John Steward Cummings

Lately, each time I consider writing about one of my ancestors, I realize I need more information. I start searching for it, end up lost in online records for weeks, and the posts don't get written. Today I had the opposite experience. I found a "new" record about my ggg grandfather, John S. Cummings, and realized I have lots of information about him. Time for a new post!

John Cummings is the grandfather of Harriet Adelphia Cummings, my dad's grandma. He lived a full life that started in the Cooperstown area and ended near Trout Creek (not far from where Harriet was born). I visited these beautiful places in upstate New York a few years ago.

The new record I found today was from the "New York Town Clerk's Registers of Men Who Served in the Civil War." This record shows that John's parents were James and Mary (Cole) Cummings. John enlisted in August, 1864 when he was 44 years old and was a private in Company G, the 1st New York Volunteer Engineers. By the time he enlisted, he had fathered six children - Nancy (1846), James (1849), Emma (1852), George (1854), Charles (1857) and Louisa (1859). I always think of wars being fought by single young men, but John is a reminder that families were often left behind to manage on their own.

1st New York Engineers

In actuality, John's family didn't have to manage for too long without him as John was discharged along with the rest of his company July 3, 1865.

The 1860 census shows that John and his wife Ruth (Niles) each had their own farm land. According to the census, John's land was worth $600 while the value of Ruth's land was $1,000. Ruth formally acquired land from her father, Thomas Niles, via a deed dated August 23, 1860, recorded March 29, 1861: Bk. 53, p.673:

Thomas Niles, seller, of town Masonville, Del. Co., N.Y. to Ruth A. Cummings, of same, sells, grants, and conveys all that certain piece of land in said town of Masonville, 45 A. to be laid out in a square as nearly as maybe, in the S.E. corner of lot No 60 and around 40 A. in the S.E. corner of lot No 60, in Rappelyea pat. containing in the whole 85 A. of land, with the appurtenances, & all the estate, title, and interest therein, of the said party of the first part, and warrants her complete possession.

Signed, Thomas Niles

Masonville General Store, New York

The land Thomas Niles sold to Ruth was on the lower border of the town of Masonville, in the Trout Creek area. I don't know how long she kept the land, and Ruth died sometime between 1860 and 1870.

An historic 1869 map of the township of Tompkins shows John's land. It was about 8 miles southwest of Ruth's land. If you click on the link below and zoom in to District 30 (which is green), you'll see "J. Cummings" in the lower section. (Although this is a commercial site, anyone can look at the maps for free.)

Map of Tompkins

The next link shows an overlay of the 1869 map with the current landscape. You may need to move the map to view District 30. You can change the opacity of the overlay by moving the lever on the right.

Overlay of 1869 map and current view

One more link - this time to a satellite view of the area marked to show the approximate location of John's land. The land is currently forest, which surprised me. But in researching the area, I learned it wasn't very profitable farmland, and over the years, people left the area and the land was reforested.

Current View of John Cummings' land

John remarried by 1870, but by 1875, he was a widower again. Even so, his house was full as George (20), Emma (22), Charles (18), Louisa (16), and Anna (11) were all living with John in 1875.

The 1875 New York state agricultural census shows the family was fairly prosperous. John's farm was worth $5,000. Among other crops, they harvested 80 tons of hay, 400 bushels oats, 180 bushels potatoes, 78 bushels of apples (off 150 trees), and 178 pounds of maple sugar. They had 13 milch cows and made 1400 pounds of butter. The complete list is below.

1875 Agricultural Census

Dairy farming was a main industry of Delaware County, and William Gifford, father to John's daughter-in-law Mary Jane also operated a successful dairy farm.

In 1889, John Cummings died at or near Dry Brook, likely at home. Dry Brook is a local name for the area where John lived in Tompkins. He was buried in the Cannonsville Cemetery, but his remains were moved to Hale Eddy Cemetery, Sanford, Broome Co. NY when the Cannonsville reservoir was built in the early 1960s.

H. A. Cummings, Sales Agent

My grandfather, Charles Holland Canfield, told colorful stories of his mother, Harriet Adelphia Cummings. 

Harriet Adelphia (Cummings) Canfield,

born 1875

One of the best stories was about how Harriet met his father, Charles Benson Canfield, who was a territory manager for Burroughs Adding Machines. “Mother heard that a territory of Burroughs in New England was open. She got orders, asked for the territory and was given it. She sent in the orders using only her inititals—they didn’t know she was a woman. A crusty upstate banker wanted to know why Burroughs was sending a woman salesman. They sent my dad to check it out.” These events transpired by 1901, when Charles wrote a love letter to Harriet in Unadilla, New York. What makes this story even more interesting is that Charles was a married man in 1901. However, Charles' first wife, Rose, died at the end of 1902, and two years later, on October 29, 1904, Harriet and Charles were married in Manhattan.

Charles Benson Canfield, born 1869.

Photos, letters, news articles, and my grandfather's stories provide a timeline of events for his newlywed parents. One photo shows Harriet relaxing at Old Orchard Beach in Maine in 1905.

Old Orchard Beach, Maine

A 1905 Boston directory listed "Canfield Bros. Adding Machines," while a New York City directory for 1905-1906 lists "Canfield Brothers, Agents" with an office at 1300 Broadway and Charles's home at 550 Lenox Avenue. Pictures of Charles, his father, his brother, and Harriet are labeled "Lakeside Farm, April 30, 1906."

Lakeside Farm, April 30, 1906

A small card with a blue ribbon announced the 1907 birth of Charles Holland Canfield at 622 W. 137th Street, Riverside Apts. Shortly after, my great-grandfather wrote a touching letter to his newborn son.

In 1908, the family took a car trip to Cedar Rapids and Detroit.

Then, in 1909, Charles and Harriet moved to Springfield, MA. A year later, the 1910 census shows them living at 279 Washington Street, Groveland, MA. In August of 1910, the family was staying at the Bangan Bldg, in Providence, RI, and in October of the same year, they boarded a boat bound for Galveston. Their final destination was Los Angeles. Charles was ill with diabetes and they hoped the climate would be beneficial for his health.

On the boat to Galveston, 1910

The Brothers Baldwin

My great-great-great-grandfather, James A. Baldwin, was a blacksmith who made his home with his wife, Susan, in Cannon, Kent Co., Michigan. In 1872, when he was only 38, he was killed in a gun accident. 

According to a news account, "Last Sabbath, Mr. J. A. Baldwin, of this village, in company with another person, were going out in a buggy, hunting.  When about 3 miles out on the State road, and while stopping to talk with a man, the gun dropped down through the buggy, (a skelton,) and, probably striking the axle tree, discharged itself killing Mr. Baldwin instantly. The deceased is said to have been a first-rate mechanic, but of intemperate habits. We learn that he left a wife and six children, in very destitute circumstances." (Rockford Weekly Register, Nov. 13, 1872)

James and Susan were the parents of three daughters -- Elizabeth, Nellie, and Maude, and four sons --James, Harry, Eudoras, and Ralph. 

The first son, James, appears to have died before 1872. A biography of the second son, Harry, says he "early assisted in his father’s shop where he became a skilled artisan as did two of his brothers." (A Third Volume Devoted to Kent County, 1924).

An advertisement in the Grand Rapids Press, 1913

Public records show that the Baldwin brothers worked as blacksmiths throughout their lives. In 1880, Harry was married and working as a blacksmith in Grattan. My great-great-grandfather Eudoras (Dora), was living with Harry and his wife, and also working as a blacksmith. Ralph worked as a blacksmith in Luther, Michigan in the mid-1880s. Dora then operated a blacksmith shop in Rockford for many years. He was self-employed as a "Carriage & wagon mnfr & blacksmith" according to the 1884 Western Michigan Directory.

About 1881, Dora married my great-great-grandmother Hattie, and they soon had two children. The family was together in 1894, but in 1900, Hattie and her children were living in Grand Rapids, and Dora was living and partnering with his brother-in-law, George Crakes in Charlevoix. Ralph, who had married in 1888, appears to have separated from his wife. Over the years, Dora and Ralph moved around, going back and forth between southern and northern Michigan. 

In 1891, Harry moved to Grand Rapids where he would stay the rest of his life. He established a blacksmith business there and over time, became a substantial citizen in the city. Harry patented the Baldwin ice tongs and by 1915, was employing seven men in "manufacturing, building wagons, making chain, ice tongs, and other ironmongery." (‪History of Michigan, Volume 4‬, 1915)

An advertisement in the 1916 Grand Rapids City Directory

Harry ran for office and was elected alderman in 1903. He served a total of fourteen years as alderman, then served as commissioner for two terms. "He takes deep interest in all that concerns the welfare of his home city and native county, and here he has a secure place in popular confidence and esteem." (A Third Volume Devoted to Kent County, 1924)

An article in the Grand Rapids Press, 1907

While Harry was a picture of civic responsibility, Ralph appears to have followed a different path. A newspaper headline proclaimed "Too Fond of Drink" and went on to explain, "A little punishment evidently fails to satisfy Ralph Baldwin of Solon Center. Wednesday, shortly after finishing a jail sentence for being drunk he was arrested again by the police and Judge Hess fined him $5 and costs, which he paid." (Grand Rapids Press, July 27, 1906)

The last record I have found of Dora is the 1920 census, where he was living in Norman, Michigan, and working in a blacksmith shop. He was listed as "Widowed." Meanwhile, on the same census, his wife, Hattie, was working as a housekeeper in Courtland, Michigan, and was listed as "Married."

A unique family heirloom - the Baldwin ice tongs,
passed down to me and hanging in my kitchen

The Stephens Family Immigrates to America

Henry Stephens, my great-great-grandfather, immigrated to the U.S. in the 1840s when he was a boy. The Stephens family was part of an increasing tide of German immigrants who came to America during the 1800s to escape crop failures, political unrest, and a widespread lack of opportunity. Many German immigrants went to Wisconsin, where the population grew from 11,000 in 1836 to over 305,000 in 1850. The soil and climate in Wisconsin was similar to that in Germany, and suited immigrants like Henry's father, Mathias, who had been a farmer. A biography of Henry's older brother John said he was from Trier, Germany, and immigration records show that a family of eight, headed by Mathias Stephany, a 40-year old farmer, immigrated in 1843 from Konfeld, which is about 20 miles from Trier, Prussia. This may very well be our Mathias Stephens.   

Henry Stephens, born about 1833 in Prussia, died in 1908 in Waterloo, Iowa

Matthias and his first wife Eve (Schuh) Stephens had four sons. Henry, their last son, was born about 1833, but sadly Eve died a week after he was born. Mathias then married Eve's sister, Barbara, and in 1843, Mathias, Barbara, and six children, immigrated to America, arriving in New York City after a ship's voyage of sixty-three days. 

Upon arriving in America, the family traveled to Milwaukee by way of the Hudson River, Erie Canal and the Great Lakes. There, Matthias paid $62.50 for forty acres of timbered land in the town of New Berlin. 

The Peck cabin, the first house in Madison
(no connection to the Stephens family)

According to the biography of John Stephens, "Their first home was a log cabin, the floor of which was mother earth; snow would sift through the shake roof until it would be an inch or two deep on the beds in the morning, while the chimney was a stove pipe thrust through the roof. Indians were almost as numerous as the white inhabitants." (Portrait and Biographical Record of Waukesha County, Wisconsin, 1894)

Another biography, of Henry's brother Nicholas, reports: "The family lived under a tree while building a log cabin, with Indians, deer, wolves, etc., for neighbors." (History of Waukesha, 1880)

The red border shows the 80 acres Matthias purchased in 1846, the West half of the
Southeast quarter of Section 14, Township 6 N, Range 20 E.

John Stephens recalled deer were plentiful. One of the men would take an old-fashioned cow-bell and station himself in their 'runway,' and at the approach of the deer he would ring the bell, thus attracting their attention, while his comrades would slip up and shoot them from the opposite direction."

Mathias and Barbara appear to have been fruitful in their new home. By 1870, their land was valued at $6,000 and they had $600 worth of personal property. Mathias had numerous children - possibly more than 12, and several of his children had large families, ensuring that the descendants of Mathias in the U.S. are many. They are now spread all over the country.

The gravestones of Matthias and Barbara Stephens, Holy Apostles Cemetery,
New Berlin, Waukesha, Wisconsin

There are numerous Stephens family members buried in the beautifully kept Holy Apostles Cemetery in New Berlin, Wisconsin.

Pioneer John Henderson

One of the high points of my trip to Colorado was walking through Rock Creek Cemetery, where my great-great-great-grandfather, John Henderson, is buried. Rock Creek Cemetery is on the western side of the San Luis Valley, in the foothills, and offers an expansive view of the valley.

John Henderson was an early pioneer in the San Luis Valley, arriving a few years before a  wave of settlers would establish the town of Lariat, later known as Henry and Monte Vista. John began his homesteading process in August of 1874, the same year his son Henry arrived in Colorado, so perhaps they came together. We used Google Earth and BLM records to locate their land and then went to see it. It turns out that John's land along the banks of the Rio Grande, was very near Henry's. Since the area remains largely rural, much of the land continues to be used for agriculture. A retired veterinarian who currently lives on part of the land invited us to drive onto his ranch and look around.

Land that John Henderson homesteaded

As I reviewed the historical records, I realized that the Henderson family was a family on the move. John's father, Grove, was born in Connecticut, but as a young man, he moved with two of his brothers to Austinburg, Ohio, which is where John was born. John married Nancy Howard in Linn County, Iowa. I'm not entirely sure how they ended up in Iowa - Nancy was probably also from Austinburg and they may have traveled to Iowa with a relative of hers. Their first son, Henry was born there circa 1844, but then they went to Wisconsin for a few years. In 1854, the Hendersons moved to Blue Earth County, Minnesota, where they lived for about 20 years. During this time, John served in the Civil War, as did his son Henry.

John Henderson, born 1821 in Ohio, died 1884 in Monte Vista, Colorado

John's moves from Ohio to Iowa to Wisconsin and then Minnesota as a relatively young man strike me as fairly typical and he appears to have made a life for his family as a farmer in Minnesota. But John's move to Colorado, probably in 1874 when he was 53, seems unusual. Was he looking for better opportunities than those in Minnesota? Was he seeking the more accommodating climate of the San Luis Valley? Or did he simply cast his lot in with son Henry? Whatever John's reasons, his wife Nancy remained in Minnesota. Perhaps she intended to move west eventually, but in 1880, she was living with her daughter Flora Ballard in Farmington, and she had passed away by the time John wrote his will in 1884.

Nancy (Howard) Henderson, born circa 1823, New York, died before 1884, location unknown.

John worked as a carpenter in Colorado. John Heilman recalled "That frame house on the Peachy Place was built by John Henderson. He did all the carpenter work on it, and did the carpenter work on the stone house, too." (Interview of John Heilman in 1929, recorded in The San Luis Valley Historian, Vol. XVI, No. 2, 1984, page 11)

The death notice for John was succinct: "Died: Henderson - At the residence of his son, Henry Henderson, in Henry (Lariat), on the 22nd last, John Henderson. Mr. Henderson was one of the oldest and most respected citizens of the county." (The San Juan Prospector, April 26, 1884.)

When John died, an appraisal of his property listed these items of value:

• 160-acre ranch, $1500
• one dark red cow, ten or eleven years old, $40
• one light red cow, seven years old, $20
• one red and white cow, eight years old, $45
• one chest of tools, $35
• one grind stone, $2
• one over coat, $8
• one suit of clothes, $1
• cash on hand $11

John's burial in Rock Creek Cemetery made the newspaper and brought to everyone's attention the lack of a local cemetery: "Mr. Henderson, an old resident of Lariat, died last Thursday and the fact that he had to be taken 10 or 12 miles for burial has raised a question in the minds of our citizens of a cemetery here." (The Alamosa Journal, May 2, 1884).

Rock Creek Cemetery, photo taken 2011

John's grave marker, while not ostentatious, is one of the nicer markers at the cemetery and is still quite readable in spite of its age. It is an obelisk with space to add the names of a spouse or other family members, but John is the only Henderson buried at Rock Creek. My current mission is to find out where his wife Nancy (Howard) Henderson is buried. 

Western Adventures

She was a beautiful young school teacher from Iowa.

He was a handsome cowpuncher who grew up in Colorado ranching country.

Sounds like the stuff of movies but it's the true story of my great-grandparents, Ruth Conaway and Henry "Lon" Henderson.

Ruth was born in 1880 and grew up in a large farm family. Her father Adolphus came from Ohio, and while her mother Alice was born in Iowa, she had southern roots. Adolphus was a Civil War vet and a not particularly successful farmer. Alice was deeply religious and made sure her family took the Sabbath seriously - no reading except the Bible, no music except hymns, and theater and cards weren't allowed any day of the week.

Adolphus's sister Phytama and her husband John Heilman migrated with a group of families from Iowa to Colorado in 1874. Adolphus and Phytama's sister Malana (who never married), and their mother Nancy followed and were in Rock Creek by 1880.

The home of Nancy (Horn) (Conaway) Hall in Colorado.

The Heilmans carved out a life for themselves as ranchers, and Malana became a teacher and missionary to the Mexican families in the area. As Adolphus's children reached adulthood, at least two of them followed their aunts to Colorado. Nannie Conaway went first, earning her Colorado teaching certificate in 1892. Two years later, she married Jim Crooks. Ruth, who was 11 years younger than Nannie, had her 19th birthday at the turn of the century. She became a teacher in Iowa, but Colorado soon beckoned.

The Virginian, an early western novel which told the story of a ranch foreman in Wyoming was published in 1902. Captured by the romance of the novel, Ruth moved to Monte Vista, Colorado, where she secured a teaching position.

As it happened, in Monte Vista, Ruth boarded with Sarah Clark, the sister of Lon Henderson. (Sarah and Lon were two of the children of Henry G. Henderson and Abigail McCloud, another Colorado pioneer family.) Their daughter, Virginia, explained "Lon was tall, dark and handsome, and Ruth fell in love."

Lon on his roping horse, Jim Snort

Lon and Ruth were married on December 25, 1904, in Monte Vista, Colorado. Lon's brother, Bill, and Ruth's friend Hetty Watts stood up with them. They remained in Colorado until about 1922, when they moved to California.

Daniel Canfield, Artificer in the Revolutionary War

I learned a few days ago that one in 40 Americans has an ancestor who served in the Revolutionary War. Logic dictates that if you have one ancestor who served, you likely have several, and that is the case with both my mom's line and my dad's line. Between them, I have identified 16 Revolutionary War veterans to date.

For this holiday, I decided to try to learn more about one them  - Daniel Canfield, my 5th great grandfather. 

Daniel was born in Danbury, Connecticut in 1761. I imagine as he grew up, he regularly heard adults discussing the tyranny of Great Britain and the frustration and anger of the colonists. Given Danbury's location halfway between Philadelphia and Boston the town must have been well informed about the events leading up to the Declaration of Independence. Can you imagine what it might have been like for Daniel to come of age during the Revolutionary War?

Daniel was 15 when the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. The colonies had been at war with Great Britain for about a year. Three years later, when he was nearly 18, Daniel enlisted. In his own words:

"I Daniel Canfield of Litchfield County and state of Connecticut depose and declare that on or about the 11th day of March 1779, I inlisted myself in the revolutionary war against the common enemy as an artificer in the continental line during the war in Capt. Osborn company, Col. Jeduthan Baldwins regiment of artificers."

Statement from Daniel Canfield's Pension File

Never heard of an artificer? Here's a definition:

artificer

1. a skilled craftsman

2. a clever or inventive designer

3. (Military) a serviceman trained in mechanics

We know that later in life, Daniel was a blacksmith. Did he enter the service with knowledge of the craft, and perhaps hone his skills while serving in the war?


The following video tells about the importance of blacksmiths in the war.

I tried to learn a little more about Col. Jeduthan Baldwin's Regiment of Artificers. Here's what I found.


"[A]uthorized by Congress in '77 was a corps of 'Artificers' to be commanded by Jeduthan Baldwin . . . The 'men were largely artisans, carpenters, builders, tent makers, tailors, &c.' The regiment was at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth, and other fields. A large proportion of the officers and men . . . joined from Connecticut." 

Again from Daniel: 

" . . . I served faithfully until April 1781 when I received a wound in one of my hands and was discharged on that account which lameness has ever been upon me . . . "


Anecdotal history passed down in the Frederick A. Canfield papers (a genealogical collection) states that Daniel was injured by a sword cut in the hand. Perhaps Daniel was a blacksmith during the war, and this injury happened as he worked. 

A Revolutionary War-era sword

After being discharged at Fishkill, NY, Daniel married Rebecca Hotchkiss about 1783. Sadly, Rebecca died in 1784, about a month after giving birth to their son Roderick. She was buried at Huxley Cemetery in New Marlborough, Mass., where Daniel's father and grandfather are buried. 

Daniel married Ruth Stevens on May 26, 1785. From the pension papers, it seems Daniel wasn't prosperous financially, but he and Ruth had eight children -- Ruel, Ruanna, Rama, Rufus, Rastus, Rial, Rebecca, and Ruth. When Daniel applied for a pension on March 28, 1818, he was living in Norwalk, CT. He was granted $8 a month, or $96 a year. In the early 1830s, he moved to Lenox, where he asked that his pension be transferred. Another statement from the file:

"The following are his reasons for removing from Connecticut to Massachusetts, viz. He being a blacksmith by trade and residing with his son, who is also of the same trade, removed with him in hopes of bettering their business."

Daniel died in Lenox on March 8, 1841. Ruth died about a year later on April 2, 1842.  Daniel and Ruth aren't included in online lists of the gravestones in the local Congregationalist church, now known as the Church on the Hill. However, according to the sexton's statement, Daniel was buried in the local churchyard.

Church on the Hill Cemetery

Sources:
1. Record of service of Connecticut men in the I. War of the Revolution, II. War of 1812, III. Mexican War compiled by authority of the General Assembly, under direction of the Adjutants-General ... Published 1889 by Case, Lockwood & Brainard Co. in Hartford.

2. Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, published by The National Archives, Record for Daniel Canfield, Service: Continental (Conn.), Pension Number: S. 29696