Combs &c. Families  of Woodford Co., KY

Please Email Additions and/or Corrections to Webmaster

p. 397
Andrew Combs 1 m-under 10; 1 m-26-45; 3 f-under 10; 1 f-26-45

No Township, p. 126
Andrew Combs 10011002010 [indexed as Comb]
1 male under 10
1 male 16-26
1 male 26-45
2 females 10-16
1 female 26-45

p. 310, Mortonsville
William YANCEY 120001 10001
1 male <5, 2 males 5<10, 1 male 30<40
1 female <5, 1 female 20<30

Notes: Believed to be William YANCEY and Susan Combs, d/o of James Combs and his first wife Ann MARYMAN Hendley (08 Jan 1820 (Franklin Co KY Marriage Records) YANCY, William & Combs, Susan). Couple previously in 1820 Scott Co, Ky., census and they removed to Ralls Co, MO where they are found with Susan's sister Elizabeth and her husband Augustine O''BRIEN. See Washington and Scott Counties., Ky., for more information about James and Matilda SMITH Combs.

Clover Bottom Pct p. 462a
HH 127/127
Nancy COMBS, 23, F, B, Keeping house, no birth state indicated
Emma, 7, F, B, no birth state indicated
John, 2, M, B, no birth state indicated

Midway p. 474b
HH 5/5
Henry COMBS, 40, M, B, farmhand, KY, cannot read or write
Mary, 30, F, B, cook, KY, cannot read or write
Jack, 10, M, B, KY
Henry, 6, M, B, KY
Ellen, 3, F, B, KY
James, 1, M, B, KY
Charlotte, Ridd, 20, F, B, House Servant, KY, cannot read or write
Allie, 1, M, B, KY

Midway, p. 475a
HH 8/8
Wm. SHIPP, 27, M, W, cashier of Bank, KY
Mary, 25, F, keeping house, KY
Allie, 2, F, KY
Mary MORTON, 70, F, KY
Ellen COMBS, 30, F, B, cook, KY
Henrietta COMBS, 10, F, B, house servant, KY
Victoria COMBS, 9, F, B, KY
Frank, 11, M, B, KY

Versilles, p. 521aa
HH 81/81
Rachel COMBS, 35, F, B, keepinghouse, KY cannot read or write

A project completed this year by the Gen. Marquis CALMES Chapter, N. S. D. A. R. of Versailles, Ky. has been the restoration of the tomb of the patriot for whom the chapter was named. This unigue tomb is about ten feet square and eight feet in heightand is built of native limestone without the aid of mortar. It is an unusual example of stone masonery. The roof is a continuation of the four side walls, tapering to a conical shape with an opening in the exact center. It is believed that Gen. CALMES got his inspiration from the ancient cairns of Ireland, which bear some resemblance to this rock tomb built under the personal direction of the General by one of his slaves who was a skilled stone mason.

Gen. CALMES was the son of a noble French Huguenot family. He was born in Frederick Co., Va., in 1755 and he died in Ky. in 1834.* He served as Lieutenant Col. in the Continental Army during the American Revolution. He saw active service in the War of 1812, serving as Brigadier General. After the American Revolution he received a large grant of land in what is now Woodford Co., Ky. In 1783 he settled on this land, naming his plantation Caneland. His adjoining neighbors were Major John CRITTENDEN and Col. Thomas MARSHALL, the father of Chief Justice, both veterans of the Revolution.

Gen. CALMES was one of the founders of the new town of Versailles, Ky., he had the honor of naming it, and he named it for Versailles, France, because of his admiration and affection for the great Lafayette, his comrade during the Revolution. Several years ago the Mother City, Versailles, sent to her namesake a beautiful silver urn. This urn remains on display in the Versailles Postoffice, by special permission of the Federal Government.

All traces of Caneland are obliterated. A fire destroyed the old buildin a few years ago. Only the rock tomb, so unusual in design and remarkable in construction, stands to mark the spot, and within this mausoleum, as he had wished the remains of Gen. CALMES and his wife repose.

It is through the kindness and generosity of William Bailey, historian and genealogist, the Gen. Marquis Calmes Chapter D. A. R. has been able to have this work of restoration done. He donated one hundred copies of his History of Woodford County for the creation of a fund to be used in this work.
----From the D. A. R. Magazine, August, 1941.
(The wife of Gen. Calmes was Elizabeth "Betsy" Combs, a sister of my great-great grandfather) E. S. (Extracted by Combs Researcher Anne B. Musser)

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.

Old farm near Oregon and Mt Edwin Methodist Church