Biography

Leslie Combs was born in Kentucky to Benjamin and Sarah (Richardson) Combs. Combs fought in the War of 1812 under Generals James Winchester and William Henry Harrison. After the war, he studied the law and after passing the bar in 1818 he practiced in Lexington, Kentucky. He served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1827-1829, 1833, 1845-1847, 1857-1859. Combs also served as a Clerk of the Court of Appeals for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He is referenced in a letter written by Henry Onderdonk Chesebro to then-acting Secretary of State, William H. Seward, dated March 30, 1864, as a affirmation to the loyalty of Daniel Vertner to the Union. The letter was written on behalf of Mrs. Elizabeth Vertner, his wife, who was petitioning for damages incurred to their Lexington home by Union occupation.