Frank Coombs (politician) explained

Frank Coombs
State1:California
Term Start1:March 4, 1901
Term End1:March 3, 1903
Predecessor1:John All Barham
Successor1:James Gillett
Office2:United States Minister to Japan
President2:Benjamin Harrison
Grover Cleveland
Term Start2:June 13, 1892
Term End2:July 14, 1893
Resting Place:Tulocay Cemetery
Predecessor2:John Franklin Swift
Successor2:Edwin Dun
Office3:28th Speaker of the California State Assembly
Term3:January 1897 - March 1897
Predecessor3:John C. Lynch
Successor3:Howard E. Wright
Term4:January 1891 - March 1891
Predecessor4:Robert Howe
Successor4:Frank H. Gould
Office5:Member of the California State Assembly
Constituency5:11th district
Term5:1921 - 1931
Predecessor5:Bismarck Bruck
Successor5:Roy J. Nielsen
Constituency6:18th district
Term6:1897 - 1899
Predecessor6:Owen Wade
Successor6:Owen Wade
Constituency7:22nd district
Term7:1887 - 1893
Predecessor7:Henry A. Pellet
Successor7:Eben B. Owen
Office8:District Attorney of Napa County
Term8:1880 - 1885
Birth Name:Frank Leslie Coombs
Birth Date:27 December 1853
Birth Place:Napa, California, U.S.
Death Place:Napa, California, U.S.
Party:Republican

Frank Leslie Coombs (December 27, 1853  - October 5, 1934) was an American lawyer and politician who served one term as a congressman from California from 1901 to 1903.

Early life and education

Frank Leslie Coombs was born in Napa, California, the son of Nathan Coombs and Maria Isabel Gordon. His maternal grandparents were William Gordon (who was a naturalized Mexican citizen originally from Ohio) and Juana Maria Lucero (who was Mexican).[1] Coombs attended the public schools in California and Dorchester High School in Boston, Massachusetts. He graduated from the law department of Columbian University (now George Washington University Law School), Washington, D.C., in 1875.

Career

Coombs was admitted to the bar in 1875 and commenced practice in Napa. He was the District Attorney of Napa County from 1880 to 1885.

Coombs was a member of the California State Assembly, serving from 1887 to 1893 and 1897 to 1899, each time representing Napa County, and served as Speaker in 1891 and again in 1897. On the death of John F. Swift, he was appointed United States Minister to Japan and served from June 1892 to August 1893. He was the State Librarian of California from April 1, 1898, to April 1, 1899. Coombs was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of California from April 1, 1899, to March 1, 1901.

Congress

Coombs was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-seventh Congress (March 4, 1901 to March 3, 1903) from the 1st congressional district of California. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1902 in his redrawn district, which had been renumbered as the 2nd congressional district, losing by 49.2% to 48.3% to Democrat Theodore A. Bell.

Later career and death

Coombs resumed the practice of law in Napa, and was again a member of the State Assembly from 1921 to 1931,[2] representing Napa and Lake counties.

He died in Napa at age 80, and was buried in Tulocay Cemetery.

Electoral history

1900

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.bellavistaranch.net/genealogy/loney_and_gordon.html
  2. Web site: Vassar & Meyers . Frank L. Coombs . JoinCalifornia . 6 January 2023.