 1858. He at- tenaed the public schools and became a farmer in West Salem. In 1888 he was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for representative from the 7th district of Wisconsin in the 51st congress; in 1890 was elected to the 52d congress; and in 1892 was the unsuccessful candidate for election to the 53d congress. At the close of the 52d con- gress he retired from public life.

COBURN, John, soldier, was born in Indian- apolis, Ind., Oct. 27, 1825; son of Henr^- Peter and Sarah (Malott) Coburn; grandson of Peter and Elizabeth (Poor) Coburn; great-grandson of Peter and Dolly (Varnum) Coburn; and a direct descendant from Edward Coburn, who settled in Dracut, Middlesex county, Mass., in Septem- ber, 1668, and purchased from Thomas, a Saga-

more Indian of Natick, 1600 acres of land, which deed also covered the old Varnum farm. His great-grandfather and grandfather were soldiers at Bunker Hill, one a captain, th*^ other a private. John Coburn was graduated at Wabash college in 1846 and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He was a representative in the Indiana state legisla- ture of 1851 and was elected judge of the court of common pleas for Marion Boone and Hen- dricks counties, serving from September, 1859, to September, 1861. He resigned his seat on the bench to accept the colonelcj' of the 33d Indiana volunteers and was attached to the army of the Ohio. His first battle was at Wildcat in south- eastern Kentucky, Oct. 21, 1861, in which Zol- licoffer's invasion of Kentucky was thwarted, and in 1862 he was assigned to the command of a brigade in the army of the Ohio, under General Buell. In the army of the Cumberland he com- manded a brigade in the corps of Gen. Gordon Granger; and subsequently a brigade in General Hooker's corps. He served through the Tennes- see and Georgia campaigns under Generals Hooker and Slocum. When the city of Atlanta capitulated in September, 1864, General Coburn received the surrender of the place as commander of a reconnoissance in force that marched from the Chattahoochee river to ascertain the condi- tion of the enemy, Atlanta being occupied by a Confederate brigade. He was brevetted briga- dier-general of volunteers March 13, 1865, for gallant and meritorious services during the war. President Lincoln appointed him secretary of Montana Territory in March, 1865, which position he declined. He was the same j'ear elected judge of the 5th judicial circuit of Indiana and resigned on his nomination for representative in con- gress in July, 1866. He represented his district in the 40th, 41st, 42d and 43d con- gresses, 1867-75, and served on the com- mittees on public ex- penditures, banking and currency, and military affairs, each for four years, and on the Kuklux com- mittee and on the committee of inves- tigation into the Ala- bama elections of 1874, that reported the force bill in February, 1875, which passed the house, but for lack of time failed in the senate He took a prominent part in debates on recon- struction, on currencj', on funding the public debt, and on numerous militarv bills. He is the