We are grateful for the generosity of Maree Lamb, Ted Cummins and Kate Styman,
Cummins family members who have contributed parts of the information on this page.
Colin's grandmother, ELIZABETH CUMMINS, was born 10th October, 1864 at Calabash Creek, Marengo near Young, NSW.
Her parents, THOMAS CUMMINS AND JANE HAYDON, were married 14th November, 1855 at St. John's Roman Catholic Church, at Campbelltown. Thomas Cummins had come to this country from Tipperary, Ireland and was born 18th February,1831, the son of James Cummins and Margaret Croak or Croke. He arrived on the "Margaret" on 5th January, 1839.
At the time of his marriage Thomas was living at Menangle. His bride, Jane Anastasia Haydon, born 10th May 1840, was from Sugar Loaf, the daughter of John Haydon and Mary Eggleton. Thomas and Jane remained in that area for several years and during that time, MARGARET JANE CUMMINS was born in 1856 at Menangle, and THOMAS CAMDEN CUMMINS was born in 1858 at Menangle. Brother JAMES CUMMINS was born at Campbelltown in 1859, and JOHN CUMMINS at Menangle in 1861.
By 1863 Thomas and Jane were living in the Binalong NSW area where MARY CUMMINS was born in 1863. We find that in May of 1866 they were living in the Calabash Creek area where young Mary died,
Three of these children died in infancy, and one as a young unmarried man.... Edward Laurence, known as Ned, perished in a bushfire in 1900. Oral history relates that Thomas Cummins was a hard working man who would ride at night between the two properties of Calabash and Galong, so as not to lose any of the daylight working hours.
Elizabeth Cummins is pictured, at right.
Elizabeth's father Thomas Cummins died 9th March 1899 at "Hughdownia" near Galong and was buried at Murringo where his wife Jane Anastasia Cummins was later buried after her death at Calabash, Murringo on 16th January, 1916.
The background of the Cummins and Haydon families is an interesting one. James Cummins, the father of our Thomas Cummins, came to Australia in 1832 on the convict ship “Eliza” , with his brother Thomas. Both brothers had been sentenced for seven years transportation on the charge of manslaughter. James at that time was married and his wife and son came out as free settlers in 1839, James having applied for them to join him in Australia.…what a difficult time it must have been for all concerned, during the years of separation. Margaret Cummins, nee Croak or Croke, came on the "Margaret" with their son Thomas and it is reported that James was there to meet them on arrival.
James was assigned to the Penrith district, and his brother Thomas to Appin. James and his family eventually settled at Menangle and at one time farmed on rented land, part of the “Glenlee Estate”.
Jane Heydon’s mother, Mary Eggleton, was the daughter of William Eggleton, whose father William came to the colony on the First Fleet. This William Eggleton was tried in Surrey for theft and came out to this country to serve his sentence of seven years. He arrived on the convict ship “Alexander” on 26th January, 1788. Soon after his arrival, William was married at Sydney Cove to Mary Dickenson, also from Surrey, who had been a barrow lady there and who was also serving a sentence of seven years for theft. Mary Dickenson was another who sailed in the First Fleet, on the ship "Lady Penrhyn". Mary Eggleton’s mother was Sophia Rugglass, daughter of convict Thomas Rugglass who came out on the ship "Active" in 1791 and who married Mary Armstrong, convict, who came on the ship “Indispensable”.
Jane’s father, John Heydon, also had convict connections, his father James having arrived on the “Matilda” in 1791. James Haydon married Elizabeth or Jane Kane, who came as a convict on the “Glatton” in 1803.
aged 3 years and 2 months. It was at this time, 10th October, 1864, that ELIZABETH ELLEN CUMMINS was born at Calabash Creek, and her younger brother PATRICK THOMAS CUMMINS was also born there, in 1866. WILLIAM CUMMINS, born 1868 at Boorowa, DANIEL CUMMINS born 1870 at Calabash Creek, HENRY CUMMINS born 1872 at Marengo, WINIFRED JANE CUMMINS born 1874 at Calabash Creek, ANN JANE CUMMINS born 1877 at Calabash Creek, EDWARD LAURENCE CUMMINS born 1878, MICHAEL JOSEPH CUMMINS born 1881 at Marengo, and CATHERINE THERESA CUMMINS born 1883 at Marengo provided a sizeable family for Jane and Thomas.
The next mention we have of Elizabeth Ellen Cummins, daughter of Thomas and Jane, is the occasion of her marriage to MICHAEL FRANCIS on 5th August, 1884 at Murringo, where they were married in the church by the rites of the Church of Rome.
A son, MICHAEL FRANCIS was born to this marriage on 26th March, 1886. His father, Michael, was listed as a farmer, aged 25 years, and had come from Clare, Ireland. Michael Francis and his wife Elizabeth were living at Calabash Creek at the time of their son's birth and presumably young Michael was born at home because the place of birth is given as Calabash Creek. We do not know anything further about young Michael Francis, other than his marriage to Bertha Nawn, which was registered at Bathurst in 1916, and a son William J. Francis, born to them the same year.
We do not know what happened between the period of 1886 when young Michael Francis was born, and the birth of Elizabeth's next child, JOHN JOSEPH IGNATIOUS HENDRY, born 1891 at Forest Reefs, near Bathurst.
Evidently Elizabeth had left Michael Francis and her son Michael and had established a relationship with MICHAEL HENDRY, son of Mary Ann Delaney and James Hendry. We have evidence that Elizabeth and Michael Hendry never married, though they have stated on various certificates that they were married. Elizabeth gives one date, Michael another, and the conclusion drawn is that they said they were married to fulfill the conventions of the times. It is apparent that Elizabeth, at this time, was still married to Michael Francis.
Elizabeth and Michael, or Mick, as he was known, lived together as man and wife for many years, and raised a family of five children: Elizabeth also had a son and later a daughter, who died either at birth or were stillborn, as neither of them were named.
Deviate here to view a photograph of MICHAEL HENDRY
Or here, to view a photograph of MICHAEL HENDRY with his sister, MARY ANN HENDRY.
Or here to view a photograph of ELIZABETH CUMMINS
Mick Hendry was a shearer by occupation, and travelled to fulfill that mode of employment. Their first child, John, was born near Bathurst...their second, Mary Ann, was born at The Pocket, near Brunswick Heads.. a significant distance to travel, in that era, in a horse-drawn waggon! Mick and Elizabeth were at The Pocket in 1893 when Mary Ann was born: we next find them back in the Parkes area in 1896 when their next child, Florence Matilda Hendry was born. They had another daughter, Myrtle Elizabeth, born in Parkes about 1900, and their last living child, Catherine Hendry, in 1902, also in Parkes.
Check in here to view a photograph of AMY COOPER & JOHN HENDRY
Mick, at this time, was working on a very large property called "East Billabong", which was in the area from around Billabong Creek on the eastern side of Parkes, ranging out to the hills at Bumberry. We know that Mick and Elizabeth lived in a house near the Billabong Creek and presumably this house was on part of "East Billabong".
Molly Chapman, daughter of Mary Ann Hendry, has told us that this house consisted of a lounge, bedrooms, kitchen and a hall and had outhouses and a dairy, so for the times, it was quite a substantial dwelling.
Molly remembers that her grandmother Elizabeth owned a house in Webb Street, Parkes, a couple of doors down from where her married daughter, Myrtle Littler lived with her family.
Elizabeth and Mick separated in later years and Mick died in 1935 in the Young Hospital. He had been living in the Young area and his death certificate details were given by his half-brother, Frank, who stated that Mick and Elizabeth were never married.
We have been able to piece together some of Elizabeth's history from medical records obtained from the Kenmore Hospital at Goulburn, where Elizabeth died in 1932. According to these records, Elizabeth was living in Parkes in an old people's home where it is reported that she had suffered a stroke about 1927. She suffered epileptic seizures in which she became progressively more unmanagable and she was moved to the Mount St. Joseph Old People's Home in Young, from where she was sent to Kenmore Mental Hospital, being admitted to Kenmore on 28th May, 1929.
An admittance form gives her height as 5 feet 4 inches, her weight as 7 stone 13lb and her general condition as fair. Her medical history between her admittance in 1929 and her death on 9th May, 1932 has been wonderfully documented and we have learned that she suffered regular epileptic seizures during which she would become unmanageable, followed by a period of weakness and then a state of calmness during which time Elizabeth helped out in the hospital until such time as she was afflicted by the next seizure.
During this time, a regular correspondence was kept up between the Hospital superintendant and Elizabeth's daughter Mary Ann Hendry, by then Mrs James Wooden, who was living in Parkes, and the copies of Mary Ann's letters have been made available by the Kenmore Hospital.
Elizabeth was buried in the private cemetery in the Hospital grounds at Kenmore and no permanent headstone has been found.
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