Hon. Theodore Harmon Ristine1

b. 8 January 1845
     Hon. Theodore Harmon Ristine was born on 8 January 1845.1 He was the son of Ben Taylor Ristine and Rhoda Florinda Humphrey.1

Theodore enlisted in the Union Army, for the ninety days' service, while a student; graduated at Wabash College in 1865, and studied law with his father. He was a lawyer; was in 1882 and again in 1884, a member of the Indiana Senate. Resided in 1884 in Crawfordsville, IN. Elizabeth's father was a professor in Wabash College.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 445.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Hosea Humphrey Ristine1

b. 19 March 1847
     Hosea Humphrey Ristine was born on 19 March 1847.1 He was the son of Ben Taylor Ristine and Rhoda Florinda Humphrey.1

Hosea graduated at Wabash College in 1869. They resided in Crawfordsville, Ind., where he was a lawyer.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 445.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Oliver Bailey

b. 1738, d. 1822
     Oliver Bailey was born in 1738 at Haddam, CT.1 He married Hannah Scovill in 1761. Oliver Bailey died in 1822 at Bradford Co., PA.1

Oliver served as a private in Capt. Cornelius Higgins' 8th Company, 5th Battalion, General Wadsworth's brigade.2

Children of Oliver Bailey and Hannah Scovill

Citations

  1. [S104] DAR DAR Lineage book, Vol. 72, Page 4, Member 71005.
  2. [S104] DAR DAR Lineage book.

Hannah Scovill

b. 1739
     Hannah Scovill was born in 1739.1 She married Oliver Bailey in 1761.

Children of Hannah Scovill and Oliver Bailey

Citations

  1. [S104] DAR DAR Lineage book, Vol. 72, Page 4, Member 71005.

Scoville Bailey1

b. 1775, d. 1843
     Scoville Bailey was born in 1775.1 He was the son of Oliver Bailey and Hannah Scovill.1 Scoville Bailey married Jerusha Hale in 1796.1 Scoville Bailey died in 1843.1

Citations

  1. [S104] DAR DAR Lineage book, Vol. 72, Page 4, Member 71005.

Jerusha Hale1

b. 1776, d. 1857
     Jerusha Hale was born in 1776.1 She married Scoville Bailey, son of Oliver Bailey and Hannah Scovill, in 1796.1 Jerusha Hale died in 1857.1

Citations

  1. [S104] DAR DAR Lineage book, Vol. 72, Page 4, Member 71005.

Lydia May Holcombe

b. 20 May 1842, d. 8 September 1842
     Lydia May Holcombe was born on 20 May 1842 at LeRoy, Bradford Co., PA.1 She was the daughter of Eli Holcombe II and Harriet Bailey. Lydia May Holcombe died on 8 September 1842 at Leroy, Bradford Co., PA.1 She was buried at Holcomb Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford Co., PA.1

Citations

  1. [S807] Find A Grave, online http://www.findagrave.com, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 April 2019), memorial page for Lydia May Holcomb (20 May 1842–8 Sep 1842), Find A Grave Memorial no. 85777156, citing Holcomb Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by history4sure (contributor 46997739) .

Ella Dele Taylor

b. 12 April 1849
     Ella Dele Taylor was born on 12 April 1849 at Granville, Bradford Co., PA. She was the daughter of Luman D. Taylor and Betsey Matilda Holcombe.

Charlotte Dewers

b. 5 November 1863, d. 6 September 1946
     Charlotte Dewers was born on 5 November 1863.1 She married Halleck Lincoln Holcombe, son of Harvey Holcombe and Diana Rockwell. Charlotte Dewers died on 6 September 1946 at Towanda, Bradford Co., PA, at age 82.1 She was buried on 8 September 1946 at Oak Hilll Cemetery, Towanda, Bradford Co., PA.1

Child of Charlotte Dewers and Halleck Lincoln Holcombe

Citations

  1. [S807] Find A Grave, online http://www.findagrave.com, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 April 2019), memorial page for Charlotte Dewers Holcombe (5 Nov 1863–6 Sep 1946), Find A Grave Memorial no. 171367272, citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by LDR (contributor 47171969) .
  2. [S807] Find A Grave, online http://www.findagrave.com, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 April 2019), memorial page for Jean L Holcombe (20 May 1892–28 Feb 1982), Find A Grave Memorial no. 116709660, citing Oak Hill Cemetery, Towanda, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by LDR (contributor 47171969) .

Betsey Grantier1

     Betsey Grantier married Samuel Rockwell, son of Samuel Rockwell and Hannah Lassell, on 17 May 1812 at Troy, Bradford Co., PA.1

Child of Betsey Grantier and Samuel Rockwell

Citations

  1. [S794] Kenneth W. Rockwell, Rockwell Family, page 224.

Jasper Newton Holcombe1

b. 27 March 1846, d. 22 January 1896
     Jasper Newton Holcombe was born on 27 March 1846 at LeRoy, Bradford Co., PA.2 He was the son of Harvey Holcombe and Diana Rockwell. Jasper Newton Holcombe married Rosilie McKee, daughter of Robert McKee and Hannah Holcombe. Jasper Newton Holcombe died on 22 January 1896 at Leroy, Bradford Co., PA, at age 49.

Jasper only appears in the notes of Neil McDonell.


Jasper and Rosaela were enumerated in the 1880 LeRoy, Bradford Co., PA, federal census. He was a farmer age 34, she was 30. Children in the household were James 9, Carrie E. 7, and (twins?) Minnie F. 4 and Florence M. 4. Living next door was father(?) Harvey age 64.


Widow Rosalia was enumerated in the 1900 Leroy, Bradford Co., PA, federal census. She was 50. Children in the household were James E. 29, Carrie E. 27, twins Minnie and May 24, and Ray M. 19.


Widow Rosalie was enumerated in the 1910 LeRoy, Bradford Co., PA, federal census. She was 60. Children in the household were James E., 39, and Minnie 34. Living next door was son Ray M.

Children of Jasper Newton Holcombe and Rosilie McKee

Citations

  1. [S794] Kenneth W. Rockwell, Rockwell Family, page 225.
  2. [S807] Find A Grave, online http://www.findagrave.com, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 27 April 2019), memorial page for Jasper Newton Holcomb (27 Mar 1846–22 Jan 1896), Find A Grave Memorial no. 99091065, citing Leroy Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by LDR (contributor 47171969) .
  3. [S35] 1900 Federal Census, unknown repository address.

Rosilie McKee

b. 18 July 1849, d. 11 April 1934
     Rosilie McKee was born on 18 July 1849 at PA.1 She was the daughter of Robert McKee and Hannah Holcombe. Rosilie McKee married Jasper Newton Holcombe, son of Harvey Holcombe and Diana Rockwell. Rosilie McKee died on 11 April 1934 at age 84.1 She was buried at Leroy Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford Co., PA.1

Children of Rosilie McKee and Jasper Newton Holcombe

Citations

  1. [S807] Find A Grave, online http://www.findagrave.com, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 29 April 2019), memorial page for Rosalie McKee Holcomb (18 Jul 1849–11 Apr 1934), Find A Grave Memorial no. 99091104, citing Leroy Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by LDR (contributor 47171969) .
  2. [S35] 1900 Federal Census, unknown repository address.

Odessa Holcombe

b. 9 January 1851
     Odessa Holcombe was born on 9 January 1851.1 Odessa Holcombe was the child of Ulysess Holcombe and Louisa Bullock.1

Citations

  1. [S818] Edwin W. Strickland II, William Buel, 8-14, page 422.

Adelbert Holcombe

b. 20 May 1853, d. 7 March 1916
     Adelbert Holcombe was born on 20 May 1853 at Leroy, Bradford Co., PA. He was the son of Ulysess Holcombe and Louisa Bullock.1 Adelbert Holcombe was also known as Delbert Holcombe. He married Ellen A. Palmer in 1876. Adelbert Holcombe died on 7 March 1916 at Leroy, Bradford Co., PA, at age 62. He was buried at Leroy Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford Co., PA.2

Children of Adelbert Holcombe and Ellen A. Palmer

Citations

  1. [S818] Edwin W. Strickland II, William Buel, 8-14, page 422.
  2. [S807] Find A Grave, online http://www.findagrave.com, Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 22 April 2019), memorial page for Adelbert D. Holcomb (1853–1916), Find A Grave Memorial no. 94477830, citing Leroy Cemetery, Leroy, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, USA ; Maintained by Susan Johnston (contributor 46861725) .

Warren Henry Ristine MD1

b. 3 February 1850
     Warren Henry Ristine MD was born on 3 February 1850.1 He was the son of Ben Taylor Ristine and Rhoda Florinda Humphrey.1

Warren left college when a Junior because of poor health; graduated at Bellevue Medical College in New York City, in 1844. A physician residing (1884) in Crawfordsville, Ind.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 445.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Florinda Caroline Ristine1

b. 6 May 1854
     Florinda Caroline Ristine was born on 6 May 1854.1 She was the daughter of Ben Taylor Ristine and Rhoda Florinda Humphrey.1

Florinda graduated n 1874 from Glendale Female Seminary, Ohio. William graduated from Wagash Colelge, in 1873. He was a lawyer, and a member of the House of Representatives in 1882.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 445.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Charles White Ristine1

b. 29 June 1856
     Charles White Ristine was born on 29 June 1856.1 He was the son of Ben Taylor Ristine and Rhoda Florinda Humphrey.1
Charles was a farmer residing in 1884 in Crawfordsville, Ind.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Hon. Oliver C. Adams1

b. 21 May 1820
     Hon. Oliver C. Adams was born on 21 May 1820.1 He was the son of Gen. Ezra Adams. Hon. Oliver C. Adams married Susan Maria Humphrey, daughter of Hon. Loin Humphrey and Rhoda Case, on 2 September 1841.1

Children of Hon. Oliver C. Adams and Susan Maria Humphrey

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Eugene A. Adams1

b. 21 June 1842
     Eugene A. Adams was born on 21 June 1842.1 He was the son of Hon. Oliver C. Adams and Susan Maria Humphrey.1

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Mary Abigail Adams1

b. 1 December 1844
     Mary Abigail Adams was born on 1 December 1844.1 She was the daughter of Hon. Oliver C. Adams and Susan Maria Humphrey.1

In 1844 they resided in Westfield, Massachusetts.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Ezra S. Adams1

b. 29 September 1846
     Ezra S. Adams was born on 29 September 1846.1 He was the son of Hon. Oliver C. Adams and Susan Maria Humphrey.1

Children of Ezra S. Adams and Sarah C. Rathbun

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Benjamin Harrison Holcombe

b. 3 July 1889, d. 2 December 2000
     Benjamin Harrison Holcombe was born on 3 July 1889 at Robinson, Brown Co., KS. He was the son of Chestnut Wade Holcombe and Nancy Sarah Jane Sharp. Benjamin Harrison Holcombe married Ollie Leona Rich, daughter of Holmes Marshall Rich and Nancy Jane Allison, on 10 August 1910 at Anadarko, Caddo Co., OK. Benjamin Harrison Holcombe and Ollie Leona Rich were divorced on 11 January 1940. Benjamin Harrison Holcombe died on 2 December 2000 at Carnegie Nursing Home, Carnegie, Caddo Co., OK, at age 111.1 He was buried on 8 December 2000 at Fairview Cemetery, Caddo Co., OK.

Benjamin Harrison Holcomb, always ate a big breakfast, cried often, rarely drank and never smoked, and he lived in three centuries.

He was given the title "The world's oldest man" by the Guinness Book of World Records He farmed wheat, dabbled in cotton and raised cattle and children for most of his life. His family says he had few vices but he did divorce twice before his third marriage stuck.

From his birth in 1889, his life has mainly ebbed and flowed with Oklahoma's land, weather and waving wheat.

So what is life like for a man entering a third century? "Feels like it did yesterday," Ben, whose descendants number into five generations, told daughter Leona Ford, in June 2000 when he received the title

Exhausted by phone calls from around the world after he made it into the Guinness Book, he slept through most of the following few days. But his children spoke for him at his side in the Carnegie nursing home, where he received daily visits from Ford, his other daughter, Lucille, and son John.

"He says they (the callers) are probably mixed up," Ford said. "he's never known he was old. He's just one of these people who lived one day at a time."

"Life's been fairly good for my daddy," Ford said. "Of course, it was hard."

Benjamin was the 7th and youngest child of Chestnut Wade Holcomb, 45, and Sarah Jane Holcomb, 41. His father fought in the Civil War as an officer on the victorious union side.

The year he was born was also the year of the Oklahoma land run, when huge sections of the future state were opened for white settlers. He was an infant when his family came in a covered wagon and started a farm near the town of Seiling.

They made part of their home a school and Ben started classes at age four. Part of his longevity may have begun then, Ford said. She said his mother breast-fed him until the age of 5, a practice not uncommon in pioneering days.

"I think that might be part of it. He would come home from school and she had a special little rocking chair. She would sit in it and he would stand next to her to nurse."

Learning to read at an early age led to a lifelong pursuit. By the time he entered the nursing home, Ben subscribed to and regularly read about a dozen magazines and newspapers.

Tragedy struck the family when Benjamin was a boy. His father, in his 50s, decided to take the family on a trip to climb Pike's peak in Colorado. On the way, his father contracted pneumonia and died in garden city, Kansas. After that, his mother was left to raise the family.

When he was 15 the boys at school were starting to drink and smoke and she extracted a promise: if he would not drink, smoke, curse or chew tobacco, she would give him a gold watch when he was 25. "I have the watch," Ford said. "It's beautiful."

Eventually Ben started his own farm and he worked it most of his life. He was not called up for the draft in the First World War because he was a farmer with four children, and he was 51 at the outbreak of the Second World War.

Benjamin and Olive were enumerated in the 1920 Taloga Twp., Dewey Co., OK, federal census, ED 216, page 5A. He was a farmer, born in KS, his father born in WV. Olive was born in TN, her father in AL. Children in the household were Vivian age 6, born in KS; Lucile age 4, born in OK, Leona age 3, born in OK, and Chester age 1, born in OK.

But with two sons fighting the Nazis in Europe, he briefly left farming and served as a cook in a military hospital.

Tragedy visited his family again when his oldest son, Chester, a turret gunner in a B-17, went down over the English Channel. His surviving son, John, was taken prisoner during the Battle of the Bulge and nearly died in an Allied bombing raid.

Holcomb's way of dealing with sorrow has been another key to his long life, Ford said. "He's a darlin'," she said. "He cries if a kid gets hurt or an animal gets hurt but he's over it real quick. He just cries and then it's done."

If there is another secret, she said, it is that Ben ate a big breakfast - a big bowl of oatmeal - and not much else for the rest of the day.

"He'd have a real hard day and then he'd kick back when it was done," she said.

Ben did a stint building roads but that did not last long. He traded horses on the side and in later years bred a line of bird dogs. But farming shaped most of Holcomb's life.

Growing wheat on about 200 acres (81 hectares) for more than 70 years, his farm on the edge of Cache Creek near Apache, Oklahoma, yielded enough to feed an estimated 500 people a year for most of his life. He only left it when he moved into a nursing home in Carnegie in 1996.

Ford, her sister, Lucille Bridwell, and her brother, John Holcomb, visited their father every day for six years.

Holcomb over the years was asked the secret to his longevity. "I'll tell you this," Holcomb once said. "If you live one day at a time and you don't die, you'll live a long life."

Holcomb was interested in politics his entire life, Ford said.

He was also an avid hunter, featured in a 1998 Outdoor Life Magazine for being the oldest man, at 107, to shoot a deer.

The two interests collided on a hunting trip to Arkansas.

"All these guys were drinking beer and telling wild tales," Ford said. "Daddy noticed one man who didn't really do any of that.

"He came over to my daddy and his friends and asked them to vote for him for governor. My dad said 'If you ever run for president, I will.'"

The man was future President Clinton.

"Daddy has always been here. This is another day he's still here. I always wonder what it will be like for us when he's gone," Ford said.

"If he's living for a purpose I hope we are fulfilling that purpose. He did the best he could to make our lives good."

Leona Ford, 84, held her father in her arms as he died.

His funeral was at 2 p.m. Friday, December 8, 2000, at First Baptist Church in Apache, arranged by Crews Funeral Home in Apache. Burial was in the Fairview Cemetery in Apache near other members of his family.2,3

Children of Benjamin Harrison Holcombe and Ollie Leona Rich

Citations

  1. [S182] Social Security Death Index (on-line), Ancestry.com, SSDI, Ancestry.com, SSAN 446-22-2456.
  2. [S285] Oklahoman, December 4, 2000.
  3. [S286] Free Press, 1 June 2000.

Chestnut Wade Holcombe

b. 19 April 1844, d. 3 June 1902
     Chestnut Wade Holcombe was born on 19 April 1844 at Bath Co., VA.1 He was the son of Timothy Holcombe III and Hannah Ruckman. Chestnut Wade Holcombe married Nancy Sarah Jane Sharp. Chestnut Wade Holcombe died on 3 June 1902 at Garden City, Finney Co, KS, at age 58.1

Child of Chestnut Wade Holcombe and Nancy Sarah Jane Sharp

Citations

  1. [S721] Jim Schultz, "Timothy Holcomb," e-mail to Jame H. Holcombe, 19 December 2010.

Susan A. Adams1

b. 6 October 1870
     Susan A. Adams was born on 6 October 1870.1 She was the daughter of Ezra S. Adams and Sarah C. Rathbun.1

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Albert R. Adams1

b. 5 October 1875
     Albert R. Adams was born on 5 October 1875.1 He was the son of Ezra S. Adams and Sarah C. Rathbun.1

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Oliver C. Adams1

b. 26 October 1876
     Oliver C. Adams was born on 26 October 1876.1 He was the son of Ezra S. Adams and Sarah C. Rathbun.1

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Mary L. Adams1

b. 10 January 1883
     Mary L. Adams was born on 10 January 1883.1 She was the daughter of Ezra S. Adams and Sarah C. Rathbun.1

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.

Dr. Albert R. Adams1

b. 14 August 1848
     Dr. Albert R. Adams was born on 14 August 1848.1 He was the son of Hon. Oliver C. Adams and Susan Maria Humphrey.1

Dr. Adams resided in 1884 in New York City.2

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.
  2. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys.

Ellen M. Adams1

b. 12 August 1850
     Ellen M. Adams was born on 12 August 1850.1 She was the daughter of Hon. Oliver C. Adams and Susan Maria Humphrey.1

Child of Ellen M. Adams and John R. Pike

Citations

  1. [S275] Frederick Humphreys, Humphreys, Page 446.