Comings, Benjamin

The following data is extracted from History of the Town of Cornish, Sullivan County, New Hampshire.

3. BENJAMIN⁶ COMINGS (Samuel⁵, John^4-3-2, Isaac¹) a brother of Samuel, b. March 28, 1755, in Westford, Mass.; m. Sept. 5, 1776, Mary Cooper, dau. of Dea. John and Mary (Sherman) Cooper, b. at Hardwick, Mass., July 20, 1753. Dea. Cooper moved from Hardwick to Cornish in 1769; and the next year to Croydon. Mary Cooper, his wife, was own cousin to Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. Col. Benjamin Comings bought land and located in the unbroken forest 21, miles northeast of the Comings mills, built a log house, and set about clearing the land for crops, somewhere between 1778 and 1781. That place, located the south side of Meeting House Hill near the center of the town, is still called the "Comings Place" and occupied by his descendants. Along row of maple trees adorn the roadside. Col. Coming d. April 14. 1813; his wife d. Dec. 13, 1843. Children, all b. in Cornish:

    i. PENINNAH, b. June 20,1777; m. Dec. 14, 1800, Chester Weld. Four children. She d. May 11, 1810. (See Weld.)
    ii. T. SAMUEL, b. Nov. 3, 1778; d. Oct. 10, 1866, at Waldo, Sheboygan Co., Wis. He was thrice married. Settled in Berkshire, Vt., and in Waldo, Wis.
    iii. POLLY, b. Feb. 17, 1781: m. March 1, 1801, Luther Bingham of Cornish and res. in Morristown, Vt. Nine children. He d. Dec. 10, 1846. She d. Aug. 30, 1847.
    iv. SHERMAN, b. Jan. 9,1783; m. Jan. 25, 1803, Betsey Smart of Croydon, dau. of Caleb and Catharine (Black) Smart, b. in Croydon Sept. 13, 1782. He was a tanner and currier, and carried on the business in Cornish and Plainfield, and Berlin, Vt. Finally rem. to Galesburg, Mich., where he d. April 22, 1845. His wife d. Dec. 16, 1834. They had eleven children. Two of these were b. in Cornish: 1. Orilla, b. March 13, 1804, and d. in Cornish Dec. 11, 1806. 2. Harriet, b. Aug. 22, 1805.
    v. ANDREW, b. May 6, 1785; m. Sept. 10, 1809, Mrs. Betsey (Jewett) Parker, b. Feb. 28, 1784, and d. April 6, 1864. He was a farmer and lived in Berkshire, Vt. Seven children. He d. March 4. 1854. He was a sergeant in the War of 1812.
    vi. DEA. FENNO, b. March 21, 1787; m. Nov. 22, 1810, Rebecca Smart of Croydon, a sister of his brother Sherman's wife. He was associated with his brother in the tanning and currying business many years in Cornish, Plainfield and in Berlin, Vt., where he d. Jan. 24, 1830. Fourteen children. The first two were b. in Cornish and d. in infancy. The fourth. William Freeman, b. in Cornish Jan. 18, 1814; m. May 7, 1835. Adeline Tenny of Hanover and had five children. The eighth, Ursula Francis, b. Nov. 15, 1818; m. March 9, 1837, Oliver Dewey. These were the parents of Laura Frances, the wife of Charles W. Comings. The twelfth, Erasmus Darwin, was a noted singing teacher, who lived and d. in Croydon.
8. vii. DEA. BENJAMIN, b. April 15, 1759.
    viii. BETTY, b. April 3, 1791; m. Feb. 26, 1818, Moody Smith. Res. in Cornish. No children. She d. Aug. 17, 1869. Mr. Smith d. July 6, 1856.
    ix. SUKEY, b. April 4, 1793; m. June 25, 1829, James Sperry of Claremont (his second wife). She had three children. She d. in Dec., 1863. She, with two of her children, were buried in Claremont.
    x. and xi. were twins sons, b. Oct. 13, 1795, and d. the same day.
    xii. JULIA D. ROBIGNE, b. April 12, 1799; m. Dec. 27, 1815, Jacob Newell. She had seven children. (See-Newell.) They lived in Lyme, where she d. May 2, 1858. Mr. Newell d. in Cornish Aug. 16, 1869.

Source: History of the Town of Cornish, Sullivan County, New Hampshire

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