Christena Fraser (1829 - 1917)

Born 1829 in McLellans Brook, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, British Colonial America

Wife of Thomas Cumming — married 1853 in McLellans Mountain, Pictou, Nova Scotia, British Colonial America [uncertain]

Descendants

Died 1 Aug 1917 at about age 88 in Stellarton, Pictou, Nova Scotia

Problems/Questions Profile manager: William Ross [send private message]

Biography

Birth

Christena Fraser was born in 1829 at McLellan's Brook, Halifax County, Nova Scotia, British Colonial America. ^[1] McLellan's Brook (the brook) enters the East River of Pictou just south of New Glasgow. The rural community called McLellan's Brook is about 7 kilometers southeast of New Glasgow in the Pictou region. In 1835, six years after Christena's birth, Halifax County was divided and the new Counties of Colchester and Pictou were created out of parts of what had previously been Halifax County. ^[2]

Life

Early Years

Christena's parents, siblings, and family of origin have not yet been located.

Later Years

Marriage

Christena Fraser and Thomas Cumming were married in 1853 in Pictou County. Four different references to their marriage each list the year 1953 with three different locations: New Glasgow (two references); or East River Junction (one reference); or McLellan's Mountain (one reference). ^[3]

Children

1. Janet Cumming - 1854-1941
2. John William Cumming - 1856-1908
3. Alice Lee Cumming - 1858-1943
4. Hector Fraser Cumming - 1860-1877
5. Alexander Cumming - 1863-deceased
6. Lewis Johnstone Cumming - 1865-1956
7. Jane Fraser Cumming - 1868-1948
8. George Cumming - 1871-1871
9. Thomas Cumming - 1873-1926
10. Hectorina Cumming - 1877-1958

1871 Canada Census

In the 1871 Canada Census Christy Cumming was 38 years old. She lived in an 8 person household with her husband and six children. They were residents of Albion Mines, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. The census enumeration page did not include the date or the name of the enumerator. ^[4] The census officially began on 2 April 1871. ^[5]

1. Thomas Cummings*, male, age 39 years, birthplace NS, occupation Blacksmith, married.
2. Christy Cummings*, female, age 38 years, birthplace NS, married.
3. Janet Cummings*, female, age 17 years, birthplace NS.
4. John Cummings*, male, age 15 years, birthplace NS.
5. Alice Cummings*, female, age 13 years, birthplace NS.
6. Hector Cummings*, male, age 10 years, birthplace NS.
7. Lewis Cummings*, male, age 5 years, birthplace NS.
8. Jane Cummings*, female, age 2 years, birthplace NS.

CENSUS NOTES - [1] on the enumeration page their surname Cumming was consistently mis-spelled "Cummings".

1881 Canada Census

In the 1881 Canada Census Christy Cumming was 47 years old. She lived in a seven person household with her husband and five children. They were residents of McLennan's Mountain, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. ^[6]

1. Thomas Cummings*, male, age 47 years, birthplace NS, occupation Blacksmith, married.
2. Christy Cummings*, female, age 47 years, birthplace NS, married.
3. Jane Cummings*, female, age 12 years, birthplace NS, married.
4. Lewis J. Cummings*, male, age 15 years, birthplace NS, occupation Blacksmith.
5. Thomas A. Cummings*, male, age 8 years, birthplace NS.
6. Christina H. Cummings*, female, age 3 years, birthplace NS.
7. John Cummings*, male, age 17 years, birthplace NS, occupation Blacksmith.

CENSUS NOTES - [1] on the enumeration page their surname Cumming was consistently mis-spelled "Cummings"; [2] Alexander, a child with no source citation for his birth or death, likely was born and died during the census period; [3] first incidence of the middle initial "A" for Thomas; [4] first incidence of Hectorina as her middle name and Christena as her first name.

1891 Canada Census

1901 Canada Census

In the 1901 Canada Census Christina Fraser was 68 years old. She lived in a four person household with her husband and two of their adult children. They lived in the Ferrona sub-district of Pictou County, Nova Scotia. ^[7]

1. Thomas Cumming, male, head of household, married, birthdate 1 April 1834, age 67 years, birthplace Nova Scotia, occupation Blacksmith, employed 12 months in 1901, can read, write, and speak English.
2. Christy Cumming
3. Thomas Cumming
4. Jerusha Cumming

Death of husband

Thomas Cumming died 20 May 1903. He was 70 years old. ^[8]

1911 Canada Census

Death and Legacy

Christena Fraser died 1 August 1917 at Stellarton, Pictou County, Nova Scotia. She was a widow, was 87 years old, her birthplace was McLellan's Brook, and her place of burial was beside her husband at Riverton Cemetery, Pictou County, Nova Scotia. ^[9]

FIG. 1 - Christena Fraser was buried beside her husband Thomas Cumming in plot number 96 at Riverton Cemetery, Riverton, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Research Notes

1. FamilySearch ID - K6M5-7PV
2. About the date of their marriage, varying details were recorded from the birth registration of their children.
   • 1865 Lewis Cumming birth = parents married 1853 at New Glasgow
   • 1868 Jane Cumming birth = parents married 1853 at McLellan's Mountain
   • 1871 George Cumming birth = parents married in 1853 at East River Junction
   • 1873 Thomas Cumming birth = parents married in 1853 at New Glasgow

Sources

1. ↑ Birth year 1829 engraved on the headstone she shares with her husband at Riverton Cemetery, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Her civil death registration (see below) in 1917 in Pictou County lists her age as 87 years and her birth place as McLellans Brook.
2. ↑ Wikipedia, "Halifax County History," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_County,_Nova_Scotia#History, version 01:51, 3 April 2022.
3. ↑ See marriage details in the civil birth registration for her children Lewis Johnstone Cumming, Jane Fraser Cumming, George Cumming, and Thomas Cumming.
4. ↑ Thomas Cummings* household, 1871 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia (province), Pictou County (District 200), Albion Mines (Sub-district 01), page 43, lines 2-9, Schedule No. 1 - Nominal Return of the Living, enumeration date not recorded (census official start date 2 April 1871), enumerator not identified, handwritten paper enumeration sheet microfilmed 1975, digital image of enumeration page produced by scan of the microfilm, image ID 4396670_00625, Library and Archives Canada, https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1871, accessed 7 April 2022.
5. ↑ "How the Census was collected," https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1871/, accessed 15 April 2022.
6. ↑ Thomas Cummings* household, 1881 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia (province), Pictou County (District 200), McLennan's Mountain (Sub-district S), page 50, lines 19-25, Schedule No. 1 - Nominal Return of the Living, enumeration date not recorded (census official start date 4 April 1881), enumerator not identified, handwritten paper enumeration sheet microfilmed 1975, digital image of enumeration page produced by scan of the microfilm, image ID #e008123545, Library and Archives Canada, https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1881, accessed 12 April 2022. [Cumming surname mis-spelled.]
7. ↑ Thomas Cumming household, 1901 Census of Canada, Nova Scotia (province), Pictou County (District 38), Ferrona sub-district, (Sub-district L), page 7, lines 6-9, Schedule No. 1 - Nominal Return of the Living, enumerator Calvin McKenzie, enumeration date April 18-20, handwritten paper enumeration sheet microfilmed 1975, digital image of enumeration page produced by scan of the microfilm, image ID #z000044844.jpg, Library and Archives Canada, https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1901, accessed 4 April 2024.
8. ↑ Civil death record not found. Death date from inscription on headstone.
9. ↑ Christina* Fraser Cumming death, female, died 1 August 1917, age 87 years, residence Stellarton, widow, deceased husband Thomas Cumming, birthplace McLellans Brook, religion Presbyterian, physician Clarence Miller, MD, undertaker Ross & Nichols, New Glasgow, burial Riverton Cemetery, informant Mrs. Janet Fraser, death registered 31 August 1917, Pictou County death registration 1917, book 45, page 100, death number 347, digital image of handwritten register, Nova Scotia Archives, https://archives.novascotia.ca/images/vital-statistics/deaths/45/45-00100.jpg, accessed 7 April 2022. (* correct spelling of forename Christena)