As I sit and wait for our Thanksgiving dinner to cook, I can't help but think about family past and present. I wish I had someone's diary or journal that would tell me how my ancestors from West Carroll Parish celebrated Thanksgiving 100 plus years ago. Did they have turkey or something else? Maybe they had ham because of all the pigs in the area roaming around.
Today I am thinking about my great grandmother Mary (Cummins) Millikin. They called her "Aunt Pinkie," but I have no idea why. Maybe it was because she was so small. I am in the process of trying to verify who her parents really were. She is either a product of a yours mine and ours situation or born out-of-wedlock. Her death certificate says she is the daughter of John Cummins and Johanna Robbins (Roberts), which means her parents were very young, step siblings, and probably not married when she was born. Some relatives believe she is the daughter of the parents of those two young people, James Cummins and Mary Moore Dempsey Roberts Cummins. That's what I would like to believe because it would make things so much less complicated. I do know that information on death certificates is not always right, but someone obviously believed she was born of those two step siblings or it wouldn't be on her death certificate. Of course, the informant is no longer alive. In 1870, they were living in the same house, so it is possible. I don't know if I'll ever find out for sure after all this time, but I'm hoping I will. I have someone checking on it for me, so we'll see. If anyone out there knows the story, I would love to hear from you. I don't really care what the real situation was, I would just like to know. All of us make mistakes. On this day, I am just greatful for family and all they went through so that I can be here now.
1870 Census West Carroll Parish - Pg 27
Family 222
Mary Cummins 48 F Keeps House
* John Cummins 19 M Laborer
James Cummins 10 M "
Eugenia Cummins 6 F
Mary Cummins 3 F
James Roberts 22 M Laborer
Margaret Roberts 19 F
* Jo Anna Roberts 15 F
My great grandmother was the 3 year-old Mary. The older Mary Cummins was a widow again. Her husband, James Cummins, died in 1867.
Robert C. Millikin
Col. James Millikin
Creed T. Millikin (2nd from left) - My Great Grandfather
Griffin Pictures
William G. "Bill" Griffin Sr.
William G. Griffin II's family - 1924
Pioneer Grammar School - 1940
About Me
1 comment:
Hello cousin!--I'm a descendant of James Cummins and his first wife Jemimah Hays. Jemimah died sometime between late 1860 and early 1863--she was still with the family as of the 1860 Carroll Parish census (they married in Columbus, Muscogee, GA in Dec. 1841, and in 1850 they were in Coosa, AL). James and Jemimah had six children--I'm descended from Nancy b. 1844 (see a portrait of Nancy and Albert Lester here: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=22825702). Sons John J. and James J./Jackson are Jemimah's children. The 1870 census also shows 10 year old baby sister Sarah, the youngest of Jemimah's children, living with big sister Nancy Cummins Lester in the same town, Floyd. John J. Cummins and Johanna Roberts did get married, but Johanna would have given birth to Mary at 11 or 12!--I expect John and Johanna became foster parents after James and Mary died, much as the Lesters did for little Sarah. I'm still looking for any clue as to James and Jemimah's parents. All you Hays, Cummins, and Lester descendants, please drop me a line at amy_bird@comcast.net. Happy hunting to us all!
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