January 20, 2005: (portrait)

Al: here is a painting of Joseph & Ann. There was a picture of their home 
on Rideau Street in the Bytown Museum.

Portrait of Ann (Robinson ) and Joseph Coombs (Bernice has full colour photo)



Hello
Do you have anyone else tracing the Coombs Name ?  Joseph Coombs came to 
Canada in 1827 as an engineer working for Col. By building the Rideau 
Canal. There are several of his and Ann (Robinson) Coombs family I am 
still trying to find. 
To this point I have been unable to find where Joseph was born or anything 
about his siblings. Joseph & Anns older children were born in England 
and Christened in the Weslyan Methodist Church on Morris Street Devonport, England.
Any information you can give me would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Bernice Lawrence
__________________________

Bernice:

In 1829, three Coombs brothers are mentioned on the McCabe List (Early Irish
in the Ottawa Valley, by Dr. Bruce Elliott):

William Coombs, ML# 158, had a family of four, two males and two females.
His brother, Samuel was still living in County Wexford in Ireland.
Another brother, John Coombs, ML# 159, single was here in Bytown.

These three brothers were from Gory, County Wexford.

Was Joseph Coombs related to these Coombs brothers?

In the 1881 Census for the City of Ottawa, here is a Coombs entry:

1881 Census Place:	St Georges Ward, Ottawa, Carleton, Ontario, Canada
	Source:	FHL Film 1375866  NAC C-13230  Dist 105  SubDist C  Div 1  Page 20  Family 85
	Sex	Marr	Age	Origin	Birthplace
Mary Francis COOMBS	F	age 50	Irish	born in England
			Religion:	Presbyterian
Lelitia MILLER	F		27	Irish	Ontario
	Occ:	Dressmaker	Religion:	Church of England	
John STOCKDALE	M		40	English	Ontario
	Occ:	Coach	Religion:	Church of England	

... Al
_________________________
from Bernice:



Other surnames for search engine: Olmstead, McGillvray, MacGillivray,
Tracy (Tracey), Couch, McLean
February 5, 2005:
Hi Bernice,
 
I came across the following reference to a Coombs some time ago; I am not 
sure if its relevant.
 
" The farm west of the Moxley farm was owned by Joe, Arthur and William Coombs. 
When Joe took sick Arthur came from Montana, USA, to operate the farm. His wife was 
a nurse and was always helping the sick of the neighbourhood. She was a lover of 
poetry and  very often sent a poem which she had written to a sick friend, 
a bride,or one bereaved"  The source was the Centennial History Blackburn and Glen Ogilvie  
by Anna Elliot prepared for the Glen Ogilvie W.I. 1967.
 
As best I can determine the farm in question was Lot 15 conc. II  O.F. (Ottawa Front)
Gloucester twp. and was owned by a James Coombs in 1879 (Belden).  The reference 
to Montana caught my eye because several sons and daughters of Conc. II  families 
emigrated there in the 1880s including some Craigs and Moxleys who are my 
particular interest.
 
Regards  
... Al Craig

January 7, 2010:

Dear Julie,
 
Please excuse me for contacting you in this manner, but I found some old postings by you on a genealogy forum re 
George Henry COOMBES.  I thought, if you hadn't already discovered it, that you may be interested to know that his son, 
Henry COOMBES, came to Australia, enlisted in the Great War and was decorated with the Military Medal before he 
was killed in action on 3 August 1917 after the Battle of Messines (Belgium).  He is buried in Kandahar Farm 
Cemetery at Neuve-Eglise.  He enlisted in my home town of Ballarat and served with Ballarat's "adopted" battalion, 
the 39th, hence my interest in him as he fits into the Great War project of Ballarat & districts war dead.  
 
If you are interested you can locate his service record at the National Archives of Australia (www.naa.gov.au) 
through record search - search as a guest and in reference number put B2455.  His Regimental Number was 1254 - 
this number with COOMBES in the keywords will bring up the file for you to look at and/or download.  
 
You can also see his name on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au); attached to this 
entry is a PDF of the original circular completed by his sister, Fanny TRENOUTH.  The entry for his recommendation 
for the MM is also on this site under Honours and Awards.
 
I hope that this e-mail finds you, that you are still interested in your genealogy and that this may add another
dimension to your research.
 
Kind regards,
 
Amanda TAYLOR, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia


 April 30, 2010:

Source: Bytown Gazette, January 14, 1841




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