G2G: Can anyone clean up this DAR mistake with RW JOHN COMBS, b 1764 VA (served only in SC

Question

Can anyone clean up this DAR mistake with RW JOHN COMBS, b 1764  VA  (served only in SC) or have different information to verify the DAR application?

RS John Coombs, b. Sept. 7,1764 Amelia Co., VA-1849/50, Cobb Co.,GA,  s/o Abigail Hammock1739-1775/Phillip Combs, Sr. 1739, Amelia Co., VA/ 1836 Wilkes Co., GA

RW Pension S31626, applied Jan. 13, 1834, Wilkes Co., GA by  John Combs, b. 1764  VA-1849/50, Cobb Co, GA, doesn’t match   DAR #: A025617 filed by 1923  DAR applicant: Fannie Louisa  (Batey) Bankston for RS/SC JOHN COMBS, b. 1764 Amelia Co., VA-1806, Green Co., GA  (wrong DOD) . Bankston  was a HOOD daughter in law of  Nathan Combs/Tracey or Lucea Hood-she was not a Combs ancestor: Her DOD is wrong for RS John Combs, b 1764. RW Pension S31626, applied Jan. 13, 1834: RS  John Combs, b. 1764  VA:served only in SC with William Cooksey SC, Manis Lisle Companies & Hopkins, no mention of Elijah Clarke in GA.   SOURCES: GA H 15A Georgia Roster of the Revolution, GA H 14-1  Georgia Revolutionary Soldiers, Vol I., p.55

Answer 1

You can inform the DAR of the mistake; however, you will need to provide documentation from primary & secondary sources to prove that the information in the current file is inaccurate.  The DAR does not have the staff to complete the research based on just your statement that the information is inaccurate.  The process I encountered with the DAR when I provided documents to prove inaccurate information on my ancestor Henry Downs (DAR #A034367), the DAR took the information and documentation I sent and then "Flagged" the file for Henry Downs.  The record shows "Data in the Pending Corrections".  You click on the Data in the Pending Corrections and it takes you to the full statement which will tell you what in the record for Henry Downs is being disputed and that a pending corrections request is on file and states that future applicants will need to provide documentation to prove the lineage.  The information you provide will not affect individuals with current membership, it will affect those women who apply in the future.

The DAR website gives the following information regarding corrections to records: "To request corrections to ancestor data, submit a brief summary of the changes requested accompanied by documentation supporting the changes to:

Corrections Genealogist
Office of the Registrar General
1776 D Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006-5303"

Good Luck

Answer 2

All I know is that no one, DAR member or not, can make changes on information on already proved Patriots.  

If someone found incorrect information I would suggest contacting DAR.org directly and explaining the problem, mentioning the documentation available to prove the change.

Sorry I couldn’t be any more help.  Contact me if needed.

Janet Wyland Malloy

Comments

I don't think it will negate their family DAR membership. I think their line is kin to another RS John Combs who lived in Wilkes Co., GA and served in Wilkes.  Our RS John Combs b 1764 VA served only in SC but applied for his pension in Wilkes Co., GA (never served in GA).  They didn't have internet search engines when Mrs. Bankston applied for DAR. She listed her John Combs as DOD  1806 in Green  Co, GA but RS John Combs 1764, VA applied for his pension after that date in 1834. I haven't been able to find who the other John Combs is. It has taken 20 years to find my John Combs (grandfather is RS John Combs, 1764 VA ) and Patsy Hammock. That DAR application led us on the wrong path for years although many had questioned it until I found "Hammack Cousins" by Thomas Daniel Knight which documented the COMBS/Hammock/Hammock decades of intermarriages  in Wilkes Co., GA . Knight  documented his 20 years of research in his book.

Answer 3

I think trying to straighten out DAR records is probably a Sisyphean task. I haven't seen one yet that is correct and most of them aren't based on much more than "family records." Most of the applications from the 20th century were done when standards of proof were quite different than they are now.

I would just make sure that that the person's profile is correct here with good citations to original records that provide real evidence and leave it at that. Add a research note that current evidence conflicts with the old DAR file.