References
John Cummings (1820, Thurles, Tipperary – after 1901, Lingan, New Waterford, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia)
Books: First Marriage, Archdiocesan Archives, St. John's, Newfoundland and the Archives at the Colonial Building in St. John's. The Marriage Register noted that he was from Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland.
Web Sites: Ancestry, Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers; National Library of Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers; FamilySearch, Newfoundland Church Records, 1793 – 1945; Automated Census of Canada, 1901, Cape Breton County; and Ancestry, Census of Canada, 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901.
John Cummings in the Ireland, Catholic Parish Registers, 1655-1915
Name: John Cummings
Baptism Age: 0
Event Type: Baptism
Birth Date: 1821
Baptism Date: 4 Jun 1821
Baptism Place: Thurles, Tipperary, Ireland
Diocese: Cashel and Emly
Father: John Cummings
Mother: Margret Callanan
John Cummings in FamilySearch Marriage in St John’s Newfoundland Church Records
John's marriage to Johanna Maher was recorded in the Marriage Register of the Parish of St John in St John's Newfoundland in 1839. (The Church is now a Basilica.) The priest indicated that he was from Thurles, Tipperary. He was 19. I believe that Johanna Maher was 2 to 5 years older. Please note that currently the registers can only be browsed.
The five children were:
- Elizabeth (Baptized 2 September 1844);
- Michael (1844);
- Mary Anastasia (Baptized 16 July 1848);
- John (Baptized 21 July 1844) and
- Thomas James (Baptized 8 June 1854). Please note that I believe that Thomas James passed away before the Census of 1871. I can’t find a death record for Thomas James.
Please note that I suspect that the family moved from Newfoundland to Lingan sometime before 1871. Why? I can’tfind the family in the 1861 Head of Household Census. Also, John’s oldest son married in Lingan in 1871. John’s daughter Mary Anistasia (Annie) was married in 1872.
John is in the following Nova Scotia Censuses: 1871, 1881, 1891, and 1901. Please note that the Years of birth vary in all 4 censuses. (I use the 1901 Census birth date in my database because he was probably the informant.)
John Cummings in the 1871 Census of Canada:
Name: John Cummings
Gender: Male
Age: 47
Birth Year: abt 1824
Birth Place: Ireland
Marital Status: Married
Religion: Catholic
Origin: Irish
Province: Nova Scotia
District: Cape Breton
District Number: 205
Division: 01
Subdistrict: Lingan
Subdistrict Number: h
Household Members:
John Cummings in the 1881 Census of Canada
Name: John Cummings
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Age: 65
Birth Year: 1816
Birthplace: Newfoundland
Religion: Roman Catholic
Nationality: Irish
Occupation: Fisherman
Province: Nova Scotia
District Number: 6
District: Cape Breton
Sub-District Number: I
Subdistrict: Lingan
Household Members:
Name Age
John Cummings 65
Johanna Cummings 65
Please note that I am surprised that Johanna was enumerated. Johanna died in February 1881.
Supposedly, John married Sarah Nicholson in 1882.
John Cummings in the 1891 Census of Canada
Name: John Cummings
Gender: Male
Marital Status: Married
Age: 73
Birth Year: abt 1818
Birthplace: Ireland
Relation to Head-of-house: Head
Religion: Roman Catholic
French Canadian: No
Spouse's Name: Sarah Cummings
Father's Birth Place: Ireland
Mother's Birth Place: Ireland
Province: Nova Scotia
District Number: 28
District: Cape Breton
Subdistrict: Lingan
Neighbors: View others on page
Household Members:
Name Age
John Cummings 73
Sarah Cummings 50
James Cummings 8
Thomas Cummings 5
John Cummings in the Census of Canada, 1901
In the Automated Census of Canada for 1901, he was listed as being born on May 24, 1820. He was living with Sarah (Nicholson) Cummings his second wife and their 2 children.
Cummings John M Head M May 24 1820 80
Cummings Sarah F Wife M Dec 25 1839 61
Cummings James M Son S Jul 17 1883 17
Cummings Thomas M Son S Nov 20 1885 15
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Because his first wife's obituary was published in the Newfoundland Harbour Grace Standard Newspaper in 1881, I concluded that either John, or Johanna (or both) spent time in Harbour Grace or any community near Harbour Grace. There was a John Cummins in Harbour Grace in 1806 and I wonder if the two Johns were related. Michael Mahar was a policeman and Mrs. Mahar had a tailor shop. I wonder if they were Johanna's kin.
I browsed the Marriage and Christening records for the RC Parish of Thurles from 1794 to 1820 in the July 2016 National Library of Ireland web site database. There were an amazing number of Mahers in the Marriage and Baptism registers. John Cummings son of George Cummings and Mary Barton was the only other Cummings in the date range. He is not in the Ancestry database. A record of John Cummings, son of John Cummings and Margaret Callanan is in Ancestry. In my database, I record John and Margaret as my 3rd great grandparents. Why? The Given Name is George and there are none in John’s family or his descendants. Irish Naming Pattern is my rationale.
I can't find a marriage record for John’s parents in Thurles.
A Cummings researcher indicated that John was successful in Newfoundland, had a boat and other assets.
Typically, people left Newfoundland in the 1850 - 1870s to work elsewhere for various reasons like declining fishing stocks. John was a fisherman in both Newfoundland and in Cape Breton. He may in fact have been a transient fisherman who decided to buy property and stay in Cape Breton. I believe that he moved when he was in his 40s.
Finally, I can't find a death record for John, my 2 gg grandfather.
| Additional Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of Birth | 24th May 1820 | |
| Father (First Name/s and Surname) | John Cummings | |
| Mother (First Name/s and Maiden) | Margaret Callanan | |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Johanna Maher (first wife) | |
| Place & Date of Marriage | St John in St John's Newfoundland in 1839. | |
| Spouse (First Name/s and Maiden/Surname) | Sarah Nicholson (2nd wife, married in 1882) | |
| Names of Children | Michl Cummings Anastatia Cummings John Cummings James 1883 Thomas 1885 | |
