Philip Combs, Jr.

Philip Combs, Jr. was the son of Philip Combs, Sr. the Revolutionary War soldier.  The exact date of his birth nor the date of his death are known.  He likely was born in the 1770s either in Amelia County, Virginia or Fairfield District, SC.  He died in Wilkes County, Georgia about 1844-1846.  At the time of his death, he was married to an Elizabeth (Eidson?) [1]  His estate was handled by his son Philip F. Combs and we have only a few of his estate documents which unfortunately do not provide the names of all of his children.[2]

1793 Wilkes County Militia Record
James, John and Philip Combs were all likely brothers, sons of Philip Combs, Sr.
Note also John Eidson, John and Robert Hammock and Thomas Talbot - all names researched by the author as they are his allied families of Wilkes County.
(Ancestry.com)

Philip Combs, Jr., 1820 Census, Wilkes County, GA

Most of the neighbors' names are illegible; However, the names Enoch and Philip Combs are legible as well as William Barnett.  William Barnett was a noted Revolutionary War soldier and he can be found on several tax records that also list our Combs ancestors.  His name can also be found on the later censuses (See below).

Philip Combs, Jr., 1830 Census, Wilkes County, GA

Note the names William Smallwood, Herbert Reviere, Edward Waller, William Eidson, Elisha Smallwood, James Dozier, Thomas Talbot and Enoch Combs. 
Also note that (Captain) James Dozier married Elizabeth Staples.  Elizabeth's brother Thomas is the author's paternal great-grandfather through his son John. A daughter of Thomas, Judy Staples, married Edward Waller.  Thomas Staples happened to marry an EIDSON.[3]

Philip Combs, Jr. and Philip F. Combs, 1840 Census, Wilkes County, GA

Note the names William Barnett, Edward Waller, Tillman Dozier,[4] John Staples, Herbert Reviere, Thomas R. Eidson, Elizabeth Dozier, Ezekiel Dozier [4] and William Smallwood. 

Elizabeth Combs, widow of Philip Combs, Jr., 1850 Census, Wilkes County, GA

Note the names Philip F. Combs and Jeremiah Combs - sons of Philip

Also, other names shown living nearby are Herbert Reviere, Edward Waller, Elizabeth Staples, Spain Colley, Thomas Talbot, William Smallwood, Peter Lunceford and Daniel Fouche. Spain Colley and Elizabeth Staples are more of the author's paternal ancestors.  Also note that it is known that Spain Colley and Peter Lunceford lived near the Rayle Community - Spain's gravesite sits adjacent to Highway 78 in the Rayle Community.  This likely places Philip Combs, Jr. living in that general area at the time of his death - most likely south of Rayle.

Philip Combs, Jr. and James Sherman, administrators of the estate of Thomas Eidson

The Washington News, March 16, 1831

Philip Combs, Jr. and James Sherman, administrators of the estate of Thomas Eidson
Washington News, January 1831

Philip Combs' land in Vann's Valley, Floyd County, GA
Based on the date, this is most likely Philip Combs, Jr.
Vann's Valley is a historic area in Georgia - see more here.
(GA Archives)

It has been stated by other researchers that Philip Combs, Jr. married Elizabeth Eidson - Did James Sherman also marry an Eidson?  Were Philip and James brothers-in-law? Married daughters of Thomas Eidson?

Philip Combs, Sr. estate sale
Southern Spy, January 1837

The record above is confusing: Philip Combs, Sr. died in the late 1820s but it took many years to settle his estate.  Why does the article show Philip Combs, Sr. as the administrator?  The administrator clearly was his son Philip Combs, Jr.

Philip Combs, Jr.
Standard of Union, May 1838

Philip Combs, Jr.
News and Planters' Gazette, June 1842

From the estate files we can only attribute two children to Philip Combs, Jr.: Philip F. Combs (administrator of the estate) and a son named Zachariah P. Combs. We know from census records that he probably had more children so it is likely that much of his estate file is missing.  For example, the 1830 census lists 3 boys and 7 girls living in his household.

Known children of Philip Combs, Jr. and Elizabeth (Eidson?):

• Philip F. Combs
• Zachariah P. Combs - died about 1821(?)

In addition to Philip and Zachariah, the author speculates that the following are also the children of Philip & Elizabeth (not in any particular order) and there are likely others:

• Thomas - died after 1847
• John - deceased by 1850
• Jeremiah - listed as Jerry on the 1860 census, age 54
• Elizabeth - born about 1814
• Mary - born about 1821
• Daisy/Dorie/Dovie [5]- born about 1810, married Anselm S. Jackson (The author's line)

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[1] Other researchers have speculated that Elizabeth's maiden name was Eidson but the author has found no proof of this.  The inference that she was the daughter of Thomas Eidson is probably correct.
[2]The Georgia Archives has a file on Philip Combs; However, the file contains estate records from the estates of Philip, Sr. and Jr., and also James so the data should be carefully parsed before coming to any conclusions.
[3] Probably married the daughter of John Eidson and Judith Richardson.  Thomas R. Eidson was likely her brother.
[4]Tillman and Ezekiel Dozier were the sons of James Dozier and Elizabeth Staples Dozier. The author has done some research on a few of the descendants of son Ezekiel Dozier: Some of them wound up in Alabama but later generations returned to the Atlanta area.  One descendant, John Tillman Dozier, of Atlanta, was KIA during the Vietnam War in 1971 at age 20.  His father, James Thomas Dozier, served in WWII and Korea.  Also note that Ezekiel married Lois Embry who probably is related to Hezekiah L. Embry, the minister that married Philip F. Combs among others.  For more on the Dozier family, see the book by Michael Farmer Hall entitled "The Genealogy of the Webster, Martin, Dozier, Staples, & Starke Families of Wilkes Co., GA...".
[5] The author speculates that Daisy is his daughter - see HERE.

This page was created on 2/24/2025