Cumings Family

One of the original settlers in Stephen F. Austin's colony, Rebekah Russel Cumings came to Texas in 1822 with five of her children. A widow, she received a league and two labores of land in Brazoria and Waller Counties. Three of her sons, John, William and James, also received land grants in the colony. In addition, James Cumings received a five-league grant or hacienda in exchange for a pledge to build a grist and saw mill on Mill Creek, and the three brothers joined together to complete the project.

William Cumings married Lucinda Ruggles of Lewis County, Kentucky, in 1825, and brought her back to Texas. Their only child, Samuel Anthony Cumings, was born there in 1827. William died the next year and his widow and child returned to Kentucky. The death of James Cumings in 1826, Rebekah Cumings in 1832, and John Cumings in 1839 left the family's land in the care of Rebekah's surviving daughter, Rebecca Cumings. In 1847, Samuel A. Cumings, who had been living in St. Louis, Missouri, returned to Texas and claimed a share of the estate of his father and uncles. Settling in the Bellville area, Cumings studied law, though his primary activities were operating the family's mill, managing landholdings, farming, and other business pursuits. Division of the Cumings estate touched off a protracted legal battle involving Samuel A. Cumings, his aunt Rebecca (who married David Y. Portis in 1853), heirs in Kentucky and Indiana, and others. Various legal actions were filed and cases were heard by the Texas Supreme Court at least three times.

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