Capt. John Holcombe

This article provides proof that Capt. John Holcombe is a qualifying ancestor for the Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution and proof of Capt. John Holcombe’s lineage to the Mullins family.

Qualifying Military Service

John Holcombe’s qualifying service for the Society of Colonial Wars includes:

• Served as undersheriff [1,2] of Prince Edward County in 1769.
• Served as Captain [3] in the Prince Edward Militia in 1773.

John Holcombe’s qualifying service for the Revolutionary War includes:

John Holcombe’s service as Captain in the Fourth Regiment of the Continental Army was confirmed on 2 occasions by the U.S. Government in response to inquiries by private citizens:

1. December 9, 1916 – The War Department confirmed that John Holcombe was granted an Invalid Pension [accent on the first syllable of “Invalid”] pursuant to an act of April 26, 1808, at which time he was a resident of Campbell County, VA, on the basis of his service as Captain of the Fourth Regiment, Continental Army. The letter further states that no additional information is available about Capt. Holcombe’s service because records were destroyed when the British burned the War Office in 1814.
2. 1920 – A second letter from the Department of the Interior contains much the same information.

Capt. John Holcombe was wounded at the battle of Germantown, PA, on October 4, 1777 [4]. He probably left the Continental Army after he was wounded, but continued service in the Virginia militia. Holcombe served at Petersburg as a Captain in 1779 [5].

By January 1781 Holcombe held the position of Colonel in the Virginia militia [6].

Col. Holcombe commanded a unit of the Virginia militia at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse on March 15, 1781 [7] (cited in Babits, p. 66).

John Holcombe’s Daughter, Sarah Holcombe

Captain John Holcombe and Martha Venable had a daughter, Sarah Holcombe.

The marriage bond of Sarah Holcombe and William Walker [8] was signed by Sarah’s father, “J. Holcombe.”

Several lines of evidence establish that the father of Sarah Holcombe, signer of her wedding bond, was Captain John Holcombe of Prince Edward County, VA, later of Campbell County, VA:

1. The 1787 Virginia census showed just one person with the last name “Holcombe” and the first name starting with “J”: John Holcombe of Prince Edward County [9]. This John Holcombe also owned land in Cumberland County.

   There is a second listing in the index with a close but different spelling: “Holcomb, John” in Prince William County. This person is listed with no holdings, and is designated “not tithable.” Accordingly, this individual was probably the same John Holcombe, who resided in Prince Edward, but had some connection to Prince William as a non-tithable non-resident.

2. According to Dorman [10] John Holcombe, husband of Martha Venable, served in the Continental Army as Lieutenant, and later as Captain, resided in Prince Edward County, later moved to Campbell County. Dorman states that Martha was the daughter of Abraham B. Venable.

   The fact that Sarah Holcombe was married in Campbell County is consistent with her father being Captain John Holcombe of Prince Edward County, VA, later of Campbell County, VA.

3. Sarah Holcombe’s wedding bond was witnessed by Samuel Venable. Samuel Venable was the name of the brother of Martha Venable, wife of Captain John Holcombe [11]. Thus, it appears that Sarah’s uncle, Samuel Venable, brother-in-law of her father, Captain John Holcombe, witnessed Sarah Holcombe’s wedding bond.
4. A search on ancestry.com for “J Holcombe” on the 1810 U.S. Census in Virginia yields only two individuals [12]. The first, John Holcombe of Prince Edward, and his wife, are between ages 26 and 44, and have 4 young children. This listing is the son of Captain John Holcombe, still living in Prince Edward County. The second “John Holcombe” on the 1810 census is over age 45, as is his wife, and is thus consistent with Captain John Holcombe, residing in Campbell County.

   Thus, the 1787 Census of Virginia and the 1810 U.S. Census (Virginia) show only a single candidate to be “J Holcombe,” the signer of Sarah Holcombe’s wedding bond in 1804, namely Captain John Holcombe of Prince Edward County. [Note: Virginia does not appear in the 1790 or 1800 U.S. Census records, so these records cannot be checked for John Holcombe.]

5. George Walker III (Col. George Walker) of Prince Edward County, father of William Walker, husband of Sarah Holcombe, purchased land on September 5, 1791, in Cumberland County from John Holcombe of Cumberland County [13]. This indenture shows a connection between John Holcombe and the family of William Walker.

   We can assume that the John Holcombe of the 1791 deed is Capt. John Holcombe because of the findings on the 1787 Census: There was only one John Holcombe, resident of Prince Edward (presumably Capt. John Holcombe) and owner of land in Cumberland, which he sold in 1791 to Col. Walker. Therefore the 1791 deed circumstantially links Capt. John Holcombe to William Walker and his wife, Sarah.

6. John Holcombe’s will was probated February 9, 1818, in Campbell County VA [14]. The will mentions a Deed of Trust set up for John’s wife, Martha, by her mother, Elizabeth (Michaux) Venable. The Deed of Trust was recorded in Prince Edward Co. in 1783, confirming that the John Holcombe, of this Campbell Co. will, resided in Prince Edward in 1783. The will further references a Deed of Trust from Campbell Co. on July 9, 1804, for the benefit of George Walker’s executors (this was about 3 months after William Walker and Sarah Holcombe wed). These executors were William Walker and his cousin George Walker.

   This 1818 will definitively ties together Capt. John Holcombe of Prince Edward Co.; the Venable family including his father-in-law Abraham B. Venable [15]; the John Holcombe residing in Campbell County in 1804 and 1818; and the 2 signatories of William and Sarah Walker’s wedding bond, J. Holcombe and Samuel Venable.

© 2013 W. Mullins