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John Coumans Jr.
of New Brunswick John
Coumans Jr. [3] Children: .............1. John Coumans III [4] .............2. Richard Coumans
[3],
[4] .............3. William Coumans .............4. Mary Jane Coumans .............5. Ellen Coumans .............6. Ann Coumans
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ John’s parents (John Sr. and Jane) immigrated to Canada from Ireland
sometime around 1819 or 1820. On January 16th, 1827, John Sr. petitioned
for a land grant for a piece of land on the southwest side of the
southwest branch of the Mirimichi River in New Brunswick (between the
George Price grant and the Stephen Hovey application). On the petition, he
stated that he was 27 (or 29) years old, had a wife and one child, and
that he had been in New Brunswick for seven years prior. One year later,
the couple had a second child - John’s brother Simon.
In 1852, a man named John Phelan Jr. and his family settled along the
banks of the Yokassippi River. They were followed by several pioneering
families - one of which was the Coumans family. A sawmill was built, as
well as a dam to power it John Jr. worked in the sawmill as the
proprietor, and was also a Deputy Reeve at one point. The families started
constructing homes, and the tiny community was dubbed “Phelan’s Dam.” Mr.
Phelan (being Irish like the Coumans) petitioned the government to name
the town “Emmett” after and Irish rebel. Instead, the government changed
the town’s name to Chepstow - after the first invader of Ireland (in 1170
A.D.). In 1863, a church was erected, and in 1865 was dedicated as “St.
John the Baptist” by Bishop Farrell. This name was chosen to honor the two
pioneering Johns in the community - John Phelan and John Coumans (either
Jr. or Sr.).
In 1867, John Jr. was listed (under the name Comans) as living (or at
least had land) in Bruce County, Greenock Township. The property was
located at Consession 11 & 12, Lot 5. His father, John Coumans Sr. had
property nearby too - Con 9, Lot 6, while his brother Simon had property
at Con 9, Lot 7.
John Jr. had 243(or 245 or 215) acres of land there, and had 5
children. Their names were Mary Jane (b. Jan 23, 1860), John (b. 1854),
Richard (Jan 11, 1858), William (b. 1862) and Ellen (b. March 19, 1865) .
. . also he possibly had an Ann (b. Jun 30, 1874), with Rose Ann Miller.
In 1880, John Jr. was listed in an Atlas as having a lot of 215 acres. He is gone, It is sad from this wide world's throng. No more will that strong arm that for liberty fought, No more will the ring of his axe greet the ear, May his dear Redeemer take him to his fold, The date of John Coumans Jr. died on March 14, 1919. His son, John
Coumans III, died just a few years later, in 1925. This image was taken from a screenshot of a map of Greenock Township, found online here: http://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/search.htm
The “Jno Coummons” at the top center of the map denotes John Coumans’ property in 1880. Note the John Phelan property above his. The river running off the map to the left is the “Teeswater” ~~~!!MYSTERY!!~~~ John Jr. may have had a second wife - according to the births deaths and marriages from the Paisley Advocate 1901-1910, Rose Ann Miller, the wife of a John Coumans from Chepstow died on February 12 1892 at the age of 52 in Paisley. Or this could have been the wife of John's son - John Coumans III, or perhaps another John Coumans entirely? Please e-mail me if you know what this is all about!
Notes:
Footnotes and Sources: 1. Source: Old Mary Immaculate Cemetery - Chepstow, Bruce Co., ONT 2. Source: 1851 Census of Perth Co., ONT 3. Source: 1861 Personal Census of Greenock Twp., Bruce Co., ONT 4. Source: Personal Communication with B. Bennett 5. Source: Personal Communication with G. Sheridan 6. Source: Obituary of Simon Coumans - Bay City Tribune 1910 7. Source: Church Records of St. Peter's Goderich, ONT: 1843 - 1850 8. Source: Obituary of Lewis P. Coumans
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Carissa Thomas ~ dancingbanana11@hotmail.com |
