<< home

Coumans Family History
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
descendancy // images // resources // texts // mysteries

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you have evidence that helps us answer any of these questions more firmly, please pass it on to us!
 

Who were John Coumans and Jane Sargeant's parents?
   If John Coumans is the brother of Thomas Coumans (born in Ireland, immigrated to Nova Scotia, married to Abigail Pride), then an unconfirmed source suggests that John and Thomas' father may have been named James. However we have no proof that Thomas and John were brothers, and no proof that James was the father of either of them.
   At this time I have no clues as to what the name of Jane Sargeant's parents were.

What was the original spelling of Coumans? Why might it have changed?
   Several theories:
       (1) The Coumans family originally came from the Netherlands, where this surname is somewhat common. The family immigrated to Ireland for at least a brief period of time, but did not change the spelling of their name, and then eventually immigrated to Canada, still keeping the original dutch spelling.
       (2) The Coumans family originally came from the Netherlands, where this surname is somewhat common. The family immigrated to Ireland for at least a brief period of time, and in order to fit into Irish culture, changed their surname to "Cummins." This might explain why it's been difficult for us to find the Coumans surname in Ireland. When the family immigrated to Canada, they reverted to the original spelling - "Coumans."
       (3) The Cummins family was an old Irish family which immigrated to Canada. Because of some factor - likely because Irish were looked down upon in those days, they changed the spelling of their name to a dutch spelling "Coumans."

Is John Coumans related to Thomas Coumans/Abigail Pride?
   The John Coumans family came from Ireland. Coumans is a relatively odd spelling for an Irishborn family, so it seems that it must be more than coincidence that there was also a Thomas Coumans family that immigrated to Nova Scotia around the same time as the John Coumans immigrated. Some sources even suggest that John Coumans and his family lived in Nova Scotia for a time - perhaps having Mary Coumans and Simon Coumans in that province. Thomas is too young to be John's father - therefore he may be a brother or a cousin.

Is Jane Sargeant related to Thomas or William Sargent?
   There are two other Sargents found living in the same area as Jane Sargent and John Coumans.
Thomas Sargent married a woman named Margaret Anglum and had at least three children: "Thomas, Margaret, and William." All three were baptized in the same church as the youngest son of John Coumans and Jane Sargeant (Thomas Coumans). The church - St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church was located in Goderich, Huron County, Ontario.
William Sargent lived in Stratford, Perth County, Ontario. One of the first settlers to the area, he built the first Shakespeare hotel in Stratford. He and his wife (name unknown) ran the inn there, and started up a church.
Thomas and William are likely brothers . . . and Jane may be their sister, or perhaps cousin.

You can also find my family tree online at Ancestry.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Contact : Carissa Thomas