Who and What I Find (TE version)

Category: Comber

  • Edward and Elizabeth (nee Mackey) Comber

    Edward Comber was born on December 20, 1820, in Spitalfields, London, England, to James Robert Comber and Elisabeth Lowe. By December 7, 1821, he had connections to St. Leonard’s Workhouse in Shoreditch, Middlesex, England. On June 24, 1834, he embarked from Cobh, Cork, Ireland, aboard the *Blenheim*, a ship carrying mostly Irish convicts. The vessel arrived in Sydney, New South Wales, on November 14, 1834, after a voyage of 110 days.

    At the age of 15, Edward enlisted in the British Army on October 15, 1835, in Windsor, New South Wales. He served in the 50th Regiment of Foot with military service number 1105. His military service lasted until November 3, 1845, and included participation in the Gwalior Campaign, specifically the Battle of Punniar on December 29, 1843. After his discharge, he settled in New South Wales. By February 15, 1851, he was residing in Mittagong, where he applied for an Irish Famine Orphan.

    Elizabeth Mackey, born on March 7, 1831, in Strahan, Tasmania, Australia, was the daughter of Edward Mackey and Ann Taylor. She was baptized on March 27, 1831, at the Wesleyan Church in Hobart. During her early years, she had connections to the workhouse in Cootehill, Cavan, or Cootehill, Monaghan, Ireland. Between February 2, 1840, and 1844, she lived at the Madras Female Orphan Asylum in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The circumstances surrounding her early life and that of her siblings remain unclear between September 7, 1836, and February 2, 1840.

    Elizabeth was literate and able to read and write. On December 6, 1849, she departed from Plymouth, Devon, England, aboard the John Knox, arriving in Sydney, New South Wales, on April 29, 1850. She was part of the Irish Famine Orphan Scheme and traveled with her sister Sarah.

    On July 21, 1851, Edward Comber and Elizabeth Mackey were married at the Parish of St. Philip in Sydney, with William Cowper officiating. Edward was 31, and Elizabeth was 20. They had twelve children, the first born when Elizabeth was 21 and the last when she was 41.

    Edward worked as a storekeeper in Mulgoa, New South Wales, where he was recorded on May 20, 1853, at the baptism of their daughter Elizabeth. On May 5, 1857, a newspaper report placed him in Rutherford, New South Wales, after he was found wandering in the bush.

    By the late 19th century, the couple had settled in Bundella, New South Wales. Elizabeth Mackey died there on May 18, 1880, at the age of 49, due to typhoid fever. She was buried the next day in Bundella. Her death was recorded in The Singleton Argus and Upper Hunter General Advocate on May 26, 1880.

    Edward was recorded in the 1891 Australian Census. He later moved to Armidale, New South Wales, where he passed away on July 31, 1900, at the age of 79. His cause of death was a cerebral hemorrhage and ulceration of the leg, with the illness lasting 48 hours. He was buried in the Armidale Catholic Cemetery. A newspaper article mentioning him was published in the Uralla Times on August 1, 1946.

    Both Edward and Elizabeth have documented genetic lineages. Elizabeth’s maternal DNA belongs to the mtDNA haplogroup J1c2, and Edward’s maternal DNA is also recorded. Their most recent common ancestor is linked to Edward Comber and Elizabeth Mackey. Their burial locations are recorded with GPS coordinates, and Elizabeth has a FindAGrave memorial under ID 238103636. They are recognized as second great-grandparents of a descendant named Megan.

  •  Narrative: The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Comber

     Narrative: The Life and Legacy of Elizabeth Comber

    This is a brief narrative of the life of Elizabeth Comber, one of my maternal great-grandmothers. There is more to add…

     Early Life

    Elizabeth Comber, born on 20 May 1853 in Mulgoa, New South Wales, was the daughter of Edward Comber and Elizabeth Mackey. Her baptism took place on 24 June 1853 at St Thomas Parish in Mulgoa. The family resided on the Fernhill estate, where Edward worked as a storekeeper. Her mother, Elizabeth Mackey, was born in 1831 in Macquarie Harbour, Tasmania, and had an eventful early life, being orphaned after her father, Sgt. Edward Mackey, passed away in India. She later emigrated to New South Wales in 1850 as part of the Irish Famine Orphan Scheme.

    Elizabeth’s childhood coincided with pivotal moments in Australian colonial history, including the gold rush era. She spent part of her early life on the Turon goldfields, living with her aunt and uncle, Dr. Walker, a government medical officer. These experiences left Elizabeth with vivid memories of the bustling goldfields and the excitement of mounted gold escorts.

     First Marriage: A Tumultuous Start

    At the young age of 13, Elizabeth married John Thomas Rowley on 2 January 1867 at the Coonamble Courthouse. This early marriage proved problematic. In 1882, John was arrested for bigamy after marrying another woman, Sarah Ann Richards, while still married to Elizabeth. This likely contributed to the end of their union.

     A Relationship with John Fitzsimmons

    Elizabeth entered a de facto relationship with John Fitzsimmons between 1868 and 1872. Fitzsimmons, born in 1843 in Leicester, England, immigrated to Australia aboard the Ben Nevis in 1855. Together, they had two daughters:

    1. Elizabeth Hannah Fitzsimmons (b. 1869, Quambone).

    2. Matilda Lillas Fitzsimmons (b. 1871, Dungog).

    This relationship was complicated by societal norms and legal constraints, as Elizabeth was still legally married to Rowley. Historical speculation suggests that Fitzsimmons may have been a controversial figure, described in police records as a labourer and boxer involved in various incidents. John was eventually convicted in 1886 of the manslaughter of another of his de factos, Sarah Jane Beckingham.

     Second Marriage: Building a Legacy with Robert Hardy

    Elizabeth married Robert Hardy on 24 February 1887 in Dangar Village, Narrabri. Hardy, born in 1833 in Sydney, was a grazier and landowner. Together, they built a prosperous life, managing properties such as “Mollie View” and “Bell’s Mount.” They had seven children:

    1. Arthur Ernest May HARDY (b. 1876, Gunnedah).

    2. Alice Amelia Hardy (b. 1882, Narrabri).

    3. Isabella Sarah Hardy (b. 1885, Narrabri).

    4. Andrew Robert Hardy (b. 1887, Narrabri).

    5. Percival James Hardy (b. 1889, Narrabri).

    6. Jessie Teresa Hardy (b. 1891, Narrabri).

    7. Olive Blanch Hardy (b. 1893, Narrabri).

    Robert Hardy passed away in 1907, leaving Elizabeth to manage their properties and care for their children.

     Later Life and Legacy

    Elizabeth spent her later years in “Rose Cottage” on Maitland Street, Narrabri, which she converted into a nursing home. She died on 21 May 1927 from heart disease and was buried in Narrabri Cemetery.

    Elizabeth’s life story reflects the complexities of colonial Australia, marked by immigration, marriage controversies, and the challenges of pioneering life. Her descendants spread across New South Wales, contributing to the development of communities like Narrabri, Dungog, and Coonamble.

     Table of Individuals, Events, and Places

     Individuals                                                                                                                             

     Elizabeth Comber  Born 20 May 1853, Mulgoa; married John Rowley (1867), de facto with John Fitzsimmons, married Robert Hardy.  
     Edward Comber     Father, born 1820, Spitalfields, England; storekeeper; died 1900, Armidale.                          
     Elizabeth Mackey  Mother, born 1831, Tasmania; orphaned; emigrated to NSW (1850); died 1880, Bundella.                 
     John Rowley       First husband; charged with bigamy (1882).                                                           
     John Fitzsimmons  De facto partner; father of two daughters; controversial figure.                                     
     Robert Hardy      Second husband; grazier and landowner; died 1907, Narrabri.                                          

     Events                                                                                                                                    

     Birth and Baptism Born and baptized in Mulgoa, 1853.                                                                   
     Gold Rush Era     Early life on Turon diggings, experiencing gold escorts.                                             
     First Marriage    Married John Rowley at 13 (1867); ended after bigamy charges.                                        
     De Facto Partner  Relationship with Fitzsimmons (1868–1872).                                                          
     Second Marriage   Married Robert Hardy (1887); built a legacy in Narrabri.                                            
     Property Legacy   Managed properties: Mollie View, Bell’s Mount.                                                      
     Later Life        Ran Rose Cottage as a nursing home; died in 1927.                                                   

    Places                                                                                                                                      

     Mulgoa            Birthplace and baptism site.                                                                        
     Turon Goldfields  Early residence during gold rush.                                                                   
     Coonamble         First marriage location (1867).                                                                     
     Narrabri          Long-term residence; properties and later life nursing home.                                        
     Dungog            Residence during relationship with Fitzsimmons.                                                     
     Quambone          Birthplace of Elizabeth Hannah Fitzsimmons (1869).                                                 

    This narrative ties together the rich tapestry of Elizabeth Comber’s life and legacy, clarifying confusing elements such as her multiple relationships and the socio-historical context of her experiences.

  • Timeline for EDWARD COMBER b1820

    As previously seen, Edward COMBER, one of my 2nd Great Grand Fathers, was born around 1820 in Spitalfields/Smithfield, London to James COMBER and Elisabeth Lowe.

    https://wordpress.com/post/genimagus.wpcomstaging.com/201 https://wordpress.com/post/genimagus.wpcomstaging.com/187

    Here’s a Timeline for his life:

  • Joseph George Westby Walker “West” COMBER

    Joseph George Westby Walker “West” COMBER  was a man of many names.

    He had his birth registered in Tamworth as Joseph W COMBER on Friday, 4th April 1862, at Tambar Springs in Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia.[[i], [ii], [iii], [iv], [v], [vi]–[vii]]

    His parents were Edward COMBER, son of James Robert Comber and Elizabeth Lowe, who was born on 20 Dec 1820 in Spitalfields, London, England. Edward died on 31 Jul 1900 in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia (in Armidale Hospital).

    Edward married Elizabeth MACKAY on 21 Jul 1851 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia (Parish of St Philip, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia – Banns – William Cowper). Elizabeth Mackay was the daughter of Edward Mackay and Ann Taylor, and was born on 07 Mar 1831 in Strahan, Tasmania, Australia (Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen’s Land). She died on 18 May 1880 in Bundella, New South Wales, Australia.

    While Elizabeth was born in Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), she and her sisters went through many adventures before returning to Australian shores, when Elizabeth and her sister Sarah Emilia arrived in 1850 onboard the ship JOHN KNOX as Irish Famine Orphans.

    Elizabeth married Edward, and Sarah appears to have been a partner to a man named Westby WALKER who was born in Preston, Lancashire. He was a Doctor of Medicine in Lancashire. He was known to have been the Postmaster at Sofala, at the Goldfields on the Turon River, and he eventually was recognised as a Medical Doctor in New South Wales.

    It is that relationship (that of Sarah with Westby Walker) that leads to Elizabeth and Edward naming one of their sons with a name that included “Westby Walker” in it!  There is a hypothesis in the family that Dr Westby Walker actually delivered the baby known as Joseph in the Birth Register.

    Not much is known about the childhood of Joseph, but he married Anna Maria Chilvers.

    It is a family anecdote that they were married on 14 Dec 1881 in Quirindi, New South Wales, Australia. However, there is another story that there was no marriage, and there is no registration in the NSW Registry.

    Anna Maria Chilvers was born in 1852 in Parramatta. She and Allen Hildreth were married in Mudgee on 21 Aug 1874, and there were no known children of the marriage… however, an advertisement appeared in an 1884 newspaper for “Mrs A Hildreth to contact her daughter” which may have been a ploy to get a response from her!

    This timeline fits what is known at this time:

    1. Anna Maria Chilvers marries Allen Hildreth in 1874
    2. Anna Maria and Joseph “run off” together and are ostensibly married in 1881
    3. Ellen (Nellie) born 1883
    4. Thomas Edward (Ted) born 1884
    5. The newspaper article of 1884 requesting Mrs Hildreth to contact her daughter
    6. George Westby born 1886
    7. Rosalie (Sis) born 1887
    8. James Henry (Jim) born 1889
    9. Dorothy (Dollie) born 1891
    10. John William (Jack) born 1893
    11. Lillian Elizabeth (Lovie) born 1895

    One of the names (or name changes!) for Joseph was Joseph’s adoption of the name George. Edward and Elizabeth had 14 children, one of whom was George William Comber who was born and died in 1867, only living for 8 days. There is a family story that Joseph ‘appropriated’ George’s name to honor him.

    Another name change was his use of the name Joseph Westby COMBER, which is a legitimate representation of his Registration name.[[viii]]

    However, Joseph also went by the name of Westby Wilkins COMBER.[6] This may be a mistranscription of his Registration name.

    Also used was the name Joseph George Westby Walker West. Family anecdotes say that Joseph used the nickname “West” within his family and social circles.

     

    Joseph is thought to have died in Coonabarabran, New South Wales, Australia, on 15th July 1945, at the age of 83.[2, [ix]] However, the parents shown in the Death Registration do not reflect Edward and Elizabeth, but rather George and Sarah.

    However, because he used so many different names, it is possible he actually died in Armidale, New South Wales, Australia, on 9th July 1946, at the age of 84, though no Death Registration has yet been found.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Sources:

    [i]                LDS Records, ComberEdward1820.FTW.

    [ii]                Ancestry.com, “Public Member Trees [database on-line].”, Ancestry.com, Public Member Trees (Name: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.; Location: Provo, UT, USA; Date: 2006;), www.ancestry.com.au, Database online.

    [iii]               NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, NSW – BDM Registry (GPO Box 30, SYDNEY NSW 2001, NSW Department of Justice), www.bdm.nsw.gov.au, Birth – COMBER,  JOSEPH W  – 13799/1862  – EDWARD – ELIZABETH – TAMWORTH.

    [iv]               NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, NSW – BDM Registry (GPO Box 30, SYDNEY NSW 2001, NSW Department of Justice), www.bdm.nsw.gov.au, Birth – COMBER,  GEORGE  – 8812/1867 –  EDWARD – ELIZABETH – COONABARABRAN.

    [v]                NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, NSW – BDM Registry (GPO Box 30, SYDNEY NSW 2001, NSW Department of Justice), www.bdm.nsw.gov.au, Birth – COMBER,  George  – 8812/1867  – Edward – Elizabeth – Dubbo.

    [vi]               Email Source – Horton, Lesley, Lesley knows George Westby Walker Comber as WESTBY WILKINS COMBER.    However, Lesley also refers to the fact that her grandmother, Lillian Elizabeth Comber DUCE, and her mother, Thelma, refer to him as GEORGE WESTBY WALKER COMBER.

    [vii]               Ancestry.com, Australia, Death Index, 1787-1985 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010), Ancestry.com, http://www.Ancestry.com, Record for George W Comber. http://search.ancestry.com.au/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=AusDeathIndex&h=4326452&indiv=try.

    [viii]              Studsrod, Sonia, A Genealogy Report For SONIA STUDSROD, Generation of Grandparents.

    [ix]               NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages, NSW – BDM Registry (GPO Box 30, SYDNEY NSW 2001, NSW Department of Justice), www.bdm.nsw.gov.au, Death – 15961/1945  – COMBER – GEORGE WESTBY WALKER – GEORGE – SARAH – COONABARABRAN.

  • James Comber – NOT a nice man…

    I spent some more time researching my Comber family and I was saddened to find these entries in TROVE, the Australian digitised newspaper archive run by the National Library of Australia. My third great-grandfather James Robert Comber was apparently NOT a nice man.

    The Sydney Morning Herald – Tues 30 Oct 1855 – Page 5 – CENTRAL POLICE COURT

    James Comber was charged with having violently assaulted Elisabeth, his wife. Complainant deposed that on last Wednesday night, or rather one o’clock on Tuesday morning, after she and the rest of the family were in bed, the defendant, her husband, came home drunk, and called for a light; she went downstairs with a light to him, when without any provocation he struck her several blows with his fist, and once with the candlestick; she was violently knocked down by him, and the screams of her family brought the police to the house, and defendant was taken away; they had been thirty-eight years married, twenty of which they had been in the colony; he had never supported her since the first three months after their marriage – neither a dress nor a loaf of bread had one fo their children had of his purchasing or earning, nor a week’s rent had he ever paid; whether he ever worked she could not tell; if he did he drank the money. Committed for trial.

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    The Sydney Morning Herald – Thurs 1 Nov 1855 – Page 5 – CENTRAL POLICE COURT

    James Comber, charged with having committed a violent assault upon Elisabeth his wife (the particulars of which were given in Tuesday’s Herald), was brought up, pursuant to a remand at his own request, as he alleged, for the purpose of calling witnesses to contradict some of his wife’s statements, but had no witnesses to favor his cause. He was found guilty of assaulting his wife, under the late Act for the more effectual punishment of assaults upon women and children, as sentenced to be imprisoned for one month, at the end of which time to enter into recognizances to keep the peace or to be imprisoned for a further term of a month.

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    Empire – Thurs 1 Nov 1855 – Page 5 – CENTRAL POLICE COURT – WEDNESDAY

    James Comber was charged with committing a violent assault upon his wife, Elizabeth Comber. From the evidence it appeared that the couple had been married for thirty-eight years, twenty of which they have passed in the colony’ the defendant had for several years depended on the exertions of his wife and family for his living, and was continually drinking; on Wednesday evening, he returned in a state of intoxication to his house in Goulburn-street, and conducted himself very violently; about one o’clock the defendant called to his wife to bring him a light; she did so, and he then assaulted her in a savage manner; he struck her repeatedly, and knocked her against the foot of the bed; the family were aroused, and geve prisoner into the custody of Serjeant Taylor; the woman was so greatly injured that she was unable to attend at the Police Office until Monday; her face was much bruised, and she complainedof pains in the spine and side; she was accommodated with a chair, while giving evidence. The defendant denied the charge, and at his request the case was remanded, in order to procure the attendance of his daughters, but it appeard that they had not been witnesses of the assault. The Bench found him guilty, and sentenced him to be imprisoned for one month, and kept to hard labour; at the expiration of that period to find surities that he keep the peace towards his wife for three months, or in default, to go to gaol for one month.

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    Bell’s Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer – Sat 3 Nov 1855 – Page 3 – POLICE PICKINGS

    Caution to Home Tyrants – a huge compound of half-man, half-brute, named James Comber, was on Wednesday convicted of a cruel assault upon the person of Elizabeth his wife, by violently striking her with his fists and a heavy candlestick, thereby knocking her down and inflicting most serious injuries upon her person. The poor woman stated that she had been married to the defendant for thirty-eight years, during the last twenty of which they had lived in this colony. Since the first three months of their marriage, he had given neither her nor his children, a dress or a loaf of bread, or paid a single week’s rent. She did not know if he ever worked; but if he did, his money went to the public-house. This noble-hearted fellow was dealt with under the late Act for the more effectual punishment of assaults upon women and children, and was sentenced to one month’s imprisonment with hard labour, at the expiration of that term to enter into recognizances to keep the peace towards his miserable wife, or to be imprisoned for an additional month.

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    James was born about 1796-1798 (based on the NSW Gaol Description and Entry Books in 1845 and 1849), in England. He and wife Elisabeth married in 1815 at St Luke’s Finsbury. Ostensibly a Silk Weaver, there were two stints in the Workhouse for Elisabeth and the children until James enlisted in the 50th Regiment of Foot at the age of 30 on 24 Feb 1826. The Regiment served in Ireland and acted as Convict guards on transport ships to NSW. James, Elisabeth and their family arrived in NSW in 1834 on the ship BLENHEIM. James was discharged from the Regiment on 31 May 1836 while stationed in Windsor, NSW. Besides the mention of James in the Gaol Description books and an announcement of daughter Matilda’s marriage in 1863, there is no sign of James or of his death.

  • Back to the Comber Family

    I had a great success today – I found the Death Notice for my 3rd Great Grandmother, Elisabeth (Lowe) Comber!

    She has been what is known as an “elusive lady”… I have her marriage to James Comber (also Coomber) in 1815 at St Luke’s Finsbury, and I have the baptismal registrations for

    • James Robert in 1818 in Shoreditch, London
    • Ann in 1827 in Northampton, Northamptonshire
    • Matilda in 1837 in Australia

    In these 4 documents, she is referred to as “Elisabeth” – just Elisabeth.

    And also, her name is interchangeable with the more frequent spelling of “Elizabeth”.

    Using Trove, the National Library of Australia’s Digitised Newspaper site, I happened to plonk in “Comber” and “Coomber” in the same search field, and a date after the last mention of her in a Police Report against her husband James (1858). And there she was!

    1877-11-28 - Death Notice - COMBER, Elisabeth (nee Lowe) - Illustrated Australian News pg190
    Illustrated Australian News newspaper
    1877-11-10 - Death Notice - COMBER, Elisabeth (nee Lowe) - Leader Melb pg26
    Leader newspaper
    1877-11-02 - Death Notice - COMBER, Elisabeth (nee Lowe) - The Age pg2
    The Age newspaper

    And, while the content of each newspaper entry contains identical wording, the fact that there IS an entry, and that those entries are made in Melbourne (not Sydney) newspapers, is fascinating.

    Mr. Manuell is Elisabeth’s son-in-law, William, who married daughter Matilda. The Manuells (William and Matilda) had married in Sydney in 1863, but up to this time, it appears that William was actually a Melbournian.

    DEATHS.

    COMBER.- On the 1st November, at the residence of her son-in-law, Mr. Manuell, Church-street, Richmond, Elizabeth Comber, aged eighty-five years. Sydney papers please copy.

    The Manuells lived on the west side of Church Street, Richmond, between Pearson and Adolph Streets, around the vicinity of the current 480 Church Street.

    Now I know have a fair idea what happened to James Comber and Elisabeth (Lowe) Comber after daughter Elisabeth’s marriage in 1863 to James Scoltock.

    My current supposition is that James died around 1876 – but that is purely supposition!

  • Edward COMBER b1820 Spitalfields

    It has only taken two years to finally find Edward COMBER b1820 in Spitalfields, Middlesex, England!

    Edward is my 2ndGreatGrandfather, and he has been an elusive man, to say the least.

    Over the years I have been searching, I have found numerous mentions of Edward but with conflicting information. The worst situation is the conflation of two men (Edward COMBER and Edward COMER) into one “super-Edward” who appears to have two wives and families over 200kms apart (please refer my post “Edward COMBER vs Edward COMER” for information I found in 2015).

    I was recommended to hire a Genealogical Researcher in the UK, which I did in August 2017. Rita has been quite diligent and has uncovered some of Edward’s secrets!!!

    Edward was indeed born in Spitalfields in/around 1820. While there is no Baptismal Registration found, as yet, there is a Workhouse entry for Edward aged 4, and his family. Yes, I have a family for Edward – I am so happy!

    Edward was born to James Comber and his wife Elisabeth. Edward had an elder brother, James Robert born 03 Nov 1818 while the family was living in Cock Lane, Smithfield, Middlesex, England which is very near Spitalfields. A sister, Elizabeth,  was born to the family in December 1824 and another sister, Ann, in/around 1827.

    Father James Comber was apprenticed as a weaver, but there are no Guild Records available that show he actually became a weaver. What we do know now is that James senior enlisted in the 50th Regiment of Foot (also known as Queen’s Own) in 1826. Brother James Robert also enlisted in the 50th Regiment of Foot in 1832, as a Drummer. [Refer my post “James Comber – NOT a nice man…“]

    The family moved with the Regiment, firstly to Ireland, then to NSW where they arrived in 1835 on the ship BLENHEIM as Guards on the Convict Transport. The Regiment was stationed in Windsor, just north of Sydney.

    Edward also enlisted in the 50th Regiment of Foot once arrived in Windsor in October 1835.

    Father James was discharged from the 50th Regiment on 31 May 1836 and he and Elisabeth apparently remained in NSW. Another daughter, Matilda, was born in NSW in 1837.

    Meanwhile, the 50th Regiment departed NSW for India, being stationed in Cawnpore (present name Kanpur) in Uttar Pradesh. Both brothers fought in the Gwalior Campaign in December 1843. Sadly, brother James Robert died in May 1844 in Cawnpore, and Edward was discharged from the 50th Regiment while stationed in Chinsurah & Loodianah in November 1845.

    Edward was back in NSW by 1849, where he applied for an “Irish Famine Orphan” with the NSW Colonial Secretary.

    He was obviously granted an orphan, as he and Elizabeth Mackey were married in Sydney in 1851!

    So – there he is – Edward COMBER – found him, at last!!!

  • Edward COMBER vs Edward COMER

    For such a long time, I have been looking into the COMBER family in NSW.

    I was so happy to find a lot of information on the internet about the man my 2Greats Grandmother, Elizabeth Mackie (also Mackay, McKay, McGee – lots of variations) married in 1851, in Sydney, New South Wales.

    I’m of the impression, now, that, looking at research results on sites like Ancestry and MyHeritage, people have tied what I believe to be two different men together to form one “mega-man”.

    My guy is Edward COMBER, died 1900 in Armidale. Edward Comber married Elizabeth Mackie/Mackay in 1851. They lived in Mulgoa, at Fernhill, for the remainder of the 1850s then moved north and their descendants are found in Muswellbrook, Tamworth, Coonabarabran, Narrabri – all over the north of New South Wales.

    It is thought that Edward COMBER was born in or near Spitalfields on 20 Dec 1820. At least, that is what my Grandmother said! Sadly, I have not been able to find any reference to COMBERs in that area for and around that date. I have, however, found an Edward born 1822, and a family called LE COMBER.

    Edward and Elizabeth (Mackay) COMBER had the following children:

    • Edward Comber (1852 – 1927) married Margaret Janet Johnstone
    • Elizabeth Comber (1853 – 1927) married Robert Hardy
    • James Coomber (1855 – 1927) married Matilda Dewson
    • Agnis Comber (c1856 – ?)
    • John William Mackay Comber (1857 – 1941) married Annie Barnes
    • Ann Tereasa Comber (1858 – 1939) married James Walter Buckley
    • Sarah Amelia Comber (1860 – 1941) married Thomas Leonard
    • George Westby Walker Comber (1862 – 1945) married Anna Maria Chilvers
    • Matilda Comber (1863 – 1867)
    • Mary Jane Comber (1865 – 1930) married Henry Chadband
    • George Comber (1867 – 1867)
    • William Henry Comber (1868 – 1945)
    • Margaret Louisa Comber (1872 – 1953)
    • and an un-named baby boy

    The other fellow is Edward COMER – he and his wife Ann (nee O’Rafferty) arrived in 1841 as Bounty Immigrants from Galway, Ireland per the ship RUNNYMEDE. Edward was born in/around 1816 in Ballynakill, Galway, Ireland and married Ann around 1840 in Galway.

    They had the following children in the Mudgee area:

    • Bridget Theresa Comer (1842 – 1934) married James Edward Callaghan (1838 – 1898)
    • Thomas Comer (1843 – ?) married Ellen Palmer
    • Michael Comer (1846 – 1918) married Emily A Catalin (Catabino)
    • Maria Comer (1848 – 1919) married John Boyling
    • Edward Comer (1854 – 1874)
    • John Henry Comer (1856 – 1936) married Mary Jane Johnas
    • Rebecca Comer (1859 – 1901) married James Ritchie

    The COMERs settled and lived in the Mudgee area until their deaths.

    I have proved, just recently (19 July 2015), that these are two separate men, after a visit to the Mudgee Family History Group to view their records for the area.

    So, my belief is that there is no way that one man could father 20+ children to two women over 200kms apart has been successfully supported!!!

    I am hoping that someone, somewhere, is looking into my Edward COMBER, too, and am happy to share my info to further the Comber family!

    UPDATE! – 2017-11-15 – Please refer to genimagus.wordpress.com/2017/11/15/edward-comber-b1820-spitalfields/

  • Sgt Edward MACKAY (c1800-c1842) (originally published as a Page on this site in March 2009)

    Sgt Edward Mackay (also: Mackie, Mackey, McGee and other variants) is thought to have been born c1800 in County Monaghan, Ireland (possibly in Trim).

    He enlisted in the 63rd Regiment and was eventually posted at Macquarie Harbour, Van Diemen’s Land (now Tasmania), where his daughter Elizabeth was baptised in 1832.

    The 63rd Regiment was reassigned to India (thought to be around Bombay/Poona) c 1835-6.

    Edward is thought to have died at sea, between 1836-1840.

    He had married Ann, and they had 3 known daughters:

    • Mary Jane, who married Robert Devlin Smyth
    • Elizabeth, who married Edward Comber
    • Sarah

    Edward is also thought to have been married prior to Ann – possibly to a Mary and also possibly had a son, William John Mackey.
    —

    I am looking forward to researching him at the National Archives in Kew, sooner rather than later!