552. 



OBITUARIES, AMERICAN. (COLLINS CORBIN.) 



civil war he went to the front as the correspondent 

 of the "Journal," and his letters, written over the 

 signature of " Carleton," attracted much attention 

 because of their clearness and vivid descriptions. 

 In 1866 he was sent to Europe to report the war be- 

 tween Austria, Italy, and Prussia, and on its termi- 

 nation he reported the Paris Exposition of 1867, 

 and then made a tour of the world, sending weekly 

 letters to his paper. Since 1870 he had applied 

 himself largely to authorship. lie was elected to 

 the State Legislature in 1884 and 1885, and to the 

 State Senate in 1890. His publications include 

 " The Great Commercial Prize " (1858) ; " Days and 

 Nights on the Battlefield" (1864); "Following 

 the Flag " and " Winning His Way " (1865) ; " Four 

 Years of Fighting " (1866) ; " Our New Way Round 

 the World" (1869); "The Seat of Empire" (1870); 

 " Caleb Krinkle " (1875) ; " History of Bosca- 

 wen" (1877); "Boys of '76" (1879);" "Old Times 

 in the Colonies " (1880) ; " Life of Garfield " (1880) ; 

 "Building the Nation" (1883); "Drumbeat of the 

 Nation " (1887) ; " Freedom Triumphant " (1891) ; 

 "Abraham Lincoln" (1892); "Dan of Millbrook " 

 (1894) ; and " Daughters of the Revolution and 

 their Services 1769-1776" (1895). 



Collins, Hiram, inventor, born in South Hamp- 

 ton, N. H., May 27, 1808; died in Amesbury. Mass., 

 Jan. 15, 1896. He removed to Amesbury in early 

 youth, and for many years worked in the mills 

 there and in Boston. While milling he perfected 

 several mechanical devices and invented the first 

 continuous loom running machine for woolen mills. 

 Subsequently he was engaged in dentistry and the 

 jewelry business. 



Colston, Raleigh Edwiird, military officer, born 

 of Virginia parents in Paris. France, Oct. 31, 1S2."); 

 died in Richmond, Va.. July 29, 1S96. He came to 

 the United States in September. 1842 ; entered the 

 Virginia Military Institute in the following year; and 

 after graduation was Professor of French at the insti- 

 tute for ten years. He served in the Confederate 

 army during the civil war, and at its close entered the 

 service of the Khedive of Egypt. In 1876 he was 

 one of the officers selected to assist in reorganizing 

 and equipping the Egyptian army. During his 

 service with that army he was engaged in battles 

 with the Abyssinians, and on resigning his post he 

 was appointed by the Khedive a knight commander 

 of the order of Osmanieh. After his return he 

 held an appointment in one of the departments in 

 Washington, D. C., till 1892, when paralysis forced 

 his retirement. 



Comegys, Cornelius, physician, born in Cher- 

 bourg, Kent County, Del., in" 1816 ; died in Cincin- 

 nati, Ohio, Feb. 10, 1896. He was a son of Gov. 

 Cornelius P. Comegys and brother of United States 

 Senator Joseph P. Comegys. After engaging un- 

 successfully in business in Indiana, he studied 

 medicine, and was graduated at the University of 

 Pennsylvania in 1848. He settled in Cincinnati, 

 spent 1851 in special study in London and Paris; 

 was appointed Professor of Anatomy in the Cincin- 

 nati College of Medicine in 1852; and soon after- 

 ward resigned to become Professor of the Institutes 

 of Medicine in the new Miami Medical College, Ox- 

 ford, Ohio. In 1857 the last institution was united 

 with the Medical College of Ohio, and with the ex- 

 ception of 1800-'64 Dr. Comegys retained his chair 

 till 1868. He also in 1857 became lecturer on clinical 

 medicine in the Cincinnati Hospital, where he in- 

 troduced important improvements. Dr. Comegys 

 secured the organization of the University of Cin- 

 cinnati in 1869 ; was a founder and president of 

 the Cincinnati Academy of Medicine; was active 

 in developing the Cincinnati Public Library ; and 

 for many years was a director of the board of edu- 

 cation of that city. He translated Renouard's 



"History of Medicine," and published medical 

 papers, of which 'The Pathology and Treatment of 

 Phthisis "and "Cool Bathing in the Treatment of 

 Entero-colitis " attracted special attention. 



Cooke, Augustus Paul, naval officer, born in 

 Coopers! own, X. V., Feb. 10.1836; died in Paris, 

 France, Sept. 7, 1896. He was graduated at the 

 United States Naval Academy in 1856; was pro- 

 moted passed midshipman April 29, 1859; master, 

 Sept. 5 following ; lieutenant, Dec. 28, 1860 ; lieuten- 

 ant commander, Aug. 11,1862: commander, Aug. 

 15, 1870; and captain. Nov. 25, 1881; and was re- 

 tired May 27, 1892. While serving on the steamer 

 " Pinola" in the Western Gulf blockading squadron 

 in 1862, he assisted in clearing obstructions in the 

 Mississippi river below Forts Jackson and St. 

 Philip, and took part in the capture of those forts 

 and of New Orleans. He was then transferred to 

 the " Estrella," of the gunboat flotilla operating in 

 the waters of Louisiana under the command of 

 Lieutenant-Commander Buchanan. The latter was 

 killed in an engagement with the Confederate, gun- 

 boat " Cotton," on Jan. 14, 1863, and Cooke suc- 

 ceeded to the command of the flotilla. In April 

 following, with 3 vessels, he destroyed the Confed- 

 erate steamer " Queen of the West " and captured 

 her crew in Grand lake, Louisiana, and also captured 

 Fort Burton at Butte a la Rose, La., taking all the 

 garrison prisoners. After the war he was on duty 

 at the Naval Academy ; commanded several prac- 

 tice, training, and receiving ships ; was inspector 

 of ordnance at the San Francisco Navy Yard and 

 captain of the yard at the New York and Philadel- 

 phia Navy Yards; and from Sept. 15, 1890, tilLhis 

 retirement was President of the Board of Inspection 

 of Merchant Vessels at New York city. 



Cooke, Julia Montague, missionary, born in 

 Sunderland, Mass., Nov. 12, 1812; died' in Hono- 

 lulu, Hawaii, Aug. 12, 1896. In November, 1836, 

 she married Amos S. Cooke, of Danbury, Conn., 

 and in the following month they sailed on "the bark 

 ' Mary Frazier " for Hawaii, to engage in mission- 

 ary work under the auspices of the American 

 Board. They arrived at Honolulu on April 10, 

 1837, and there organized a school for native chil- 

 dren, which they carried on twelve years. She con- 

 tinued in active work till within a few years of her 

 death, and survived her husband but a year. 



Corbin, Austin, financier, born in Newport, 

 N. II.. July 11, 1827; died there June 4, 1896. He 

 was graduated at the Harvard Law School in 1849, 

 removed to Davenport, Iowa, in 1851, and engaged 

 in the banking business in 1854. In 1863, on the 

 passage of the national banking law, he organized 

 what became the First National Bank of Davenport. 

 His private banking house was the only institution 

 of its kind in the city that withstood the panic of 

 1857, and he was equally successful with his national 

 bank. While looking after these interests he was 

 first drawn into railroad operations, and became 

 President of the Indianapolis, Bloomington and 

 Western Railroad Company. In 1805 he removed 

 to New York city, founded the Corbin Banking 

 Company, and acquired interest after interest, till 

 he became one of the foremost financiers in the 

 city. One of his first operations was the purchase 

 of 2-J- miles of beach and 500 acres of barren waste 

 on Coney Island and the development of the Man- 

 hattan Beach property. His next step was the ac- 

 quisition of the Long Island Railroad and several 

 smaller lines, which he consolidated and brought to 

 a high state of service. In 1886 lie took hold of 

 the affairs of the Reading Railroad Company, then 

 in default, and on Jan. 1, 1888, turned the property 

 over to the stockholders in a solvent condition. 

 Subsequently he was President of the New England 

 Railroad Company, resigning in 1892. For several 





