My Genealogy Hound

Col. J. R. H. Cummings. Among the representative and esteemed citizens of Hempstead County, no one is more deserving of mention than Col. Cummings, a man whose residence within its borders has extended over a period of nearly forty years During this time he has devoted his attention to farming, and as a result is the owner of 800 acres of land in two tracts, all excellent farming land. He was born in Limestone County, Ala., in 1817, his parents, Levi and Naomi (Keys) Cummings, being natives of Halifax County, Va., the former’s birth occurring in 1776 and the latter’s in 1782, their marriage also occurring in that State. From Virginia they removed to Lexington, Ky., thence to Tennessee, and in 1807 to Limestone County, Ala., of which they were among the pioneers, the country at that time being thickly peopled by Indians. The mother died July 16, 1819, and Mr. Cummings was afterward married twice. He was of Scotch-Irish descent, a farmer, and died in 1840. Col. J. R. H. Cummings was the ninth of ten children born to his parents, and he and three brothers are the only ones now living, the names of the latter being Jordan Y. (who has been a successful physician of Memphis, Tenn., for over forty years), Malachi C. (a farmer of Fulton, Miss., who has been a member of the Legislature of that State several times), and Levi (a planter of Marshall County, Miss.). After receiving a fair education, the subject of this sketch began his own career, and in 1845 was married in Madison, Ala., to Sophenia E., a daughter of Levi and Lottie Donaldson, who were born in South Carolina and Knox County, Tenn., in 1797 and 1801, respectively. In 1817 Mr. Donaldson removed to Alabama, and was there married, his wife having moved thither with her parents in 1811. The former died in 1873 and the latter in 1880. Mrs. Cummings’ maternal grandfather, John Amonett, a Frenchman by birth, was born in Amelia County, Va., and assisted the colonists in their struggle against the mother country throughout the Revolutionary War. He lived some years in East Tennessee, but in 1811 moved to Madison County, Ala., being among its first settlers, and there spent the rest of his days, a tiller of the soil. His wife, Bethsheba Rodgers, was of a prominent Tennessee family. William Donaldson, the father of Levi, was born in South Carolina, of Irish parents and died in Georgia at the home of a son. Mrs. Cummings was born in Madison County, Ala., in 1S22, and she and Mr. Cummings removed to Hempstead County, Ark., in 1851, four years later settling on their present farm, which is situated four miles southeast of Nashville. In 1864-65 he was in the reserve corps as lieutenant-colonel of McNeil’s regiment of Arkansas Cavalry, and his headquarters was at Camden at the time of the final surrender. He was also in the Florida War for about four months with Col. John R. H. Aclin, of Huntsville, Ala., and was a participant in several skirmishes. He was colonel of militia in Alabama in early days, and during the Mexican War was commissioned captain, raising a company of volunteers, but peace was declared before he was called into active service. He was justice of the peace in Alabama for two years, and for six years filled the same position in Hempstead County. Since he had the privilege of voting, he has always been a Democrat, and Van Buren received his first presidential vote in 1840. His wife is a highly cultured and estimable lady, and since 1864 has been a member of the Missionary Baptist Church.