William W. Combs & Dr. Marshall E. Combs
History of Kentucky, The Blue Grass State. Volume III Illustrated. The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, Chicago – Louisville, 1928. Sandi Gorin.
Studious, efficient and deeply engrossed in his profession, Dr. Marshall E. Combs has taken his place with the leading physicians and surgeons of Hazard and represents an old and prominent family of this community, in which he has always resided with the exception of the period spent in the service of his country. He was born January 8, 1876, on the lot now occupied by his office, and his parents, William W. and Elizabeth (Johnson) Combs, were also Kentuckians. His mother was born in Breathitt county and her father, George Johnson, followed the occupation of farming as a means of livelihood. Her brother, Scott Johnson, secured a position in the pension department at Washington, D. C., and her forbears were agriculturists.
William W. Combs was born on the site of Hazard and later owned a portion of the land on which the town now stands. He offered his aid to the Union and was accepted, served with the Twenty-second Kentucky Volunteer Infantry and was wounded in a skirmish. He was a republican and a stanch adherent of the party. He engaged in farming and derived a substantial income from his land, on which coal was discovered. He was able to spend the remainder of his life in retirement, and his favorite sport was fishing. He was genial, courteous and kind-hearted, and a wide circle of sincere friends mourned his death in 1911, when he was seventy-two years of age. He was the father of thirteen children, and six are now living. All are residents of Perry county except John E., who is engaged in business in Cincinnati, Ohio. His brother, Willie R. Combs, spent several years in the United States army and his term of enlistment expired in 1923. He was sent to many parts of the world and served in the Spanish-American war. He was stationed in Porto [sic] Rico and was ordered to Mexico during the border uprising. He went to France with the American Expeditionary Forces and participated in the Meuse-Argonne offense and other major operations, miraculously escaping injury.
Dr. Marshall E. Combs attended the public schools of Hazard and next took a normal course. He taught school for a time on Grapevine creek and for twelve years devoted his attention to educational work. In 1898 he volunteered for service in the Spanish-American war, enlisting in Company C, Twenty-second United States Infantry, and after a month’s training was sent to the Philippines. He fought in many important battles while on the islands and gave first aid to Colonel Egbert, who was fatally injured, but neither the subject of this review nor his brother were wounded in that campaign. Dr. Combs returned to Kentucky and in 1903 entered the medical department of the State University, which he attended for four years, graduating with the class of 1906. He opened an office in Hazard and in the intervening period has established a large practice. In order to increase his efficiency he has taken special courses and is considered one of the foremost surgeons of this part of the state. He is a local surgeon for the Louisville & Nashville and the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railroads and also a director of the Hazard Hospital Company, Inc. During the World war he was a member of the medical advisory boards of Knott, Letcher, Leslie and Perry counties and devoted much of his time to patriotic service.
Dr. Combs was married August 25, 1900, to Miss Lizzie S. Bailey, who was a daughter of M. C. and Matilda (Tutt) Bailey of Jackson, Breathitt county, Kentucky, and passed away November 11, 1911. She had become the mother of two children: Vernon B., who was born January 31, 1904; and Wallace M., born May 20, 1911. On December 7, 1912, Dr. Combs wedded Miss Ola B. Cooke, a daughter of J. H. and Dicy (Rosser) Cooke, of Rochester, Butler county, Kentucky. The children of the second union are: Hendalee who was born May 16, 1915; and Thomas H., born September 14, 1917.
Dr. Combs is an adherent of the republican party and has demonstrated his loyalty and devotion to country by both word and deed. He is a thirty-second degree Mason and a Noble of Kosair Temple of the Mystic Shrine in Louisville. He belongs to Hazard Lodge, No. 676, F. & A. M., and to the Scottish Rite Consistory at Louisville. He is also identified with the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Elks Lodge of Hazard, the Loyal Order of Moose and the Knights of Pythias. He is a members of the Perry County and Kentucky State Medical Societies and the American Medical Association. Holding to a high standard of service, Dr. Combs has achieved the full measure of success in his profession and fills an important place in the life of his community.