Combs-Stacy Connections (also includes Cody, Hicks, Million, Ridge, Sumner and Tolson Families)

Updated 24 Mar 1999
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Introduction

Beginning at least as early as the 1750s, and possibly back into the late 1600s (or even earlier), the descendants of Simon and Judith TOLSON Stacy, Sr. and Mason & Sarah Combs, Sr. of Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, Virginia not only migrated together and fought wars together, but intermarried to such an extent that it has often been impossible for researchers to know how they're related to themselves, let alone to each other. Without a basic understanding of these Combs-Stacy Connections, along with their Cody-Ridge Cousins, it would, in fact, have proved impossible to trace the Combs. Instead, over the last two years, great gains have been made, in good part due to Stacy Family Research, primarily by Barbara Stacy Mathews, author of The Stacy Journals (ably aided by her cousins, Gloria B. Carter and Pat O. Orton, co-authors of the Winnifred Combs Sumner Hicks Report), and the great research of Cody-Ridge Researcher George Baumbach on the Cody-Combs-Ridge-Stacy Tories of Surry Co, North Carolina (See George's Filing Cabinet, which also includes both William and Sinai STACY Cody and William and Winnifred Combs Ridge).

See also more re the female given name, Seth (and var. sp. such as Sythe, Sintha, etc.)

The Earliest Documented Combs-Stacy Connection

Simon STACY, Sr. married 22 Aug 1741 in Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, Virginia, Judith TOLSON (daughter of Benjamin and Mary TOLSON Sr.). Simon died in 1762 in Frederick Co, Virginia. Judith remarried between 1762 and 1784, Thomas PETTIT, d 1784, Surry Co, NC. She d aft 1796, possibly in Sullivan Co, TN.

The Overwharton Parish Register of Stafford Co, VA, documents the older children of Simon and Judith:

Sarah STACY was born 20 Aug 1742*
Benjamin STACY I was born 7 Apr 1744 [m Ann Combs]
Seth STACY was born 30 Jun 1746 [m William Combs]
Mary STACY was born 19 Feb 1749*
Sinai STACY was born 1 Mar 1751 [m William CODY]

*Nothing more is known of Sarah STACY; however, it is possible that Mary STACY later m Abraham EVERAGE, and was the mother of Mary Ann EVERAGE who m 1796, Sullivan Co, TN, RW William CORNETT. See below re later son, Simon STACY II, and possible son, William STACY.

Also in Overwharton Parish during the 1740s and early 1750s were Mason & Sarah Combs, Sr. who also removed to Frederick Co, VA in the early 1750s. In 1759, Mason Combs witnessed a Frederick County record signed by Simon STACY, Sr., and it was probably in this county that Benjamin STACY married Ann Combs (d/o Mason Combs, Sr.) and that Seth STACY m William Combs (s/o Mason, Combs, Sr.) By 1768, both the Combs and the Stacy Families were in Rowan Co, NC where Benjamin STACY (husband of Ann Combs) appears on Gideon Wright's Tax List along with Mason Combs, Sr. and his son, William Combs (h/o Sinai STACY), William CODY (h/o Seth STACY), and William RIDGE (h/o Winnifred Combs, also a d/o Mason Combs, Sr.)

It was probably in Rowan Co that Sinai STACY married William CODY, and at some time prior to 1784, possibly in either Rowan or its descendant county of Surry, that Judith TOLSON Stacy married a second time, to Thomas PETTIT whose 1784 Surry Co, NC will not only documents their marriage, but that of another son of Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy, Sr.: Simon STACY, Jr., b ca 1762.

During the early years of the Revolutionary War, both the Stacy and the Combs Families were staunch Tories, as were their Cody and Ridge in-laws, Sinai STACY having married Tory William CODY, and Winnifred Combs (d/o Mason & Sarah Combs, Sr.) having married Tory William RIDGE.

In the meantime, a number of the Combs, Cody and Stacy children had removed to Montgomery Co, VA, where they are not only found together on various tax lists, but in 1781, on the Montgomery Co, VA Militia Company of Daniel Trigg which includes Mason and William Combs (sons of Mason Combs, Sr.), Benjamin, John and Simon STACY, Jr., William CODY and others.

By the late 1780s, early 1790s, most of these same families had moved on to Russell Co, VA, and Judith TOLSON Stacy Pettit is among those on the tax lists of that county.

By 1796, she is across the state line in Sullivan Co, TN, according to the 1853 Perry Co, KY, affidavit of her grandson, Thomas CODY (s/o William and Sinai STACY Cody), who declared that he had attended the wedding of the above-noted Mary EVERAGE to RW William CORNETT, and declared that his "grandmother Judah STACY raised Mary (EVERAGE Cornett) as a child until she married William CORNETT." This is the last known record of Judith to date.

BSM Note: In addition to the above-noted children, Simon Sr. and Judith may also have had a son, William STACY, as one by that name is found in early Hawkins Co, TN, married to Dollie SIZEMORE, and with a daughter, Judith. I have not actively researched this line, but given the location and the fact that Biram STACY, s/o Benjamin and Ann Combs Stacy, married Millie SIZEMORE, sister of Dollie, it is certainly possible (not yet actively researched).

See Also John STACY, Sr., brother of Simon, Sr., in the records of Stafford and Frederick Cos, VA; Surry Co, NC; and Russell and Montgomery Cos, VA.

See Also George H. TOLSON (s/o George & Elizabeth (MILLION?) Tolson, and nephew to Judith TOLSON Stacy Pettit) m pre-1810, probably in Stafford Co, VA, Seth Combs (d/o Joseph & Mary PRITCHETT Combs, III).

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Documenting the Combs-Cody-Hicks-Stacy-Sumner Marriages
(Oral Family Histories)

Of the children of Simon and Judith TOLSON Stacy, Sr., only the marriage of William CODY and his STACY wife (believed to have been Sinai based on naming patterns) is documented by records (the 1853 Perry Co, KY affidavit of their son, Thomas on behalf of RW William and Mary EVERAGE Cornett). The Combs-Stacy marriages are known only due to various oral family traditions that have been passed down through the years and the generations, many of which have been saved and transcribed by Combs-Stacy Researcher Barbara Stacy Matthews, among which, one of the most important, is an interview of Clarice STACY Spencer, Barbara taped in 1992.

Background: The Interviewee, Clarice STACY, was b 24 Dec 1904, d/o Benjamine and Triphena MOORE Stacy, gd/o Simon and Matilda STACY. Simon STACY was brother to Sytha STACY Tuner Cody, grandchildren of George & Mary SUMNER Stacy who m 1812, Clay Co, KY. Mary SUMNER was the d/o Winnifred Combs by her first husband Samuel SUMNER (she m second Robert HICKS). Winnifred Combs was the d/o William and Seth STACY Combs, and gd/o Mason & Sarah Combs, Sr. of Stafford Co, VA. As a child, Clarice and her sister, Leona, lived for a time with their great-aunt Sytha STACY, who m (1) William TURNER; and (2) Isaac CODY, the latter a distant cousin to Sytha, and also a STACY descendant, having been the gs/o John and Elizabeth SUMNER Cody (m 1809, Clay Co, KY) and ggs/o (paternal) William and Sinai STACY Cody and (maternal) Samuel & Winnifred Combs Sumner (Hicks). Sinai STACY Cody and Seth STACY Combs were sisters, d/o Simon and Judith TOLSON Stacy (Pettit), Sr. of Stafford and Frederick Cos, VA; Rowan and Surry Co, NC; Montgomery Co, VA; Sullivan Co, TN and Russell Co, VA. Sinai and Seth STACY'S brother, Benjamin STACY had m Ann Combs, another daughter of Mason of Sarah Combs, Sr.

Clarice STACY Spencer. Interview, 1992, taped and transcribed by Combs-Stacy Researcher Barbara Stacy Matthews, 1998.

"The STACY families came from VA - there was a large family of them. Simon STACY was my grandfather. He died before I was born, but I remember my grandma Matilda - I remember her funeral. She died when I was only 7 years old. She is buried in the old Hartville Cemetery [Wright Co, MO], toward the back of the old part. She doesn't have a headstone. My dad wouldn't go to the funeral. I don't know why. He didn't go. I suppose my grandpa is there too, with no headstone. I don't know about this, he died before I was born [BSM: 1897]. There was a picture of my grandpa. It hung in Ma and Pa's house for as long as I can remember. He reminded me of Jesus. He had long hair and it was light, and light eyes, which I suppose were blue. The frame was an old frame. I think Earls wife sold it at a yard sale for that frame. Earl had it after Ma and Pa died. My Aunt Sith was so clean you could eat off her floors. Her husband TURNER was beaten to death by an insane man while the two little boys watched. Aunt Sith nearly died from the shock. She didn't marry for a long time after that. She married Old Isaac CODY later - he was a distant cousin of hers. She was named for one of his grandmother's - Sitha STACY. She married a Combs. Isaac's grandfather was John CODY and he married his cousin Elizabeth SUMMERS. Aunt Sith told me her grandma was Mary SUMMERS, her sister. Sitha Combs was their grandma - Will Combs was their grandpa - that's the way it was. She said the Combs and STACYS married a lot. My dad was named for another Benjamin STACY. There was an old Ben STACY who married Ann Combs, Aunt Sith wrote that down in her family record. This is what Aunt Sith said - Isaac told her this - Ben was her family and his family too. He had many son's. Old Ben STACY had a son Ben and he married a Combs too. They married a lot. I don't know which Ben my dad was named for. The Combs and STACYS were related, that's what I remember."

Ed Note: While Oral Family Histories are always invaluable, they often don't make it through the years "untouched" by the hands of later researchers. What makes the history passed down from Isaac and Sitha STACY (Turner) Cody particularly valuable is that it is clear that the statements made by Isaac and Sitha were without any knowledge of possible supporting public records; to wit, a number of her statements, when put together with other known sources, create a documented genealogy:

1. Sith STACY Turner Cody "was named for one of his [Isaac CODY'S] grandmother's - Sitha STACY. She married a Combs."
   
   In both Russell Co, VA and Sullivan Co, TN, are recorded deeds listing the grantors as William and Sythe [sic] Combs.
   
2. "Isaac's grandfather was John CODY and he married his cousin Elizabeth SUMMERS."
   
   The marriage bond of John CODY & Elizabeth SUMMER was issued 14 Mar 1809, Clay Co, KY, Elizabeth SUMNER.
   
3. "Aunt Sith told me her grandma was Mary SUMMERS, her [Elizabeth SUMNER Cody's] sister.
   
   The 1812 Clay Co, KY marriage bond of George STACY & Mary SUMMERS [sic] included a parental consent signed by both Robert HICKS and Winnifret [Winnifred] HICKS, which identified Mary as Robert's "stept daughter" (Original document can be viewed at Barbara Stacy Mathews' Stacy Journal site).
   
   Ed Note: For many years, it was mistakenly thought that it was George STACY whose grandmother was a Combs; however, George was the s/o Simon STACY, Jr. (s/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy (Pettit), Sr.) and Elizabeth DAVIDSON (d/o James II of Russell Co, VA).
   
   Instead, it was Mary and Elizabeth SUMNER who were daughters of Winnifred Combs, d/o William and Seth STACY Combs, and wife of (1) Samuel SUMNER and (2) Robert HICKS, marriages which are further documented by the 1898 Perry Co, KY Dickey Diary Interview of John S. Combs, son of Jeremiah C. "Chunky" Combs (s/o Nicholas & Nancy GRIGSBY Combs, Sr.), who stated: "…My mother was Synthia SUMNER. Her father was Samuel SUMNER who was killed by the Sheriff for resisting arrest either in N.C. or Ky. My mother came with the company to Ky. Her brother, John [SUMNER], came also. He moved to Indiana but some of his children returned and live in Letcher and Perry [Cos, KY]. My grandmother SUMNER married a HICKS and went to Indiana and raised a family…" (See also Dickey Diary Interview of Andrew Combs, brother of John S., who states that he took his mother (Synthia SUMNER Combs) to "Salt Creek, Indiana" to visit her mother).
   
   Ed Note: Until recently, numerous Stacy Researchers had believed incorrectly that Winnifred Combs Sumner Hicks was a.k.a. Nancy, and the d/o Henry & Rachael CLEMENTS Combs, s/o John & Nancy Combs (also a s/o Mason Combs, Sr.).
   
4. "There was an old Ben STACY who married Ann Combs…"
   
   On 27 Feb 1801 in Green Co, KY, Benjamin and Ann STACY signed a parental consent for their daughter, Winney STACY, to marry John JACKSON. Benjamin is documented as a s/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy, Sr., and Ann is documented as the d/o Mason & Sarah Combs by the Overwharton Parish Register of Stafford Co, VA.
   
5. "Old Ben STACY had a son Ben and he married a Combs too."
   
   On 24 Dec 1798, a marriage bond was issued in Lincoln Co, KY to Benjamin STACY, Jr. & Barbara Combs, d/o KY Revolutionary War Pensioner John Combs.

As Clarice stated so succinctly about the Combs and Stacys: "They married a lot."

Selected Combs-Cody-Stacy Marriages

Seth STACY (d/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy) b 30 Jun 1746, Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d aft 1805, possibly in Russell Co, VA (or its descendant county, Scott); m bef 1767, probably in Frederick Co, VA, William Combs (s/o Mason Combs, Sr.), b 28 Nov 1740, Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d aft 1805, possibly in Russell (or its descendant county of Scott), or possibly in Clay, Perry or Green Cos, KY.

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Sinai STACY (d/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy) b 1 Mar 1751, Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; d aft 1820, possibly in Scott Co, VA, m (possibly in Rowan Co, NC), William Cody, b ca 1741, Orange Co, VA; d aft 1820, possibly in Scott (William's 1820 Scott Co, VA household lists both as over 45). William CODY is found on the same 1768 Rowan Co, NC tax list as Mason Combs, Sr., brothers-in-law, William Combs (m Seth STACY) and Benjamin STACY (m Ann Combs), and William RIDGE (h/o Winnifred Combs, also a d/o Mason, Sr.)

Benjamin STACY I, (s/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy) born 7 Apr 1744 in Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, Virginia, is listed in 1768 on Gideon Wright's Tax List, Rowan Co, North Carolina, along with Mason Combs, Sr. and his brother-in-law, William Combs (married Benjamin's sister, Seth). In 1781, Benjamin served in Daniel Trigg's Montgomery Co, VA militia company, along with, among others, William and Mason Combs, Sr. and his brother-in-law, William CODY (h/o Sinai STACY). Benjamin appeared on tax lists in 1789/90 in Russell Co, Virginia, but may have been (back?) in Wilkes Co, NC in 1792 when their son, Simon III, married. In 1800, Benjamin was listed on a Green Co, KY tax list (as was a still-unidentified William Combs), but later removed to Jackson Co, TN. It is not known where or when Benjamin may have died, but was probably in that county pre-1820. Benjamin married ca 1764, probably in Frederick Co, VA, Anne Combs (daughter of Mason & Sarah Combs, Sr.), born 18 Mar 1742/1743, in Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA. She may be the same who appears (as a widow) in the 1820 Jackson Co, TN census. It is not known when or where Ann Combs Stacy died, but it may have been in Jackson as their son, Biram STACY, resided in that county in 1820. See Ann Combs Stacy Report for additional. See also next.

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Benjamin STACY, II (s/o Benjamin & Ann Combs Stacy, Sr.), b ca 1763, (probably in Frederick Co) Virginia; d 10 Mar 1856, Breathitt Co, KY; m 24 Dec 1798, Lincoln Co, KY, Barbara Combs (d/o RW John "8" Combs), b 1780-1784, d pre-1840, Perry Co, KY. Benjamin STACY, Jr. is listed on the 1799 and 1801 Lincoln Co, KY tax lists (and inexplicably missing from the 1800), was in Casey Co, KY in 1810, in Clay Co, KY in 1820, and its descendant county of Perry in 1830. Barbara Combs Stacy apparently died bef 1840 when Benjamin, listed as 70-80 years of age in the Perry Co, KY census, appears to be heading a household that included a younger couple and their child. In 1850, he is on the Breathitt Co, KY census with his daughter, Nancy STACY Combs.

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Nancy STACY (d/o Benjamin & Barbara Combs Stacy), b 1799-1805, KY, d bef 1870, (of) Breathitt Co, KY; m bef 1825, probably in Perry Co, KY, Preston Combs (s/o Mason "8" and Jane RICHARDSON Combs), b 1800-1805, Kentucky; d 7 Oct 1787, Breathitt Co, KY. In 1850, Nancy's father, Benjamin STACY, Jr., is in their Breathitt Co, KY census household.

Ed Note: Nancy was the d/o Benjamin and Barbara Combs Stacy, Jr. by oral family tradition (Barbara Stacy Mathews), but also note that an Oct 1852 Breathitt Co, KY record lists Nancy as a Combs, not a STACY.

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Benjamin STACY III s/o Benjamin & Barbara Combs Stacy?), b ca 1820, KY, d bef 1890; possibly m (1) bef 1844, Margaret "Peggy" Combs, died or divorced bef 1851(?); m (2) 27 Mar 1851, Owsley Co, KY, Hannah YOUNG, d 22 Nov 1911, Lee Co, KY.

In 1850, Benjamin STACY, age 30, and Hannah, age 25, are listed on the Breathitt Co, KY census in HH232-232 (Combs of Breathitt Co, KY). On 27 Mar 1851 [sic], an Owsley Co, KY marriage bond was issued to Benjamin STACY and Hannah YOUNG, signed by Benjamin STACY and Jesse BARGER - Perry County, KY (Barbara S. Mathews)

Excerpted by Barbara S. Mathews from the Civil War Pension Application of Hannah YOUNG, widow of Benjamin STACY:

Affidavit of Henry FIELDS (natural s/o Henry Combs, Jr. of Perry Co, KY, by Lucy FIELDS, widow(?) of Nathan YOUNG):

Sep 18, 1889 Henry FIELDS appeared before the Clerk of the Perry County, KY, Henry Fields age 62 "who I certify to be a respectable and entitled to belief" Henry states that Benjamin STACY was in Co. C 47th Regt. KY Vol. That in the year 1844 he "he had no wife at that time as I knew of at least he was not living with a wife. I was well acquainted with him untill (sic) about 1851 he then married Hannah YOUNG now his widow.. …." then adds: "I learned before 1844 he had married a Peggy or Margaret Combs, but she has long since been dead he had no child or children by his former marriage…."

Affidavit of Granville Combs (probably same who was s/o Nicholas & Elizabeth Combs Combs, Jr. and gs/o both Nicholas "8" & Nancy GRIGSBY Combs, Sr. and John "8" & Margaret Combs) of Perry:

"…personally appeared Granville Combs who I certify to be resepctable and entiltled to belief and after being duly sworn states that his age is 69 years and reside in Perry Co., KY and states he has been well acquainted with Benjmain STACEY from 1830 up to about 1852 and partially acquainted with him then to his death, I lived a near neighbor to him up to 1852 or he first married a woman by name of Peggy or Margaret Combs and lived with her a few years and separated I the was divorced but said Peggy or Margaret has long since been dead. She died near my house and in about 1851 said Benjamin STACY married Hannah YOUNG and he and said Hannah have lived together and reported as man and wife since 1851 to his death by the community his first wife had no children the heirs of Benjamin STACY. This is the same Benjamin STACY who was a soldier in the 47th Reg. KY Vols…."

Others who gave Affidavits: S.C. SHELTON of Laurel Co., KY and Willis GABBARD.

Affidavit of Jesse WELLS(?)

South Fork, KY, June 18, 1894 State of KY, County of Owsley. In the matter of the Pension claim No 261742 of Hannah STACY as widow of Benjamin STACY, Co C 47 KY. Suposidly it can be proved (by) Bone? Combs of Booneville [Owsley Co], KY and Josiah Combs of Hazard, Perry Co., KY he? she never was maried to Benjamin and only left her man and took up with him in Actual? Adultery? (crossed out) for several years and had a family by him and he left a wife when he took up with her." Signed by Jesse WELLS?

Hannah STACY, widow of Ben STACY died Nov 22, 1911 in Lee Co., KY and is buried near Heidelberg, KY. Mattie JEWEL, of Idaway, KY (Hannah's granddaughter) nursed her for the last three months til her death. James STACEY (unidentified) was the "undertaker" (Excerpted from death certificate of Hannah YOUNG Stacy by Barbara S. Mathews).

Ed Note: Benjamin STACY appears to be the same who was on the 1850 Breathitt Co, KY census, age 30, b KY, with Hannah, age 25, both born KY, in which case, he and Hannah were apparently living together prior to their marriage? Or perhaps waiting for death of or divorce of either Margaret Combs or Hannah's husband prior to marrying? No earlier marriage records for either have been located as yet. The 1850 Perry Co, KY census includes a number of "semi-attached" Margaret Combs, but one possibility is Margaret Combs, age 31, head of District 1 Household 008-008, with Stephen Combs, age 18, both b KY, listed immediately after Jeremiah & Elizabeth Combs Combs, the former unidentified, and the latter the d/o Henry & Rachael CLEMENTS Combs, Sr., and two households before that of Stephen Combs, s/o Henry & Rachael CLEMENTS Combs, Sr. Neither the ancestry of, nor the relationship to each other, of Margaret and Stephen Combs is known.

Josiah Combs was probably Judge Josiah H. Combs of Perry Co, KY; s/o Jesse & Polly BOLLING Combs and gs/o Elijah "8" and Sarah ROARK Combs, Sr. Josiah's sister, Alcie Combs, m (1) Joseph DAVIDSON; m (2) the above Granville Pearl Combs. On the 1850 Perry Co, KY Census, a James STACY, age 24, is in Granville's household. Bone Combs was probably Napoleon Bonaparte "Boney" Combs, possibly the same who was s/o Mason "8" & Jane RICHARDSON Combs.

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James STACY of Perry Co, KY m bef 1853, Nancy Combs, ancestry of both unknown. (11 Nov 1852, Perry Co, KY Vital Statistics, Births). James may have been the same who was age 24 in the 1850 Perry Co, KY Census HH of Granville Combs (s/o Nicholas & Elizabeth Combs Combs, Jr.) who gave an affidavit on behalf of Benjamin STACY, h/o (1) Margaret Combs and (2) Hannah YOUNG (pension file)? (see next above)?

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Shadrach STACY, a.k.a. One-Eyed Shade (s/o Simon & Elizabeth DAVIDSON Stacy, Jr., gs/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy, Sr.), m 16 Dec 1832, (Salt Creek) Lawrence Co, IN, Sarah "Sallie" Combs (d/o Jeremiah "Long" Combs according to The Combes Genealogy…). They apparently remained in Indiana only a short time as their eldest known child, Elizabeth, was born ca 1835, in Kentucky, and they appear on both the 1840 and 1850 Perry Co, KY Census.

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Winnie STACY, m bef 1835, Boford Combs, both born in KY, according to the 1915 Magoffin Co, KY death certificate of their son, William, b ca 1834, KY. Boford Combs may have been the same as the Burfor(?) Combs family found on the 1830 Perry Co, KY Census, born 1790-1800.

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Lucinda Marella STACY, b 1824/4, KY; m bef 1842, Ira C. Combs, b 1820-1825, KY; and they are listed on the Perry Co, KY census from 1850 through 1870, with some Perry Co, KY records designating Lucinda as a mulatto (See 25 Jun 1852 Perry Co, KY Records), although not the 1850 census. The ancestry of neither has been determined.

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See Also the Combs Research List Archives for possibly more about this family and/or others of these surnames.