Thomas Holcombe (1815 - 1885)

Born 27 Jul 1815 in Beaufort District, South Carolina, USA

Husband of Eliza (Gails) Holcombe — married about 1834 (to 1853) in Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, United States

Husband of Frances Elizabeth (Wellborn) Holcombe — married 19 Dec 1854 in Barbour County, Alabama

Descendants

Died 29 Dec 1885 at age 70 in Baconton, Mitchell County, Georgia, USA

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Biography

Thomas Holcombe (1815-1885), wholesale grocer, son of Robert Lynn Holcombe and Elizabeth Witter, was born in Beaufort District, South Carolina, on July 27th, 1815. He was a grandson of the Rev. Thomas Holcombe (1762-1824), distinguished Baptist clergyman. In early childhood he accompanied his parents to St. Marys, Georgia, and at the age of eighteen he settled in Savannah, where for more than half a century he engaged in the wholesale grocery business, his firm being successively known as Huntingdon & Holcombe; Crane & Holcombe; Holcombe, Johnson & Company; Holcombe, Hull & Company; Holcombe, Grady & Company. He served several terms as alderman of Savannah, and in 1862 he was elected mayor.

His first wife, Eliza Gale (1815-1853), died in Savannah on December 7th, 1853, leaving six young children. On December 19th, 1854, he married Frances Elizabeth Wellborn (1833-1918), of Barbour County, Alabama; there were six daughters and two sons. His eldest son by this first marriage, Josiah (aka John or Joseph) Law Holcombe (1838-1864), private in the 8th Regiment Georgia Infantry and later sharpshooter in the 1st Battalion Georgia Cavalry, was killed in the battle of Jonesboro, Georgia, on August 30th, 1864. His two eldest daughters by his second marriage--the "two interesting little children" whom the Rev. R. Q. Mallard observed at the railroad depot in Savannah on May 12th, 1859--were Julia Roxana Holcombe (born December 12th, 1855), who married (on March 16th, 1876) George Meriwether Bacon; and Matilda Bethune Holcombe (born February 5th, 1858), who married (on April 11th, 1876) William M. Edwardy.

Thomas Holcombe died at the home of his daughter Julia in Baconton, Mitchell County, Georgia, on December 29th, 1885, and was buried beside his first wife in Laurel Grove Cemetery, Savannah. His second wife, who survived him thirty-three years, died on November 11th, 1918, and was buried in Albany, Georgia. This is taken from "The Children of Pride" page 1552, "The Holcombe Genealogy" on ancestry.com pages 768 and 769, and the 1850 and 1860 U. S. Censuses. There is a discrepancy between the Holcombe Genealogy and "The Children of Pride" concerning Thomas' grandfather. "The Holcombe Genealogy" says his grandfather is the Rev. Henry Holcombe, D. D.

• Fact: Residence (1850) District 13, Chatham, Georgia, USA
• Fact: Residence (1860) Savannah District 3, Chatham, Georgia
• Fact: Residence (1870) District 6, Chatham, Georgia, USA
• Fact: Residence (1880) Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, USA

Sources

• "Public Member Trees", database, Ancestry.com (http://person.ancestry.com/tree/25277455/person/290071981817/facts : accessed 22 February 2017), profile for Thomas Holcombe.
• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZYV-D9Q : 20 December 2020), Thomas Holcomb, Chatham, Georgia, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZMF-2TZ : 18 February 2021), Thomas Holcombe, 1860.
• 1870 United States Federal Census.
• "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8LF-FD4 : 13 January 2022), Thomas Holcombe, Savannah, Chatham, Georgia, United States; citing enumeration district , sheet , NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm .
• "Alabama County Marriages, 1809-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XTWJ-DM3 : 19 February 2021), Thomas Holcombe and Frances E Willborn, 19 Dec 1854; citing Barbour, Alabama, United States, County Probate Courts, Alabama; FHL microfilm 1,289,482.
• Alabama, Compiled Marriages from Selected Counties, 1809-1920, Name Thomas Holcomb Gender Male Spouse Fanny Willborn Spouse Gender Female Marriage Date 20 Dec 1854 Marriage Place Barbour Performed By Minister of the Gospel Surety/Perf. Name William H. McIntoch OSPage 179.

See Also:

• Thomas Holcombe letters - Holcombe, Thomas, 1815-1885. "Thomas Holcombe letters." 1862. February 28, 2022. http://dlg.galileo.usg.edu/ghs/turningpoint/do:ghs0047-001.

The letters discuss concerns over the defense of Savannah and the moving of men and equipment from Savannah to Charleston.