Untitled - citizen hylbom blog

688 SOUTHEASTERX MASSACHUSETTS
the family name, the late Charles S. Cummings
of tlie same city, who worthily wore it
and sustained the family reputation, now upheld
by his nephew and successor, Benjamin
Cumraings.
It may be of interest to state that among
some of the worthies of the New England
Cummingses, some who have achieved more
than an ordinary or local fame, are : Maria
Susanna Cummins, the author, a native of
Salem, Mass., one of whose works, "The Lamplighter,"
published when she was twenty-seven,
was instantly popular, over forty thousand copies
being sold within two months, and when
republished in England was received with even
greater approbation, the sale reacliing upward
of one hundred and twenty thousand copies.
.Of this book said a writer : "The work is one
of the noted successes in American fiction, be-
ing exceeded only by
novels like 'Ben Hur'
and 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.' Had Miss Cummins
written nothing else she had earned the
title of fame." Revs. William and Moses Cum-
mings, father and son, were pious clergymen
of the Christian sect, the former being the
founder of his church in New England and the
latter the editor of the "Christian Herald and
and Grace Andrews. He resided in Topsfield,
and was elected deacon of the church June 13,
1686. He was an influential man of the town,
and served as selectman, treasurer, constable
and tithingman. He was made a freeman in
1673, and in 1675 was impressed for the Narragansett
expedition. He died in 1731. His
children were: Isaac, born Sept. 15, 1664;
John, June 7, 1666; Thomas, June 27, 1670;
Mary, Feb. 16, 167—; Rebecca. April 1, 1674;
Abigail ; and three sons that died in infancy.
(III) John Cummings, son of Deacon Isaac,
born in Topsfield June 7, 1666, was quite a
large landholder in his native town. He mar-
ried Jan. 23, 1688, Susannah, daughter of
Joseph and Phebe' (Perkins) Towne. She was
born Dec. 24, 1670, and died Sept. 13, 1766.
The children born of this union were : Joseph,
baptized Jan. 26, 1689-90 ; John, baptized
July 17, 1692; Isaac, born Dec. 25, 1695;
David, born April 15, 1698; Mai-y, born May
15, 1700; Susannah, born Jan. 3, 1701-02;
Stebbins, born Aug. 3, 1706; Samuel, born
Feb. 14, 1708-09; and Rebecca, baptized Nov.
1, 1713.
(IV) John Cummings, son of John, baptized
in Topsfield July 17, 1692, married (intentions
published) Feb. 18, 1715, Mary,
daughter of Isaac and Martha (Towne) Larrabee,
of Lynn, Mass. He was a shoemaker by
trade. In 1727 he removed to Southboro,
Mass., where he bought a farm from John
Howe. In his will he mentions his son John
"if he shall ever return from His Majesty's
service." He died Feb. 29, 1756. His children
were: John, bom April 19, 1717; Hannah,
Nov. 6, 1718; Mercy, Oct. 26, 1720; Benjamin,
Sept. 12, 1723 (died Nov. 27, 1731);
Reuben, Jan. 29, 1726; Sarah. May 30, 1729;
Benjamin, Oct. 7, 1731 ; and Joseph, Feb. 5,
173.3.
Messenger" and the "Palladium." It was the
latter's son, the Hon. Amos Jay Cummings, a
gallant soldier of the Civil war, who later won
national reputation as a newspaper correspondent,
was president of the New York Press
Club, represented the Wall street Congressional
district in the Fiftieth United States Congress
and later succeeded the late Hon. S. S. Cox
in the Ninth New York district. And another
of the literary New England Cummingses
following the learned professions was
Eev. Joseph Cummings, D.D., LL.D., educator
and clergyman of the M. E. Church, and for
years president of the Wesleyan University and
subsequently of the Northwestern University
at Kvanston, Illinois.
(V) Joseph Cummings, son of John, born
Feb. 5, 1733, in Middletown, married Sept. 11,
1753, Elizabeth, daughter
(II) Deacon Isaac Cummings, son of Isaac
of Ipswich and Topsfield, born in 1633, married
Nov. 27, 1659. Mary, daughter of Robert
of Andrew Allard,
of Framinghara, and lived in Southboro, Mass.
In 1767 he made an exchange with David
Goddard, giving his farm in Southboro for a
farm in Athol. He served as corporal in Captain
Dexter's company at Lexington he was also
;
at Bunker Hill, and in 1777 marched against
the forces of Burgoyne. He was elected to
office in his town, which he served many years.
He died Feb. 25, 1818, in Phillipston, Mass.
His children were : Joseph, born in Southboro,
Oct. 13, 1754, a Revolutionary soldier; Elizabeth,
born in Southboro Feb. 8, 1757; John,
born in Southboro Aug. 13, 1759, a Revolutionary
soldier; Benjamin, bom in Southboro
Feb. 8, 1764; Stephen, born in Southboro May
8, 1766; Daniel, born in Athol May' 20, 1768,
who died young; Nathan, horn in Athol April
8, 1771; Samuel, born in Athol Feb. 2, 1773;
Susy, born in Athol Jan. 7, 1778; and Daniel,
born in Athol Jan. 27, 1781.
(VI) Benjamin Cummings, son of Joseph,
born in Southboro Feb. 8, 1764, married Jan.
10, 1780, Mehitable Rider. He was a sea captain
and was known as Capt. Benjamin. His
children were: Rebecka, born Oct. 22, 1781,
who married Joseph Smith and moved to