Charles Henry Cushing (1832 - 1908)

Born 29 Oct 1832 in Boston, Suffolk, Massachusetts, United States

Ancestors

Died 30 Mar 1908 at age 75 in California, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Cherry Duve [send private message]

Biography

Charles Henry Cushing was born on October 29. 1832 in Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts. ^[1] He was the son of Thomas Cushing and Eliza Watson Cushing. ^[2]

Charles entered school at Chauncy-Hall School in Boston at age seven in 1839. His oldest brother Thomas Cushing was a teacher and senior principal of the school. ^[3]

In the 1850 U. S. Census (19 August 1850} ^[4] Charles was seventeen years old and working as a clerk. He lived in Boston with his parents and siblings Martha age 36, Agnes age 25, Maria Cushing age 22 and George Cushing age 20. There were two domestic servants in the household. His oldest brother, Thomas, lived next door with his family.

In July 1851 Charles received a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University. ^[5]

Charles' father died on May 11, 1857 in Boston. After his death, Charles went to California to seek his fortune. Gold had been discovered about 1850 and California had become a state in 1852. I have found no record of him searching for gold, but in the 1860 U. S. Census (July 24, 1860) ^[6] he was living in Union, Humboldt County, California. He and a John Chapman were keeping a stable in the town. Charles was 28 years old with a personal estate of $400.

Charles Henry Cushing of Massachusetts married Dolores Estudillo on August 14, 1864 in Eden Township, Alameda County, California. ^{[7] [8] [1]} Charles was thirty-one and Dolores was twenty-four. Dolores was the daughter of the owner of Rancho San Leandro on land which had been granted to him by the Mexican government prior to the statehood of California.

In the 1870 U. S. Census (8 August 1870) ^[9] Dolores and Charles' family was still living in Eden Township, Alameda County. This was in the same area as her family's Rancho San Leandro so they may have been living on the family property. "Henry" had real estate valued at $10,000 and a personal estate of $1000. They had three children: Elizabeth age 5, Charles age 4 and Thomas age 4 months. There was also a 27 year old Irish woman, Catherine Dillon, who was likely a domestic servant with the family.

On October 27, 1871 a certificate of incorporation of the State Investment Insurance Company was filed in the office of the San Francisco County Clerk. ^[10] The objects of the company is formed "are to carry on the fire, marine, and inland insurance business in the State of California and elsewhere." They planned to raise capital stock of $500,000 divided into 5000 shares of $100 each. Charles H. Cushing was listed as one of the trustees of the new company.

A board meeting was held on November 1, 1871 ^[11] for the new State investment Insurance Company in San Francisco. Charles was elected secretary, a position that he held for years. ^{[12] [13]}

In April 1878 Charles H. Cushing was elected to be one of the directors of the Golden Gate District Fair.^[14] On September 9th, the Golden Gate Agricultural Association fair was to be held. The fair included San Francisco, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. The goals of the association were " to be the encouragement of agriculture, horticulture, mechanics, manufacturing, stock raising and general domestic industry. "

In the 1880 U. S. Census (5 June 1880) ^[15] the family was living at 805 Clay Street in Oakland, Alameda County, California. Dolores was keeping house and Charles was listed as a clerk. The children included: Lizzie age 14, Charles age 13, Thomas age 10, Ernest age 6, George age 4 and Lucy age 1. The four oldest children were attending school.

In 1883 Charles' sister Lucy Lee Cushing Chickering died in Massachusetts leaving a will in which she left personal family items to family members. She left to Charles H. Cushing, " my silver forks, thirteen dinner and one dozen desert, with a dozen tea spoons, that match the desert forks. I request him to leave the same to his daughter Lucy Lee. " She also left the interest and income of a half part of the residue and remainder of her property to her sister, Maria W. Cushing, for and during her life. Upon Maria's death the one half part was to go to "Eliza Watson Cushing, in honor of the memory of my mother, whose name she bears and to Lucy Lee Cushing , daughter of my brother Charles H. Cushing to be divided equally between them, to their own use forever."^[16]

In the 1900 U. S. Census (6 June 1900) ^[17] the family lived at 870 Adeline Street in Oakland. Charles and Dolores had been married thirty-six years. He was in his sixties and was working for Leaf Oil Company. There were five children in the household: Elise W. age 30, Charles H. Jr. age 28, Thomas W. age 27, Agnes L. 25, and Lucy age 20. There was also an 18 year old boarder in the household.

In the 1900 U. S. Census Dolores reported she was the mother of eight children with five living at the time of the census. George had died in a tragic accident when a steamer sank. Charles was also badly injured but survived the accident. He died on October 18, 1900. I have seen an earlier daughter named Lucy, who probably died young and was not alive during a census period. Their son Ernest must have died between 1880 and 1899. (SEE RESEARCH NOTE)

Charles Henry Cushing died on March 30, 1908. Dolores E. Cushing of San Francisco was listed as his widow and the living children were Thomas W. of Oakland, Alameda Co. and Lucy Lee Cushing, Agnes Lee Cushing, and Elize W. Cushing, residing San Francisco.^[18] Friends and acquaintences were invited to attend the funeral Thursday, April 2, at his late residence, 2606 Piedmont Avenue. ^[19] He was buried at Saint Mary's Cemetery in Oakland, Alameda County, California in section 2. ^[2]

Research Notes

Children

I have not found any record that indicates that any of the children had children of their own so this may be the end of the branch of the family. All of the children were named after Charles Cushing's family members. Eliza Watson was his mother's maiden name. The rest were named after his siblings.

• Elizabeth (Lizzie, Elise) - b July 1865 ^{[9] [15] [17] [20]}
  
• Charles - b November 1864 ^{[9][15] [1]}
  
• Lucy Lee, b. 24 Oct. 1868; d. 12 June 1869^[1]
  
• Thomas - b. April 1870 ^{[9] [15] [1]}
  
• Lucy Lee, b. 20 Dec. 1871; d. 12 June 1873 ^[1]
  
• Agnes - b. March 1875 ^{[17] [20] [1]}
  
• George - b. 1876 ^[15][1]
  
• Lucy Lee - b. June 1879 ^{[15] [17] [20] [1]}
  

In the James Stevenson book about the Cushing family: ^[1] two Lucy Lee Cushing daughters were mentioned prior to the one who survived and was born in June of 1879. It does not, however, mention Ernest. The Stevenson book has been proven to be correct by my research into this family thus far so I believe this information is correct.

Who was Ernest?

• Ernest - b, 1874 ^[15]
  

The 1880 U. S. Census clearly identifies a six year old male child, Ernest, in the family.

I believe the 1880 U. S. Census is recorded incorrectly and there was no Ernest in the family

• In the 1900 U. S. Census Dolores reported she was the mother of eight children with five living in that year. ^[17] The Stevenson book lists two Lucy Lee daughters who had died young and the fact that George S. Cushing died in 1895 is well documented. If there were an Ernest, he would have been a ninth child.
• The information in the Stevenson book has been correct in most respects.
• In the 1880 U. S. Census in which 6 year old Ernest is mentioned. Six year old Agnes is missing. Agnes is well documented in the family both in other census and newspaper reports. My guess is that the name was misunderstood by the census taker who thought that it was "Ernest" and recorded it as male.
• All of the other children in the family were named for the mother and siblings of Charles Henry Cushing. He did not have a brother named Ernest.

Cherry Cushing

Acknowledgements

This person was created through the import of Family.ged on 28 November 2010.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9} Cushing, James Stevenson; "The genealogy of the Cushing family, an account of the ancestors and descendants of Matthew Cushing, who came to America in 1638" , 1878; Published 1905; Montreal: Page 316; Available archive.org; [1]
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Find A Grave, database and images ( accessed 24 October 2019), memorial page for Charles Henry Cushing (29 Oct 1832–2 Apr 1908), Find A Grave: Memorial #88733003: citing Saint Mary's Cemetery, Oakland, Alameda County, California, USA ; Maintained by RobMinteer57 (contributor 47389024)
3. ↑ Historical Sketch of Chauncey-hall School with Catalogue of Teachers and .Pupils - 1824-1894 by Thomas Cushing; Boston, MA; Press of David Clapp & Son; 1895; available ebook; https://books.google.com & https://babel.hathitrust.org: Page 104; Entered Chauncey Hall 1839: CHARLES H. CUSHING
4. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1850 United States Federal Census [2]. Image 108; Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Boston Ward 9, Suffolk, Massachusetts; Roll: M432_337; Page: 227B; Image 113; Dwelling 447, Family 830, Lines 15-23: 19 Aug 1850; THOMAS CUSHING FAMILY
5. ↑ Geneaologybank: [3]; Harvard University Boston Evening Transcript: Thursday, July 17, 1851; Boston, MA; Vol: XXII; Issue: 6449; Page 1; Col. 4: Graduation from Harvard: CHARLES CUSHING
6. ↑ Ancestry.com. 1860 United States Federal Census [4]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Union, Humboldt, California; Roll: M653_59; Page: 182; Family History Library Film 803059; Post Office Arcata, Dwelling 631, Family 587: CHARLES CUSHING
7. ↑ "California, County Marriages, 1850-1952," database with images, FamilySearch [5] : 8 December 2017, Charles H Cushing and Maria Dolores Estudillo, 14 Aug 1864; citing Alameda, California, United States, county courthouses, California; FHL microfilm 1,376,381.
8. ↑ Ancestry.com. California, Marriage Records from Select Counties, 1850-1941 [6]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. 14 Aug 1864; Alameda Co. CA; CHAS H. CUSHING & MARIA DELORES ESTUDILLO
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3} Ancestry.com. 1870 United States Federal Census [7]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2009. Eden, Alameda, California; Roll: M593_68; Page: 92A; Family History Library Film 545567; Dwelling 507, Family 503, Lines 40- Post Office San Leandra; CHARLES H CUSHING FAMILY
10. ↑ Newspapers.com; [8]; The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California); 28 Oct 1871, Sat; Page 3; Col 4; Local Brevities; Incorporation Request for insurance Co. Charles H. Cushing
11. ↑ Newspaper.com; [9]; The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California); 04 Nov 1871, Sat; Page 3; Col 5; Local Brevities; Elected Secretary Charles H. Cushing
12. ↑ Newspapers.com; [10]; Daily Evening Herald (Stockton, California); 18 Mar 1873, Tue; Page 2; Col 4: Ad for State Investment & Insurance Co: Secretary Charles Cushing
13. ↑ Newspaper.com [11]; Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California); 25 May 1876, Thu; Page 1, Col 3;
14. ↑ Newspapers.com; [12]; The San Francisco Examiner (San Francisco, California); 13 Apr 1878, Sat; Page 3; Col 5
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6} Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1880 United States Federal Census [13]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2010. Oakland, Alameda, California; Roll: 62; Page: 225B; Enumeration District 012: 805 Clay St. W. Side, Dwelling 161, Family 191, Lines 34-41; CHARLES CUSHING FAMILY
16. ↑ Ancestry.com. Massachusetts, Wills and Probate Records, 1635-1991 [14]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015. Suffolk County (Massachusetts) Probate Records, 1636-1899; Author: Massachusetts. Probate Court (Suffolk County); Probate Place: Suffolk, Massachusetts; Probate Records, Vol 547, 1883; page 123-127: LUCY CHICKERING
17. ↑ ^{17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4} Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [15]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Oakland Ward 4, Alameda, California; Page: 9; Enumeration District: 0361; FHL microfilm: 1240082; 870 Adeline St., Dwelling 170, Family 178, Lines 20-27; CHARLES H CUSHING FAMILY
18. ↑ Ancestry.com: [16]'; Packet No 14119-14172, 13 Apr. 1910. Alameda Co., CA; List of Heirs of CHARLES H. CUSHING
19. ↑ Newspapers.com; "Died Cushing" [17]; Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California); 31 Mar 1908, Tue; Page 17; Col 5.
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2} Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [18]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. San Francisco Assembly District 31, San Francisco, California; Roll: T625_136; Page: 10B; Enumeration District154: 2205 Sacramento St. Dwelling 138, Family 204, Lines 68-72: Dolores Cushing Family