Newcomb Genealogy Forums

You can post pictures and exchange information with other Newcomb descendants on our newly-updated Facebook Page.

Are you a descendant of John Jay Newcomb? He was one of “Mosby’s Rangers” (Co. E, 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry) during the Civil War. The Mosby Heritage Area Association is currently doing research on these men and would like to hear from their living relatives. Please let me know who you are and I will provide you with contact information for Robin Yaeger, who is working on the project. Learn more at the website http://www.mosbyheritagearea.org.

There are some disreputable companies that pay pathetic drones a penny or two to post spammy comments on blogs. Lately I have seen an upsurge of people trying it here. I know they are trying, because I monitor the membership list and I can see that a lot of new people are trying to register using fake email addresses, or email addresses that are associated with dishonest businesses. It doesn’t work here because (a) this blog requires that members register using a real email address (c) we have automated spam filters on the blog and (c) all comments are moderated by a human being. So, spammers, if you are registering here in the hope of posting spam, it is a waste of your time.

J.B. Newcomb published his Newcomb genealogy in 1874, and B.M. Newcomb published his revised edition in 1923.  Their work serves as the starting point for anyone doing serious research into the Newcomb/e name. A lot has happened since then.  Genealogical research has been revolutionized by the ability to use electronic databases, to share information over the Internet, and to use specialized software to organize our information. JBN and BMN didn’t have access to census records or to the thousands of other sources we now take for granted. They certainly didn’t have software to assist in finding duplicate and erroneous information.  Now that we have all this information and these tools available to us, we can update, improve and correct their work.

During the years that I have been working on updating and revising the Newcomb genealogy, I’ve found many entries that are either obviously incorrect or that raise significant questions. Periodically, I upload my gedcom file to Rootsweb/Ancestry, and it includes my notes and corrections. However, since there are over 100,000 names currently in my database, it may not always be easy to find these important changes. So, from time to time, I will be posting some of these corrections on this website, where I hope it will be easier for other researchers to locate them.

I’ve updated the Newcomb database on RootsWeb/Ancestry. You can access it here: http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?db=rkwest.

To post any kind of message here, you must be a member. Membership is free.

There are two ways to post.

1) You may add a reply to an existing message. Simply click on the Replies link. You will be able to read others’ replies, and fill in a form to post your own reply. If this is the first time you have posted, your reply will be held for approval by the administrator. Note that some messages do not allow replies.

Note: If what you want to say does not relate directly to someone else’s message, please start your own new message rather than replying to theirs.

If you want people to respond to a question or a request, please start your own new post rather than replying to someone else’s post. Comments are less likely to be noticed, whereas new posts will appear on the front page.

2) You may start a new message. Click on the “Participate” link in the “Members” menu box. Choose “Add New” from the menu. After composing your message, click on “Save Draft”. Your message will appear on the website after it has been approved by the administrator.

In 1886, Josephine Louise Newcomb founded the H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College at Tulane University, in memory of her daughter who had died young. Over several years she donated money to create a permanent endowment for the college. Now, 120 years later, the current president of the university has decided to dissolve the college and use the endowment for other purposes. Heirs of the original donor have filed lawsuits to stop this action.

In addition to the loss of a renowned educational institution, there are other important issues here. There is great concern among philanthropists and nonprofit organizations that people will be less inclined to fund important causes if they cannot be assured that their money will be used as agreed.

The Future of Newcomb College, Inc. (TFoNC) is a nonprofit organization, which, among other activities, raises funds to support Howard v. Tulane.

The Association of Fundraising Professionals and many other organizations support the Donor Bill of Rights to ensure that charitable contributions are handled ethically.

I’ve done some major cleaning and updating of my main genealogy database and just uploaded it to RootsWeb (also accessible through Ancestry.com and related services). To search for your Newcomb connections CLICK HERE.

If you have a Facebook account, you can join my new Newcomb Descendants group there. Facebook is free to join. Just go to www.facebook.com. The link to the Newcomb Group is www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=7118770799

Welcome to “Newcombs in America”. Our mission is to promote genealogical research relating to the Newcomb family name, and to improve communication between Newcomb descendants and connected families. We encourage participation by all Newcomb family researchers and anyone with an interest in genealogy.