J.R. Cummins, Capt.
Cummins’ West Fork Guards, Tarrant County
Leonard’s Mill, June 1861.
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I found this J.R. Cummins in several Tarrant County tax and deed records, but did not find evidence that he was a resident. Did J.R. Cummins live in Tarrant County?
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One John Randolph Cummins (1832 TN-1902) m-c1857 Ellis Co TX to Elizabeth Sweatt. He and his siblings later lived in Collin County TX. This J.R. Cummins can be found in
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1850 Jackson Co Tennessee cen, John Cummins b-1783 NC
1870 Collin Co TX cen, John Cummins b-1833 NC.
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This John R. Cummins enlisted in Ellis County in Co C of Burford's 19th Cavalry as a Private.
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I strive to identify several sets of soldiers in my 1,046-page book that is from handwritten records.
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1) TST Captains of the 240 militia listings in my book.
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2) Brush Battalion, all 496 men. (I've spent countless hours finding these men, some of whom were rather elusive.)
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3) Bourland's Regt, about 850 men in the archival records, but a July 1864 GALVESTION NEWS article states that he had 1,000 men. Bourland's Regt had an inordinate number of older men, i.e. over age 45. Don't forget, I study the last 1-1/2 yrs of the War, which is markedly different than the first 1-1/2 yrs. I'm convinced that many older men, and their teenage sons, were in Bourland's Regt. In some cases, a son is listed, and in other cases, the father is listed.
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Lest we forget, history is the study of men, men as individuals. Too much of our history looks ONLY at the colonels and rich men, but in my book, I strive to identify the rank-and-file soldiers. This is tedious but is the only way we will have our textbooks reflect our history.
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Again,
Please help identify the "Capt. J.R. Cummins" of the West Fork Guards of 1861 Tarrant County.
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Patti, prochette@Juno.com