William Combs, Sr. (1740-18??) & Sithe STACY of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee (and Kentucky?)

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As is the case with all Combs Research Family Reports, when a source is not specifically referenced herein, the source can be found via a “hot link” to the applicable Combs County of Record, Revolutionary War Pension Files, Bible Records, etc.

William Combs, Sr. (Mason, Sr., John, Archdale), born 28 Nov 1740, Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA; m bef 1767, possibly in Frederick Co, VA, Sith (a.k.a. Seth, etc.) STACY (d/o Simon & Judith TOLSON Stacy (Pettit)), b 30 Jun 1746, Overwharton Parish, Stafford Co, VA. Over the years, William and Seth also resided in Rowan and Surry Cos, NC, possibly in Wilkes Co, NC; in Montgomery and Russell Cos, VA; Sullivan, and possibly Hawkins, Cos, TN; and quite probably in Clay Co, KY (which may also be where both died).

William's ancestry is documented by the Overwharton Parish Register, and his marriage by a combination of records and family history detailed in the Cody-Combs-Stacy Report, which also includes both parents and siblings of Seth STACY Combs, as well as additional data in regard to their daughter, Winnifred Combs Sumner Hicks (See also below).

Unfortunately, for many years numerous researchers mistakenly believed that William Combs, Sr. was the father of only child, William Combs, Jr. of Russell Co, VA, who was instead, the s/o RW William & Sarah Ann MILLION Combs, Sr. As a result, no attempt was made to seek additional descendants of this couple. Only two children of William have been documented, and those only recently (John and Winnifred), although it appears probable that William also had a son, William, Jr., and undoubtedly several more children. Of these three or more children, however, only descendants of their daughter, Winnifred, have been actively researched in the past (Research in progress plus see below).

A Tentative Chronology of the Life of William Combs, Sr.

Notes: (1) Benjamin CLEVELAND was a resident of Wilkes Co, NC upon formation of that county in 1777, and William Combs appears to have resided at least part of the time in Wilkes Co (whose Surry County boundary shifted a number of times). (2) Upon his death, the above David MARTIN'S widow, Mary, married (2) David ALLEN of Allen's Iron Works (on the Surry-Wilkes County line), and (3) Jonathan HAINES, Sr., later a guardian to the RIDGE children of William's sister, Winnifred Combs Ridge Allen.

1776-1783 Surry-Wilkes Co, NC. Like many of their neighbors, most of the men in the CODY, Combs, RIDGE and STACY families were Tories at the outset of the Revolutionary War, and William Combs was most definitely one of them. His brother-in-law, Tory William RIDGE was killed at the Battle Hanging Rock in Aug 1780, and one result of his death was a series of legal actions that spanned the next more than twenty years. Included in the Estate File of William RIDGE are numerous depositions attesting to not only the Tory activities of the Combs and their in-laws, but also documenting numerous relationships within these families.

Many of these depositions included the “semi-stock” question:* “Do you know any thing of the characters of John Combs, William Combs, Mason Combs, Biram Combs, Jeremiah Combs, Thomas COODY, Godfrey COODY, William COODY and John STACY- if you do please to relate what you know respecting them.”

*The question did not always include the exact same individuals, but generally the above were included.

Although the above John Combs may have been William's older brother, John Combs, Sr., he was more likely his son (see below). Mason was William's younger brother, Biram his nephew (son of his brother, John, Sr.), William CODY his brother-in-law, h/o Sinai STACY, and while the ancestry of both Jeremiah Combs and John STACY are undetermined, according to the 1802 Deposition of David ALLEN of Davidson Co, TN, they were “… all related to William RIDGE, I also believe that the most of them were disaffected toward the American cause and that the most of them took an active part against the Americans in favour of the british and that some of them were murderers and were generally called men of infamous character and in short no truth could be placed in any thing they might sa[y] or do.”

A number of other depositions refer to the Combs, Codys and Stacys as murderous, thieving Tories, but of special interest in regard to William Combs, Sr., are the depositions of John FIELDER, Sr. and his wife, Elizabeth:

The 1800 Deposition of John Fielder, Senior, of Davidson County, Tennessee, included the question, “…do you know any thing of the carrictors of Thos. COODY Wm COODY Godfre COODY John Combs Wm Combs Mason Combs or the carricture of the COODYS and Combs in genl if you do relate it.” FIELDER replied: “…they all were calld enemys to the Country and that this Deponant understood that Thomas COODY commanded a Tory Company, that Wm Combs and others was apprehended for killing a stear said to be the property of Joseph THOMPSON and that Wm COODY in the presence of this Deponant robed the corn house of Wm T. LEWIS of a bag of corn…. And further Sayeth that John Combs the son of William Combs was taken in possession of a Horse Creature that was Stolen from the deponant & further this deponant saith not.”

This deposition, as was the case with most in the Estate File, was being given on behalf of William Terrell LEWIS, Jr., and FIELDER was the second husband of LEWIS' sister, Elizabeth (widow of David BENGE), and the father of John FIELDER, Sr., whose son, John, Jr. (by an earlier wife), had m Nancy RIDGE, d/o William RIDGE, Sr. by an earlier marriage.

The deposition of Elizabeth LEWIS Benge Fielder, given at the same time and place as her husband's, not only included the statement that Thomas, William and Godfrey COODY, and John, William and Mason Combs, were all “enemys to their country,” but the added information that “they had left the neighbourhood & joined the Tory party (that is part of them)…” When asked if her husband had been “…plundered of two Horse Creatures by the Torys…,” Elizabeth replied that “He was, one was taken in the possession of Jno. Combs son of William & the other was sent home by that family.”

Surry County's tax records are 'spotty' in the latter half of the 1770s, and it is not certain whether William was residing in this county or in Wilkes (where at least one adult William Combs was being taxed - see below). Nor is it known exactly when the Combs, Codys and Stacys left the Yadkin River area to “join the British”, although quite possibly not until after the death of William RIDGE in 1780. The above Micajah and Joel LEWIS were brothers of William Terrell LEWIS, Jr. and besides being Rebels (a.k.a. Patriots), and thereby inherent enemies of all Tories, Micajah also may not have 'taken well' the caveat of his land entry by William Combs; to wit:

Note: It is not known where Mason Combs was at this time, but the above William Combs, Jr. is thought to have probably been Sr.'s son. Henry Combs may have been the s/o William Combs' brother, John, Sr., but if so, he was a man on the move since he appears on Montgomery Co, VA tax lists in 1787, and also married in that county the following year. If he was a second Henry Combs, he has not yet been found in later records. William Combs, Jr. was unlikely to have been the s/o John, Sr. since he was still being taxed up in Shenandoah Co, VA as late as 1792. Adam COUMB and John COMAY have not yet been identified (copies of original records still needed!), nor has William STACY. William Combs was apparently residing in Sullivan Co, TN at the time, based on the following:

26 July, 1788 (Sullivan Co TN Deed Book 1, p. 362) William Combs and Sethe, his wife, of Sullivan County, NC to Phillip FOUSE of Sullivan County, NC, 200 Acres, witnessed by John LOWRY and Seth PORTERFIELD. (Families and History of Sullivan County, TN, Vol. 1, 1779-1992)

Notes: Not only is this deed needed, but we still have no record of when or how this land was acquired. It is believed that the above Philip FOUSE was more likely FOUST based on FOUSTS of the 1796 Sullivan Co TN Tax List and the 1830 Sullivan Co TN Census. The above land may have been on Reedy Creek based on Sullivan Co, TN DB3, 1795-1802, p. 1., dated 25 Aug 1795, which describes other land purchased by Philip FOUST on that creek.

1789 Russell Co, VA Personal Property Tax List. Capt. William WEIR'S Upper District. Includes William Combs (tithes 1), Mason Combs and a second William Combs who was probably William, Jr. (see next), as well as William CODAY (CODY), h/o Sinai STACY; Benjamin STACY, h/o Ann Combs (as well as numerous other STACYS); and David THOMPSON, h/o Nancy CODY. None were on the 1788 list.

Side Note: Also on this tax list is Henry SKAGGS, Sr., and numerous other SKAGGS, all of whom had preceded the Combs-Cody-Stacy families to this area, having earlier been together with them in Montgomery Co, VA. Both Henry SKAGGS, Sr. and many of his family members, as well as Benjamin & Ann Combs Stacy, and others of their family, will eventually remove to Green Co, KY, where is found an unidentified William Combs, and where in 1810, Henry SKAGGS, Sr. died testate, naming daughters, Lucy STACY (w/o John) and Polly Combs, whose husband's name remains unknown, but who may have been the unidentified William Combs of Green.

1790 Russell Co VA - John Weir's List - Upper District again includes two William Combs, each tithing one, but this time one is designated as William Combs, Jr. Mason Combs is listed as Meshek,* as well as William CODY, Benjamin STACY and the SKAGGS. New this year, among others, are a John Combs, and William's mother-in-law, Judith TOLSON Stacy Pettit (with no tithables). *The STACYS also include a Meshack whom Stacy Researcher Barbara Stacy Mathews states was also a.k.a. Mason - for reasons unknown). One William Combs is also listed on Russell's Upper District Land Tax this year, but remains unidentified. 1790 is the last year that Benjamin STACY (h/o Ann Combs) appears on Russell tax lists, which is also true of Henry SKAGGS (See below and both Lincoln and Green Cos, KY).

Was John Combs the s/o William? John, s/o William, seems to have stayed behind in (or returned to) Surry Co, NC for a short period in the early 1780s, and may also have been the John Combs who was in and out of South Carolina with the GOWING (GOIN) families, and then to Washington Co, TN, but may also have been in Wilkes Co, NC (research in progress). This is not John Combs, Sr., brother of William, as he was in Wythe Co, VA this year.

Not only was William Combs in Hawkins Co, TN at this time, but so was Mason Combs, as were a number of STACYS. Also on the Dry Branch was Mashack (Meshack, Mason) STACY who had, in 1792, also purchased land adjoining “payns entry,” Payn having been William PAYNE who was “somehow kin” to Daniel PAINE, h/o Sylvia Combs, whose ancestry is unknown, but Daniel and Sylvia are later found in Warren Co, TN adjacent to Jeremiah and Simon Combs who were documented sons of Mason, as well as to Martin JOHNSON and his wife, Sarah Combs, her ancestry also unknown, but her husband, Martin, had witnessed land records for Mason Combs in Hawkins, and it is believed that Sylvia Combs Paine and Sarah Combs Johnson were probably daughters of either William Combs or Mason Combs.* No record of William Combs having sold this land has been discovered as yet (Hawkins Deeds need to be fully read). The land of his brother, Mason, was on Beech Creek, and at least some of it was purchased in 1795 from Peter STACY. Both Peter and Meshack STACY next show up back in Russell along with William Combs (See below).

* Sylvia's first son was named Mason, and her second, William. Sarah's first son was named William. She had no sons named Mason, but her second daughter was named Dorothy, probably named after Mason Combs' wife. Neither named a daughter, Seth, Sitha, etc. (Go Figger; i.e., research in progress). Martin and Sarah are also found in records of Jackson Co, TN with property adjacent to that of William RIDGE, Jr., s/o William and Winnifred Combs Ridge, Sr.

Also on these lists are William CODY, John CODY (s/o William) and David THOMPSON (all of whom except John were also on 1797 and earlier lists); James TATE; and Samuel CORNETT (see below). Also Note: By 1812 Reuben PRICE (h/o Dolly CODY), David THOMPSON (h/o Nancy CODY), James TATE (h/o Ruth DAVIDSON), Champ FARIS and others are all on the 1812 Warren Co, TN Tax Return of James Cooper (and in 1814 James TATE was the Capt. of a Militia Company in that county, with Martin JOHNSON (h/o Sarah Combs, his Sergeant). The 1798 Russell Upper District personal property tax lists include a John and William Combs. John is unidentified, but William is thought to have been William Combs, Jr., h/o Anna THOMPSON and s/o RW William and Sarah Ann MILLION Combs, Sr.

*Samuel CORNETT, who lived adjacent to William Combs, was the brother of RW William CORNETT (See also Dickey Diary Interviews) who was in Sullivan Co, TN in 1796 when he married Mary EVERAGE, the latter raised by Judith TOLSON Stacy Pettit. Their marriage took place at the house of George & Polly WOODS Morrison (she the d/o of the above Jonathan WOODS and his wife, Nancy DAVIDSON, widow of Solomon OSBORN). William CORNETT had land on Moccasin Creek surveyed in 1803 in Russell Co, VA, but by 1804, he had entered land in then-Floyd Co, KY which became part of Clay in 1807. In 1810, Samuel and William CORNETT (and others) were listed only a few names apart from John and William Combs on the Clay Co, KY Census, as was also true of William & Jane CALLAHAN Strong, John CODY, Robert HICKS and others (See below).

The next available tax list for Russell Co, VA is not until 1810, but in the meantime, William Combs, Sr. continues to appear in the records of Russell:

Although William Combs' name appears in later records of Russell Co, VA, each occurrence appears to be an instance referencing not him, but his land (whether as part of a boundary or later provenances of earlier transactions). Although The Combes Genealogy… refers to records for William Combs in Russell (or Scott) Co, VA as late as 1815, (a) this source had also confused the William Combs of this county, and may well be referring to the other; and (b) there is no evidence that either William or John were still in southwest Virginia after the above sale (neither were on the 1810 Russell Co, VA Tax List (not extant census). Instead, it very much 'looks like' both William and John Combs have, like many of their neighbors, removed to Clay Co, KY:

The eldest male in this household was b pre-1776 (the oldest category) as was the eldest female. Also note that a second family may be in this household. On line 18, is Shadrick Combs (s/o John Combs) and on line 20 is RW William CORNETT. The line immediately preceding that of William is Robert BRASHEARS whose father, Samuel, was the Sergeant of the 1788 Sullivan Co, TN Militia List on which an unidentified John Combs served, and who married Mary “Polly” EVERAGE, d/o Mary EVERAGE, 2nd wife of RW William CORNETT. The line immediately following William's is the household of George and Mary SUMNER Stacy, the former s/o Simon & Elizabeth DAVIDSON Stacy, and the latter the d/o Samuel & Winnifred Combs Sumner (and granddaughter of William and Seth STACY Combs). If John Combs is on this census, he is either 'hidden' in another household (See also, however, Floyd Co, KY. This same year, Perry Co, KY was formed from Clay and Floyd, but no further record of William Combs has been found as yet. By 1830, he would have been 90 years of age and it is doubtful that either he or his wife were still alive by then, but there may be estate records in Perry. Also to be remembered is that the William Combs who appears in Clay Co, KY tax lists “should have been” either a younger William Combs, or 'non-tithable' due to his advanced age (possibly recorded in Clay Co, KY court orders?).

In the meantime, however, while much additional research is still needed, it is difficult to believe that the William Combs of early Clay Co, KY could have been anyone other than William Combs, Sr.

Known and Possible Issue of William & Seth STACY Combs, Sr.