Hiram Sanborn - Death in Cuba 1852
Hiram Sanborn, born 15 November 1806 in New Hampshire, died 6 March 1852 on “the Isle of Cuba”, inscription on his tombstone, Greenlawn Cemetery, Salem, Massachusetts. He married Mary Ann Rowell 24 July 1831 in Salem, Mass. They had three children: Hiram 1832; Mary 1842; Edward 1845. On the 1850 U.S. Census, Hiram is identified as an “Engineer” and he was employed with the Boston & Maine Railroad.
My question is why did he leave his wife and family to go to Cuba in 1852? Was he working in any capacity relating to the railroad? Researching the history of Cuba has identified a secret organization known as the Order of the Lone Star. Was Hiram Sanborn a member or associated with this organization?
Attempts between 1849 and 1851 by Cuban exiles in the United States to invade their homeland and overthrow the Spanish colonial were led by fifty-two-year-old Venezuelan-born Narciso López. He rallied other exiled Cubans and sympathetic Americans in his attempts to over throw the existing Spanish government.
In August of 1851 López tried again (with 435 men). They landed at Bahía Honda (about 40 miles from Havana). Within two days López' army was defeated in the village of Las Pozas by Spanish troops. The 51 remaining men from López' army were executed by a firing squad on August 16, 1851. López was executed publicly in Havana on September 1. Before his death, he shouted bravely, "My death will not change the destiny of Cuba!" López' followers on the island were sentenced to work in the quicksilver mines of Spain and later pardoned.
In New Orleans, former associates of López formed a secret society called the "Order of the Lone Star." The goal of the order was to incorporate Cuba into the U.S. The order had 50 chapters in 8 Southern states and an estimated membership of 15,000 to 20,000. They went on to develop a plan to invade Cuba, in the summer of 1852, to coincide with the "Conspiracy of Vuelta Abajo," a revolt organized in Vuelta Abajo (Pinar del Río) by Francisco de Frías, López's wealthy brother-in-law.
I would appreciate any information on this Hiram Sanborn, B&M Railroad, Order of the Lone Star or his death in Cuba.
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Re: Hiram Sanborn - Death in Cuba 1852
Mark Dionne 11/30/07