Harriet


Harriet Mary Corbin, seventh child of James & Margaret, was born on 21 March 1880 when the family was living at Valley Heights.

In 1909 Harriet married Louis 'Claude' Leary at Forest Lodge. The Learys were on the land, having a property of 2000 acres called 'Brookvale' at Cumnock NSW, which Claude had inherited when his father died just two years earlier in 1907.

Harriet was affectionately known as 'Netta'. There is a postcard held in the Percy family dated 1910, postmarked 'Cumnock' and addressed to Percy's 10-year-old daughter Rita from 'Auntie Netta'.


Thanks to Harriet's family we have two wonderful family pictures in the Corbin collection: the group photo (below) of Harriet and Claude with four of their children, and the framed portrait of Margaret Mary Corbin.


There has always been some contact maintained between parts of the Percy and Harriet families, and that link was strengthened in the mid 1920s when Percy's son Jim (Boyce) had a serious electrical accident and convalesced at Brookvale 'for some months'.

On 1 June 1918 there was the tragic death of Harriet, aged 38, apparently from complications after the birth of Bernard 6 months before.

 Louis Claude Leary                                                    Brian, Vince, Claude                                                  Gwen, Pat

Claude senior lived on for many years and died in 1953.

Currently there are 86 living descendants of Harriet & Claude.