CUMMINGS FAMILY STORIES

William Cummings & Louisa Jane Riggs

1804 - 1887

Cummings family - from the Old World to the New World and Colleton County, SC

At present there is no information on the history of the Cummings family - their country of origin, etc. Some records have some Cummings moving from Ireland. According to one record that Cummings family's move was from Ireland through Illinois to Iowa in one generation - father and son from Ireland with father buried in Illinois and son buried in Iowa. Another Cummings went from Ireland to Ohio.

Apparently there were several Cummings families in the Colleton District of South Carolina in the 1800's. Theoretically they may be related, but there is no documented evidence or family stories connecting some of them.

Riggs family -

Some of the American Riggs families trace their ancestors to the Highlands of Scotland. Others trace their Riggs ancestors from Nenagh in County Tipperary, or possibly Limerick - both in Ireland.
After crossing the ocean, there are references to some of the Riggs moving from Virginia to Surry and Stokes Counties in North Carolina.

William Cummings and Louisa Jane Riggs

William Cummings, parents unknown, was born on September 15, 1804 in Colleton District (County), SC. He died on October 10, 1887. He was known as "Billy". In one source his name is listed as Benjamin William Cummings, which is possible - but no sources are listed. William "Billy" Cummings worked as a wheelwright, and passed his trade on to at least one of his sons, Lewis Rush Cummings.

Louisa Jane Riggs, the daughter of William Riggs Jr. and Jestine Martha Turner, was born on March 1, 1806 in Colleton District (County), SC. She died on September 1, 1882 in Dorchester County, SC.

The family of William Cummings and Louisa Jane Riggs

The date of William Cummings and Louisa Jane Riggs marriage is unknown at this time. According to the 1880 census, their home was in Burns, Colleton County, SC. They had six (6) children:

1. William Riggs Cummings (1825-1900) - 1880 census lists his birth year as 1829
2. Elvira Alicia Cummings (1827 - ? )
3. Louis Rush Cummings (1832-1919)
4. Martha E. Cummings (1940-1911) - not married in 1880
5. Louisa Rebecca "Lou" Cummings (1843-1923)
6. Elizabeth Bell Stevenson Cummings 1846-1922)

In the 1880 census, there was also a Martha L. Cummings, aged 4 (born 1876) in the household of William Cummings (born 1829) - relationship not defined. If anyone has any information on her and her relationship to the Cummings family, please send me an email with the information - and your sources (family story or whatever).

Other possibly related Cummings

Following are a few of the unconnected (to us) Cummings families listed in the 1880 census for the Colleton District:

Henry Albert Cummings (1864-1930) was a resident of that area. He married Sheldonia "Donie" Murdaugh, and they had at least one child - Henry Heber Cummings (1893-1958). One record lists his parents as William and Olive Cummings. The 1880 census has a William and Olive Cummings with a son Henry (born 1869). In the 1880 census there was also a Henry Cummings (b. 1864) who was living with his widowed mother (C. Cummings) at that time. Logically, Henry Cummings who was born in 1864 was not the son of William and Olive Cummings, but of a couple whose names are unknown except that his mother's first name began with "C".

C. Cummings (born 1835) lived in the area of Broxson, Colleton County, SC. She was a widow in 1880 and worked as a midwife. Her household (according to the 1880 census) included two (2) sons: Walter (born 1862) who was working as a laborer (probably farm laborer) and Henry (born 1864). Her first name, maiden name, and husband's name are unknown.

There was also a family in the Broxson community that included John (b. 1836) and Rebecca (b. 1839) Cummings and their children Josephine (b. 1861), Mary (b. 1869), Annie (b. 1872), Edward "Eddie" (b. 1876), and Helen (b. 1879). Helen was 9 months old at the time of the 1880 census. This John Cummings was a blacksmith.