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Carlton Skinnel wrote: "I descend from Robin Cummings also. Where is he buried? Family stories that Robin and a sister came from Ireland. That he was a "Sir" and she was a countess of Athol. Have you heard such?"
Carlton,
Thank you for your note! Are you talking about Robert "Robin" Cummins who lived in Monroe County, Virginia (later West Virginia) from about 1772 to 1841? He seemed to have been a "Cummins" and not a "Cummings," although some of his descendants (including my ancestor) changed the name to Cummings.
Robin could very well have been Scotch-Irish since most of the settlers coming into Virginia, and especially into the Shenandoah Valley and the trans-Allegany interior in the late 18th century were Scottish Presbyterians. Robert was born in Maryland or Virginia a few years before the Revolution in 1772 (or 1770), but apparently had moved to Greenbrier County, Virginia by the age of 20 in 1792 when his first son, James F. Cummins, was born. The area where Cummins lived later became Monroe County (1799) in West Virginia (1863). More specifically, the Robert Cummins farm was a few miles SE of Union on Hans Creek near the small communities of Wikel and Greenville (Centerville before 1890). The first group of White settlers came to area in 1770 and built Mann's Fort (same as Cook's Fort?), and a survey completed in 1774 indicated that there were "54 families living in the county." Robert clearly came to the trans-Allegany with other Cumminses, for there are other Cumminses--Abraham, Hugh, Charles, and William--buying land in the same area at the same time, but nobody seems to know how these people are related.
Robert was a farmer (as was practically everyone) and bought substantial acreage on Hans Creek during the period 1809-1817. He later sold off some of his land in the twenties, and around 1831, half of his eight children and their families abandoned the narrow valleys of Monroe County, Virginia for the flat and fertile land of Henry County in Indiana's Central Plains. Robert died in June 1841 in Monroe County, Virginia. I don't know where Robert is buried, but I see on the Web that there is a "Cummings Cemetery on the Rolin Cummings' farm between Wikel and Cook's Run in Monroe County." He may be buried there considering that (i) the Robert Cummins farm was located near Wikel, and (ii) the distinction between 'Cummins' and 'Cummings' is generally not so significant.
In the absence of proof (and family stories do not constitute proof), we can safely assume that Robert was not a "Sir" and his sister was not a "Countess of Athol." There are many smart family researchers who have been trying for years to find out more about Robin Cummins' background to no avail. If he was a landed gentleman or his sister a countess, there would be written documents to prove it, but alas, there are not.
Best regards, Bob Cummings
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