Person Page - 291

     John Frederick Brandes was born on 3 December 1910 at Los Angeles, Los Angeles Co., CA.¹ He married Evelyn Ethel West, daughter of Chester Frank West and Evalyn Wilkinson, on 20 January 1940 at Oakland, CA. John Frederick Brandes died on 10 October 1988 at Oakland, Alameda Co., CA, at age 77.¹

     Rosella Bushnell was born on 4 September 1810 at Trumbull Co., OH.¹ She was the daughter of Sterling Graves Bushnell and Huldah Holcombe. Rosella Bushnell married Jonathan West Sloane on 24 April 1828.¹ Rosella Bushnell died on 24 January 1899 at Trumbull Co., OH, at age 88.¹

     Jonathan West Sloane was born on 24 November 1805 at Jefferson Co., OH.¹ He married Rosella Bushnell, daughter of Sterling Graves Bushnell and Huldah Holcombe, on 24 April 1828.¹ Jonathan West Sloane died on 26 December 1880 at Richland Co., OH, at age 75.¹

     Martin Bushnell Sloane was born on 15 December 1851 at Richland Co., OH.¹ He was the son of Jonathan West Sloane and Rosella Bushnell. Martin Bushnell Sloane married Ella Hansel Au on 7 June 1876.¹ Martin Bushnell Sloane died on 28 December 1923 at Mansfield, Richland Co., OH, at age 72.¹

     Ella Hansel Au was born on 12 March 1856 at Mansfield, Richland Co., OH.¹ She married Martin Bushnell Sloane, son of Jonathan West Sloane and Rosella Bushnell, on 7 June 1876.¹ Ella Hansel Au died on 22 May 1944 at Mansfield, Richland Co., OH, at age 88.¹

     Eloise Sloane was born on 31 May 1889 at Mansfield, Richland Co., OH.¹ She was the daughter of Martin Bushnell Sloane and Ella Hansel Au.¹ Eloise Sloane married George L. Buchan.¹

Eloise was accepted into the Mary Washington Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution on 18 March 1948, as a descendant of Benajah Holcomb, and assigned member number 290243.

     George L. Buchan was born on 21 September 1889 at Richland Co., OH. He married Eloise Sloane, daughter of Martin Bushnell Sloane and Ella Hansel Au.¹ George L. Buchan died before 1 April 1946.

     Joseph Post was born in 1681. He died on 23 April 1749.

     John Phelps was born on 19 August 1829 at Vernon, Trumbull Co., OH.¹ He was the son of Silas Phelps II and Julia A. Holcombe. John Phelps married Sarah Moore on 8 May 1866. John Phelps died on 3 October 1916 at age 87.

     Sarah Moore was born on 4 June 1841.¹ She married John Phelps, son of Silas Phelps II and Julia A. Holcombe, on 8 May 1866. Sarah Moore died on 1 February 1888 at age 46.

     Flora Phelps was born circa 1877 at Geneva, Crawford Co., PA.^2,1 She was the daughter of John Phelps and Sarah Moore. Flora Phelps married Harrison Phelps Gillett, son of Harrison Gray Otis Gillett and Estelle Phelps, circa 1901.² Flora Phelps was a member on 2 September 1931 at Ft. LeBoeuf Chapter, DAR; 212606, Waterford, PA.

     Harrison Phelps Gillett was born circa 1868 at Cleveland, Cuyahoga Co., OH.¹ He was the son of Harrison Gray Otis Gillett and Estelle Phelps.² Harrison Phelps Gillett married Flora Phelps, daughter of John Phelps and Sarah Moore, circa 1901.¹

Harrison P. and Flora were enumerated in the 1910 Waterford, Erie Co., PA, federal census. He was a flower mill miller, age 41, she was 32. The only other person in the household was her father, John E. Phelps 81.

Phelps H. and P. Flora were enumerated in the 1920 Waterford, Erie Co., PA federal census. He was a manufacturer in a flower mill, age 51, she was 41. There was no one else in teh household.

H. Phelps and Flora P. were enumerated in the 1930 Waterford, Erie Co., PA, federal census. He was 61, she was 52. There was no one else in the household.

     Judson Horace Holcombe was born on 6 January 1830 at CT.¹ He was the son of Horace Holcombe and Julia Ann Gillet. Judson Horace Holcombe married Martha Ellen Whitcher on 26 November 1862. Judson Horace Holcombe died on 6 March 1914 at WI at age 84. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Platteville, Grant Co., WI.²

Residence at time of enlistment: Platteville, Grant Co., WI
Enlisted: July 10, as a Sergeant in 7th WI, Co. C - Promoted: 1st Sergeant (date unknown)
Promoted: April 30, 1863 to 2nd Lieutenant and June 27, 1864 to 1st Lieutenant (not mustered)
WND: May 10, 1864 at Laurel Hill, VA - Resigned: November 4, 1864 (from wounds)

J. H. and Martha were enumerated in the 1870 Platteville, Grant Co., WI, feceral census. He was a clerk at a hardware store, age 40, she was 34. Children in the household were Eva 7, Horace 5, and George 1.

     Martha Ellen Whitcher was born on 23 March 1836.¹ She married Judson Horace Holcombe, son of Horace Holcombe and Julia Ann Gillet, on 26 November 1862. Martha Ellen Whitcher died on 1 September 1905 at Grant Co., WI, at age 69. She was buried at Greenwood Cemetery, Platteville, Grant Co., WI.²

     Eva Ann Holcombe was born on 29 September 1863 at Platteville, Grant Co., WI.¹ She was the daughter of Judson Horace Holcombe and Martha Ellen Whitcher. Eva Ann Holcombe married John Thomas Barden on 8 November 1894 at Madison, Dane Co., WI.

     John Thomas Barden was born on 13 March 1860.¹ He married Eva Ann Holcombe, daughter of Judson Horace Holcombe and Martha Ellen Whitcher, on 8 November 1894 at Madison, Dane Co., WI. John Thomas Barden died on 6 December 1920 at age 60.

     Jessie Persis Barden was born on 9 March 1902 at Chicago, Cook Co., IL.¹ She was the daughter of John Thomas Barden and Eva Ann Holcombe. Jessie Persis Barden was a member on 23 October 1934 at Genesee Chapter, DAR; 286754, Flint, MI.

     Hiram Holliday was born in 1801. He was the son of Jonathan Holliday and Bethesda Holcombe. Hiram Holliday married Laura Hendee in 1829. Hiram Holliday died in 1841.

     Laura Hendee was born in 1808. She married Hiram Holliday, son of Jonathan Holliday and Bethesda Holcombe, in 1829. Laura Hendee died in 1874.

     Daniel Hendee Holliday was born in 1838. He was the son of Hiram Holliday and Laura Hendee. Daniel Hendee Holliday married Antionette Weldy in 1859. Daniel Hendee Holliday died in 1902.

     Antionette Weldy was born in 1836. She married Daniel Hendee Holliday, son of Hiram Holliday and Laura Hendee, in 1859.

     Marcelena Holliday was born at Allegany Co., NY. She was the daughter of Daniel Hendee Holliday and Antionette Weldy. Marcelena Holliday married William C. Windsor. Marcelena Holliday was a member in 1908 at DAR; 70381, Washington, DC.

     William C. Windsor married Marcelena Holliday, daughter of Daniel Hendee Holliday and Antionette Weldy.

     Andrew Eaton Spalding was born in 1811. He was the son of William Pierce Spalding and Eleanor Watts. Andrew Eaton Spalding married Cynthia Shaw Holcombe, daughter of Sterling Holcombe and Betsey Stone, on 16 June 1836 at Bradford Co., PA; Information online from Pioneer and Patriot Families of Bradford County, 1770-1800, Volume 1, by Clement F. Heverly. Andrew Eaton Spalding died in 1857.

     Horace Mortimer Spalding was born in 1840. He was the son of Andrew Eaton Spalding and Cynthia Shaw Holcombe. Horace Mortimer Spalding married Lovina Shepard, daughter of Samuel W. Shepard and Amanda Bailey Spencer, in 1864.

     Lovina Shepard was born in 1844. She was the daughter of Samuel W. Shepard and Amanda Bailey Spencer. Lovina Shepard married Horace Mortimer Spalding, son of Andrew Eaton Spalding and Cynthia Shaw Holcombe, in 1864.

     Samuel W. Shepard was born in 1818. He married Amanda Bailey Spencer in 1838. Samuel W. Shepard died in 1905.

     Amanda Bailey Spencer was born in 1812. She married Samuel W. Shepard in 1838. Amanda Bailey Spencer died in 1900.

     Cora A. Spalding was born at Granville, Bradford Co., PA. She was the daughter of Horace Mortimer Spalding and Lovina Shepard. Cora A. Spalding married Dwight Robinson. Cora A. Spalding was a member in 1909 at DAR; 71005, Washington, DC.

     Dwight Robinson married Cora A. Spalding, daughter of Horace Mortimer Spalding and Lovina Shepard.

     Uriah Briggs Jr. was born in 1829. He was the son of Uriah Briggs and Mary Holcombe. Uriah Briggs Jr. married Cornelia Hatch in 1850. Uriah Briggs Jr. died in 1893.

Uriah and Cornelia were enumerated in the 1850 Granger, Medina Co., OH, federal census. He was a farmer age 21, she was 19. There were no children in the household. Father Uriah Sr. was living nearby.

     Elihu Briggs was born in 1834. He was the son of Uriah Briggs and Mary Holcombe. Elihu Briggs married Emma Grover in 1859. Elihu Briggs died in 1906.

     Cornelia Hatch was born in 1830 at OH.¹ She married Uriah Briggs Jr., son of Uriah Briggs and Mary Holcombe, in 1850.

     Jennie Briggs was born at Delavan, IL. She was the daughter of Uriah Briggs Jr. and Cornelia Hatch. Jennie Briggs was a member in 1909 at DAR; 71470, Washington, DC.

     Delia Briggs was born at Delavan, IL. She was the daughter of Uriah Briggs Jr. and Cornelia Hatch. Delia Briggs married John Killough. Delia Briggs was a member in 1909 at DAR; 71471, Washington, DC.

     John Killough married Delia Briggs, daughter of Uriah Briggs Jr. and Cornelia Hatch.

     Niles Holcombe was born in 1797 at NY. He was the son of Judge John Vinton Holcombe and Chloe Mudge. Niles Holcombe married Anna Smith Howell on 9 August 1827 at Gallia Co., OH.³ Niles Holcombe died in 1877 at OR.

Niles and Ann were enumerated in the 1850 Huntington, Gallia Co., OH, federal census. He was a farmer, age 53, she was 45. Children in the household were William R. 18, Livona 14, Janette 12, Return I. 5, and Esther A. 5 months. Also in the household was Janett Howell, 69.

Niles and Ann were enumerated in the 1856 Van Buren Co., Iowa State census. He was a laborer, age 58(?) she was 46. Children in the household were Janette 18, Return I. 11, and Esther A. 8. They had been living in Iowa for 3 years.

Niles and Ann were enumerated in the 1860 Village, Van Buren Co., IA, federal census. He was a farmer age 62, she was 52. Children in the household were a female 22, Return I. 15, and Esther 11.

Niles and Ann were enumerated in the 1870 Village, Van Buren Co., IA, federal census. He was a farmer age 72, she was 60. There were no children in the household.

     Anna Smith Howell was born in 1810. She married Niles Holcombe, son of Judge John Vinton Holcombe and Chloe Mudge, on 9 August 1827 at Gallia Co., OH.¹ Anna Smith Howell died in 1877.

     Robert Return Ira Holcombe was also known as Return Ira Holcombe. He was born on 24 February 1846 at Huntington Twp., Gallia Co., OH. He was the son of Niles Holcombe and Anna Smith Howell. Robert Return Ira Holcombe married Lucinda H. Dearmin in 1870 at Clarinda, Page Co., IA. Robert Return Ira Holcombe died on 21 November 1916 at St. Paul, Ramsey Co., MN, at age 70.

Robert enlisted July 25, 1861, as a resident of Bloomfield, Cavi Co., IA, in the 10th MO Union Regt. and served through the war. He had changed his name from Robert Ira to Return Ira to adopt the name of his great-great-grandfather, Return Holcombe, a Revolutionary soldier.

Return Ira became a printer and writer for newspapers, principally on historical subjects. From 1888-90 he wrote histories of Greene and Marion counties, MO, and manyother local histories and biograhies. From 1911-13 published many extensive histories in MN; in 1916, history of the 1st MN Regt in war of 1861-65. As Asst. Sec'y of the MN Historical Society he next wrote chapters in a history of St. Paul, MN, including 129 biographies. His last years were spent writing histories and biographies of Carver, Hannepin and McLeod counties, MN; had lived in Clarinda, Page Co., IA. In 1911 he wrote a history of Portland, Iowa that was published in the State Line Democrat of Keosauqua, Iowa that reads in part:

Portland was laid out by Sam'l R. Holcomb in about 1838 - maybe in 1836; the plat in the court house will show. His father, old Stephen Holcomb, and his five sons, Samuel R., Robert, John Vinton, DeWitt Clinton and Zepaniah, came to Van Buren county in about 1836. They settled upon an extensive tract of land along the south side of the Des Moines, extending from the old Samuel Robinson farm, where the road leaves the river and cuts across the Irish Bend, clear up to a mile and more west of or above Holcomb creek, and running back from the river about two miles. Thus the Holcomb settlement comprised about twelve square miles all of which they seem to have laid claim to and which ws partially settled by members of the family.

With old Uncle Stephen and his five sons, or soon thereafter, came the old man’s three married daughters, Mrs. Sallie Shinn, wife of Rev Moses Shinn; Mrs. Susan Friend, wife of John Friend, and Mrs. Tryphena Matterson, wife of Dr. Allen Matterson. Three of Uncle Stephen’s children died young, and it is evident that race suicide was not prevalent in his family.

The Holcombs and their brothers-in-law worked had at clearing the heavily timbered Des Moines bottom lands and in subduing the wilderness generally. In time they succeeded, but the majority of them died. Samuel R. lived at the mouth of Holcomb creek, and facing the Des Moines to the north. He had a numerous family of children, but a majority of them, as well as himself and his wife, died of consumption before 1850; another son and daughter – the latter a beautiful, accomplished girl – died before 1860. The last survivor of the family, Robert Virgil, went to the Montana gold mines in 1864 and was lost in the life and wilds of the northwest.

Samuel R. and his brothers tried to build a dam across the Des Moines, just above the mouth of Holcomb creek. They found it too big a jog, so they went up Holcomb creek, a mile from its mouth, and build a very good dam and a corn-cracker mill at the north end of a high limestone cliff. The mill and dam stood for some years, when high water washed away the dam and after a time the mill was torn down. My father came to the county in 1853 and my cousins and I often played about the foundation logs of the old mill, and I well remember its history as related to me. Three of the Holcomb sons and the father, Uncle Stephen, had their cabins on the creek, as well as the mill, and this is why the stream was called Holcomb creek. I hope that modern authorities will not change it to something Italian or Spanish in sound.

When Sam’l R. Holcomb laid out his town he expected it to become quite a landing and port for steam boats, where they would land frequently, and so with propriety, he called the place Portland. The first mill in the place was a horse mill, constructed and operated by him and my uncle, Levi Howell. This mill stood on the west side of Holcomb creek, near its mouth. The two enterprises were well known as the Holcombe Mills. Maybe they were the first – certainly they were among the first – in Van Buren county.

Mr. Holcomb tried hard to build up a town. He sold good-sized lots for $5 each to parties that would agree to build. He donated the logs for the first store and blacksmith shop and he and his brothers built the firs school house, a small log structure. Had he lived the town might have amounted to more than it did, for he was an intelligent man, public spirited, and a great worker.

Robert Holcomb, an old bachelor, was another town founder. He laid out the town of Lexington, on the north side of the Des Moines, below Portland, but it never had more than three or four houses. His claim was the farthest down the river of the Holcombe tract. It eventually became the Robinson farm.

     Lucinda H. Dearmin was also known as Lucinda H. Dearing. She was born in 1839. She married Robert Return Ira Holcombe, son of Niles Holcombe and Anna Smith Howell, in 1870 at Clarinda, Page Co., IA.

     Lillian Maude Holcombe was born at Centerville, Appanoosa Co., IA. She was the daughter of Robert Return Ira Holcombe and Lucinda H. Dearmin. Lillian Maude Holcombe was a member in 1909 at DAR; 72338, Washington, DC.

     Phoebe Ann Holcombe was born on 30 May 1823.¹ She was the daughter of Alpheus Holcombe and Hannah Kingsbury. Phoebe Ann Holcombe was born on 30 March 1828.³ She married David Smiley on 23 September 1846.⁴ Phoebe Ann Holcombe died in 1904.

Bradford Co., PA, Marriages from 1840 through 1869, as printed by the Rev. Edward C. Hoagland in his Twigs from Family Trees, 1940. These records were taken from two Bradford County newspapers - the "Bradford Porter" and the "Bradford Reporter".

     Celestia Holcombe was born on 29 January 1804 at PA. She was the daughter of Alpheus Holcombe and Hannah Kingsbury. Celestia Holcombe married Ledyard Chappell, son of Isaac Chaapel and Tamasin Wilcox, on 6 February 1829. Celestia Holcombe died circa 1855 at Leroy, Bradford Co., PA.² She was buried at Leroy Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford Co., PA.²

FindAGrave and other unsources sites on the web show Celestia born in 1838 when her mother would have been in her mid 50's. Celestia's son Hoyt was born in 1832. Some of her data is confused with Ledyard's second wife, Sallie.

Ledyard and Celestia Chapel were enumerated in the 1850 Leroy, Bradford Co., PA federal census. He was a farmer age 52, she was 46. Children in the household were Jay 20, Hoyt 18, Helen 16, and Burr 11. Two unrelated 18 year-olds were also in the household.

The Smith family was living with Ledyard in LeRoy Township during the 1860 Census. He was listed as age 60 and Sallie Smith was listed as 23 years of age. They were later, on the 1870 Bradford County Census, as man and wife. A nine year old boy, named Ledyard Smith, was staying with Sallie's parents in 1870. Jacob and Delanda were too old to have a son that age.

     Martha Holcombe was born on 11 January 1809. She was the daughter of Alpheus Holcombe and Hannah Kingsbury.