Combs-BergenFamilies  of NJ, KY & IL

Descendants of John B. BERGEN and Sarah STRYKER, of near Cranbury NJ:

"George I. BERGEN, b June 16th, 1764, bap. Oct. 4, 1767, by the Rev. Mr. VAN HARLINGEN; d. Feb, 1825; m. 1789 Rebecca, dau. of Judge Jonathan COMBS, of Middlesex County, NJ. His widow two years after his decease m. the Rev. Mr. KENNER, a Baptist preacher from Virginia, and d. in 1846."

"The ancestor of Jonathan COMBS, it is said, came from Scotland, in the old ship Caledonia, which brought the first emigrants from the land of stern Presbyterianism; they seeking a home in the wild country away from the intolerance of Papal and Episcopal power and persecution."

Footnote at bottom of page 422:

"In 1679, Francis COMBS, a cooper, was granted lands in Newtown, Long Island [NY], to induce him to settle there and ply his trade for the convenience of the settlement. He d. in 1700, and his two sons, Francis and Thomas, settled in Hopewell, N. J. In 1729,* Thomas COMBS, of Freehold [Monmouth Co], N. J., for [pounds] 50, conveyed lands in Hempstead [Long Island, NY] to John COMBS of Madnans neck of said town, as per Hempstead records.

"There was a John COMBS of East Hampton, N. Y., as early as 1675, a Daniel COMBS in Hempstead [Queens Co NY] in 1708, a Richard COMBS in Hempstead in 1709, and a Richard COMBS in Jamaica (note: this is part of N. Y. in this context, I believe) [Queens Co NY]in 1718.

"In 1777, John COMBS was a member of the revolutionary committee of safety of New Jersey, and at the same period a Solomon COMBS was a resident of Monmouth County.

"There was a Joseph COMBS among the early settlers of Brookhaven in 1655."

page 424:
After his business failed due to the glut of British goods in the American market in 1815:

"To retrieve their fortunes, George I. [BERGEN], his son David, and two married sisters, with their families left New Jersey in June 1818, for Kentucky, where his sister Margaret and her husband John VOORHEES, and two sisters of his wife, Rebecca COMBS, with their husbands, Peter CONOVER and Peter COX, then resided; they having emigrated in 1790, to settle at Red Stone, near the present Wheeling [Ohio Co, WV], then the ultima thule. There they tarried less than a year. Peter CONOVER and Peter COX were among the first who made their boats and rafts go down the Ohio River.

"At the time George I. emigrated, they resided in Woodford County, Kentucky, within twelve miles of Lexington [Fayette Co KY]. Within a year these families intermarried. Old Major CONOVER was a large landholder and reputed to be rich, but in the troublesome times then in Kentucky, and by old Virginia land claims, the result was his castle fell, and he determined in 1824, to sell his homestead, and all his, and George I.'s family decided to make their home in Indiana. The old major, his son Jonathan Combs CONOVER, who had married Martha, a daughter of George I., and Jonathan Combs BERGEN (son of George I.), who had married Mary Ann, a daughter of the major, and George I., constituted the exploring party."

The group eventually went to (and named) Jersey Prairie, about 30 miles west of Springfield, Illinois. George I.'s children with COMBS in their names were David Combs BERGEN, b. Jan. 2, 1795, and Jonathan Combs BERGEN, b. May 20, 1799.

Pages 493-494:

Elizabeth S. BERGEN, daughter of Peter C. BERGEN and Lydia H. ANDERSON, b. May 31, 1819 and m. Dec. 17, 1837, Thomas SMITH, farmer, of Manalapan [Monmouth Co, NJ]. Their daughter, Lydia M. SMITH, b. _____, m. Oct. 14, 1868, Joseph COMBS.

Children of Lydia and Joseph:

Matilda Woodhull COMBS, b. Sept. 25, 1869, d. Dec. 12, 1870.
Elizabeth Bergen COMBS, b. Feb.2, 1872.
Thomas Smith COMBS, b. March 12, 1874.

Ed. Notes: See also 1805 Mercer Co, KY marriage of Jacob VORIS [VOORHEES?] to Jaly [RANSDELL] Combs, widow of Claytor COMBS and mother of Joseph A. COMBS of Woodford Co, KY.

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