George Colby
George Colby was born on July 5, 1836, in New Hampshire to Ira Colby and Olive Foster. His father was a farmer who owned $5,500 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property in 1860. Colby grew up and attended school in Claremont, New Hampshire. By the early 1860s, he was living in St. Louis, Missouri, and working as a stone mason. He enlisted in the Union army on July 30, 1861, and mustered in as a private in Company E of the 24th Illinois Infantry later that day.
 
As he informed his father, “I joined the armey [because] I thought that the united States needed the servieses of every man that was free to go whare he pleased.” According to his service records, he was 5 feet, 10 inches tall, with brown hair and gray eyes. Confederate forces captured him sometime in 1862, but he was soon exchanged and rejoined his regiment. He took part in the Battle of Perryville, the Battle of Stones River, the Battle of Chickamauga, the Battle of Missionary Ridge, and the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain. He mustered out in Chicago, Illinois, on August 6, 1864. He may have reenlisted soon afterward and mustered into the 15th Kentucky Infantry.
 
Colby married Cornelia Lawson in the late 1860s, and they had at least two children: Helen, born around 1872; and William, born around 1873. By 1870, he was working as a farmer in West Union, Iowa, and he owned $1,800 of real estate and $704 of personal property. They moved to Shelby, Iowa, sometime in the 1870s, and by 1880, they were employing at least two white servant. They moved to Logan, Nebraska, in the late 1800s. By 1900, he was serving as a postmaster in Logan. His wife Cornelia died in 1903, and by 1910, he was living in his daughter Helen’s household. He died in Logan in February 18, 1914.
1026
DATABASE CONTENT
(1026)Colby, George1836-07-051914-02-18
  • Conflict Side: Union
  • Role: Soldier
  • Rank in: Private
  • Rank out: Private
  • Rank highest: Private
  • Gender: Male
  • Race: White

Documents - Records: 13

  • (1651) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 1861
  • (1653) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby, 22 August 1861
  • (1654) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 13 October 1861
  • (1655) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 23 October 1861
  • (1656) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 24 November 1861
  • (1657) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 6 February 1862
  • (1658) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 12 February 1862
  • (1659) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 28 March 1862
  • (1660) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 26 March 1863
  • (1661) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 24 April 1863
  • (1662) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 22 May 1863
  • (1663) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 29 May 1863
  • (1664) [writer] ~ George Colby to Ira Colby Jr., 26 June 1863

People - Records: 2

  • (1027) Colby, Ira Jr. is the [sibling of] (1026) Colby, George
  • (1029) Colby, Ira is the [parent of] (1026) Colby, George

Places - Records: 2

  • (352) [birth] ~ Claremont, Sullivan County, New Hampshire
  • (945) [death] ~ Logan, Logan County, Nebraska

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Regiments - Records: 1

  • (337) [enlisted] ~ 24th Illinois Infantry

Groups - Records: 1

  • (6) [member/supporter] ~ Grand Army of the Republic
SOURCES

1850, 1870, 1880, 1900, and 1910 United States Federal Censuses, available from Ancestry.com; Databases of Illinois Veterans Index, 1775-1995, available from Ancestry.com; Civil War Soldier Records and Profiles, 1861-1865, available from Ancestry.com; George Colby to Ira Colby, 22 August 1861, Nau Collection.