James and Harriet’s second child was named William.  William was born on April 25, 1868 in Bramham, Yorkshire, England.  He emigrated with his parents, arriving in New York on June 30, 1874 and moved with them to Fall River.  In 1880, the family is living in Fall River, Massachusetts.  By the 1900 census, William is married to Janet and has a daughter Harriet, although the census records that Janet has had two children at this point and that one has died.  They are still living in Fall River.  We can also see William and Janet have been married for seven years, so must have married about 1893.  Searching the NEHGS databases reveals that Harriet was born in Fall River on September 20, 1893 and that the second child was named Frank.  Frank was born on April 9, 1900 and died four days later on April 13, 1900.  The records also reveal that Janet’s maiden name was Ashworth.  The 1910 census shows Janet is widowed and living in Rochester, Mass. with her two children.  The youngest child (named William) is a year and a half old in this census.  Searching the NEHGS database again reveals that William, Sr. died in Rochester, Massachusetts on August 27, 1908, and his son William, Jr. was born just over two months later on November 9, 1908 in Rochester.  Janet continues to run the chicken farm her husband started, and both surviving children remain at home until the 1930 census.  At that point, Harriet has left and William has brought a bride to live at home with his mother.  William’s wife’s name is Marion B., and they also have a child – a six-month-old son named Gary W. McCombe.  William and Marion appear to have been married in 1929.  Janet, at age 62, is no longer running a farm and William is working in a lumber mill.  William, Jr. died in May 1960.  Marion died in February 1984 in Rochester.  And Gary, who was born on September 22, 1929 died in Rochester on August 17, 2008.  From his obituary we learn that his mother’s maiden name was Marion B. Sylvia, and that Gary married and had seven children, 14 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren at the time of his death.  Further searching reveals William and Marion had three other sons after 1930.  While searching for Gary’s obituary, I stumbled across a reference to Harriet, William Jr.’s sister, in the form of an obituary for her son.  Cross-checking the information in the obituary with the 1930 census, I discovered Harriet had married Benjamin A. Gilmore, and was living in Acushnet, Bristol county, Massachusetts.  Their four children were named Abiel P.S., age 8; Stephen,age 7 ; Chloe J., age 5; and Mary R., age 7 months.  Further record digging shows that all four children married.  Benjamin died on August 11, 1988 in Lakeville, Massachusetts.  I have found no record of the date of Harriet’s death.

James and Harriet’s next child was a daughter named Mary Ann.  Mary Ann was born in Burnley, Lancashire, England on September 19, 1870.  She married Christopher Ashworth, her brother William’s wife’s brother, in 1895.  They appear to have had only one child, a son names James A. Ashworth who was born in 1896 in Massachusetts.  Christopher had been born on Christmas day, 1869 in Huddersfield, York, England.   Christopher applied for a passport in 1919 that would allow Mary and him to travel to Japan for his work.  This application gives information about his birth, his father’s name, immigration, and naturalization, and Christopher’s personal information, as well as photos of Mary Ann and him.  In 1917, James married Dorothy R. Hewitt in Rhode Island.  They had at least three children.  James H. Ashworth was born in Rhode Island on January 15, 1918.  He died on June 12, 2003 in Florida.  Thomas R. Ashworth was born in Rhode Island on February 18, 1920 and died in South Carolina in May 1980.  The youngest of the three sons, A. Howard Ashworth, was born in Warwick, Rhode Island and was three months old in the 1930 census (so born in January 1930), but I have no exact date of birth.  I have discovered his first name, but since it was through a more recent record and he is still living, I will leave it as a simple initial here.  James died in Warwick, R.I. on May 3, 1969.  Dorothy, his wife, died there two years later, on Aug. 22, 1971.

James and Harriet McComb next had a set of twins.  Harriet and James, Jrs. were born in Burnley, Lancashire, England on August 7, 1873.  Little Harriet died at the age of two and a half months on October 20, 1873 but James, Jr. lived another four months.  He died in Burnley on March 21, 1874 of pneumonia.  His death certificate was informed by his grandfather Stuart who made his mark for sign, and in which little James’ father’s name is given as Stephen, not James.  As Stuart is not likely to have gotten his own son’s name wrong, I have assumed James’ middle name may likely have been Stephen.  Three months later, James, Harriet, and the three surviving children left for the United States as mentioned earlier.

Sarah McComb was born a year after their arrival in the U.S., on June 15, 1875 in Fall River, Massachusetts.  She married Edgar Pierce in Rehoboth, Massachusetts on January 24, 1895, and they had at least four children.  Robert Edgar Pierce was born in Rehoboth, Massachusetts on Jan 30, 1895.  He appears living with his parents in the 1900, 1910, and 1920 census.  He registered for the WWI draft, and was still single at that time.  I can find no record of him after the 1920 census, however.  Next born was Lester Lloyd Pierce, born in Rehoboth in July 1897.  Like his brother, Lester was living at home in 1900, 1910, and 1920.  And also like his brother, there is no record of him after the 1920 census.  Florence Nancy Pierce was born in Rehoboth on March 16, 1902.  She lived unmarried at home for the 1910, and 1920 census.  In the 1930 census, she was once again living at home, though this time she had the surname Macleod and is listed as married, though there is no sign of her husband.  The youngest child of Sarah and Edgar was Irma Ruth Pierce, sometimes called Erma.  She was born in Rehoboth on October 16, 1906.  Like her sister, she lived at home unmarried in 1910, and 1920, and was living at home although married in 1930.  Unlike Florence, however, her husband and children were also living with her in 1930, and so we know she married George H. Blackledge when she was aged 16 years, so about 1923.   Irma’s first child, Robert L. Blackledge, was born on February 7, 1924.  I suspect his middle name was Lester and that he had been named for Irma’s two brothers.  He went on to marry and have children, and he died in Rehoboth on December 15, 1996.  Kenneth P. Blackledge was born on June 28, 1926.  Kenneth also married and had children.  He died in Cranston, Rhode Island in May 1980.  I will not include other children of Irma and George, as Robert and Kenneth were the only two recorded in the 1930 census.  Irma died in Taunton on October 1, 1981, having remarried after her first husband’s death.

Ella McComb was the youngest child of James and Harriet.  Born in Fall River, Massachusetts on November 2, 1879, she married George Abel Inman in Providence, Rhode Island on August 6, 1902.  George had been born in Providence on September 5, 1878.  Ella and George had at least two children.  Harold G. Inman was born in Providence on December 5, 1905.  He married after the 1930 census was taken, and he died in June of 1965 in Peacedale, Rhode Island.  Ella and George’s second child was Howard L. Inman.  Howard was born in Providence on June 4, 1911.  His WWII enlistment record shows that as of December 2, 1943 he was married.  Howard died on January 26, 1972 in Rumford, Rhode Island.  George Abel Inman died in Providence on June 23, 1957.  In the 1910 census, Ella’s uncle William McComb, age 73, was residing with them in Providence, as were the Christopher Ashworths (Ella’s sister Mary Ann and her family).   I have no record of Ella after the 1930 census and so have no record of her death.

James’ wife Harriet died in Fall River on July 9, 1881 and James next married Honora Connelly on October 31, 1885 in Fall River, Massachusetts.  The 1910 census shows them living in Warren, Rhode Island.  Living with them is his nephew, my great-grandfather James Brady, who seems to have been living apart from his wife Annie, and a child Agnes, who is listed as James’ granddaughter.  This has to have been Honora’s grandchild by her first husband, as there is no Agnes on James’ side of the family of the correct age.  I have not managed to locate James and Honora in the 1920 census and by the 1930 census James is once more a widower and is living with his daughter Mary Ann in Providence, so I have no date for Honora’s death except sometime between 1910 and 1930 or for James except after 1930.  It is likely, however, that both James and Honora McComb died in Rhode Island.

© Deborah Ray and archivecookie.com, 2010.