We know a little bit about John from his Revolutionary War pension file. He was born in Amelia County, Virginia about 1764 and he moved with his family to SC when he was a young boy. He enlisted for service in the Revolutionary War about 1779. He was awarded bounty land in Wilkes County, Georgia where he lived for many years. He likely moved to Powder Springs, Cobb County, Georgia to be near his son and he died there in 1850.
The original non-transcribed Revolutionary War pension application for John Combs can be found online at fold3. A transcribed copy of this document is presented below courtesy of Will Graves' website.
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| John Combs, Revolutionary War pension application (www.revwarapps.com) |
John Combs' Revolutionary War Pension File
(Fold3.com)
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| John Combs and his wife Milly Russell Combs (GA Archives) |
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| John Combs sues estate of John Russell (GA Archives) |
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| John and Milly Combs and the estate of John Russell William H. Crawford was a noted Georgia politician (Washington News, January 27, 1829) |
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| John Combs land on Little River sold for taxes (Augusta Chronicle, 1796) |
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| John Combs land lost in lawsuit (Augusta Chronicle & Gazette 1795) |
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| John Combs land sale (Augusta Chronicle and Gazette, 1795) |
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| This 1789 Wilkes County Militia soldier is probably the same John Combs (Ancestry.com) |
(Savannah Morning News, April 30, 1850)
The author has been able to confirm only one child of John (Philip) but it is likely that he had more than one child based on census data. From the death notice above where John died in Cobb County, it can be assumed that John was either visiting with his son Philip at the time of his death or he had relocated there and was living with Philip. We know that Philip was living in Cobb County and his was the only Combs family living in Cobb at that time. Philip moved to Cobb/Paulding County, GA in the late 1830s. He can be found living there on the 1840 and 1850 censuses. Philip was paying tax on Cobb/Paulding land in the 1830s while he was living in Wilkes (this gives us an idea of which Philip was which when trying to sort all the Philips shown in the records). Note that the author thinks that his lands were right along the border of Cobb and Paulding - thus the notation for both counties even though it was likely the same land.
We also have this record from the 1819 land lottery. This record shows that John the Rev. War soldier had a son named Philip. (The other Philips shown in this record are discussed elsewhere.)
We have records for John on many early tax digests but he is only listed on two of the early censuses. It is from these tax digests and censuses that we can isolate John's son Philip from the other Philips that are also shown on these same tax digests and censuses.
1820 Wilkes County - This census is almost illegible but the names Thomas and John Combs are listed consecutively. John has 6 males in his household, excluding himself, and 3 females. He is the only John Combs listed and his age is shown to be 45+. It is likely that Thomas is another of his sons but the author has not confirmed which Thomas this is - it could be John's brother.
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| John Combs (RS), 1820 census, Wilkes County, GA |
1830 Wilkes County - He is the only John Combs listed, and his age is 60-69. He has 1 female age 30-39 living with him. His son Philip is listed just above him.
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| John Combs (RS) and his son Philip, 1830 census, Wilkes County, GA |
1840 Wilkes County - He is listed living in District 176 near the Chivers, Embry, Fouche and Flynt families - family names that are noted throughout the author's research into the Combs family.
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| John Combs (RS), 1840 census, Wilkes County, GA |
We know that he died in April of 1850 so he would have died before that census was taken.
Philip Combs, son of John Combs (RS)
We find his son Philip on the 1840 census now living in District 942 of Cobb County. His entry shows six males and 5 females living in his household. Philip's age is shown to be 40-50 (1790-1800).
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| Philip Combs, 1840 Census, Cobb County, GA |
Phillip is then shown on the 1850 census living in Cobb County, Powder Springs District.
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| Philip Combs, 1850 census, Cobb County, GA |
Philip is not indexed/shown on later censuses; However, he is listed on the 1870 Tax Digest for Paulding County, District 1218. This tax information is important because it shows him paying tax on 50 acres in LL 989, District 2, Section 3. I believe that he lived on the same land but due to redistricting or errors in enumeration, he was somehow listed in Paulding and Cobb. If one looks at the 1837 Tax Digest for Wilkes County, you will find Philip paying a poll tax for 40 acres in Paulding County. This land was likely won in one of the many land lotteries. Note that he is the only Combs man paying a tax poll for land in Paulding or Cobb Counties.
Since we only have a few censuses, these the author relied heavily on the tax digests - we have several dating back to 1814. From these tax digests we can gather quite a bit of information.
Philip Combs, son of John Combs, RS
The Standard, May 6, 1852
(GA Historic Newspapers)
Before leaving the discussion of this Philip, it should be pointed out that all of his known sons served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War. This family is an example of a family that fought for American Independence (John) from the British and then later the grandsons of the Revolutionary War veteran fought for the Confederacy; One of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. From what the author has found, the family never owned any slaves nor did they have any interests in slavery: They were poor farmers before the Civil War and they were even poorer after the war.
Sons of Philip Combs that served in the Civil War from Georgia
- Benjamin N. Combs - GA 40th Infantry, Company F. Captured at Vicksburg and died of disease July 29. 1863. His widow, Adeline later applied for a widow's pension.
- Thomas Jackson Combs - Private, Company F, GA 40th Infantry. There are records on fold3.com indicating that Thomas was captured at Resaca, GA. He was moved from at least two other prison camps (Nashville & Louisville) before winding up at Rock Island POW camp where he remained from May of 1864 until his release in May of 1865. His discharge paper states that he was 22 years old, 5' 9" tall, "fresh" complexion and grey eyes. See fold3.com. Thomas married Mary F. House and they moved to Hopkins County, Texas. Mary was the daughter of Seaborn House who also served in the Confederacy. Thomas died in 1927 at the age of 84 - certainly one of the older Civil War survivors in Texas.
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| Thomas Jackson Combs and his wife Mary F. House |
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| Thomas Jackson Combs and his wife Mary F. House |
- Mark/Marcus Combs - Private, GA 34th Infantry, Company K. Captured at Vicksburg in 1863 and released shortly thereafter. May have filed for a pension. See fold3.com records. Mark is shown living in the Dark Corner district (Now the Douglasville area) on the 1870 census. He is shown with children but no wife. He cannot read or write. Interestingly, Mark is shown living fairly close to the author's paternal 3rd great-grandfather John McKenzie Dorris, the Methodist Minister. (Is this the Mark Combs shown on the 1822 Wilkes County tax digest as a minor owning land in Early County?)
- John Combs - Probably Private John Combs that served with the Paulding Volunteers, 7th Regiment, Company C [1]. He served from 1862 until surrendering with the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox CH. He and his wife (Rebecca) are shown on the 1880 census living in Paulding County, GA. Then on the 1890 census, they are shown living in Polk County, Georgia with their sister-in-law Adaline, widow of John's brother Benjamin.
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[1] See "Early Records of Georgia, Vol. 1 & II", Grace Gillam Davidson.
[2] Shadrack Pinkston is the author's paternal 5th great-grandfather.
[3] "Roster of the Confederate soldiers of Georgia, 1861-1865", compiled by Lillian Henderson
This page was created on 2/24/2025