Combs &c. Research Footnotes for
"The Combes Genealogy" by Josiah H. Combs
See Special Copyright Restrictions
Chapter VI, Mason Combs of Stafford (pp.
34-41)
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Footnote 2. Page 34. That Mason lived in Overwharton
Parish of Stafford
Co, VA, is confirmed by parish records, but that he lived on Aquia
Creek has not yet been established. As Dr. Combs notes, the holdings of
Capt. William BRENT (d 1742, s/o William and Sarah GIBBONS Brent (Scott))
were extensive (tens of thousands of acres), reaching far beyond Aquia
Creek. Neither has it been established that Joseph
COMBS I was Mason's brother.
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Footnote 3. Page 35. Two editions of the Overwharton
Parish Register have been published. Dr. Combs undoubtedly used the earlier
edition, which, according to the compiler of the second edition, George
Harrison Sanford King, contained errors. King's edition
(The
Register of Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA, 1723-1758 and Sundry Historical
and Genealogical Notes, published by the Southern Historical Press,
Easley, SC in 1961) lists Mason's children as follows:
Born: COMBS, William, son of Mason and Sarah COMBS, Nov 28 1740
Born: COMBS, Ann, daughter of Mason and Sarah COMBS, 18 Mar 1743
Born: COMBS, Sarah, daughter of Mason and Sarah COMBS, 25 Feb 1745
Born: COMBS, Mason, son of Mason and Sarah COMBS, 21 Feb 1747
Born: COMBS, Winny, daughter of Mason and Sarah COMBS 14 May 1749
Born: COMBS, Wilmot, daughter of Mason COMBS, 5 Oct 1751
King also notes that he converted the dates from Gregorian to Julian Calendar, which means that Ann's birthdate was actually 18 Mar 1742/3, and Mason, Jr.'s actually 21 Feb 1746/47 (See Calendar)
Despite the lack of a marriage record, Mason may well have married in Overwharton Parish, Stafford since, again according to King, although the Overwharton Parish Register begins in 1723 and terminates in 1758, an earlier Register for the period 1723-1738 is missing. No entries are found for the period 1723-1735, and only a few for the period 1735-1738, during which time the parish was the sinecure of Rev. Alexander SCOTT (d 1738, second h/o Sarah GIBBONS Brent). Only when the Parish became that of Rev. MONCURE in 1738, do Register Entries appear to have been recorded in full.
John COMBS, Sr. has now been documented as a son of Mason COMBS, Sr., and was probably born 1735-1738 (during the above-noted period) and likely also born in Overwharton Parish; however, it is now also documented that Nicholas COMBS was not Mason, Sr.'s son, but "one of the eight" sons of John & Nancy HARDING Combs, Sr. No evidence has been found that Josiah COMBS of Frederick Co, VA in 1758 was kin to Mason, Sr., and in fact, he may have actually been Joseph COMBS II, s/o Joseph I of Stafford.
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Footnote 4. Page 36. Henry
COMBS, Sr. (s/o John and Nancy HARDING Combs, Sr.) m 26 Sep 1788, Montgomery
Co, VA, Rachel CLEMENTS (d/o Benjamin). The Mason COMBS who was his
bondsman was probably Henry's brother, Mason
COMBS (m 29 Jan 1793, Wythe
Co, VA, Jane RICHARDSON. Mason COMBS, Sr. d 1784-5, Surry
Co, NC. The inventory of his estate was returned by a John COMBS, and
a William COMBS is also named. Not yet determined is which John
and William COMBS. The Wilmouth COMBS of the 1816 Kentucky Land Warrants
was not a man, but Wilmouth "Willie" COMBS, d/o Mason & Jane RICHARDSON
Combs (Dickey Diary Interview of their son, Napoleon
Bonaparte COMBS, b 1808, who stated in 1898, "My father took up all
the land that he could in his own name, and then he took some up in his
daughter, Willie's, name."). The reference to 1798 is to the
Lincoln
Co, KY marriage of Wilmoth COMBS, d/o William COMBS, to Henry BANTA.
Her father was also one of the eight brothers, Rev.
War Pensioner William COMBS of Bath Co, KY.
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Footnote 5. Page 36. The maiden name of Sarah,
w/o Mason COMBS, Sr. remains unknown. No evidence exists that she was a
MASON, although it is considered quite possible that Mason's mother, Hannah,
may have been neè MASON. No evidence has been found that George
MASON of Stafford was kin to Joseph or Josiah MASON of Richmond (who lived
adjacent to John and Hannah COMBS). It is believed quite possible that
Hannah
(MASON?) Combs was a.k.a. Ann, in which case, Mason COMBS, Sr. had
named his eldest known daughter after his mother.
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Footnote 6. Page 37. The 28 May 1751 record of
Mason COMBS, Sr. was actually in Augusta
Co, VA (from Orange Co), not Frederick,
although by 1753, the land had been reassigned to Frederick. Brush Bottom
Ford, described in a second record (1751-2, Augusta) as on the north side
of the South River of Shenandoah. The 1754 record has not yet been located,
but was undoubtedly a Frederick record. Brush Bottom Ford itself has not
yet been located, but Strasburg (then Stovertown), where Mason's grandson,
Rev.
War Soldier William COMBS of Bath enlisted in the war is only a few
miles west of Front Royal, just across the present-day county line in Shenandoah
(renamed from Dunmore, which was established in 1772 from Frederick).
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Footnote 7. Page 38. It has not yet been
determined that the Mason COMBS of 1767 in Pittsylvania
Co, VA (est. that same year from Halifax)
was the same as Mason COMBS, Sr. who was in Rowan
(later Surry)
Co, NC by 1768 (not 1780). What is known is that Mason COMBS of Pittsylvania
was tithed by Henry STONE whose land was near the Halifax County line (Eastern
Pittsylvania), not the Wilderness Road. John
COMBS, Sr. (s/o Mason, Sr.) had purchased land in Frederick
in 1758 from John HARRELL (The relationship of this John HARRELL to John
HARRELL of Hawkins
Co, TN whose daughter, Lydia, married by 1800, George
COMBS (s/o John, Sr.), remains unknown). No record has been located
yet for any Josiah COMBS after 1758. The earliest Nicholas COMBS found
in the records of Surry Co, NC is in 1780; and the earliest record of a
John COMBS that same year. These are believed to have been John COMBS,
Sr. and his son, "Danger"
Nicholas COMBS, Sr. No record of Mason COMBS, Jr. as a Patriot has
been located in North Carolina as yet. Most of the Combs of Surry Co, NC,
including Nicholas, appear to have been Tories, at least during the early
years of the War (1775-1783).
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Footnote 8. Page 39. William
COMBS, found in Montgomery
Co, VA by 1781 was the s/o Mason COMBS, Sr. The Mason COMBS of 1781
Montgomery was probably his brother, Mason
COMBS, Jr.; however, John
COMBS, Sr. (also a s/o Mason, Sr.) is not found in Montgomery until
1787, by which time his brothers were long gone. The later Mason
COMBS (III) of Montgomery was the s/o John COMBS, Sr.
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Footnote 9. Page 39. The record of a Josiah
COMBS bringing suit against a tenant in Frederick
Co, VA has not yet been located. It is not known why it is believed
that he was married by 1758, nor if Dr. Combs has found other records of
him (See above re possibility that Josiah was a.k.a. Joseph and therefore
probably Joseph COMBS II instead.).
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Footnote 10. Page 39. William
COMBS, Sr., s/o Mason, Sr., m Sith STACY (b 1746, also Overwharton
Parish, Stafford), d/o Simon
& Judith TOLSON Stacy (Pettit), with whom Mason COMBS, Sr. is found
in Frederick Co, VA. William is recorded in Frederick as early as 1763
(in a record with a John STACY), and may have been married by that time.
Mason's daughter, Ann COMBS (b 1742) also m a child of Simon & Judith
TOLSON Stacy (Pettit), Benjamin STACY (b 1744, Stafford). The Combs and
Stacys appear to have moved together from Frederick Co, VA to Rowan (Surry)
Co, NC, and continue to be found together in records for more than a hundred
years thereafter (until today, in fact, if one includes the records of
the Combs &c. Research Group). William COMBS, Sr. is also found on
the same 1768 Rowan Co, NC list of titheables with the STACYS and Mason
COMBS, Sr. William was not a co-administrator with his brother, John, of
the Surry
Co, NC estate of Mason COMBS, Sr., but a debtor. William and Sith STACY
Combs are later found in the records of Sullivan Co, TN; Hawkins Co, TN;
and Russell Co, VA. In addition to William COMBS, Sr. and Jr., the 1787
East
Tennessee Petition includes a Henry COMBS and an Adam COUMB (both still
unidentified). Nicholas COMBS has not yet been located in Sullivan
Co, TN prior to 1796; and no record of John COMBS has been located
in either Sullivan or Hawkins Co, TN (both "burnt counties"). Although
other Combs are found in later Sullivan Co, TN, their relationship, if
any, to Mason COMBS, Sr. remains unknown.
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Footnote 11. Page 39. President Morgan LaFayette
COMBS, of Mary Washington College of the University of Virginia, and the
Hon. E.R. COMBS, Chairman of the Compensation Board, and Clerk of the Virginia
State Senate, are not descendants of William COMBS, Sr. (s/o Mason),
but of William
and Anna THOMPSON Combs, Sr. and his parents, William
and Sarah Ann MILLION Combs, Sr., also earlier of Stafford Co, VA.
Which east Tennessee relatives that Nicholas COMBS, Sr. visited in has
not yet been determined; however, it's highly unlikely that he was visiting
his uncle, William COMBS, Sr., since the latter appears to also have been
in early Clay
Co, KY.
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Footnote 12. Page 40. All land records for
William & Seth STACY Combs, Sr. of Crabtree Creek of the North Fork
of the Holston River, Russell (later Scott) Co, VA have not yet been extracted
(See Russell
Co, VA Land Records); however, it is known that this land is very close
to the Sullivan Co, TN border (disputed by Virginia until 1819). No Washington
Co, VA land records have been located as yet, nor any military grants.
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Footnote 13. Page 40. While it is true that
numerous of Mason COMBS' descendants were in the Revolution, in Surry Co,
NC, most appear to have been on "the other side" (See the William
Ridge Estate File). No Mason COMBS, Jr. Patriot Revolutionary military
record has been found in North Carolina, although patriot "service" records
are extant (See below). One of the William COMBS of North Carolina who
did see Revolutionary War service as a Patriot was a William
COMBS of Wilkes Co, NC (est. from Surry in
1777); Charlotte
Co, VA and Sullivan
Co, TN, who remains unidentified.
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Footnote 14. Page 40. Moccasin Creek is
formed from the North, South and Middle Fork Moccasin Creeks which come
together south of Hansonville (Russell
Co, VA) to become the Big Moccasin, running along the present-day Russell
and Washington Co, VA border, east of Moccasin Ridge until it enters present-day
Gate City, Scott Co, VA (from where Little Moccasin branches off to the
west), then south to Weber City, just below which, it enters the North
Fork of the Holston River (not) the Clinch River, just north of
the Sullivan
Co, TN line, entering Sullivan just west of Morrison City. The 1804
Russell Co VA was "William COMBS and Sytha his wife" (not Cynthia)
and was a deed to William HOURTON (a.k.a. HOWERTON), not William
HOUSTON.
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Footnote 15. Page 41. William COMBS, Sr.
whose will was probated 9 Jun 1841, was the h/o Anna THOMPSON and s/o William
and Sarah Ann MILLION Combs, Sr., not Mason's son, William and Sith
STACY Combs, Sr. William and Sarah Ann MILLION Combs, Sr. were from Stafford
Co, VA, not North Carolina (See also Chapter
XX, William COMBS of Russell Co, VA). See Page 36 footnotes re Wilmouth
COMBS of Perry Co, KY in 1816,
daughter of Mason and Jane "Jennie"
RICHARDSON Combs, and w/o William COMBS whom she m 15 Jun 1820 in Clay
Co, KY. William COMBS who d 1841 was an only child (no brothers to
Kentucky).
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Footnote 16. Page 41. Early Russell Co, VA
tax lists, in addition to William COMBS, Sr. (s/o Mason, Sr.); William
COMBS, Jr. (probably s/o William, Sr.) and William COMBS, Jr. (h/o Anna
THOMPSON, and s/o William and Sarah MILLION Combs, Sr.) include at least
two John COMBS, at least one additional William COMBS, Mason COMBS (and
a Meshack COMBS who is thought to have been the same as Mason COMBS), and
in 1812, a George COMBS.
The reference to the "unidentified Wilmouth, Jeremiah, William D. and John [COMBS who] belong among the descendants of old Mason, of Stafford" are not clear with the exception of Wilmoth (female, not male - see above). These are apparently among the Combs listed in Chapter XVI, Some Unidentified Combses.
Also note that "John Combs of Boyle" has been intermittently treated in this manuscript as either John COMBS "one of the eight," or as a separate individual, such as on this page where it is postulated that he may have been a son of William & Sith STACY Combs, Sr. - the problem being that "John COMBS of Boyle" and John COMBS "one of the eight" were one and the same, RW John COMBS of Perry Co, KY. That there was a second John COMBS appears to be documented (See John COMBS III of East Kentucky), and it is this John COMBS who may have been the s/o William and Seth STACY Combs, Sr.
It is possible that the reference to Washington COMBS was to a George Washington COMBS, possibly the same as George COMBS, "one of the eight?" The Jeremiah COMBS, aged 74 in the Madison Co, AR 1860 Census was the s/o Mason and Dorothy COMBS of Hawkins Co, TN, thought to have possibly been Mason COMBS, Jr. He removed to Warren Co, TN by 1810, and to Madison Co, AR in the 1830s.
The 1786 Salisbury, North Carolina Revolutionary War Account for Mason COMBS was not for military service, but "patriotic" service. Mason COMBS of Hawkins Co, TN was not "Mason C. COMBS," but "Mason COMBS." The Mason C. COMBS of Madison Co, AR, b 1823, TN, was Mason Canada COMBS, s/o the above Jeremiah COMBS and his wife, Charity RHOADS.
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The index and annotated footnotes have been provided
by the Combs &c Research Group and researchers are permitted
to copy and distribute only the latter, and only for non-commercial
genealogical research. Any and all commercial use is strictly prohibited.
Sincerely,
Norris K. Combs and the Combs &c. Research
Group..
©1999, Norris K. Combs and the Combs &c.
Research Group