A "Cobb-Sasser Family Lineage Website" Page.

Descendants of

Thomas Jefferson Jones

and
1st wife:
Lucinda (Cook) Jones

2nd wife:
Lucinda (Stivers) Jones

3rd wife:
Louisa (Taylor-Hale) Jones
4th wife:
Virginia (Hounshell) Jones

5th wife:
Christina (Goins) Jones

6th wife:
Susannah (Davidson-Spurlock) Jones
Disclaimer



Thomas Jefferson Jones
son of
Anderson & Malinda (Sasser) Jones
b: 05 Mar 1836 Laurel Co, KY
d: 27 Mar 1917 Clay Co, KY

1st Wife:
Lucinda Cook

m: on 27 Feb 1863,
in Clay Co, KY
d/o Thos&Ann(Root)Cook
gd/o John&Nancy(Cox)Root
g-gd/o James&Mary(Unstatt)Root
gg-granddaughter of
Daniel&Mary(LNU)Root
b: 1843
4th Wife:
Virginia Hounsehll

m: on 03 May 1876,
in Clay Co, KY
daughter of
Tuck-Sr&Rachel(Chapman)Hounshell
gg-granddaughter of
John&Christina(Msrsmth)Hounshell
b: 15 Feb 1852 Clay Co, KY
d: 08 Aug 1890 Clay Co, KY

2nd Wife:
Lucinda Stivers

m: on 01 Sep 1868,
in Clay Co, KY
5th Wife:
Christina Goins

3rd Wife:
Sarah "Louise" (Taylor)Hale

m: on 13 Dec 1870, in
Barboursville, Knox Co,KY
daughter of
Clayborne &Sally(Woolum)Taylor
granddaughter of
Isaac &Rhoda(Smith)Taylor
b: 06 Dec 1845 Knox Co, KY
Louisa's 1st husband was
Greenfield "Madison" Hale,
s/o Thomas&Mary(Hammonds) Hale
gs/o James&Easter(Scott)Hale,Sr.
6th Wife:
Susannah (Davidson)Spurlock

m: on 31 May 1894


Descendants by Thomas's 1st wife,
Lucinda (Cook) Jones:





Descendants by Thomas's 2nd wife,
Lucinda (Stivers) Jones:





Descendants by Thomas's 3rd wife,
Sarah "Louisa" (Taylor-Hale) Jones:





Descendants by Thomas's 4th wife,
Virginia (Hounshell) Jones:








Excerpts from a 1998 Sasser-L Mailing
Re: BERT THOMAS COMBS
written by
Vietta (Jones) Keith
Bert's 2nd cousin-once removed
There is a lot to know about Bert.
His achievements were impressive; especially,
when you consider his humble beginnings.

Bert was born on Beech Creek in Clay County, KY
He started school in a 2-room schoolhouse on Beech Creek,
attended Oneida Baptist Institute, and graduated
from Clay County High School at the age of 15.
It then took him 10 years to work his way through the
University of Kentucky, graduating 2nd in his class
and earning a law degree.

He joined the Army as a Private in 1942 and
rose to the rank of Captain. Near the end of WWII,
he was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur's staff
in the Philippines, where he investigated and
prosecuted Japanese war criminals.
He was awarded the Bronze Star for his work.

Bert lost his first race for Governor of Kentucky
to "Happy" Chandler in 1955, but won on his second attempt
in 1959. While governor, he ended racial discrimination in
jobs and businesses licensed by the State by Executive Order,
because he thought the legislature would not pass a law
outlawing it. He also radically increased funding for schools.

Education, especially education for the poor youngsters of
eastern Kentucky, was one of Bert's passions.
He often said that his mother came from a family of
"hillbilly eggheads" (I guess that, in a way that's true.
One of her brothers was an MD and another earned a Ph.D.
from Harvard). She pushed him to get an education, and had
always admonished him to do something about education in
Kentucky, if he ever got the chance. He often talked about
"the bright children up in the hills who don't have a chance."
While Governor, he proposed and passed a 3% sales tax
(Kentucky's first) which was intended to pay a war veterans' bonus
and to increase support for schools, with the following slogan:
"One cent for Soldier Boy, Two for Sonny Boy."

After Bert left the federal bench, he filed a class action suit
against the State of Kentucky on behalf of 66 property-poor
school districts, saying that Kentucky's method for funding
schools was unfair. In 1990 the Supreme Court handed down a
landmark decision that declared the whole Kentucky school system
unconstitutional, and it was overhauled so that funding
is now equitable across the state. Poor school districts
in several other states have used his model to successfully
challenge funding methods in their states.
I do not think it is an overstatement to say that
our Cousin Bert influenced and improved schools
for poor children all over the United States.

It is also worth noting that Bert personally established
a program to educate the mentally retarded in Floyd County, KY,
because his own son Tommy was retarded.

In some ways, Bert's family life was sometimes painful.
In 1969, he divorced his first wife Mabel Hall
after a 32-year marriage and 2 children (Lois and Thomas).
He married Helen Clark Rechtin that same year
and they divorced in 1980.
In 1988, he married Sara Walter, a former law clerk.

I have many memories of Bert.
He was a quiet, straightforward, unpretensious, no-nonsense man
who loved his "people." Some of my strongest memories are of
the times during his governorship when he attended the family
memorial service at the Beech Creek Cemetery where our
ancestors are buried. He always came to the service, before,
during, and after his governorship. He said it was worth the
trip to hear us all sing "Amazing Grace." In the years
before he was well known and again after his celebrity had
faded a bit, he mingled with the family and sat on the ground
with his siblings and children on a quilt during the songs
and sermon, as everyone else did. But the first year he was
governor, "outsiders" who knew he would be there mobbed him,
wanting to talk and shake his hand, thus, disturbing the
service. The next year and every year thereafter, he waited
until the service had started, then quietly walked up to a
tree at the edge of the service and sat with the tree between
him and the people until the service ended.
I was never quite sure how he managed to sneak up without
anyone seeing him, but he did.

Bert's death was tragic and unworthy of such a great man.
He was driving to his home on Cane Creek one evening while
the river was in flood. There is a short section of road
near a bridge that the water had covered. He had driven
through it many times before, but that night the water was
higher than it had ever been, and it floated his car
downstream. He attempted to swim out of the water,
and died of hypothermia.

We buried him on Beech Creek
at the head of his mother's grave.
And we sang "Amazing Grace."

~Vietta Jones Keith


To visit www.bertcombs.com
Click Here





Descendants by Thomas's 5th spouse(?),
Christina (Goins) Jones(?):











Descendants by Thomas's 6th wife,
Susannah (Davidson-Spurlock) Jones:













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