“The Ship Brooklyn Story - Volume 2”
by Richard H. Bullock
The Coombs Family
The Coombs family consists of Abraham Coombs, his wife Olive Olivia Curtis Coombs,
a daughter Katharine Coombs, a son Charles Marion Coombs and a second daughter named
Helen Mar Coombs.
Abraham Coombs, born about 1805 in Rockville Center, Nassau, NY is the son of
Samuel Coombs and Margaret Langdon. Samuel had been born in Hempstead, Nassau, New
York 6 June 1779 and married Margaret Langdon, who had been born 31 September 1788 in
Rockville Center, Nassau, New York. They had ten children, five boys and five girls with
Abraham being the fifth child born to them. All the children were born in Rockville Center.
Abraham has an ancestor from the Mayflower by the name of Degory Priest.
Degory Priest died on the Mayflower, in the harbor of Plymouth Rock, 1 January 1621,
soon after the famous landing. He was one of the signers of the Mayflower Compact dated 11
November 1620. 1
Little is known of Abraham’s early life in Rockville Center except that he had married a
lady of unknown name and they had four children born to them. Katharine Coombs, born about
1832; Abraham Coombs, born about 1834; Sarah Ann Coombs, born about 1836; and Margaret
Coombs, born about 1838. The circumstances of Abraham parting with his first wife is not
known but the oldest daughter Katharine remained with her father when he met and married
Olive Olivia Curtis in 1838. The fate of the other three children is unknown.
Olive Olivia Curtis had been born 16 August 1819 in Danbury, Fairfield, Connecticut to
parents Matthew Curtis and Betsey White. Matthew Curtis is the son of Reuben Curtis and
Silence Allen and had been born 9 September 1784 at Danbury. Betsey White is the daughter of
Larr White and Betsey Meggott and had also been born in Danbury. It is noted that the Curtis
family were original settlers in Connecticut. Olive is apparently the seventh child in this
marriage; she had four brothers and three sisters.
The Curtis family moved to New York City after the birth of Olive as her father is
recorded there as a butcher. Abraham possibly had been attending school there in 1838 at the
same time as Olive, for in New York City is where they were married. Soon after their marriage
they had a son named Charles Marion Coombs, born 17 September 1840 and then a daughter
named Helen Mars Coombs in 1842. While Olive attended New York University, where she had
been a brilliant student, speaking several languages, she met Parley P. Pratt and Erastus Snow,
missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Olive and Abraham listened to
the message of the Gospel from these men and decided to join the Mormon Church. They were
1
Jones, Joseph Elroy, unpublished typescript, Salt Lake City, Utah. November 7, 1991. Furnished to
author by Alma Jones, Sandy, Utah, 84094, October 2000
1
present at American Hall when Orson Pratt gave his speech to leave America and heard
Brannan’s plans for sailing to California. They decided to join the movement West and started
selling their belongings to gain enough for passage. They may have been a little short on their
payments to Brannan as Abraham made no resistance later in going to Bodega Bay to cut wood
and finish paying for the costs of passage.
An interesting drama came to light just before the sailing of the Brooklyn when the uncle
of Katharine Coombs tried to keep her with him instead of letting her go to California with her
father. He didn’t want to “lose his favorite niece.” He tried to abduct her from Abraham as they
were boarding ship but Abraham made enough noise to draw a crowd and thus prevent the
action. Unfortunately we don’t know this uncles name.
Katharine became acquainted with a young man named Charles Phelps Briggs and they
were married 24 November 1847 in San Francisco. Charles had just completed his duty as a
soldier in the war with Mexico and wanted a young wife to take to his home in Napa county.
After the voyage Abraham became one of those called to help pay for the shortage of
passage money by cutting wood near Bodega Bay. He apparently enjoyed the hard work and
after the Brooklyn sailed Abraham moved his family of Olive, Charles and Helen to a sawmill in
Redwood Canyon, near today’s Muir Woods National Monument in Marin county just north of
San Francisco. It is while Abraham and Olive lived here among the huge redwoods that their
third child Emily Coombs was born on 27 August 1849 at Redwood Canyon, Marin county,
California. They were still in the area when another child, Jane Arabella Coombs arrived on 28
December 1851. Olive and Abraham loved living among the big trees and feeling their spirit of
endurance but Amasa Lyman and Charles Rich came to their area one day, seeking funds for a
ranch they wanted to buy in southern California, and convinced the Coombs that life would be
easier at the new town. They told how the Mississippi Saints and many of the ship Brooklyn and
Mormon Battalion veterans had agreed to make San Bernardino their home. Abraham, now age
40, agreed that the work with the big trees, both Redwood and Douglas Fir, became harder each
month and looked forward to a warmer climate and being a farmer or rancher. The lumber
business had been profitable for several years with the insatiable demand for lumber coming
from San Francisco and nearby towns that were booming in growth because of the Gold Rush.
He had purchased land in Napa, Fresno, Kern, and Bakersfield counties with his earnings and as
they traveled to San Bernardino Abraham and his family first visited Napa to see his oldest
daughter and her husband. He had a new granddaughter named Julia Allen Briggs and a
grandson named Henry Harrison Briggs that he had never seen. While there Abraham and Olive
decided to leave the two oldest children, Charles and Helen, with their older sister to attend
school, and they proceeded south with Emily and Jane.
Passing through the counties that bordered the Sierra Nevada range they visited the
properties that Abraham had purchased earlier and reached Rancho San Bernardino late 1852 or
early 1853. Here they met many fellow passengers and their children from the ship Brooklyn,
namely, Caroline Warner and her husband Theodore Thorpe, Jonathan Cade, Isaac Goodwin,
Thomas Tompkins, William Stout, George K. Winner, Quartus S. Sparks, Mary Quigley
Hamilton, Caroline Joyce, George Warren Sirrine, Horace Austin Skinner, Henry Rollins, Daniel
Stark, Sophia Patterson Clark King with her husband Edward King, and John Philips and his
wife Merab Hancock. They quickly set to work building a home settled into the comforts of a
2
new environment as ranchers. The strength of having two Apostles of the Church in the
community made them all feel better and be willing to do whatever work necessary to ensure the
survival of the community. Abraham also found occasional work among the several sawmills
that were being operated by people like George K. Winner, David Frederick and Charles
Crismon in the nearby hills.
As life became easier they decided to increase their family again and a little girl they
named Ella Coombs arrived on 27 March 1855 there at San Bernardino. Eighteen months later
while visiting property they owned in Kern county Olive Curtis Coombs, their last child, was
born on 27 November 1856 at Bakersfield. Apparently Abraham made arrangements to sell his
properties in Fresno and Kern counties and they went back to San Bernardino to invest in more
cattle for their ranch with the profits from the sale of the lands.
Abraham joined with Ebenezer Hanks, a Mormon Battalion veteran, in building up a nice
herd of the finest cattle and they looked forward to increasing their wealth when word came in
September 1857 that there had been a terrible massacre at a place called Mountain Meadows.
That same month they learned that the United States Army marched toward Salt Lake City to
remove Brigham Young from his office as Governor. And finally, the call came from Brigham
Young on 30 October 1857 that all faithful Latter-day Saints were to return to Utah and help
defend against the approaching armies of the United States. Amasa Lyman and Charles C. Rich
had already left for Utah earlier that year and had left Ebenezer Hanks in charge of making the
final payment for the San Bernardino Rancho. The last payment indeed was made by Hanks but
it came too late, the faithful Mormons had started selling all their properties and goods for
whatever price they could get for them, some even walked away with nothing to show for their
hard work. Mobs had developed over political lines and there came the threat of retaliation for
the Mountain Meadow Massacre. Life became difficult for the few who remained in San
Bernardino. Thus by the summer of 1860 Abraham Coombs and his wife had decided to leave
San Bernardino and travel to southern Utah near the city of Beaver. Apparently Abraham felt the
southern journey over the Spanish Trail too dangerous in the heat of the summer for the rest of
the family, as they decided to split into two groups. Abraham would take the Spanish Trail route
with the cattle and most of the families belongings and cash and Olive would take the children
and travel north to see the children they left in Napa, and then travel over the safer northern route
and come to Beaver to meet Abraham. Abraham, in the meantime, would have built a home and
prepared a place for the families arrival. It seemed like a good plan.
He purchased about forty head of purebred animals which he planned to use as breeding
stock. Also, he filled one of his wagons with cuttings of fruit trees, seeds and starts for a variety of
berry plants. He hired some drovers and wagon drivers and took the southern route to Utah. He
sent his wife and four young daughters on the northern route to Utah. They planned to farm in
southern Utah. . . . It is known that Abraham was in the Ephraim Hanks Company from other
sources and that cattle were driven from Southern California to Southern Utah along with many
wagons full of household goods, seed, fruit tree cuttings, farm machinery, tools from San
Bernardino to the Beaver area in southern Utah Territory taking the route across the Mojave desert
and the Big Muddy River. 2
2
W ray, Clayton, The Story of Abraham and Olive Olivia Coombs, unpublished manuscript furnished to
author in 1999. Clayton W ray, Lummi Island, W A 98262.
3
Apparently none of the men that accompanied Abraham kept a journal of their journey as
the following is undocumented family tradition. It has been told that as the wagon train
approached Beaver, Utah a sudden downpour soaked Abraham to the skin and he contracted a
cold which turned to pneumonia over the next few days. He fought it as best he could, but with
no medical aid available he died in September 1860. In those days a policy held that if you found
something abandoned or someone dead who had left belongings it became fair game to take it as
your own. This policy has been referred to as the “Abandonment Policy.” What happened next
is not clear but either local settlers found him or were called to assist in Abraham’s burial by
those who had accompanied Abraham. At any rate they declared the Abandon Policy and all the
belongings of the family including clothing, furniture, cattle, horses, wagon and reportedly $6000
to $8000 in gold were divided among the local settlers and others. They probably gave Abraham
a decent burial near the spot where he died but there is no written record of the location or the
participants. Subsequent searches have not located his grave.
Olive Olivia Coombs had left San Bernardino with her children and traveled north to
Napa where she visited her daughters and son, whom they had previously left to attend school.
Abraham told his family to take the safer northern route over Donner Summit to Salt
Lake City and then south to Beaver. This northern route would be a distance of over 2,000 miles.
It has been reported that Olive drove a team of oxen all that distance by herself with [her] four
little girls. 3
She undoubtedly stopped for a little while to visit with her brother, Theodore Curtis,
when she reached Salt Lake City and let the stock gain strength for the final journey to meet her
husband in Beaver. She reached Beaver a few weeks later only to find out that her beloved
husband had died.
Oral history relates that upon her arrival she asked many questions about who had taken
her worldly goods and cattle and was told nothing, not even the location of her husbands unmarked
grave.4
The 1860 census of Beaver, Utah shows the family living there with Olive listed as a
washerwoman. She married a man named Solomon Chamberlane but they lived together only a
short time and he abandoned the family. Finally she gets some help from Erastus Snow who
called her to a teaching position in Santa Clara to teach English to some Swiss converts and she
traveled there with her girls. In early 1861, 12 year-old Emily helped her mother Olive, and a
new husband named Thomas Hunt to build a small rough stone and timber house along the Santa
Clara river to keep them protected from the cold. Apparently Olive had started teaching the
Swiss converts but when the spring runoff came the river overflowed and her house and meager
belongings were washed away, leaving them destitute again. Her new husband also left her and
removed to Salt Lake City. She appealed to Erastus Snow again and he instructed her to travel to
Cedar City and start a small school there. She had only been in the area a short time when she
apparently married again to a man named Ezra Higby or Higbee. None of these three marriages
can be confirmed by record. She had a small but humble home in Old Fort, Cedar City and had
been preparing to open her small school when one morning on 28 July 1862 George Wood, a
3
Ibid
4
Ibid
4
well respected resident and active Church member, came to the door of the house and forcing his
way in he immediately started cursing and shooting at Emily and Olive!
Emily and her mother were sitting an a bed located on the cabin floor and apparently had
pulled their legs up to rise when the first bullet passed through the right thigh of Emily,
wounding her. She scrambled out of the way and fell in shock. The second bullet, directed at
Olive Olivia also passed through her right thigh, cutting the femoral artery, and entered her
abdomen just above the pubic bone in the area of her bladder! George, frustrated, fired again but
the bullet missed and his percussion cap revolver jammed. In anger, and with malice, he
approached Olive and swung at her with the pistol striking her skull and causing a terrible
wound. No longer able to defend herself he struck her a fatal blow, causing her skull to break
and grey matter to be exposed. Satisfied with his work and that she had died, he then turned for
Emily, who had recovered enough to run into the street before falling again. George Wood
caught up with her again and dragged her by the hair while shouting obscenities at her. He struck
the defenseless girl several times in the head, also cracking her skull. Thinking he had killed her,
he left the scene and headed for home. The two remaining little girls were so frightened by the
killings that they ran into the fields and hid. They were found two days later, hungry, shivering
in the cold, and frightened. The following letter from Bishop Lunt of Cedar City to Brigham
Young details the murder:
Cedar City, Iron County
August 3, 1862
President Brigham Young
Dear Brother
Although you will have heard of the sad news before you get this letter of what has taken
place here in the Old Fort I felt it my duty to write you. Last Monday morning [July 28 th] as I was
grinding my scythe about 10 o’clock, George W ood sent his daughter over to me to say that he
wished me to come over to his house directly, thinking that somebody was sick I immediately went
over and I enquired of Sister Jane W ood where Bro. W ood was, she said he was somewhere about
the house or the yard. He would very likely be in soon and she invited me to walk into the parlour
and sit down, which I did. I guess I waited about 10 minutes before he came. He shut the door
and told me that his son Joseph and a certain girl down in the Old Fort had committed adultery,
and that the girl had seduced Joseph. He said that he had been told that morning by two women
who told him that they saw them in the very act. About this moment I. C. Haight came in, whom
he also had sent for out of the new field. I wished him to tell it again, which he did, and he rose
from his chair seemingly in a great hurry. I said ‘Bro. W ood, don’t be in a hurry, don’t be rash, in
the midst of counsel theirs [sic] safety.’ ‘Bishop,’ says he, ‘I don’t ask for any counsel, neither am I
going to take any. My mind is made up what to do.’ He had leggings on but no belt or pistol as
we could see. He left the room in an abrupt manner and we thinking he had gone out or something
and was coming back again. W e waited a few moments and as he did not return we went out and
asked Sister W ood where Bro. W ood was, and she said he had just gone somewhere on horseback
toward the Old Fort; we seeing he was in a state of excitement we thought best to follow, fearing
he might do somebody some harm. W e walked as fast as we could toward the Fort and met him on
his return back. (Bro. Samuel Leigh, one of my counselors, was at this time with Bro. Haight and
myself.) Says he, ‘Bishop – I have killed two women and I want you to see that they are buried
and,’ says he, ‘by the eternal Gods anyone who interferes with my family again, I will serve them
in the same way.’ I said, ‘You had better give yourself up to Judge Smith.’ He made no reply but
went on towards home. W e continued on down the street where we saw several persons gathered
at the house of Ezra Higby, where we found his wife laying on the floor in a pool of blood.
Upon examination it was found that she received a wound from a bullet entering her right
thigh, about mid-way between her knee and hip, passing in the direction of her body, coming out of
5
the groin and immediately entering the body just above the pubic bone in the region of the bladder.
She also had two frightful wounds on her head, fracturing the skull in one place, caused by blows
from the pistol. The daughter, a girl about 16 received also a bullet wound in her right thigh and
four dangerous wounds on her head by blows from the pistol, also fracturing the skull.
It appears from the evidence of Thos. Spukins, a young man that happened to be near at
the time, that the two women were sitting on a bed on the floor in the house when they were shot
by W ood, which accounts for their being shot in the manner they were. From the pistol, which I
have now in my possession it appears that three charges were shot off, and two caps having got
down forward of the hammer, the pistol would not revolve. He, being determined to kill them,
beat them over the head with the pistol till he thought they were dead, and then left. After he was
gone, the girl immediately recovered sufficiently to get up, (she had ran out of the house into the
street after being shot, where he [W ood] caught her by the hair of the head and beat her with the
pistol.) and got over the fence into a wheat field and ran [to] the cedar hills in a direction toward
Hamilton’s Fort where she was found by some of our brethren who went to search for her, some
five miles off, who brought her to my house where she is now in a fair state of recovery.
Mrs. Higby, deceased, was a sister to Theodore Curtis, and the young woman was her
daughter; she was formerly the wife of a man named Coombs and they came from California in
1858. She was again married to Solomon Chamberlane but lived with him a short time; she
afterwards moved from Beaver to Santa Clara and was there married to Thomas Hunt, who I
believe is now in Salt Lake City. This last spring she married again to Ezra Higby who is now in
this place attending Bro. E. Snow’s carding machine. I deem it unnecessary to give you further
particulars, as Bro. Stewart will be able to tell you further.
The mail is now waiting for this letter and is just going to start for the north but I wish to
state that all is in a prosperous condition, both spiritually and temporally in this W ard, it has been
remarked of late by many that they never saw things more prosperous and flourishing than they are
in Cedar.
Our meetings are well attended and good day and Sunday Schools. W e shall be most
happy to see you & suit when you come.
“My family are well and they join with me in love to you. Praying God to bless you &
yours continually, I remain
Your humble brother
In Christ
Henry Lunt
P.S. If you should deem it wisdom to send me any instructions I shall be
thankful to receive them.
H.L. 5
So George Wood, hearing that his eldest son had been seen making love to the young
Emily, had become so incensed over the tarnishing of his personal reputation that he had
determined to kill Emily! Olive happened to be there at the time and in his anger George killed
Olive and thought he had also killed Emily. If the two youngest girls had been in the room
George might have tried to kill them too!
Bishop Lunt cared for Emily until her Uncle Theodore Curtis could come from Salt Lake
City and take her home with him. The other three girls were given to local citizens to care for.
More of their story later. Olive Olivia Curtis Coombs, highly educated, mother of six, stepmother, teacher and pioneer, had been cruelly murdered at the hand of a demented father! She
had no chance to defend herself or the actions of her daughter - she had been brutally shot down
5
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Archives microfilm CR 1234 1, Reel 80, Box 69, Folder
13. Brigham Young Office files 1832-1878.
6
and beaten to death! The town members buried Olive in an unmarked grave, just as her husband
had been buried. The location of her grave in Cedar City is lost to history.
There have been several stories written about the death of Olive Olivia and none of them
have been truthful. Perhaps because of family shame at the cause of death or some other reason
there have been stories made up about how Olive secretly worked for Brigham Young, or
newspapers in New York, trying to find out details of Mountain Meadows Massacre and that
George Wood had gotten drunk with his friends and went to the house to obtain some little black
books that Olive had been using to record notes. How George had run down the street in triumph
with the books under his arm and had later burned them. If Olive indeed had any little black
books it would undoubtedly been to keep records of her activities regarding the school she
planned to open, or perhaps recording where her family possessions had been located among the
locals.
Emily would have been only thirteen at the time of this incident. Very young in those
days to be active sexually. George should have taken a belt to his own son and made him
apologize to the little girl for his actions instead of committing murder! Yet his comment to
Bishop Lunt, Samuel Leigh and Isaac Haight ‘by the eternal Gods anyone who interferes with my
family again, I will serve them in the same way,’ shows his true violent nature and he deserved to
be punished for his actions. What happened?
George Wood immediately went into custody of the sheriff and removed to Parowan
where he could be held in jail for trial by jury. This is what happened: [The minute book was
very fragile and being held by a clerk at the time of microfilming, so the center of the pages are
very difficult to read. In the process of transcribing these next entries I had to take some
interpretive liberties in some of the words. Wherever this was the case or the word was missing I
am enclosing it in brackets [ ].]
[Entry #1.]
Special Session of Probate Court held at Parowan July 30 th, 1862.
Silas S. Smith
Presiding
Richard Benson Clerk
Edward Dalton Prosecuting Attorney & Sheriff D. T. Clark in attendance.
Court proceeded to the examination of Geo. W ood, Cedar City relative to the causes that
led to the [evidence] [placed] before the Coroner’s inquest and filed in this office. Prosecuting
Attorney E. Dalton introduced the depositions [before the] Coroners court of Tho. Spiking,
Margaret A. [Pusih or Pusits] the verdict of the coroner’s inquest, which showed that the prisoner
did on the 28th day of July, [Monday], shoot Olive [Higbee] which caused her death. John Steel
councilor for the defense motioned that the prisoner be admitted to [bail] which was argued by the
prosecution and defense [?] {[?], the prisoner was committed to the custody of the sheriff.
[Vensvis?] was issued for a Grand Jury.
Court adjourned until tomorrow at 10 o’clock.
Thursday, July 31st at 10 a.m. court met as per adjournment.
Sheriff returned the [vensvis] with fifteen as Grand Jurors. The panel being called and
jury present Judge administered the following oath:
You as Grand Juror’s for the County of Iron do solemnly swear that you will diligently
enquire into and to presentments made of all such matters and things which come to your
knowledge. The counsel of the [court] of the United States in the Territory of Utah, your counsel
and the counsel of your fellows will attest that you will present no person through [?] or malice,
neither will you [leave] any person [presented or asserented] through fear, favor or affection, or
high reward, but that you will present things truly as they come to your knowledge, according to
7
your best [understanding] and according to the laws of the Territory so help you God.
The Judge charged the Jury as [to?] and appointed W illiam S. W arren foreman. Jury
retired.
Court adjourned until 4 o’clock p.m.
Court met at 4 p.m.. About 6 [p.m.] the Foreman of [the] Grand Jury presented Bill of
Indictment found against George W ood of Cedar City for murder with two counts, and [assault?]
No further business, Jury was called in and discharged.
Summon for Pettit Jury was [sued or issued?] and suspect handed to the sheriff.
Adjourned to August 6 th, 1862.
August 6 th Court met at 10 a.m..
The case of the People of the United States in Utah Territory vs. George W ood on
indictment for murder was called. Edward Dalton Esq., appeared on part of the Prosecution,
James Lewis Esq., for the Defense. Sheriff [resumed?] the panel for Pettit Jury present not being
ready for trial asked for further time which was granted. Trial set for the 18 th of August.
Adjourned
Silas S. Smith
Judge
August 18 th Court met at 10 a.m..
The case of the people vs. George W ood was called. Defense filed a motion for cause,
asking for a continuance until the regular term and [thought] the prisoner be admitted to bail with
suitable bond as securities which was argued at some length. The motion was sustained. Court
stated that the [amount] for bail be $3500.00 with approved securities.
Messr. Leigh Mackelprang & Haight went back for [?]. Adjourned.
[Entry #2.]
Regular term of Probate Court held at Parowan, September 8 th, 1862.
Court opened at 10 a.m..
Case of George W ood was called. Defense asked the case might be continued until
tomorrow a.m., which was granted.
[Two divorce cases were then heard in the Court and adjourned.]
[Entry #3]
Tuesday, September 9 th, 1862 10 a.m..
The case of the People vs. George W ood was called and Indictment read, prisoner plead
guilty and wished to go to trial without a Jury and plead for mercy. Evidence was examined to
ascertain the amount of guilt. James Lewis Esq., on behalf of the defense introduced a lengthy
plea for mercy, spoke of the good character [heretofore] sustained by the prisoner at the bar during
his residence in the county and submitted. The prisoner was ordered to stand up. Question [by or
from?] Judge. Do you know any reason why the sentence of this court should not now be passed
upon you? Answer, No. Court then pronounced the following sentence. You will be taken hence
into the custody of the sheriff and by him or one of his deputies committed to the Utah Penitentiary
to be confined to hard labor for life. May the example thus made be a warning to prevent others
from the unlawful shedding of blood, you will also pay all costs rising and accruing in this case.
[These costs amounted to $208.10] 6
When George had been transported to the Utah Penitentiary he soon found that prison life
would be much easier than he expected. In fact, the Warden of the prison had to write to Cedar
City and ask Haight to make sure that Wood came back to prison. He had apparently gone home
on his own for nearly a year! Is this hard labor for life? The practice of the day apparently is for
the Warden to “rent” out prisoners to others in the community, as it is in the case of George.
G. H. W ells Iron W orks
Salt Lake City, Utah
6
FHL Film 0497739, “Iron County (Utah) Probate Court Minutes, 1852-1896
8
Dec. 24, 1864
To His Excellency
Governor Doty,
This is to certify, that George W ood has been employed by General W ells, at his Iron
W orks in this City, - since the first day of January, A.D. 1863 up to this date inclusive, as per
contract with A. P. Rockwood, Esq., W arden of Utah Penitentiary; during which period he has
proved by his industrious deportment, by his straightforward manliness, and moreover, by his
unwavering obedience to that law that has made him its prisoner, that he is worthy of Liberty, and
the pursuit of happiness. I take this opportunity of commending him earnestly to your clemency.
I have the honor to be
Your honorable and Obed. Servant
James H. Hass Clk.7
On February 27, 1864, the prisoner, W ood, apparently had violated the terms of his
indenture for we found a letter from W arden Rockwood addressed to ISAAC HAIGHT, Stake
President in Cedar City, saying that the prisoner W ood had taken unauthorized liberties from Hart
and Long who had hired him, and that the W arden considered W ood an escaped prisoner. The
W arden stated that W ood had ‘absconded and his presence was unknown’ but that it was believed
W ood was in Iron County. The W arden had also communicated with a ‘Br. Lunt’ in the same vein
but had not heard from him. The W arden said he ‘was very anxious to secure the convict’ and
asked Br. Haight to assist in the finding and capture of W ood.
Another letter to the Sheriff of Iron County dated March 6, 1864, appeared in the Prison
file. In this letter the W arden ‘authorizes and requires’ the Sheriff ‘To capture the absconded
convict who had taken unwarranted liberties beyond the limits prescribed.’ The W arden asked for
a report by return mail and said he had written to Bros. Lunt and Haight.
The Sheriff*s answer is interesting and I quote it in full and verbatim:
Dear Sir yours of the 5th Inst is at hand on the receipt of which I started immediately for
Cedar City, the Residence of the said George W ood named by you.
I found him with his family on the way to G.S.L.C. I conversed with him on the subject of
his leaving your custody. and he gave me to understand that he intended to return to you
immediately. will make the best of his way to the City. and there as soon as possible.
(signed) D.P. Clark
Sheriff of Iron County
P.S. Charge for services $7.00
D.P.C. 8
So here it begins, less than two years after his brutal murder of Olive and beating of
Emily, George’s friends in the Church who knew of his past strong support and work for the
Church in England as a missionary, plant the seeds to get him released.
W ardens Office G. S. L. County,
Monday, March 6, 1865
To W hom it May Concern.
This is to certify that George W ood, a convict, who has been in my charge about two
years and six months, has demeaned himself faithfully, has been subject to my orders, and has not
in any case attempted to evade the carrying out of the sentence of the law, but has been industrious,
obedient and attentive to the labors required of him. And therefore, in consideration of these
7
Utah State Historical Society, Governor James Duane Doty - Utah Territorial Papers , Film A-703,
record number 2204.
8
Jones, Joseph Elroy, unpublished typescript, Supplied to author by Alma Jones, Sandy, Utah, 84094,
October 2000
9
things I feel to freely recommend him as a fit subject for Executive Clemency, thereby rendering
aid and benefit to his family who are now deprived of his society and protection.
A. P. Rockwood
W arden of Utah Penitentiary 9
Even the prosecuting attorney for his original trial seems to have come under the
sympathetic influence of Wood and his family:
Parowan, Iron County, March 23, 1864. To his excellency, the, Governor of Utah,
Honorable Sir,
There is in the penitentiary of the territory, a man, by the name of George W oods, who
was sentenced there, by the Probate court, of Iron County in Sept. 1862: for an unhappy
circumstance that transpired in Cedar City, in the month of July, 1862; wherein W oods was the
aggressor, which resulted in the death of a woman, by the name of Olive Higby. Mr. G.W oods
was a perminent [sic] resident of Cedar City, and, had been for some ten years past, and, has a
large and respectable family there; was considered one of the wealthiest, and, most respected
citizens of the county. I have been personally acquainted with Mr. W oods for fifteen years, and
never knew any harm of him; never heard of any accusation brought against him for any
misconduct; (except the case mentioned above) but that he alwaies [sic] had been a good character;
was honorable in his deal, and, intercourse with society.
There has been a petition sent from this county, signed by a good many citizens, (I think a
majority) praying, for his release, upon the grounds that is above mentioned, of his previous good
character, considering that late unhappy circumstance, more to be regreted [sic] than censured.
Now kind sir, if you, in your much better judgement could grant unto George W oods
executive clemency; it would restore him unto a much loved family and many friends that wish him
well.
Yours very respectfully, Edward Dalton - Prosicuting [sic] Attorney of Iron Co.10
Now the story really takes a strange turn as the powerful members of the Church, many of
whom were on the jury of the original trial gathered their influence to bear down on the Governor
on behalf of George:
Petition for the Pardon of George W ood - Granted March 8, 1865. J.D. Doty - Gov.”
Petition for Reprieve of George W ood.”
To His Excellency, James Duane Doty, Governor of Utah Territory.
Sir, Your petitioners
The undersigned respectfully represent that one George W ood, a citizen of Utah
Territory, of the County of Iron, was after a number of dilatory pleadings, out of term time,
brought up for trial at the Regular September Term of the Probate Court in and for the County of
Iron, in the year 1862; and that having no professional advisor plead guilty to the charge of
murder, on Indictment found by a Grand Jury of the aforesaid County, upon which the Court
without the empaneling of a Traverse Jury or the examination of W itnesses sentenced the aforesaid
George W ood, to hard labor in the Penitentiary for the term of his natural life.
Your petitioners herewith submit the following truthful statement of the case in order, and
for the purpose that your Excellency may be enabled to understand the nature whereof, and thereby
feel authorized to extend the Clemency vested in your Excellency, and which your petitioners ask
in behalf of the aforesaid George W ood.
First - That on the [blank] day of July A. D.1862 the above named George W ood, now
presented as a fit subject for Executive Clemency did shoot with a pistol, one Olive Higbee, who
9
Ibid, record 2248.
10
Utah State Historical Society, Governor James Duane Doty - Utah Territorial Papers, Film A-702,
record number 2091 and 2092.
10
had for some time previously kept a house of ill fame in the town of Beaver, and that just before
the aforesaid occurrence, had established a similar place to decoy away youth, in the town of
Cedar, in Iron County.
Second - That the forenamed Olive Higbee did entice, and by the aid of her daughter, who
was also engaged in the same disreputable business, beguile and lead away his (the said W ood’s)
son, a boy of eighteen years, for wicked and adulterous purposes, and that upon information to that
effect being supplied to the aforesaid George W ood, he in the heat of passion, did pursue the said
Olive Higbee, keeping the house of ill fame, and did shoot at her with a revolving pistol, the effect
of which shot did on the day following cause her death.
Third - That on the 29th day of July, the day following the circumstances above stated,
the said George W ood was arrested; committed by a magistrate, and immediately taken before
Probate Court for trial. That said trial was adjourned from day to day ‘till the 8th day of
September, when the aforesaid proceedings took place, and he was then sentenced.
Fourth - Your petitioners also represent that the said George W ood has, since his
commitment, faithfully served under the rules and regulations of the W arden of the Penitentiary;
one portion of the time working for the W arden and the remainder being hired out, and that during
said period, Viz: from September A.D. 1862, to the present time he has conducted himself
properly and becomingly and is therefore believed by your petitioners as being worthy of your
Excellency’s Clemency. And for this your petitioners most respectfully pray. Signed
Geo. A. Smith
W illiam Jennings
W . W oodruff
W m. H. Hooper
Thos. S. Eldredge
John B. Kelly
J. B. Kimball
John Prathro
John Topham X
Jonathan Prathro
W illiam E. A. Roberts
Stephen S. Barton
Thomas A. Evens
J. P. Barton
Franklin D. Richards
John R. W inder
Enoch Reese
Thos. C. Armstron
A. Cunningham
J. M. W orley
N. H. Yelt [?]
Egerton Snider
E. B. Tripp
David Brnitors [?]
Theramore Little
George J. Taylor
Reuben Miller
R. I. Golding
Jamison L. Huffacher [?]
John Sharp
J. D. Siovins
A. Milton Mussen
John V. Long
H. K. W hitney
Patrick Lynch
John L. Graham
Rob. L. Campbell
James Jack
Joseph F. Smith
Thomas W illiams
Howard Egan
James D. Ross
W illiam Lynch
W m. Calder
W illiam Huskinson
Thomas Bullock
W illiam Barnes
Erastus F. Hall
Barnett Rigby
Thomas W . W inter
J. H. Salty [?]
H. W . Laurance
W . H. Perkes
C. W . Spencer
Zacharias H. Daniels [?]
Orson P. Miles
B. N. Schettler
H. P. Richards
Joseph Bull
John Newtam
Henry McEwan
Samuel W orthen
W m. L. Price
Nathaniel Leavitt
J. Hernadi Pratt [?]
Peter Rickwell [his mark]
11
L. J. Mills
M. F. Farnsworth
J. L. Knowlton
John Lyons
A. N. Hill
John B. Milner
Hon. A. Johnson
A. W ilton Mussen
John B. Maiblu
Hon. Lorin Farr
Havey H. Cluff
Hon. David Cluff
P. G. Young
John Beers
W m. R. Terry
J. M. Stewart
J. P. Teasdel
W m. F. Neslen
Joshua Terry
John J. Hardy
James Ure
James Hague
Leurs H. W est
Joseph Backer
John Harris [juror]
Francis W ebster
David W illiams
Joseph L. Heywood
Martin Black
John P. Jones X
Daniel Macfarlane X
Geo. Corry
Richard R. Birkbeck X
Bengt Nilson
John Middleton
W m. W alker
James Clark
W m. Lassoroski
W m. Mc Connell
W m. Sail
Jeb Mackelprang
Timothy Adams
W illiam Unthank
Thomas Gavor [?]
Joseph Hunter Sr.
W illiam Hunter
John Hunter
James Jimkins
Joseph Hunter Jr.
George Hunter
Andrew Corry
John V. Adams
James Phillips
Philander Brown
W illiam Hailstone
Geo. W . Bean
Charles D. Evans
A. H. Scott
Hon. Jos. A. Young
John H. Picknell
John Hepworth
J. H. Blezard
Edward W aruski
W m. Geddes
Alex. H. Macdonald
Ebenezer Hanks
John R. Clawson
Christopher Iglis [his mark]
David Harris
Edward Phillps
W m. Harris
A. Jonssen
James Davis
James Ferris
James Bourne
George Hutchins
Charles Lord
Samuel W ood
John Harris [juror]
W illiam Middleton
L. G. Jones
John Lee Jones
David Haight [juror]
C.[Chris] Mackelprang
Thomas Thorley
James W hittles
W . H. Lame
Josiah Rogerson
W illiam Newman
Edward W art
James S. Hyatt
C. R. Hakes
Charles Adams
W illiam Davenport
David W ard X
Horace C. Smith
Joseph Fish
Morgan Richards
J. R. Morse
H. P. Mortenson
B. R. Hulse
John R. Robinson
James W illiamson
Richard A. Robinson
12
George Perry
Francis W hitney X
W m. V. Hujicks [?] X
Paul Smith
D. P. Clark X
Z. B. Decker
John Perkins
Alfred F. Hadden X
Jos. P. Hall
W illiam H. Hammond X
Richard Rowley
Union T. Matheson
Jens Neilson
John Burton
Jesse Lowder X
Thos. Davenport
W m. Mitchell
Thos. Durham X
W illiam Moris
Albert Nadauld
[unable to read - faded]
John Fackmaw [?]
Abraham Smith
[unable to read - faded]
A. B. Adams X
W illiam E. Lone
John R. Carter
Silas S. Smith [Probate Judge]
R. E. Miller X
Evan Edwards X
L. Barton X
George Holyoak Jr. X
S. H. Rogers [Selectman]
Horace Fish X
James W hittaker [Selectman]
Thos. Lefevre
John Davenport
George Grimshaw
Bergemire W ills X
X N. B. All those which were Grand Petit Jurymen who found the B--- [?] indictment
against the said George W ood.11
I consider this document to be the greatest tragedy against Olive Olivia Coombs. She had
been murdered, her husband had died and been robbed, the children all too young to testify and
scattered over the Territory, and so the great liar George A. Smith, first to sign the document,
came up with the idea to say that Olive operated a house of ill fame in Beaver and sought to
begin the same in Cedar City. By his way of thinking George Wood had been justified in killing
Olive! George A. Smith is the same gentleman that had toured through central Utah just before
the Mountain Meadow Massacre and had incited the local Saints to a frame of mind that had
allowed the terrible event to happen. Many of those who signed were not residents of Cedar City
and some probably didn’t know George at all. They were just being good old boys and doing
what they were told. As a consequence George had been pardoned! What a travesty of justice to
the Coombs family!
George Wood’s log cabin - preserved in Cedar City, UT
11
Utah State Historical Society, Governor James Duane Doty - Utah Territorial Papers, Film A-703,
record number 2249-2256.
13
Katharine Coombs
Katharine Coombs, born 2 July 1832, in Rockville Center, Nassau, New York is the
eldest daughter of Abraham Coombs and an unknown mother. She had two sisters and one
brother, the fate of which remains unknown. Katharine had reached the age of fifteen when she
met a young man named Charles Phelps Briggs in San Francisco and they were married 24
November 1847. Their marriage announcement displayed in the new newspaper in San
Francisco on the 27th of November.
Married, On W ednesday evening 24th inst., Mr. C. P. A. Briggs, to Miss Catherine
Coombs.
12
They immediately decided to make their home in Napa County and traveled there to
homestead. Soon Charles received the appointment of Deputy Sheriff for Napa county, for
which he gained a great deal of respect for honesty and fairness. Katharine and Charles had their
first child there, a girl named Julia Allen Briggs, on 31 December 1849. More children followed
as Henry Harrison Briggs, born 22 February 1852, Eliza Briggs, born 1854, Ida Briggs, born in
1855, an unnamed male child born in 1856 and Catharine Briggs born 15 June 1858 arrived into
their lives. There were complications with the birth of the last child and Katharine died two
weeks later on 2 July 1858, leaving Charles Briggs a widower with three small children as Ida
and the unnamed male child had died in 1857 and Catharine had died the day of her birth on 15
June 1858. Sadly Charles buried Katharine in the Tulocay Cemetery at Napa, Napa, California.
He also had in his care the two children of Abraham and Olive who Katharine had agreed to
teach, Charles Marion Coombs and Helen Mar Coombs. With this many children Charles had
his hands full but his sister-in-law Helen Mar Coombs proved a great help to him.
At the outbreak of the Civil War Charles felt the need to serve his country and so joined
the military, fighting on the side of the Union. After he became ill during the war he stayed in
the East for a time and there he married Mary Ann Gardner 29 December 1863. With her he had
several children but felt the need to return to Napa and the children he had left behind. Returning
in 1882 he found all the children grown and having families of their own. Charles remained in
the Napa area until the time of his death on 3 January 1885. There appeared two obituaries that
lets us see a glimpse of his life
Death of Charles Phelps Briggs
He breathed his last, January 3rd, at 11:15 o’clock. For four weeks he had been confined
to his bed from which he was fully conscious he could never rise. Still he was resigned, calmly,
patiently, and heroically bearing his suffering with the spirit of one who had laid hold on the
Christian’s faith. Deceased was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1825, and came to
California, settling in this county, in 1843, when he was but 18 years old. He married the second
time Mary Ann Gardner 29 December 1863, his first wife having died, in [2 July] 1858 [Katherine
Coombs]. He leaves beside a wife, seven children and nine grand-children. During early times in
this county he served as Deputy Sheriff for nine years. W hen the Mexican W ar broke out he
entered the army and did gallant service in the ranks for his country. Again, when the nation was
plunged in the throes of civil strife, he shouldered his musket and fought for peace and his
country’s honor. It was while enduring the hardships and privations of army life that he contracted
pulmonary disease that finally took on the fatal form of consumption. After the war was over he
settled in the East, but in July, 1882, returned to Napa.
He was an honorable and upright man, possessed of many warm and sympathetic qualities
12
The California Star, November 27, 1847, Vol. 1 # 47
14
that earned him more than the esteem of all who knew him. His funeral took place Monday
afternoon at 2 o’clock from the Presbyterian Church, Rev. Richard W hylie, officiating. Thanks to
all [who] extended sympathy and rendered such valued assistance during the last illness of my
husband; and especially grateful do we feel toward Kilpatrick Post, G. A. R., of St. Helena, for
substantial and timely aid given, and for the kind offices performed by its officers at the funeral.
Mrs. Mary A. Briggs 13
Dust to Dust
The remains of the late C. P. Briggs were laid to rest in old Tulocay last Monday
afternoon. Ex-Union soldiers were present from St. Helena, the Veterans Home and from Napa, to
pay the last tribute of respect to an old and worthy comrade. The funeral was conducted under the
direction of Officer of the Day A. B. Swartout, of Kilpatrick Post, G.A.R., of St. Helena, who
came down the evening before to render assistance in behalf of his Post, to the bereaved family.
Rev. Richard W hylie conducted the services at that church, speaking words of comfort to the
sorrowing ones from the text: ‘Let patience have her perfect work.’ A more fitting text could
hardly have been chosen for one who, as the speaker said, had proven himself ‘obedient as a sailor,
brave as a soldier and patient as a sufferer.’ The Presbyterian Church choir sang appropriate
selections, Prof. Keller filling his accustomed place at the organ. Comrades A. B. Swartout, W . A.
Smith, J. D. Flynn, W m. Nelson, Phillip Plass, James Lawson, J. W hiting and G. M. Francis, acted
as pallbearers. At the grave, Rev. E. H. King, Chaplin of Kilpatrick Post, officiated, using the G.
A. R. Ritual.
Mrs. Julia Bussina and Mrs. Eliza Doma, of San Francisco, daughters of the deceased
came up Saturday and remained until after the funeral. Deceased also leaves a mother in Boston,
Mass., aged 84 years. 14
Charles Marion Coombs
Charles Marion Coombs, eldest son of Abraham and Olive Olivia Curtis Coombs had
been born 17 September 1840 at Rockville Center, Nassau, New York. At the age of only five he
had accompanied his parents on the voyage of the Brooklyn to San Francisco. He loved playing
on the Brooklyn with other small boys and talking with the sailors when their duties allowed
them free time; he loved the tales of daring that were related to him and the stories of the far off
lands the sailors had visited.
Little is known of the life of Charles except that he had been left in Napa with his halfsister when his parents moved to southern California about 1852. He reportedly remained in
Napa to either attend school or be taught by his half-sister Katharine, she having been educated
by their brilliant mother Olive. He loved being outdoors and became a stage coach driver and
farmer in Napa and Tehama counties. At the age of twenty-eight he met and fell in love with a
lovely girl by the name of Alvira Hanna Ashbrook. Alvira had been born 26 March 1850 in
Kelaware county, Ohio, the daughter of Thomas Ashbrook and Delia Bonham, natives of New
York. Her father Thomas migrated to California in 1859 across the Isthmus of Panama and
settled in Tehama, being one of the earliest settlers in the area. Alvira and Charles Marion
Coombs met while he drove stage between Napa and Tehama and they were married 30
December 1868.
They made their home in Napa county where five of their six children were born. Otto
Charles Coombs arrived 17 October 1869. The next child, named Pearl V. Coombs, a son,
13
Napa Register, January 9, 1885
14
Source unknown but supplied to author by John D. Fretwell, Fresno, Calif. 93703 in August 1998.
15
arrived 12 May 1871 followed by a daughter named Ora Viola Coombs who was born on Long
Island New York 12 July 1873. The circumstances of her being born in New York is not known
but probably Charles and Alvira were visiting relatives in the Rockville Center area. Arlo Man
Coombs arrived in the family 19 September 1875 at Napa and Vera Mae Coombs arrived 17
September 1877, also in Napa and finally Claude Coombs, the last child, had been born in 1879.
The children all grew up and lived in Tehama county where, other than Ora Viola, they
married and had families of their own. Ora Viola became a schoolteacher and remained
unmarried. In later years the family made their home in Red Bluff where Charles Marion
Coombs died 27 April 1913. The following obituary appeared the next day.
Death Called Chas. M. Combs
Charles M. Combs died quite suddenly about 9:15 Sunday evening, at the family home on
Jefferson Street. He had been down town about 5 o’clock in the afternoon and was arranging the
kindling for lighting a fire in the stove the next morning, when he fell to the floor and passed away
instantly.
Deceased would have been 73 years old next September and had lived in Tehama County
since 1878. He leaves a wife and three sons, O.C. and A. M. Combs of this place and Claude
Combs of W illeta; also two daughters, Miss Ora Combs and Mrs. Charles Grier of Sacramento,
California.
The funeral will be held at 2:30 Tuesday afternoon from the family residence.15
The records for the Oak Hill Cemetery indicate that Charles Marion Coombs had been
buried on the 29th of April in Lot 8, Block 11, Grave 2 at Red Bluff, Tehama county. His wife
Alvira continued to live for another eighteen years when she died 5 April 1931 at Red Bluff. Her
obituary reads:
Death Calls Alvira Combs Aged Pioneer
Tehama County lost one of its most widely known and beloved women yesterday in the
passing of Mrs. Alvira Hanna Combs, mother of Otto Combs and Miss Ora Combs of this city,
who had been a resident of Tehama County for 70 years and of Red Bluff for approximately 40
years.
Other survivors are two sons, Arlo Combs, of Oakland, and Claude Combs, of
Sacramento, division engineer of the W estern Pacific. All the children were here when their aged
mother passed away.
The funeral services were held this afternoon at the Christian Church. The Rev. George
Morris officiated. Burial was in the Oak Hill cemetery. The Pall bearers were R. M. Noryell, G.
G. Stice, Frank Grimm, Thomas Miles, Lawrence Erwin, and Ambrose J. Bonham.
Deceased was a native of Ohio. At the age of nine years with her parents, the late Mr. and
Mrs. Thomas Ashbrook, she came to California by way of the Isthmus of Panama. The family
encountered many hardships on the journey. They settled in the vicinity of what is now the town
of Tehama about 1859, being one of the first families in that vicinity.
Mrs. Combs was deeply religious and took an active interest in the affairs of the Christian
Church, of which she had been a member for many years. Because of her kindly nature she drew
many friends to her, and her passing threw a pall of sadness over the community.
Until about a year ago she had enjoyed excellent health but since that time she had
declined slowly but steadily. It had only been during the last few months that her condition
became critical. The end was not unexpected. She was the widow of the late Charles Marion
15
The Evening Sentinel, Monday April 28, 1913
16
Combs, who passed away ten years ago.16
Alvira Hannah Ashbrook Coombs had been a strong and faithful wife to Charles and she
rests by his side in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Lot 8 ½, Block 11, Grave 1 where she is buried,
coming on 6 April 1931.
Helen Mar Coombs
Helen Mar Coombs had been born 19 October 1842 at Rockville Center, Long Island,
Nassau, New York. She had only been three years old when she sailed with her parents on the
Brooklyn and had been left with her half-sister Katharine at Napa when her parents moved to San
Bernardino. She, like her brother Charles, received her education at Napa and stayed with
Charles Briggs after the death of her half-sister. She spent many days tending the young children
of Katharine who had been left upon their mothers death.
She fell in love with a young man named David Oscar Clayton and they were married 20
October 186417 in Fairfield, Solano county, just a few miles from her home in Napa.. Her
husband David had been born 7 November 1842 in Independence, Jackson County, Missouri, the
son of James R. Clayton and Christina Spears. David and Helen had three children, the first
James Buchanan Clayton had been born 25 October 1866; the second Andrew Jackson Clayton
had been born 23 February 1868 and the last, Edgar Oscar Clayton had been born 5 February
1872. All three children were born at Napa, Napa county, California. They all grew to manhood
and were married. Sadly, the eldest James Buchanan Clayton apparently died the day after he
married.
David and Helen were cattle ranchers and became very wealthy operating a butcher shop
in conjunction with his two sons Buck and Andy. David also worked as a carpenter, as that
occupation is listed on his death certificate. He died 16 April 1901 from Tuberculosis at the age
of fifty-eight at Vacaville, Solano county, California and is buried at the El Mira Cemetery in
Vacaville.
Helen continued her life for another ten years and passed away on 2 March 1910 at the
age of sixty-eight. She is buried at the El Mira Cemetery in Vacaville next to her husband. After
she found out about the death of her parents in Utah, Helen traveled to Cedar City and had tried
to get her little sisters but the Utah courts refused. They said she lacked sufficient funds to care
for them. Sadly Helen and David Oscar Clayton were more than capable financially to care for
the four girls but the courts could not be convinced. Three of the girls had been given to local
Cedar City couples to be raised as their own. There were some seventeen children who survived
the Mountain Meadows Massacre who were also given away to couples in Cedar City earlier, so
this isn’t something new to the locals. Only because of Government intervention were the
Mountain Meadows children returned to their families. It’s sad that the same could not have
happened in this case.
16
The Red Bluff Daily News, Monday April 6, 1931
17
FHL Film 844424, List of Births, Marriages and Deaths as published in the Sacramento Daily Bulletin 1863/1864. Marriage: In Susian Valley, 20 October 1864, David O. Clayton to Helen Coombs.
17
What happened to the other children of Abraham and Olive Coombs who had been born
in California? Emily, who had also been shot and beaten by George Wood, traveled to Salt Lake
City for medical care of her wounds and remained a short time with her Uncle Theodore Curtis.
She had a difficult time of recovery from the brain damage and continued to have sporadic
seizures the rest of her life. She married a John J. Kenton and had two children and then married
Alma W. Davis and had two more, passing away in 1893 in Evanston, Wyoming.
Helen Mar Coombs
Jane Arabella Coombs had been adopted by an English couple in Cedar City and married
Joseph Stanford Smith 23 October 1871 in the Endowment House in Salt Lake City. They had
six children and spent their lives in Mancos, Montezuma, Colorado where Jane died 21 January
1883 and her husband died in Ammon, Bonneville, Idaho 6 April 1941.
Ella Coombs had been adopted by a family named Birkbeck and raised in Cedar City.
She met and married William Henry Branch 9 May 1877 in St. George, Washington county, Utah
and they had six children. It is one of these children, Olive Branch Millburn, that first told the
story of the murder of her grandmother Olive Olivia Curtis Combs. After the death of Ella’s
husband William Henry Branch, Ella converted her home in Price, Utah to a boarding house and
then married her sister Emily’s first husband John J. Kenton. She lived the rest of her life in
Price where she died 19 April 1928 and is buried in the Price City cemetery.
18
Olive Curtis Coombs, the last of Abraham and Olive’s children had been adopted and
raised by a Welsh couple in Cedar City. She met and married John Raby Fretwell 10 February
1875. They had ten children, all born in Cedar City and after the death of her husband in 1910
Olive traveled to California to be near her brother Charles. She stayed in the area after Charles
died in 1913 and made a home at Calistoga, Napa county, at the village started by Samuel
Brannan, where she died 25 April 1928. Her remains were interred at Vallejo, Sonoma,
California.
This family suffered perhaps more than any other of the Brooklyn families because of the
cowardly act of murder!
19