At the time of his death, September 8, 1895, John Cummings was the oldest person in Wasatch County. He was born in Anderson County, South Carolina on December 2, 1802. He and his family were residents of the old Heber City Fort. This is another family with a Tennessee connection to my ancestors. John and his wife Rachel were taught and baptized members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day-Saints by biological brothers, Alfred Douglas Young and William Alma Young, in 1842. Alfred was my 2nd great grandfather and lived in Gibson County, Tennessee at this time and the same location where John had resided for more than a decade since leaving South Carolina.

From John Cummings short autobiography: “I John Cummings was born December 2, 1802 in South Carolina. My father, Harmon Cummings, was born March 23, 1756 in the state of Maryland. At the age of 18 he enlisted under General Washington and served five years during the Revolutionary War. After serving his time out, he married Mary James who was born November 19, 1763. He then moved to Anderson County, South Carolina and there raised his family of nine children, five boys and four girls. My mother died March 29, 1847 and my father died February 4, 1851.”

John relocated to Tennessee in 1830. He said, “At the age of 28 we moved to Gibson County in West Tennessee ”; he didn’t explain who “we” were. It doesn’t appear that any of his immediate family went with him. Four years later he married Rachel Canada, who was born in 1813 in Tennessee, she was the daughter of Isaac Canada and Sarah “Sally” Prichartt. The last name Canerda or Canarda is not clear for the name appears differently on multiple primary documents. It may have been Kenady as it appears on John and Rachel’s marriage license, or it could have been Kennedy. I’ll leave it as John wrote the name, Canada.They had five children by the time they left Tennessee for Nauvoo, Illinois.

In Nauvoo, John was ordained a Seventy and received into the Twenty-First Quorum. They lived on Main Street and Parley Street at lot number 126. John. along with half of the male population of Nauvoo served as a bodyguard for Joseph Smith. Rachel washed the clothes of the Prophet Joseph Smith that he was martyred in. They were forced out of Nauvoo in 1846 and took refuge in Kanesville (Council Bluffs), Iowa, where they stayed for two years and then moved just five miles north to Gallins Grove. Many of the Saints were perhaps finding Iowa as a final destination and church leaders encouraged them to leave for Utah as soon as that was feasible.

Again from the John Cummings history: “In the spring of 1852 we started for Utah the 1st day of June in the John Maxwell Company and arrived at Provo City in Utah Territory on the twelfth day of October. We were on the trail for 4 months and 12 days.”

At this time, Utah County was the destination of many of these Tennessee expatriates. John says that they lived here for almost a full decade and then moved to their final destination, Heber City in Wasatch County. At the time it was known as Provo Valley and was still in Utah County. The 1860 census has John and his family listed as residents, but John said they moved here in 1861. Rachel’s obituary says that they moved to Heber Valley in 1860. A couple of the family sons had ventured into Provo Valley previous to the family moving and they were some of the first to venture into the area even before there were any settlements. These boys, William and Isaac came to trap beaver and herded sheep into Provo Valley.

John and family left the old fort and established a home on the west side of Main Street between 3rd and 4th North where they lived many years. When John and Rachel could no longer care for themselves, they were taken in by their daughter,Sarah Ann (Sally) Jones. Rachel died on March 29, 1895. She was 83 years old. Her obituary says that although she had trials and hardships aplenty that she was always of a “cheerful disposition and died as she lived, a faithful Latter-Day-Saint. John died later that year and was ninety-three years old. John’s obituary stated, “He was the father of 10 children, 7 of whom are living. He was among the early settlers of this valley where he resided ever since, and a man always highly respected by all his acquaintances.” John and Rachel were affectionately known among the community as Pap and Mam Cummings.

Some of the facts in the various sources are inconsistent and even some primary sources differ on some points.

HEBER VALLEY HERITAGE FOUNDATION

Brief Life History of Rachel Ann Wife of John Cummings

When Rachel Ann Canada was born on 20 January 1813, in Gibson, Tennessee, United States, her father, Isaac T. Canady, was 29 and her mother, Sarah “Sally” Pritchett, was 29. She married John Cummings on 16 March 1834, in Gibson, Gibson, Tennessee, United States. They were the parents o f at least 6 sons and 4 daughters. She lived in Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States for about 5 years and Provo, Utah, Utah, United States for about 9 years. She died on 29 March 1895, in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States, at the age of 82, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Mary Jane Daughter of John Cummings

When Mary Jane Cummings was born on 28 October 1834, in Gibson, Gibson, Tennessee, United States, her father, John Cummings, was 31 and her mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 21. She married Richard R Jones on 12 December 1855, in Provo, Utah, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. She died on 6 May 1906, in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States, at the age of 71, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of William Morrell Son of John Cummings

When William Morrell Cummings was born on 30 July 1835, in Gibson, Gibson, Tennessee, United States, his father, John Cummings, was 32 and his mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 22. He married Mary Ann Meeks on 3 October 1861, in Provo, Utah, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 7 daughters. He lived in Meadow, Millard, Utah, United States in 1900. He died on 28 January 1922, in Kanosh, Millard, Utah, United States, at the age of 86, and was buried in Kanosh Cemetery, Kanosh, Millard, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Isaac Babe Son of John Cummings

When Isaac Babe Cummings was born on 31 May 1837, in Gibson, Gibson, Tennessee, United States, his father, John Cummings, was 34 and his mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 24. He married Sarah Jones on 4 April 1860, in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 8 sons and 4 daughters. In 1880, at the age of 43, his occupation was listed as herding cattle in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States. He died on 7 April 1906, in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States, at the age of 68, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Sarah Ann Daughter of John Cummings

When Sarah Ann Cummings was born on 20 March 1839, in Gibson, Gibson, Tennessee, United States, her father, John Cummings, was 36 and her mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 26. She married Elisha Jones on 13 December 1856, in Provo, Utah, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 5 daughters. She lived in Fairview, Sanpete, Utah, United States in 1860 and Heber Election Precinct, Wasatch, Utah, United States in 1900. She died on 28 September 1909, in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States, at the age of 70, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Melinda Ann Daughter of John Cummings

When Melinda Ann Cummings was born on 6 April 1840, in Gibson, Gibson, Tennessee, United States, her father, John Cummings, was 37 and her mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 27. She married James Andrew Ross on 6 March 1857, in the President’s Office, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States. She lived in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States in 1839. She died on 31 January 1910, in Pleasant View, Utah, Utah, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Provo City Cemetery, Provo, Utah, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Nancy Elizabeth Daughter of John Cummings

When Nancy Elizabeth Cummings was born on 7 September 1843, in Nauvoo, Hancock, Illinois, United States, her father, John Cummings, was 40 and her mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 30. She married Joseph Smith McDonald in 1863, in Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 3 daughters. She lived in Provo, Utah, Utah, United States in 1860 and Utah, United States in 1870. She died on 18 October 1881, in Daniel, Wasatch, Utah, United States, at the age of 38, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Harmon William Son of John Cummings

When Harmon William Cummings was born on 11 July 1850, in Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States, his father, John Cummings, was 47 and his mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 37. He married Isabella Florinda Dayton on 2 July 1872, in Harrison, Iowa, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 11 February 1920, in Salt Lake City, Salt Lake, Utah, United States, at the age of 69, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.

Brief Life History of Thomas Son of John Cummings

When Thomas Cummings was born about 1852, in Pottawattamie, Iowa, United States, his father, John Cummings, was 51 and his mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 40. There is no available information about this birth or death.

Brief Life History of Joseph Son of John Cummings

When Joseph Cummings was born on 6 January 1857, in Provo, Utah, Utah, United States, his father, John Cummings, was 54 and his mother, Rachel Ann Canarda, was 43. He was hit by lightning and died on 5 June 1877, in Utah, United States, at the age of 20, and was buried in Heber City Cemetery, Heber City, Wasatch, Utah, United States.