Corporal John Cummings

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Corporal John Cummings (bp. 1630–1700), son of Isaac Cummings and Anne Unknown

Sarah Howlett (say 1639–1700), daughter of Thomas Howlett and Alice French

John was born about 1629/1630. [1, 239, says that he was 50 in 1679][2: he deposed that he was 40 in 1673 and in 1674 and 47 in 1678, but this is not possible. ] He was baptised on 9 May 1630 in Mistley, county Essex. [1, 239] He died on 1 Dec 1700 in Dunstable. [1, 239] He married Sarah Howlett, the daughter of Ensign Thomas and Alice (French) Howlett of Ipswich. [3, 2] about 1655 in Boxford. [4]

Sarah Howlett was born say 1639. [5] Sarah, the wife of John, died on 7 December 1700 in Woburn. [6, 212]

Sarah's father refers to Sarah as Sarah Cummings in his will of 4 November 1677. [5]

John Cummings moved to Boxford about 1658. [3, 2]

John Cummings was confirmed a corporal on 26: 4: 1666. [2, 3:336] He was on a jury on 26 March 1672, 28 September 1675, 27 March 1677, 25 September 1677 and 24 September 1678 at the court in Ipswich. [2, 5:1; 6: 63, 238, 318; 7:82]

John was a freeman in 1673. [3, 2]

John's father left him his house and 40 acres of land in his will of 8 (3) 1677. [3, xiv] He sold the land that his father left him in 1680 and moved to Dunstable at about that time. [3, 2]

On 7 December 1685 the church in Topsfield "voted dismission to John Cummings without commendation and dismissed his wife with commendation to the church shortly to be gathered at Dunstable." [3, 2]

John was a selectman in Dunstable in 1682 and a member of the church in 1684. [3, 2]

Children of John Cummings and Sarah Howlett:

i. John Cummings was born about 1657 in Boxford. He married Elizabeth Kinsley.

ii. Thomas Cummings was born on 6 October 1658 in Boxford. [3, 6] He died on 23 October 1722. [3, 6] He married Priscilla, the daughter of Samuel and Mercy (Swan) Warner, on 19 Decenber 1688. [3, 6] She was born on 25 September 1666. [3, 6]

iii. Nathaniel Cummings was born on 10 September 1659 in Topsfield. [7, 27] Nathaniel of Dunstable married Abigail Parkhurst on 14 April 1697 in Chelmsford. [9]

iv. Sarah Cummings was born on 28 January 1661/2 in Topsfield. [7, 26][2, 2: 346] Sarah, the daughter of John Cummmings of Dunstable, married Samuel French on 28 December 1682 in Chelmsford. [10, 120, or 26 December 1682 or 7 February 1683] Lieutenant Samuel French, the son of Lieutenant William and Elizabeth French, was born about 1660 in Billerica. [8]

v. Abraham Cummings married Sarah, the daughter of Deacon Joseph and Elizabeth (Hasslet) Wright of Woburn, on 28 February 1687. [3, 7] Sarah died on 25 December 1752. [3, 7] She married second Aaron, the son of Phinehas and Mary (Priest) Pratt, on 4 September 1707. [3, 7] Aaron was born in 1654 in Charlestown and died on 23 February 18[7?]35. [3, 7]

vi. Isaac Cummings died on 2 November 1688 in Dunstable. [10, 213] He and his brother Ebenezer were killed by Indians, and they were not buried until 28 November. [3, 3]

vii. Ebenezer Cummings died on 2 November 1688 in Dunstable. [10, 213]

viii. William Cummings (twin) was born on 5 August 1671 in Topsfield. [7, 27][2, 5:125] He died on 30 March 1672 in Topsfield. [2, 5:125]

ix. Eleazer Cummings (twin) was born on 5 August 1671 inTopsfield. [7, 26]

x. Benjamin Cummings was born on 23 February 1672/3[?] in Topsfield. [7, 26][2, 5: 124]

xi. Samuel Cummings was born on 28 December 1677 in Topsfield. [3, 3]

xii. Alice Cummings is mentioned in the will of her grandfather Thomas Howlett. [11]

Endnotes:

1. John Plummer, "Isaac Cummings of Essex County, Massachusetts," New England Historical and Genealogical Register 145 (1991).

2. George Francis Dow, ed., and Harriet S. Tapley, trans., Records and Files of the Quarterly Courts of Essex County, 9 vols., digitized books, Salem Witch Trials: Documentary Archive and Transcription Project (http://salem.lib.virginia.edu).

3. Albert Oren Cummins, Cummings Genealogy: Isaac Cummings, 1601-1677, of Ipswich in 1638 and Some of His Descendants (Montpelier: A.O. Cummins, 1904).

4. "New England Marriages to 1700," digitized books, AmericanAncestors, originally published as Clarence Almon Torrey, New England Marriages Prior to 1700 (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 2015), vol. 1: 404.

5. "The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620–1633, Volumes I-III," digitized book, AmericanAncestors.org, originally published as: Robert Charles Anderson, The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633, 3 volumes (Boston: New England Historic Genealogical Society, 1995), 1024–8.

7.Vital Records of Topsfield, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Topsfield: Topsfield Historical Society, 1903).

8. Ezra S. Stearns, Early Generations of the Founders of Old Dunstable: Thirty Families (Boston: George E. Littlefield, 1911).

9. Vital Records of Chelmsford, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Salem: Essex Institute, 1914), 209.

10. Vital Records of Dunstable, Massachusetts: To the End of the Year 1849 (Salem: Essex Institute, 1913).

11. "The Great Migration Begins."

Revised 04-Jun-2023