Robert H. Coombs residence

Robert H. Coombs residence

Robert H. Coombs sitting on his carriage pulled by his horse (probably Elva) in front of his house on Northport Avenue Captain Robert Hudson Coombs (1828-1897) was a sea captain from Belfast, Maine. He married Harriet Pendleton in 1850 (d. June 7, 1894). Robert Coombs died Nov. 7, 1897 at age 69 When Captain Coombs retired from sea, he purchased a furniture and undertaking business and operated it as R. H. Coombs & Son, in partnership with his son Charles. Charles took over the business after his father's death and concentrated on the funeral home business. Coombs Funeral Home remained a highly-respected Belfast business until Charles's son, Horace, retired in 1969. In 1884, a skating-rink was erected by Capt. Coombs, between High and Union streets, east of the Frothingham lot, was opened. The building was one hundred by seventy feet, on the ground, and thirty four feet high, with a hip roof. Captain Coombs's Skating-Rink was sold to Frank Bowdoin Mathews In August of 1892. Capt. Coombs was granted a patent for roller skates in 1883. Captain Robert Hudson Coombs built his home, shown here, on Northport Avenue Ca. 1850 where he lived with his wife Harriet Pendleton Coombs, whom he married in 1850. On February 27, 1898, the House and buildings of the late Captain Robert Hudson Coombs, on Northport Avenue, occupied by his son, Charles Robert Coombs, took fire from an unknown cause. The house was saved in a damaged condition.