Cushing Family
Sending in a query paid off for Kim Parkinson
Ruby M. Cusack
When I was a child, Thursdays were very special to me for two reasons. This was the day that Gord, went to town to pick up the order for his grocery store. On his way home, he would stop at Titus Bakery on Prince Edward Street to purchase a loaf of raisin brown bread.
In the evening, when the old kitchen clock struck 10, Mum would take the baked sausages from the oven and wrap them in the raisin brown bread for our bedtime lunch. Ordinarily, I would have been in the land of sleep by this time, but Thursday nights were the exception. While we ate our sausages and drank our milk, there was not a word spoken. All ears were tuned to the radio for "The John and Judy Show." Time did not drag for the next 30 minutes; it flew. Just as the most exciting part of the story unfolded, an announcer's voice interrupted with "Tune in next week, same time, same station!"
Preparing the queries for this weekly column reminds me of "The John and Judy Show." Once more I am a kid again waiting for next week's episode. I anxiously await for someone to provide answers to the queries.
Query 98-247 from Kim Parkinson read as follows: Cushing - Burleigh: A Saint John newspaper article dated Saturday, Sept. 3, 1898, gives elaborate detail of the wedding of Bertha May Cushing (father Allston Cushing) to Parker Pierce Prescott Burleigh, of Houlton, Me. An excerpt from the article says: "The bride is a very pretty, popular and accomplished young lady, a graduate of Howard Seminary, West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, and an elocutionist who has frequently appeared before the St. John public." I am interested in finding out who Allston Cushing was. Who was his wife? His children? Hopefully this will lead me in the correct direction from here.
In a letter to me, Kim mentioned that the article on the wedding had been found among the papers of her 94-year-old great-grandmother, who had spent 50 years of her life doing genealogy. I kept wondering about the pretty young Bertha May Cushing and her life as Mrs. Burleigh. I wanted the week to go quickly, so I could hear from some of our readers for details on the family of this bride.
I was not disappointed. George Cushing's wife, phoned to tell me George had the 1905 edition of the "Genealogy of the Cushing Family" by James S. Cushing - with information on Allston Cushing's family. It just so happened that George's sister, Helen from San Jose, Calif., was visiting George. Their grandfather, Richmond Hersey Cushing, was a brother of Allston Cushing. The stories and the information on the Cushing family proved to be more interesting than I had ever hoped for.
Allston Cushing was one of the sons of Delia Rich and Andre Cushing. I was very interested in the stories of Andre Cushing, who came to Saint John from Massachusetts and owned and operated the pulp mill near the Reversing Falls. His residence on Lancaster Avenue was named Keystone. He flew both the Canadian and American flags at his home and also at his pulp mill.
The marriage of Clara Laurence Currier and Allston Cushing took place on March 4, 1873. They had six children: Lucinda Currier Cushing was born on July 16, 1874. On Sept. 11, 1901, she was married to the Rev. Arthur Silver Morton of St. Stephen; Bertha May, the person mentioned in the above query, was born on March 10, 1876; Andre Richmond Cushing was born on Dec. 13, 1877; Delia Rich Cushing was born on Dec. 10, 1883; Charles Dunn Cushing was born Aug 16, 1885; and Clara Louise was born on March 10, 1889.
By the way, George and Helen's grandfather, Richmond Hersey Cushing, inherited Keystone, the family residence on Lancaster Avenue. He was director of public works for the City of Saint John.
The 1905 edition of the Cushing geneolgy was reprinted in 1979 and is available from Gerald H. Cushing, California. A second book "The Genealogy of the Cushing Family 1905-1969" by Allston Cushing is in the Reference Department of the Saint John Free Public Library in Market Square.
I would like to thank George and Helen for sharing their Cushing information so willingly with me.
Each week as I edit the queries, I notice how some family members stayed rooted in New Brunswick, while others drifted all over the world seeking a better life for themselves and loved ones. Today many of their descendants are seeking the lost or broken family connections.
A big thank you goes out to all of the readers who have been so helpful and have taken the time to answer queries. I sometimes get notes from those who have placed queries and they have shared with me the jewels of information they have received. They are most appreciative of the helping hand that has been extended to them by our readers.
By the way, I really like to hear about the break throughs you have made through the contacts you have received through this column - so send me a message!
Queries have been grouped together to cover the year 1998 and can be viewed at Queries-1998
Ruby Cusack is a genealogy buff living in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Readers are invited to send their New Brunswick genealogical queries to Ruby at rmcusack@nbnet.nb.ca. When E-Mailing please put Yesteryear Families in the Subject line. Please include in the query, your name and postal address as someone reading the newspaper, may have information to share with you but not have access to E-mail. Queries should be no more than 45 words in length.
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