Joseph Cummings (1692 - 1794)

Born 1 Sep 1692 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Estey) Cummings — married 1 Dec 1714 (to Sep 1750) in Topsfield, Essex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Husband of Priscilla (Lamson) Cummings — married 11 Nov 1751 (to 19 Aug 1780) in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 22 Apr 1794 at age 101 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts, United States

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Biography

Capt. Joseph Cummings performed Patriotic Service in Massachusetts in the American Revolution.

Joseph Cummings is a DAR Patriot Ancestor, A212423.

Joseph Cummings, son of Abraham and Sarah (Wright) Cummings, was born on 01 September 1692 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts Bay.^[1][2]

He married first to Sarah Eastie (or Estey) on 01 December 1714 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts Bay.^[3][2] Sarah was the daughter of Isaac and Abigail (Kimball) Estey, born on 04 October 1694 in Topsfield, Essex, Massachusetts Bay.^[4][2] She died in September 1750.^[5]

The part of Ipswich where he lived was set off to Topsfield in 1774.^[6]

Widower Joseph Cummings then married as his second wife, "Mrs." Priscilla Lampson on 11 November 1751 in Ipswich.^[7][2] He and Priscilla had no children. Priscilla died on 19 August 1780 in Topsfield.^[8]

Joseph Cummings advanced money to pay soldiers in 1777.

Capt. Joseph Cummings died on 22 April 1794 at the incredible age of 101 years in Topsfield.^[9][2] He outlived both of his wives and both of his children.

Joseph Cummings gentleman of Topsfield wrote his will on 29 July 1785 and it was proved 05 May 1794. He named three of his daughter Lamson's children: Benjamin, Sarah and Lydia; heirs of his last wife's siblings: heirs of John Lamson, heirs of Peter Lamson, and heirs of Abigail Edward, all deceased. He name Mary Davis as the daughter of his granddaughter Hannah Adams; six grandsons, Thomas, Abraham, Josiah, Stephen, Daniel and Asa Cummings; his seven granddaughters: Lydia Porter, Sarah Wiggens, Sarah Colby, Anna Town, Lydia Wiggens, Elizabeth Hobbs & Rhoda Hobbs. He named his grandson Thomas Cummings as his executor and mentioned that Thomas had provided for his subsistance for some time. He signed his name.^[10]

Joseph and Sarah (Eastie) Cummings had two children, born in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts:^[2]

1. Thomas Cummings, bp. 15 July 1716; d. 03 Sept 1765 Topsfield, Essex; mar. (1) Lydia Richardson ca. July, 1736 Dracut, seven children;^[2] (2) Anna (Kettle) Johnson 28 March 1754 Andover, five children (she also had 8 children from her first marriage to Asa Johnson).^[2]
2. Sarah Cummings, b. 20 Aug 1720; d. 7 Nov 1756 Ipswich; mar. Benjamin Lampson 25 Nov 1736 Ipswich, seven children.^[2]

Obituary

Shortly after his death, an obituary was printed in the Salem Gazette on 13 May 1794:

"In early life he made a public profession of religion, and, by a uniform piety, integrity, temperance, cheerfulness and benevolence, he supported an amiable and unblemished character. He was not favored with the advantages of education; but strong mental powers, inquisitive turn of mind, and a tenacious memory had enabled him to acquire and retain a good knowledge of the principal events and public transactions of the last hundred years. Possessed of a rich fund of interesting and entertaining anecdotes, he was a living history of nearly a century. Within his memory the people in his neighborhood were in fear of the Indians, and he had himself stood sentry at a small fortress in the town.

Employed from his youth in cultivating a valuable farm, not with excessive labor, but steady industry - living in a plentiful, but plain and simple manner - and enjoying a uniform cheerfulness - the powers of his body and mind continued in great vigor to a very advanced age. When nearly a hundred, he would readily mount his horse from the ground; and his reason continued to his last moments. Satisfied with living, and with little appearance of any other disease than senility, he closed this mortal scene, in the cheering hope of a blessed immortality. His descendants were 2 children, 23 grandchildren, 116 great-grandchildren, and 32 great-great-grandchildren, total, 173."^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Johnson, Edward Francis and Woburn (Mass.). Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, and Marriages. Woburn, Mass. : Andrews Cutler & Co., 1890. Vol. 1:64.

   Cummings, Joseph, s. of Abraham and Sarah, Sept. 1, 1692.

2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8} Hoover, Lois Payne, The Towne Family, William Towne and Joanna Blessing, Salem Massachusetts, 1635, Five Generations of Descendants, (1990, 3rd printing 2015), pages 271 - 272.
3. ↑ Topsfield (Mass. : Town). Vital Records of Topsfield, Massachusetts. Topsfield, Mass. : Topsfield Historical Society, 1903. Vol. 1:133.

   "Cummings,Joseph, and Sarah Eastey, Dec. 1, 1714."

4. ↑ VRs ofTopsfield, Vol. 1:39.
5. ↑ Essex Institute, compiler, Ipswich Vital Records to the year 1849 (Salem, MA: Essex Institute, 1910), Vol. 2:535. "Cummins, _______w. Capt Joseph Sep ___1750."
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1} Mooar, George. The Cummings Memorial, a Genealogical History of the Descendants of Isaac Cummings, an Early Settler of Topsfield, Massachusetts. New York, B. F. Cummings, 1903. 32.
7. ↑ Ipswich (Mass.). Vital Records of Ipswich, Massachusetts : To the End of the Year 1849. Salem, Mass. : Essex Institute, 1910. Vol. 2:119

   "Cummings, Joseph, Capt, and Mrs. Prisscilla Lampson, Nov. 11, 1751."

8. ↑ VRs of Topsfield, Vol. 1:214.
9. ↑ VRs of Topsfield, Vol. 1:214.

   "Cummings, Joseph, Capt, a. 101 y., Apr. __, 1794. C. R."

10. ↑ Essex Co., Mass., Probate Records, file #6720, Capt. Joseph Cummings 1794 Topsfield.