Elijah and Sarah ROARK Combs, Sr.
of Virginia, East Kentucky
"one of the eight"
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| “General” Elijah and Sarah ROARK Combs, Sr. of Virginia, East Kentucky "one of the eight" |
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| s/o John & Nancy HARDING Combs, Sr. | |
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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.
Elijah “General 'Lige” Combs, Sr., one of the “eight” (John Combs, Sr., Mason Combs, Sr., John Combs of Richmond, Archdale Combs of Old Rappa), b 1770 (17 Mar 1770?), probably in Frederick Co, VA; died testate 12 Sep 1855, Perry Co, KY; m bef 1799, possibly in Roanoke, Montgomery Co, VA, Sarah ROARK (d/o Michael & Letitia “Letty” GRIGSBY Roark), born between 1767 and 1773 in Virginia; died 7 Sep 1855, Perry Co, Kentucky.
Elijah is documented as a s/o John Combs, Sr. based on (a) his own 1855 Perry Co, KY death record which names his parents, John & Nancy Combs; (b) the Rev. War Pension File of his brother, Nicholas Combs; and (c) the Dickey Diary Interview of John S. Combs (which identifies him as “one of the eight” Combs brothers of East Kentucky). His marriage to Sarah ROARK, as well as her ancestry, are documented by Perry Co, KY records as well as the Hawkins Co, TN will of her father.
Hawkins Co, TN or Rockingham Co, VA would seem a more likely marriage location for Elijah and Sarah, but according to The Combes Genealogy… (no source), their marriage took place in present-day Roanoke (then Montgomery Co, VA). Elijah was residing in Tennessee by 1798, according to the birth location of his son, Jesse; in Virginia ca 1799, according to the birth location of daughter, Nancy (see below), and in Kentucky by 1803, according to the birth locations of his remaining children (Perry Co, KY and Lafayette Co, MO Records). He was taxed in Clay Co, KY for the years, 1807-1811, 1813, and 1817-1820 (missing in 1814), and is listed on both the 1810 and 1820 Clay Co, KY census enumerations. He appears on the Perry Co, KY census enumerations in 1830-1850.
Elijah's 1855 Perry Co, KY will names two of his sons, Jesse, Jackson (Elijah, Jr. had predeceased his father), and none of his daughters. The only grandchildren named are Jesse's sons, Josiah H., Jesse and John.
The 1898 Dickey Diary Interview of John S. Combs names Jesse, Jackson and Elijah, Jr., stating that “Elijah lived in Perry. He was General of the Militia. He had sons: Jesse, Elijah, and Jackson. Josiah Combs was killed by Joe ADKINS was the son of Jesse. Jesse was Clerk of Perry first and as long as he lived and his grandson, Ira DAVIDSON, succeeded him. I have seen him (Gen. Elijah) in his regimentals commanding at the muster. He (Jesse) was killed by the explosion of a keg of powder in Shade DUFF'S store in Hazard. Someone snuffed a candle and accidentally threw the snuff in the keg of powder under the counter. DUFF was son-in-law of Combs. Both DUFF and Combs were killed. DUFF was killed instantly. Combs lay a good while.”
The 1898 Dickey Diary Interview of Matilda DUFF Lewis states that her brother, John DUFF, m Mary Combs, d/o General Elijah Combs, and that Shadrach DUFF (s/o John and Mary Combs Duff) married Mary Combs, a granddaughter of General Elijah Combs. If Shadrach was son-in-law to Jesse Combs, his wife may have been Mariann (Mary Ann) Combs born to Jesse and Polly BOLLING Combs on 28 Sep 1822 (see below re Jesse Combs Family Records). Note, however, the possible error in Matilda's interview re whether Shadrach who d in 1874 was her brother, or her nephew, s/o John A. & Mary “Polly” Combs Duff; i.e., “Shadrick DUFF, my brother was killed by the explosion of a keg of gun powder in a store room in Hazard when a young man. He snuffed a candle and threw the snuff into a keg of power, accidentally. He and my brother James were in partnership in the goods business. We lived in Hazard at the time. [My brother?] John was in the south with a drove of horses at that time and did not hear the calamity till he reached home. His wife told him of it, before he got off his horse, whereupon he went to the grave and stuck his riding switch in the fresh dirt. It grew to be a tree and stands there today.”
It seems unlikely that there were two explosions, but there is nevertheless a possibility of a second Combs-Duff marriage (See Lucinda below).
Jesse is documented as the son of Elijah by both his father's 1855 Perry Co, KY will and Dickey Diary Interviews. His marriage to Polly BOLLING is documented by the Perry Co, KY Groom's Index and the 1914 Perry Co, KY death certificate of their daughter, Alsey. Jesse's birth and death dates and Polly's birth date are documented by the Jesse Combs Family Records (which include more than just Jesse's immediate family).
Nancy Combs is documented by a combination of her Clay Co, KY marriage record (Elijah Combs, bondsman, relationship not stated); and Wooten Oral Family History:
“Martha Agnes SMITH (d/o Franklin & Louisa WOOTEN Smith, born Mar 1867, Lafayette Co, MO, d 1922, Raven, Alberta, Canada, m Cyrus Norton CLAY) was raised by her grandmother, Nancy Combs Wooten, and she stated to Kay before her death that Nancy was the daughter of Elijah Combs, Sr. (and wife, Sarah ROARK) of Perry Co, KY.” (Combs Researcher Kay McKenzie, granddaughter of Martha Agnes SMITH Clay)
Frederick and family are on the 1830 Perry Co, Kentucky census, but were in Lafayette Co, MO by 1835 when Frederick patented land in that county. He and family appear on the 1840 Lafayette Co, MO census, and Nancy and children are listed on the 1850 Lafayette census.
No reference to either Elijah Combs, Jr. or his children is made in Elijah Combs, Sr.'s 1855 Perry Co, KY will, but he is named in the Dickey Diary Interview of John S. Combs, and the Madison Co, AR Biography of Capt. Hiram Combs, b 1832, Perry Co, KY, includes the statement that he was “son of Elijah and Polly (Combs) Combs. His grandfather, Elijah Combs, was a native of Tennessee, served in the War of 1812, was a farmer by occupation, and died at about eighty years of age. The father [Elijah Combs, Jr.] was born in 1806, passed his life in Perry Co, KY, and died in 1846 [sic].”
According to The Combes Genealogy…, Polly Ann was a daughter of Jeremiah “Long” Combs Jr. and Nancy, and also married a Nicholas Combs (no record of this marriage found, and no source for her ancestry). Also note that The Combes Genealogy… contains errors in regard to the children of Elijah and Polly Ann. See Two Hiram and Mary Combs of Perry Co, KY and Madison Co, AR, which also includes the family of Elijah and Polly Ann Combs Combs, Jr.
Elijah and family are listed on the 1830 and 1840 Perry Co, KY census. His widow, Polly Ann, is listed on the census in 1850 in Perry Co, Kentucky, and in 1860 and 1870 in Madison Co, Arkansas. Elijah's death date is documented by the Jesse Combs Family Records.
Louisa is documented as daughter of Elijah Combs, Sr. and wife of Robert B. CORNETT by the Dickey Diary Interview of her son, Elijah Combs Cornet. On 3 Jun 1850, her father gave a deposition on behalf of the Rev. War Pension application of William and Mary EVERAGE Cornett, declaring that Robert CORNETT, s/o William and Mary, had married Louisa Combs (relationship not stated).
Robert and family are on the 1830 through 1850 Perry Co, KY census. 1860 and 1870 not yet checked, but in 1880, Louisa is listed (as a widow?) on the Perry Co, KY census.
Mary is documented as a daughter of Elijah Combs, Sr. by the 1898 Dickey Diary Interview of Matilda DUFF Lewis, who states:
“...My brother, John DUFF married Mary, the daughter of General Elijah Combs. He [John] had children as follows: Sarah Jane DAVIDSON, Henry DUFF who married Mahala STRONG, daughter of Edward and sister of Capt. Bill STRONG; Elijah, married Mary EVERSOLE, daughter of old BILLY EVERSOLE lives in Owsley, father of Miss Mary DUFF; Shadrick DUFF married Mary Combs, granddaughters of Gen. Combs. They [Shadrach and Mary] raised a family; Louisa, wife of John SPENCER; Nancy, wife of Major John EVERSOLE, mother of Joseph and Harry, George, John and Claude EVERSOLE; Orleana, wife of Adams CAMPBELL, they reared a family; Mary wife of Anderson EVERSOLE who moved to Kansas, a brother of Abner and Capt. Billy EVERSOLE. John DUFF, my brother, was the first surveyor in Perry County. He was county judge of Perry in his old days. He had an arm amputated when he was in the 70's. He died in 1892, age 91.He left a fine estate at the mouth of Grapevine. His wife survives him.
“Shadrick DUFF, my brother was killed by the explosion of a keg of gun powder in a store room in Hazard when a young man. He snuffed a candle and threw the snuff into a keg of power, accidentally. He and my brother James were in partnership in the goods business. We lived in Hazard at the time. [My brother] John was in the south with a drove of horses at that time and did not hear the calamity till he reached home. His wife told him of it, before he got off his horse, whereupon he went to the grave and stuck his riding switch in the fresh dirt. It grew to be a tree and stands there today...”
Note conflict re whether Shadrach DUFF, brother of Matilda, or Shadrach DUFF, nephew of Matilda, died in the 1874 explosion and see Lucinda below.
Jackson G. Combs is documented as the son of Elijah Combs, Sr. by the 1855 Perry Co, KY will of his father, and the Dickey Diary Interview of John S. Combs. His marriage date to Martha “Patsy” is documented by the Perry Co, KY Groom's Index and 1850 census. According to The Combes Genealogy…, Martha “Patsy,” wife of Jackson G., was neè CRANK (seeking source); however, Perry Co, KY Vital Statistics, 1851-1859, record her twice as neè Combs.
Jackson G. appeared on both the 1840 and 1850 census in Perry Co, Kentucky. He died between the date of his father's will and the 1860 Perry Co, KY census where Martha appeared alone. She also appears in 1870 and 1880 in Owsley Co, Kentucky.
Their children, as listed in The Combes Genealogy…, are apparently based primarily on the 1850 Perry Co, KY census, except note that the daughter, Elizabeth, is a mistranscription for Elijah (whom it is stated wrongly is missing from this census). Also note that Jackson G. has been confused by some Perry Co, KY researchers with Jackson D. Combs, also b ca 1816, ancestry unknown.
9 June 1860 (PC-DBD:532). Deed. Whereas it appears to us, the undersigned heirs at law of Jackson G. Combs, in his lifetime, sold to Hiram WOOTEN,...land in Perry County on McIntosh Creek, a tributary of Cutshin and being same place James C. BREWER now lives...100 acres more or less...heirs at law and widow of J. G. Combs, deceased that Hiram WOOTEN has paid the decedent...we Stephen P. HOGG & Sally Ann HOGG, and Sally Ann Combs and Elijah Combs, James Combs, heirs at law of J. G. Combs deceased; also Patsy Combs, the widow...do warrant....9 June 1860. Signed: S. P. HOGG (S), Sally Ann HOGG (S), Elijah Combs (S), Martha Combs (S).
Notes: In 1850, the census lists Polly, Lesley, Elijah, Sally, James, Jackson, John, and Cassius. Sons Lesley, age 15, and Cassius, age 4, died in 1852 (KVS). One or more additional children may have died as evidenced by the Ky. Vital Statistics records for deaths of children of a Jackson G. & Polly Combs. By 1870, Martha is living with her son Jackson in Owsley Co.
Martha aka Patsy, wife of Jackson G. Combs, is identified as a daughter of James CRANK who d. 7/3/1862 in Knox Co., Ky. (Source: Knox Co., Ky. Kinfolk v.2#12, 12/1/1978)
8 Jan. 1872 (PC-DBD:92). Indenture dated 8 Jan. 1872 between Stephen P. HOGG and Sally Ann his wife of Owsley County and John BAKER of Perry County...for $98.25...town lot #3 in Hazard...1/4 acre known as the John D. Combs Lot & being the Lot sold by order of the Perry Co. Circuit Court in the case of John D. Combs against Elijah Combs heirs &c and purchased at said sale by S. P. HOGG and deeded him by William P. HURST the Commissioner. Signed S. P. HOGG, Sally Ann x HOGG. Acknowledged by S. P. HOGG on 8 Jan. 1872 and acknowledged by Sally HOGG on 16 Jan. 1872. Admitted to record 10 Jan. 1872.
Notes: Sally Ann HOGG was the d/o of Jackson G. Combs and Martha Crank (1860 Perry Co. deed listing heirs of Jackson G. Combs).
187-205 Jackson G. Combs 34 M KY Surveyor $4000
Martha 33 F KY
Polly 14 F KY
Lesley 12 M KY
Elijah 10 M KY
Sally 9 F KY
James 8 M KY
Jackson 7 M KY
John 5 M KY
Cassius [?] 2 M KY
Notes: Jackson G. Combs, son of Elijah & Sarah ROARK Combs, Sr. (Jul and Aug 1852 and 8 Nov 1855 Perry Co., KY records) Wife Martha aka Patsy was the d/o of James CRANK of Knox Co., Ky. (Source: Knox Co., Ky. Kinfolk v.2#12, 12/1/1978). The Combes Genealogy… , which apparently used this census record for children (except with Elijah listed as Elizabeth and noted as missing), also lists Martha as neè CRANK (no source). Corrected: Earlier transcription (1) listed this as #204 rather than 187-205; (2) included no birth locations; (3) listed Jackson G. as Jackson; (4) listed value as $500 instead of $4000. By 1860, deeds involving the children of Jackson G. Combs only list Sally HOGG, Elijah and James Combs.
HH#432 Stephen HOGG 48 md KVK
Sally A. 37 wife md KKK
Martha J. 16 dau s KKK twin
Henry B. 16 son s KKK twin
Belle 14 dau s KKK
Laura 12 dau s KKK
Alice 9 dau s KKK
Robert L. 7 son s KKK
Kate 4 dau s KKK
Willie 2 son s KKK
Lincoln WILLIAMS 19 nep s KKK
Note: Sally Ann Combs HOGG is identified as the daughter of Jackson G. Combs and wife Martha (nee CRANK) Combs by an 1860 Perry Co. deed and the obituary of her son Walter Scott Hogg
HH#10-9 Stephen P. HOGG 38 Ky
Sallie A. 28 Ky [nee COMBS daughter of Jackson G. COMBS]
Henry B. 7 Ky
Martha J. 7 Ky
Belvadora 4 Ky
Ellender 1 Ky
Susan COMBS 50 Ky
James McKNIGHT 17 Ky
Anny ADAMS 60 VA
Notes: Perry County deeds identify Sallie Ann HOGG, wife of Stephen P. HOGG, as the daughter of Jackson G. and Martha (nee CRANK) Combs. The marriage is further confirmed by the 27 Aug 1926, Owsley Co., KY obituary of their son, Walter Scott HOGG, born 19 Dec 1881, Booneville, Owsley Co., KY. Who was Susan COMBS?
Susan is undocumented. According to The Combes Genealogy…, p. 146: “Susan, m. a MATTINGLY.” Source unknown, and neither she, nor a potential family have been located as yet.
Lucinda's ancestry and marriages are undocumented, pending the collection of additional records (in progress). She is said to have been mother of Margaret DUFF, who m 24 Oct 1843, Perry Co, KY, John J. GODSEY.