After reading and transcribing the Mexican War pension file for my great-great-great-grandfather Benjamin Black, I can now go back and write a biography for him that’s quite a bit more detailed than what anyone could have written before. But it’s probably not the legacy he would have wanted. 

Special Examiner MacBride would have loved to have met Albert Corbin in person, but in the end, he thought Albert’s written letter was sufficient to close the case. He sent his findings to the top guy, William Lochren, the Commission of Pensions in Washington, D.C. MacBride’s conclusion? “Death alone has saved Black from the legal consequences […]

After interviewing Capt. Riddell, Special Examiner MacBride returned to Cincinnati and immediately penned a letter to Albert Corbin. MacBride had good reason to want to talk to Albert. Finally, he had found someone who actually served in the Mexican War alongside Randolph Corbin.  And according to Capt. Riddell, Albert reportedly knew the circumstances of Randolph’s death.

Special Examiner Thomas H. MacBride arranged to have three witnesses give testimony about Benjamin F. Black and Randolph B. Corbin. Two of them knew the real Randolph Corbin.

A Special Examiner came to Walton, Kentucky in August, 1893 after Cynthia Black disclosed some questionable circumstances surrounding her late husband’s Mexican War pension. The Special Examiner asked a lot of good questions, some with fantastic genealogical value!