Setting the Record Straight: Untangling Chief Coboway and Chief Comcomly (Part 10)

Series: Beyond the Paper Trail: Unlocking Jennie McKay’s Roots in Oregon History

← Previous: Untamed Kinship — Two Sisters, Two Worlds: How Jennie McKay and Leila McKay Navigated 19th-Century Oregon (Part 9) 

Over the past years, my research into Jennie McKay’s paternal lineage has opened up a whole new perspective on the foundations of Oregon history, revealing the deep, vast interconnectedness of the Columbia River indigenous communities. Being introduced to Walking in the Great Circle served as a major catalyst in this work, particularly in shedding light to her family's direct connection to Jennie’s great-grandfather, Chief Comcomly. 

Alfred Agate's engraving Concomely's Tomb Astoria.

A Personal Connection to Quinault

Recently, seeing news of the Quinault Nation at Canoe Journey sparked a vivid memory of weeding through conflicting Ancestry records to untangle these ancient coastal family lines. That ongoing search ultimately led me to the ancestral DNA and primary sources connecting our family back to Quinault.

Uncovering the Breakthrough Record

That ongoing search led me to discover a critical primary source record that finally illuminated exactly who these leaders were and how their lineages connected. Before uncovering this document, public Ancestry trees and automated hints had muddled Chief Coboway and Chief Comcomly, combining them into a single person and blurring generations of distinct Clatsop and Chinook history. Finding the actual record not only set the historical record straight, but it also served as a powerful reminder of why we must always fact-check primary sources before blindly accepting online hints and adding them to a family tree.

The First-Cousin Discovery

That key record is a sworn 1914 affidavit, which explicitly states that Chief Coboway and Chief Comcomly were not the same person—they were actually first cousins. To understand how this pivotal document came to be, we first have to look at the man who gave the testimony.

1914 Chehalis County Affidavit: Sworn statement by Jim Julicus.

Who Was Jim Julicus?

To understand why this affidavit is such a game-changer for our research, it helps to know who gave the testimony. Jim Julicus was a respected local tribal elder living in Oakville, Washington (Chehalis County) around the turn of the 20th century, closely connected with the Upper Chehalis community.

During this era, government agencies and local courts relied heavily on tribal elders to provide sworn testimony regarding heritage, family ties, and land inheritance. Because traditional genealogies were preserved through living memory and oral history rather than written ledgers, elders like Julicus served as official, trusted knowledge-keepers. His sworn testimony ensured these ancestral ties were officially recorded—leaving us with the primary source evidence we need today to correct public errors.

Key Discoveries from the 1914 Affidavit:

Sworn on January 7, 1914, in Chehalis County, Washington, this affidavit by Jim Julicus explicitly lays out the ancestral lineage:

• The Primary Subject: Establishes the identity and lineage of Mrs. Zenaide Meyers (daughter of Victoire Labonte Gregoire).

• Direct Clatsop Lineage: Identifies Victoire’s mother as Margarete Coboway LaBonte (Ei-la-ko-tah Co-bo-way), daughter of the Clatsop leader Chief Yah-na-ka-sac Co-bo-way.

• Distinguishing the Chiefs & Uncovering Family Ties: Solves the long-standing question of whether these leaders were separate individuals. The affidavit explicitly confirms that Chief Coboway and Chief Con-com-elly (Chief Comcomly) were not only two distinct leaders from different nations, but that they were actually first cousins. 

Discovering this unexpected family tie unlocks an exciting new research direction into the deeply intertwined kinship networks and social structures of the Pacific Northwest.

Understanding Chief Komkomis: Chinook Roots and Quinault Kinship

To fully appreciate the connections in these records, it helps to look at the broader historical picture of Lower Columbia leadership. Historical and ethnographic records document Chief Komkomis as a prominent Lower Chinook headman along the Columbia River, as well as the father of the well-known leader Chief Comcomly.

While primary texts identify Komkomis as a Lower Chinook chief, his heritage reflects the complex intertribal kinship networks that defined the coastal Pacific Northwest. Intermarriage between high-ranking family lines of the Lower Chinook, Quinault, and Chehalis was a standard practice used to solidify regional alliances and secure trade networks. As a result, accounts indicate that Komkomis—and by extension Chief Comcomly—held significant Quinault and Chehalis lineage.

In modern online family trees, researchers often add "(Quinault)" to his profile name to denote these deep ancestral lines. Recognizing both his Lower Chinook leadership role and his multi-tribal family ties gives us a much clearer picture of how these ancient Columbia River and coastal families were intertwined.

Extended Kinship & Relatives: Details extended family relationships,
 citing ties to Chief Charles Mason, William Mason, Alice Jackson,
Bob Salakay, and O'Cok, as well as full cousins Silas Smith and Charlotte Offield

Uncovering New Pathways to Quinault Ties

Beyond clarifying the distinct lineages of Chief Coboway and Chief Comcomly, this document provides crucial proof of the broader web connecting these Columbia River and coastal leaders to Quinault ancestry.

In the affidavit, Zenaide explicitly identifies a network of shared kinship, naming direct family relationships to:

• Silas Smith and Charlotte Offield (full cousins)

Connecting the Ancestry Tree to the 1914 Affidavit

The family tree above maps out the direct hereditary line established across the 1914 affidavit and enrollment testimony:

• Yah-na-ka-sac Coboway (Chief Coboway): Positioned at the top of the tree as the Clatsop leader and father of the Coboway sisters.

• Margarete Coboway LaBonte (Ki-la-kotah): Daughter of Chief Coboway, anchoring the maternal line down through the LaBonte/McMillan families

Margarete Ki-la-kotah Coboway
Margarete Coboway LaBonte (Ki-la-kotah): Daughter of Chief Coboway, anchoring the maternal line down through the LaBonte/McMillan families. Following her marriage to Louis LaBonte Sr., she settled at French Prairie, establishing one of the earliest foundational Native homesteading branches in the Willamette Valley, with many of her descendants later becoming enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde

• Victoire Labonte Gregoire: Daughter of Ki-la-kotah, explicitly named in the sworn statements as the direct link to the affiant's line.

• Zenaide Gregoire (Meyers): Positioned in the tree as the daughter of Victoire Labonte Gregoire, directly matching the testimony regarding her immediate parentage.

Zenaide Gregoire 

• Silas Bryant Smith & Charlotte Offield: Positioned in the tree as grandchildren of Chief Coboway (through Celiast Coboway), matching Zenaide’s sworn testimony identifying them as her full cousins.

Silas Bryant Smith

• Chief Charles Mason, William Mason, Alice Jackson, 

Pinpointing the Paternal Quinault Roots

Crucially, the sworn affidavit records that Chief Comcomly’s father was of the Quinault people "for many generations back." This key detail establishes that the core ancestral tie to the Quinault Nation originates directly through Chief Comcomly’s paternal line, anchoring his family's hereditary leadership and land rights deep within Quinault history.

• Bob Salakay, and O'Cok

Who Was Bob Salakay?

In her sworn application affidavit, Zenaide Meyers explicitly names Bob Salakay as one of her key hereditary relatives. Documenting his position in the family tree provides another critical bridge between Clatsop, Lower Chinook, and Quinault lineages:

• Regional Kinship Connection: Bob Salakay (also recorded in historical rolls as Salakike or Salakee) was a prominent elder and relative within the interconnected coastal families of the Columbia River and Shoalwater/Quinault regions.

• Corroborating Oral and Documented Lineage: Being named under oath alongside Chief Charles Mason and Silas Smith confirms that Bob Salakay belonged to the same closely knit, high-ranking family network descending from the Coboway and Comcomly lines.

• Validating Enrollment Rights: His inclusion in Zenaide's sworn statement served as vital primary-source proof for federal enumerators, demonstrating that her ancestral ties were recognized across multiple respected branches of the community.

Each of these names provides documented proof of the generational bridges connecting Clatsop, Chinook, and Quinault families. Rather than relying on speculative online trees, having these specific relatives recorded in a sworn 1914 document gives us a concrete, source-verified foundation to follow as we continue researching our Quinault ties.

Mapping Bob Salakay’s Lineage and Clatsop Leadership Connections

The family tree above illustrates the multi-generational ancestral lines connecting Bob Salakay (Robert Solakie) directly to high-ranking Clatsop leadership:

• Queanequas & Sister of Tostum Clatsop: Positioned at the top of the tree, anchoring the ancestral line. Highlighting a Sister of Chief Tostum connects this branch directly to Chief Coboway's immediate family, as Chief Tostum was Coboway’s nephew and designated successor as Clatsop leader.

• Robert "Bob" Solakie / Salakay (1826–1926): Son of Queanequas and the Sister of Tostum, centered in the tree as a key elder and relative explicitly named in Zenaide Meyers’ enrollment affidavit.

• Mary Silieki (1844–1900): Named alongside Robert Solakie, representing the parental generation that preserved these intertribal connections.

• Multi-Generational Relatives & Descendants: Maps out the immediate siblings and extended family—including Agnes James, Lizzie Salakike, Silas S. Bobb, Amos Comenout, and "Annie" A.C. Williams—demonstrating how these Clatsop, Chinook, and Quinault lines continued through subsequent generations.

Why This Connection Matters

Including Bob Salakay in the sworn testimony—and identifying his mother as a sister of Chief Tostum—provides crucial primary-source proof of the shared hereditary bond between the Coboway and Tostum leadership networks. It highlights for federal enumerators that these interconnected family lines were recognized across the entire coastal community.

Reinforcing the Connection Across Documents

What makes this record so valuable is how smoothly it fits right alongside the 1914 affidavit. Having two separate documents confirm that Chief Coboway and Chief Comcomly were first cousins gives us solid proof of who they were—and replaces public internet guesswork with actual history. Plus, confirming that Chief Comcomly’s father came from a long line of Quinault ancestors grounds these coastal connections in real records.

Since Comcomly’s Quinault roots came straight through his father's side, his first-cousin bond with Chief Coboway naturally points to his mother's side. That maternal line tied his family directly into the regional Clatsop and Chinook leadership networks, showing just how closely allied these coastal communities really were.

But when you step back and look at the math, a bigger picture comes into focus. Since Comcomly’s paternal side accounts for his Quinault bloodline, the shared grandparents linking him to Chief Coboway mean Coboway’s own branch carried those same deep Quinault ties. Long before census takers started putting folks into single tribal boxes, these families were already building a rich, shared heritage across the region.

Looking Ahead: The Unexplored Quinault Line of Chief Coboway

Historical markers and federal censuses loved to lock Columbia River leaders into simple, single-tribe boxes. But when you map out these old affidavits, a much bigger picture comes into focus. Since Chief Comcomly’s Quinault roots came through his father’s side, his first-cousin bond with Chief Coboway means Coboway carried those same Quinault ties through their shared grandparents. Next time, we’ll dive into this hidden side of Chief Coboway’s family tree and see how these coastal marriages completely rewrite what we think we know about early Clatsop leaders.

Historical map showing the Mouth of the Columbia River, detailing early navigation lines, coastal landmarks, and traditional Chinook and Clatsop territories.

This historic map of the Columbia River estuary highlights the critical geographical hub connecting Clatsop and Chinook lands. Understanding this coastal waterway—and the travel routes between Shoalwater Bay, the Columbia, and Quinault territory—illustrates how these families maintained their close kinship, trade networks, and shared leadership for generations.
 

Primary Historical Documents & Affidavits

• 1914 Chehalis County Sworn Affidavit (Jan 7, 1914): Sworn testimony by tribal elder Jim Julicus in Chehalis County, Washington, regarding the ancestry of Mrs. Zenaide Gregoire Meyers, detailing the first-cousin relationship between Chief Coboway and Chief Comcomly, as well as extended kinship networks.

• SWORP / NARA Tribal Enrollment & Heirship Records: Federal enrollment applications, depositions, and heirship affidavits filed for Columbia River, Chinook, Clatsop, and Quinault heritage verification (including records associated with Zenaide Meyers, Victoire Labonte Gregoire, Bob Salakay/Solakie, Silas Bryant Smith, and Charlotte Offield).

• 1854 Kautz Census Table: Census records compiled by Lieutenant August V. Kautz documenting 19th-century coastal tribal village populations along the Lower Columbia and Pacific Coast.

Archival & Literary References

• Walking in the Great Circle: The regional historical/genealogical reference text cited as the initial catalyst for tracing Jennie McKay’s paternal lineage and connections to Chief Comcomly.

• National Archives at Seattle (NARA) & University of Oregon Libraries (SWORP Collection): Archival holdings containing unindexed land allotments, probate files, and agency depositions.

Visual & Historical Media Engravings

• Alfred Agate’s Engraving: "Concomely's Tomb, Astoria" (created during the U.S. Exploring Expedition under Charles Wilkes, mid-19th century).