The following quote was attributed to Lincoln Cory by the Syracuse Journal, which reported his death on the front page of the July 18, 1912 edition: "I have no wealth or worldly possessions to leave my children, but I consider that one of the best legacies that a man can leave the world is a well educated family." Probate documents from Kosciusko County corroborate Lincoln's statement, indicating a personal estate amounting to $364, excluding real estate. The inventory of his estate included chickens, four horses, four cows, a calf, a harness, a cultivator, three vinegar barrels, a root cutter, a wagon, a wagon box, a harrow, and one dollar's worth of "junk."

The Milford Mail of July 18, 1912 reported the death of "Lincoln Cory, the prominent farmer and famous auctioneer." The final laudatory but rambling sentence of the article read:

His father known as Old Bob Cory, while rough in his way, left a vacancy until his son Lincoln took up the work, and had it not been for him, Old Bob's place would be vacant yet, but who will take up the work of the son.

The vacancy was taken up by Lincoln's son Lee, who not only learned the auctioneer's trade, but fulfilled his father's wish for educated children by attending Manchester College and becoming a minister in the Church of the Brethren.

After Lincoln's death, Sarah Viola succeeded in raising the large family still at home, which ranged from a baby one year old to teenagers. Though her own health was poor, she lived to age 62, dying January 14, 1930 [14].

References

• 1] H. S. K. Bartholomew. Stories and Sketches of Elkhart County. E.V. Publishing House, Nappanee, IN, 1936, page 316-317.
  
  
• 2] Biographical and Historical Record of Kosciusko County, Indiana. Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, 1887, page 489-490.
  
  
• 3] G. Glenn Clift. History of Maysville and Mason County, vol. 1, Transylvania Printing Co., Inc., Lexington, KY, 1936, page 42.
  
  
• 4] Compton's Multimedia Encyclopedia. Windows Edition. Britannica Software, 1991 edition, version 1.01 W. Adoniram Judson.
  
  
• 5] Al B. Cory. Book One--John of Southold, in Cory's of America: Ancestors and Descendants. Jacksonville, FL, 1991, pages 394-395.
  
  
• 6] Elkhart County, IN. Will of Robert V. Cory.
  
  
• 7] The Indianan Republican, November 24, 1892. Obituary of A.C. Cory.
  
  
• 8] Kosciusko County, IN. Marriage Records, 1843-1847, microfilm #10, Allen County Library, page 160.
  
  
• 9] The Milford Mail, vol. 5, August 10, 1893, page 4. Sad Death of Mrs. Lincoln Cory.
  
  
• 10] The Northern Indianan, May 1, 1879, page 2. Obituary of R.V. Cory.
  
  
• 11] L. W. Royse. A Standard History of Kosciusko County, Indiana. Lewis Publishing Co., Chicago, 1919, page 503.
  
  
• 12] St. Joseph County, MI. Marriage Record, vol. E, page 305, record 31.
  
  
• 13] The Syracuse Journal, vol. 5, July 18, 1912, page 1. Lincoln Cory Passes Away.
  
  
• 14] Scrapbook compiled by Lee Cory. The book contains a photo of the Robert Cory farm from an unidentified newspaper (probably the Milford Mail). A handwritten note by Lee indicates that Lincoln and his first six children were born on the farm. An obituary for Sarah Viola Shelmadine is also pasted in the scrapbook.

Will the circle be unbroken, by and by Lord, by and by?
--A.P. Carter

Where does the story of a life start and stop? I could not relate what I have learned about Jeremiah William Cory, Sr. without delving into his ancestry, nor could I end the story with his death. I have arbitrarily decided to end this book with Lincoln Cory, who was in the womb of Elizabeth Gordy when Jeremiah died on January 6, 1860. Even so, I couldn't discuss the life of Lincoln without reference to his children. And so the wheel of life continues through generation after generation. I have tried to reconstruct the lives of the people presented in this volume as best I could. I knew none of them personally, except for my grandfather, Lee, and some of his siblings. There are many more stories to be told of other descendants of Jeremiah and Dolly, but that would carry us far beyond the times of Jeremiah Cory.

Finally, I want to recognize the Native Americans at whose expense the Cory family prospered. Make no mistake, there was an ongoing war from Colonial days through most of the nineteenth century as the Indians faced an overwhelming onslaught of white settlers. Ultimately, the settlers prevailed over the Iroquois, Shawnee, Delaware, Miamis, Potawatamis, Sacs, Foxes, and countless other tribes. As I have reviewed historical documents in preparing this book, I have found that the Indians are often portrayed as savages, wreaking havoc on the settlers. One has to realize that they were fighting for their homes and way of life, and there were acts of brutality as well as courage on both sides of the conflict. Black Hawk, in a speech made in Philadelphia June 14, 1833, put it simply but eloquently when he said, "I fought hard. I was no coward. Much blood was shed. But the white men were mighty. They were as many as the leaves of the forest. The Indians are but few. They are brave but they are few."

I can't undo history, but I would like to express respect for the Native American way of life. As we look at some of the results of the European triumph in North America, we would do well to listen to a people who lived in harmony with the land for thousands of years.

                                                  Robert V. Cory 
                             H.V. Lincoln Cory---[ 
                             |                    Elizabeth Gordy 
                       Lee Roy Cory 
                       |     |                    Abijah Curtis Cory 
                       |     P. Celestine Cory---[ 
                       |                          Matilda WOOD 
                Neal P. Cory 
                |      |                          William F. Neal, Jr. 
                |      |     Elmer Kirk Neal-----[ 
                |      |     |                    Lucinda Million 
                |      Clara Alice Neal 
                |            |                    Levi Leak 
                |            Rosa Leak-----------[ 
        Diane R. Cory                             Lydia Arnold 
        Dennis N. Cory 
        David A. Cory 
        |       | 
  Peter D. Cory | 
 Daniel P. Cory | 
        |       | 
        Mary F. | 
        Hughes  |                                 Joseph J. Miller 
                |            Daniel J. Miller----[ 
                |            |                    Elizabeth Keller 
                |      Walter S. Miller 
                |      |     |                    Samuel Erb 
                |      |     Susana Erb----------[ 
                |      |                          Catherine Weaver 
                Arlene E. Miller 
                       |                          John Zollinger 
                       |     Louis J. Zollinger -[ 
                       |     |                    Sarah Berkey 
                       Reta Mae Zollinger 
                             |                    Edward Landaw 
                             Malinda B. Landaw --[ 
                                                  Mary Freyberger