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Terry's Family History
I know of no conclusive evidence for the origins of the name of Jacombs. A number of possible explanations are:-
Anyone with the name Jacombs knows how frequently the name is assumed to be Jacobs. Given the length of time that the name and its variants have been noted in records, since the first half of the sixteenth century, that most of those records are of the Church of England, and that the earlier variants of the name were mainly Jacom, Jacam, or Jacombe, I think this is unlikely.
Many people think it sounds somewhat continental particularly French. This explanation is strengthened by its associations with the area of Warwickshire where a number of Huguenots settled after leaving France and with the silk ribbon trade which the Huguenots probably played a significant part in introducing to the area. However as research shows, the name was already well established before the main Huguenot migrations took place in the last twenty years or so of the seventeenth century, so again I think the Huguenot origin is unlikely although an earlier French/Norman origin is possible.
There is no real evidence that this has any part in the name in reality.
In Northamptonshire, not far from the Warwickshire boundaries, there is a parish of Chacombe, with a Priory, which my father believes was dissolved during the Reformation in Henry VIII's reign. He has speculated that someone from the parish or priory may have settled in Warwickshire or Leicestershire and become known as xxxxx from Chacombe (Jacom).
The name JACOMBS is one of several variants, which have been used since at least the 16th century, the main ones being JACAM, JACOM, JACOMS, JACOMB, JACOMBE, JACOMBES and JACOMBS. Nowadays JACOMB and JACOMBS are the most common, with JACOM, JACOMBE and JACOMBES being encountered less frequently, and to my knowledge, JACOMS and JACAM have died out completely.
Although I have no conclusive proof, it seems likely that all the names go back to a common origin in Leicestershire sometime in the early 1500s or before. The earliest occurrence of the name I have found to date is the will of a Robert JACOM of Stretton Le Fields, Leicestershire in 1538. In the last half of the 1500s, the name starts to occur in both Leicestershire and East Warwickshire around Nuneaton, in the varieties JACOM, JACAM and JACOMB. These two areas have continued to be home to JACOMBS etc. families since then up to the present day, with JACOMBS being found in both places, but JACOMB in Leicestershire only.
1600s named JACOMB (brothers) are listed in the dictionary of National Biography. They originally came from Leicestershire and may have been the original carriers of the name to London. At the same time a family appeared in Norfolk, and for the next two hundred years or so the name occurred there on occasions. From some of the marriages and names, it looks like the Norfolk branch were linked to London rather than Leicestershire directly.
Some of the London JACOMB families became successful in trade, particularly in the Wool Broking business in the 1800s and probably the most well known recent JACOMB belongs to this line, Sir Martin JACOMB, a former director of the Bank of England.
In the 1830's the name JACOMB-HOOD appeared. This came as a result of a Robert JACOMB, one of the London JACOMBs, being the closest living relative of a William HOOD, whose will made Robert JACOMB his beneficiary of an estate in Leicestershire with a substantial sum of money, on condition he took the name of HOOD. From then on the JACOMB-HOODS have been amongst the wealthier branches of the JACOMB(S) clan.
The early eighteen hundreds saw the name JACOMB appear in Devon, one family definitely came directly from Leicestershire, and as there was subsequent connection with London, it may have been that a family came from London to Devon as well, but this is speculation.
At sometime after 1850, families named JACOMB appeared in Lincolnshire and Durham. The Durham branch originated from Dudley and were recorded there under the name JACOMS in the mid 1800s. I believe two brothers moved from Dudley to the Durham area taking their mining skills with them. The Lincolnshire branch appear to be descendants of the Durham families and they seem to have adopted the JACOMBE version of the name on some occasions.
The JACOMBS variety of the name became settled in the Nuneaton area in the mid 1700s and the families largely stayed put around there until the early to mid 1800s, when the industrial revolution saw a number of them drawn to Birmingham and in one case to Lancashire. One branch established itself in Coventry from which one child emigrated to Australia in the mid 1800s giving rise to a substantial number of the JACOMBS found there today. A member of a closely related family went of to New Zealand at about the same time. Much later, in the 1960s, another JACOMBS family emigrated to Western Australia.
Two branches with the JACOMBS name appear around Walsall in the early 1800s, they are probably related to each other and to the Nuneaton lines, but I have not been able to establish how as yet.
The JACOM form seems to have survived in Staffordshire as it appears there from the early 1700s up to the early 1900s, and in one case as late as the 1980s, though how it links back the Nuneaton/Leicestershire area I do not know at present.
There is a JACOMBS ROAD in Richmond, Vancouver, BC, Canada, and two brothers emigrated there in the early 1900s, but both appear to died childless and I have not been able to find out why the road was so named.
With increasing mobility since the mid 20th century, the names are now found in many parts of the country and world far from their origins and linking new branches and individuals as they turn up may depend more and more on their own knowledge of the recent history of their family.
My earliest Jacombs ancestor for which the evidence is fairly robust is Francis Jacomb my 7G Grandfather who was buried in Nuneaton in 1716. There is speculative evidence of two further generations back, a Richard Jacam and an Anthony Jacam.
Anthony Jacam married Friswide Topper on 19th May 1601 in Nuneaton. They had at least four children:-
Of these children, more information has only been found about Richard. He was married to Alice Warde on 3rd February 1630 at Cottesbrooke in Northampton and the following is an extract from the "Session Order Book of Nuneaton 1650/1687" at Warwick Record Office.
"Upon information to this court that no person will inter-meddle with the goods of Richard Jacombe late of Nuneaton deceased which was therefore lost and the three children of the deceased like to fall upon the parish charge of Nuneaton. It is therefore thought fit and so ordered that Anthony Jacombe the father of the said Richard shall take the goods into his custody and make the best he can towards the maintenance of the children whom he is also to take care according to the law being their grandfather."
My father speculated that Richard may have lost his life in the Civil War and that the Francis Jacomb above was one of Richard's children. This is only speculation, and the destruction of records during the civil war may make this impossible to prove one way or another.
Francis Jacomb had several children, but my research has only found one that gave rise to lasting line of descent, Samuel Jacom who married Elizabeth Turner. From their two sons Samuel Jacombs my 5G grandfather and William Jacombs are descended all the Jacombs linked into my family tree and probably several of the as yet unconnected branches identified in the next section.
This descendant report shows all descendant in my tree from Anthony Jacam and Friswide Topper using the assumptions made above.
There are a number of Jacombs families which I have not yet been able to link into my tree. Their descendant reports can be found by following the links. The William Jacombs is probably another son of the Samuel Jacombs, but I have not found the evidence so far.
Several descendant reports of families with the name Jacomb, Jacombe etc can be found by following the links below. The reports have been largely constructed from easily available sources with some input from individuals who can be found in the credits. The information should be used as start for research which requires verification rather than taken as fully confirmed.
Last updated on 5th December 2011