Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

Colburn, William

Born: 1793-06-03 Massachusetts

William Colburn was a farmer, mill owner, and postmaster of Loami, Illinois. Colburn grew to maturity in Sterling, Massachusetts. He left Sterling for Hebron, New Hampshire, where he married Achsa Phelps in August 1815. The couple had three children while living in Hebron. In April 1821, Colburn moved his family to Sangamon County, Illinois, settling in what would become Loami. In 1823, William purchased eighty acres of public land in the area, and he spent the next few years cultivating his land. In 1836, William joined his brother Ebenezer in building a steam saw and grist mill on the north side of Lick Creek--the first mill in the area and around which the village of Loami developed. In 1849, Colburn became postmaster for Loami, a position he would hold until after the end of the Civil War. By 1850, Colburn owned real estate valued at $600. By 1860, the value of his real estate had increased to $1,200, and he had a personal estate of $250. William and Achsa Colburn would have eleven additional children while living in Loami.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 212-13; Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales, Sangamon County, 68:6, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1849 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1849), *479; Register of all Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1851 (Washington, DC: Gideon, 1851), *537; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1853 (Washington, DC: Robert Armstrong, 1853), 508*; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1855 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1855), *337; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1857 (Washington, DC: A. O. P. Nicholson, 1857), *337; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1859 (Washington, DC: William A. Harris, 1859), 64*; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1861 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1862), 366*; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1863 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1864), 343; Register of Officers and Agents, Civil, Military, and Naval, in the Service of the United States, on the Thirtieth September, 1865 (Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1866), 64*; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Sangamon County, IL, 175; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Sangamon County, IL, 181; Gravestone, Sulphur Springs Cemetery, Loami, IL.