William J. Coombs

William J. Coombs

William Jerome Coombs (December 24, 1833 – January 12, 1922) was a Bourbon Democrat member of the United States House of Representatives from New York.

Born in Jordan, New York, Coombs attended the Jordan Academy there. He moved to New York City in 1850, and in 1855 to Brooklyn. In 1856, he started a business exporting American products, which he did for the next 37 years.

He ran for Congress in 1888, but lost. Coombs ran again in 1890 and was elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second Congress. He ran for reelection in 1892 and won a seat in the Fifty-third Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894.

President Grover Cleveland appointed Coombs a director of the Union Pacific Railroad in 1894, with special commission to collect the debts due the United States Government from the various Pacific railroads.

Coombs later served as president of the Manufacturers' Terminal Co., and after that headed the Title Guarantee & Trust Co. of Brooklyn.

In 1904, Coombs became president of the South Brooklyn Savings Institution, in which capacity he served until his death on January 12, 1922, age 88. He was interred in Green-Wood Cemetery.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• William J. Coombs at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by William C. Wallace	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 3rd congressional district 1891–1893	Succeeded by Joseph C. Hendrix
Preceded by John M. Clancy	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 4th congressional district 1893–1895	Succeeded by Israel F. Fischer