We do not have any of the three early Georgia censuses (1790, 1800 and 1810) so the census records begin with 1820.
Please refer to the family tree page here which may make it easier to follow the census extractions shown below. Also, and this is very important, Philip Combs the Rev war soldier and his son appear to have both been called Philip Combs, Sr. on many of these early records. One has to look at other factors to determine which is which. For the author's purposes, Philip the Revolutionary War soldier is Philip, Sr. and his son is Philip, Jr. Philip, Jr. also had a son named Philip which the author denotes as Philip, III. To make things even more confusing, Philip, Sr. had a son named John who also had a son named Philip. This Philip the author denotes as simply Philip, no suffix. There also may have been another Philip, possibly a son of Enoch. The author found no records for this Philip except possibly a marriage record. This is a perfect example of how difficult it has been to make any sort of definitive family tree from the records. It is suggested that the reader disregard the notations of Jr. and Sr. on the censuses.
The 1820 Census
We have seven Combs families shown living in Wilkes County: Milly, Philip, John, Thomas, Enoch, Philip and Philip.
- Milly (p. 304) - widow of James. James was the son of Philip (RS)
- Philip (p. 312) - son of John. John was the son of Philip (RS)
- John (p. 318 ) - son of Philip (RS) and he also was a Revolutionary War soldier
- Thomas (p. 318) - son of Philip (RS)
- Enoch (p. 320) - son of Philip (RS)
- Philip (p. 320) - son of Philip (RS) - He is the true Philip, Jr.
- Philip (p328) - this Philip is the Revolutionary War soldier, the patriarch of all of the Wilkes County Combs families. This is the true Philip, Sr.
Additionally, living in Jackson County, Georgia are Sterling Combs and Sterling's son William Combs. Sterling is the son of Philip (RS).
Notes
- On page 312 of the census, Philip Combs (son of John RS and the grandson of Philip, RS) is listed. If the census taker canvassed a contiguous area, we can find the names of Acton Nash, Enoch and Ely Callaway, Milly Combs and Hartwell Jackson living fairly close. We know that the Callaways lived in the Rayle Community. This places at least two of these Combs families living near the Rayle Community and it will be shown later that the author's Jackson ancestors (most notably Anselm Jackson who married Daisy/Dory/Dovie Combs) lived in this same general area.
- It is important to point out that only Philip, Sr. (RS) and his son Philip, Jr. owned any slaves - they both owned 3 slaves each. This is important to keep in mind when trying to identify the men named Philip in later censuses and estate records.
Note that there are 2 errors on this census: 1) There are no males over 18 listed for Philip Combs; and 2) The name Gresham Pinkston should read Greenberry Pinkston, another of the author's ancestors. Philip is shown owning 3 slaves
Philip, Jr. & Enoch Combs, brothers - sons of Philip Combs, Sr.(RS)
The Revolutionary War soldier William Barnett, probably the namesake of the author's g-grandfather William Barnett Jackson, son of Anselm Jackson and Daisy/Dory/Dovie E. Combs.
The Thomas Combs shown is likely John's son.
John and Thomas own no slaves
Wilkes County Census (no Districts listed but appears to be page 318)
Robert Chivers is nearby. This Philip owns no slaves.
Hartwell Jackson is a 1/2 cousin of Anselm S. Jackson (the author's 2nd g-grandfather) who married Daisy/Dorie/Dovie E. Combs who is likely the daughter of Philip Combs, Jr. and thus the granddaughter of Philip Combs, Sr, RS.
The 1830 Census
We know that Philip Combs, Sr. the Revolutionary war soldier died in the late 1820s so we are left with Philip Combs, Jr. the son of Philip, RS, and Philip Combs, the grandson of Philip, RS by his son John.
- Philip Combs (age 30-39) is living in District 175, Wilkes County, GA
- John Combs (60-69) is living in District 175, Wilkes County, GA
- Philip Combs (50-59) is living in District 174, Wilkes County, GA (Philip, Jr.)
- Enoch Combs (40-49) is living in District 174, Wilkes County, GA
- Mary Combs (30-39) is living in District 171, Wilkes County, GA
- Patsy Combs (50-59) is living in District 171, Wilkes County, GA
Philip Combs, Jr. and Enoch Combs, brothers, sons of Philip Combs, Sr. (RS)
This Philip is now shown owning 4 slaves; Enoch owns none
John Combs (RS) and his son Philip Combs. John is the son of Philip, Sr. (RS)
John and Philip own no slaves
Mary owns no slaves
Wilkes County census District 171, page 313
Patsy owns no slaves
* The parents of this Thomas and John are unknown - see the 1832 land lottery. Patsy might be Patsy Hammock Combs.
The 1840 Census
We now have 3 Philips shown: Philip, Jr. (the son of Philip, Sr. (RS); Philip, the son of John; and, Philip F. who is the son of Philip, Jr.
- Philip Combs (Age 60-69) is living in District 174, Wilkes County, GA (This is Philip, Jr.)
- Philip F. Combs (Age 20-29) is living in District 174, Wilkes County, GA (Son of Philip, Jr.)
- Philip Combs (40-49) is now living in District 942, Cobb County, GA (Son of John)
- John Combs Sr. (Age 70-79, age 78, veteran) is now living in District 176 (Father of Philip)
- Margaret Combs (30-39) is now living in District 164
- John S. Combs (20-29) is now living in District 176
- Thomas F. Combs (30-39) is now living in District 169
Philip Combs, Jr. and his son Philip F. Combs
John Combs (RS)
John owns no slaves
Thomas F. Combs (See * below)
Wilkes County census District 169
Permelia Combs (Milly), widow of James the son of Philip, Sr. (RS)
Putnam County census District 368
Margaret Combs, possibly the widow of Thomas R. Combs (See * below)
Margaret is living near the Rayle Community
Wilkes County census District 164
* The parents of John S. Combs, Thomas F. Combs and Thomas R. Combs are not known.
The 1850 Census
We know that Philip Combs, Jr. the son of Philip, Sr. (RS) died in the 1840s so he will not be listed. We also know that John (RS) died while living with/near his son in Cobb County, GA.
- Philip Combs (61) Powder Springs, Cobb County, GA (Son of John (RS))
- PF Combs (39) Division 94, Wilkes County, GA (Son of Philip, Jr.)
- Elizabeth Combs (72) Division 94, Wilkes County, GA (Widow of Philip, Jr.?)
- Mary Combs (60) Division 94, Wilkes County, GA
- Mary Combs (30) Division 94, Wilkes County, GA
P.F. Combs or Philip F. Combs, son of Philip Combs, Jr.
Philip F. Combs is the grandson and direct descendant of Philip Combs, Sr. (RS)
Elizabeth Combs is likely the widow of Philip Combs, Jr. and the probable mother of Philip F. Combs. Jeremiah and Nancy are likely siblings of Philip F. Combs.
Philip Combs, son of John Combs (RS)
Cobb County census, Powder Springs District
A James H. Combs living in the household of Mary Marler. There was a marriage record for a Mary Ann Combs marrying Thomas Marler in 1827. Is James her brother? Who were their parents?
Wilkes County census Division 94
A Mary Combs is living in the household of Willis Dorough. Mary is likely the mother of Willis' wife Elizabeth. The author found one claim by another researcher that claims that Mary was the widow of Zachariah Combs and that her maiden name was Rose. This is likely correct since a Henry Rose was the administrator of Zachariah's estate in 1821. Zachariah was likely the son of Philip, Jr. but this creates another question: Why was Philip, Jr. not the administrator of his son's estate - why was his father-in-law the administrator? A Philip Combs was one of the buyers from his estate but we do not know which Philip this was.
Wilkes County census Division 94
is shown living close to Philip Combs, Jr. on the 1840 census so her deceased husband may have been a son of Philip, Jr.
Wilkes County census Division 94