s/o Zephaniah Holcomb and Tryphena Niles
h/o Chloe Mudge
f/o:
Abner Johnson Holcomb - (1795-1874) - 11072844
Taphena Holcomb - (1795-1875)
Niles Holcomb - (1797-1877) - 90425588
Amanda Holcomb - (1799- )
Mansley Holcomb - (1803-1833) - 17245509
Ira Holcomb - (1805-1860)
William R. Holcomb - (1809-1931) - 24961986
Samuel Daniel - (1817-1875)
John Mudge Holcomb -
Cynthia Holcomb -
Henrietta (Laura?) -
Mary? -
Eizabeth -

John Holcomb: Son of a Revolutionist, family man, Judge, Ohio political activist

In compiling the following biography, primary credit is given to John P. Wilcox in providing a seven page biographical sketch and an ancestral pedigree of John's children.  John Holcomb and Chloe Mudge Holcomb are also included in Elizabeth Weir McPherson's The Holcombes. Nation Builders on page 35,38.  
John Holcomb b. 14 Jan 1775 in Spencertown, NY, was the son of Zephaniah Holcomb who fought for seven years in the Revolutionary War.  His mother, Taphena Niles, died in 1777 when John was about two years old.  Upon their mother's death, Zephaniah and Taphena's three sons, Stephen, John, and Samuel Robert lived with relatives while Zephaniah was engaged in the war.  In 1779 Zephaniah married Mehitable Wetmore.  John is found to be living with his father and step-mother in Spencertown, NY, in 1790.
John met and married Chloe Mudge, the daughter of Daniel Mudge and Eunice Fox and moved to Chenango County, NY, about 1800.  In 1802 John and Chloe bought 50 acres for $275, Lot 25 in Jerusalem, Ontario County, NY, which was known as Benton after 1810 from Shuman/Sluman Wattles.  John's uncle Ebenezer Holcomb, Sr., bought land there in 1805, and John's half-brother's Enoch and Reuben had also purchased lots in the vicinity.  John and Chloe sold their 50 acres of land in Jerusalem in 1804 to Joseph Riche for $360 and moved to Williamson, Ontario County, NY, and later, to Sodus, Ontario County, by Lake Ontario.
Williamson and Sodus Townships were part of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase, and now located in what is called Wayne County, NY.  John and Chloe are noted as being among the first settlers and founders of those two towns.  In the book, "History of the Pioneer Settlement of Phelps and Gorham's Purchase (encompassing what are now several counties in NY), by O. Turner, 1851, John Holcomb is noted as being one of only four families who built a cabin in the wilderness area of Williamson. He was also a prominent settler of Sodus and served as magistrate there.
In the "History of Wayne County, NY" by W. H. McIntosh, 1877, John is noted as being the first settler at Sodus village, building there is 1809, is listed as among the settlers in defending Sodus settlement in the War of 1812, and is noted among the Town Officers of Sodus. 
John purchased land in Sodus from the Scottish land baron, Sir John Lowther Johnstone, who never actually lived in the US, but was a wealthy land speculator.  He lost this property due to indebtedness and it was sold in a public land auction in 1817.  At that time, John and Chloe and their many children packed up their belongings and moved to Gallia County, Ohio, to join his brother.
John's brother, Samuel Robert, was already well established in the  by that time, and soon other Holcomb family members moved to Ohio.  Other persons moving from Benton to Huntington Township between 1816-1818 include the families of Stephen Wilcox and Gaius Miles, Gaius' son-in-law, Reuben W. Holcomb, John's half-brother, another of John's half-brother's Enoch Holcomb, and Abner J. Holcomb b. 1796, son of John's first cousin Ebenezer Holcomb, Jr. b. 1765.
John practiced law and for many years was a judge of Gallia County Probate Court.  Ohio Statesmen and Annals of Progress, from The Year 1788 to the Year 1900 by William A. Taylor, 1898, pgs. 111-114 and pgs. 136-139, state he served Gallia county in 1822-23, and again in 1829-30.  In 1831 he purchased 80 acres in Gallia County, and another 40 acres in 1836.  John served as Administrator after his son, Mansley Holcomb died in 1833.  [See Mansley's family page for more details of his estate.] My direct connection to John and Chloe is through their son, Mansley Holcomb and wife Lucy L. Rupe. 
John was very active in legislative politics.  He served as Chairman of the Whig party of Gallia County during the 1840's and was busy writing articles and working closely with his nephew Hon. Anselm T. Holcomb.  Anselm went on to serve as a Ohio State Representative in the legislature.  Both are mentioned in a news article in The Weekly Ohio State Journal, dated 31 Aug 1842, supporting Henry Clay, the "Wagon Boy" for President in the 1844 election.
In the book The Holcombes. Nation Builders., pp. 35, 38, published in 1947 by Elizabeth Weir McPherson, John is listed as a son of Zephaniah; additional information can be found in the publication People in History to 1980 Gallia County Historical Society, 1980.   
Sometime after 1842, John moved to Van Buren County, Iowa.  He is listed on the 1850 census, 76 years old, widowed, living with his son, Samuel Daniel Holcomb, and family in Chequest Township, Van Buren, Iowa.  I believe Chloe Mudge Holcomb died prior to 1850.  McPherson's Holcombe biography lists her as dying in 1851, but as she is not on the 1850 census with her husband and son in Chequest, Iowa, I believe she died sometime before 1850. 
John and Chloe's children are provided by various family biographies, Probate records, and DAR records.
John died in 1853 in Van Buren County, Iowa, and is buried there, place unknown.
- John P. Wilcox

John was an Associate Judge, Gallia, Ohio - (1823-1826), (1826-1829). (1829-1833).

Leando Cemetery - Douds, Van Buren, Iowa, USA is my best guess as to where John is buried. There about 18 Holcombs buried there.
- Gerald Deckard