Son of William Nelson Coombes & Kate (Freeman).
Grand Master of Grand Lodge of Texas, F & A Masons
12.11.1885 to 12.17.1886
Civil War Veteran- Co G, 31 Texas Cav, CSA
Dallas County Judge: 1866-1868
Lawyer 1870
City of Dallas Alderman in 1871
State Representative to the 9th Texas Legislature, 1883-1885

As acting Grand Master of the Masons, Judge Zachariah Ellis Coombes, Sr. laid the 12,000 pound cornerstone of the Texas State Capitol in Austin on 02 March 1885, the 49th anniversary of Texas independence. A zinc box placed inside the cornerstone contained a stone from the first limestone Capitol, currency of the Republic of Texas and of the Confederate States of America along with an Austin City Directory, a meal ticket from 1862 worth 25 cents and some other smaller objects

01 Apr 1881 A printed "Resolution" from the Dallas bar regarding Judge Z. E. COOMBES along with a picture of him. The picture states on the back that it was: Z. E. COOMBES taken about the 1st April 1881, and was attached to the Resolution as follows:

Judge Z. E. Coombes
Departed This life Nov. 20, 1895
The Dallas Bar
Resolutions of the Respect to the Memory of Judge Z. E. Coombes

The bar association met yesterday to receive and consider resolutions of respect to Judge COOMBES' memory, President W. B. Gano in the chair. The committee on resolutions reported as follows:

Z. E. COOMBES was born in Nelson county, Kentucky, in 1833 and came to Dallas in 1842, and has resided here ever since. He was county clerk in Dallas County for many years, the county judge. About 1870 he began active law practice, first a member of the firm of COOMBES & BOWER, then GOOD, BOWER & COOMBES, and later COOMBES & GANO, which last firm existed for ten years. He was past Grand Master of the Masons of Texas. He at one time represented this county in the legislature. He was a splendid soldier all through our civil war in the confederate army. His religion was dear to him, and he had long been a worthy member of the Christian church. Death has taken him from us, and his brother lawyers now assembled do therefore

Resloved, that Z. E. COOMBES in his life was a good citizen, a true man, a faithful lawyer and a consistent chrisian, and in saying this we are justified by the record he has left with us -- what each member of this bar would wish may be said of him when he, toom shall have passed away.

Resolved further, that this tribute of brother lawyers so his memory, sincere as it be, will shine on the records of our courts with a more gracious luster if we are enabled to emulate the purity and the goodness as well as the professional ability of the life of our departed brother.

Resolved further, that a copy of these resolutions shall be conveyed to his bereaved family, and presented to our different firms for record upon their minutes.

Philip Lindsley
R. E. Burke
W. B. Gano
E. G. Bower
W. W. Leake
Edward Gray,
committee.

The resolutions being adopted, the following members of the bar were appointed to represented them to the courts: W. B. GANO to the civil court of appeals; Philip LINDSLEY to the United States circuit court; Judge Tucker to the forty-fourth district court; Col. Leake to the fourteenth district court; J. M. Dickson to the county court; Judge Bower to the court of criminal appeals; R. B. Seay to the criminal district court.

Eloquent tribute to the worth and character of Judge COOMBES, in tender and feeling tones, were made by Judge Reaves, Henry, Burke, Tucker, Gray and by Messrs. Seay, Gano and De Arnold.
The following members of the bar were appointed pallbears: W. B. Gano. Charles Fred Tucker, John L. Henry, Philip Lindsley, John Bookout, and J. D Thomas.
It was moved and carried that The News and Times Herald be requested to publish the resolutions."