Doing family history when you have an unusual surname should be a bit of a doddle. There have never been many people called ‘Cumella’ living in the UK, and all of them, as far as I can tell, are descendants of one man, Tadeo Cumella. Tadeo was a native of Barcelona and ‘Cumella’ is a Catalonian name, although it is also found in Western Sicily. This probably results from migration during the centuries in which Sicily and Catalonia were united under the Kingdom of Aragon. Most people called ‘Cumella’ in the Americas seem to be descendants of migration from Sicily.
The name ‘Tadeo Cumella’ is a shortened version of the rather more splendid ‘Tadeo Joseph Torebso Cumella y Alsina’. The ‘y Alsina’ suffix, in common with the usual Spanish custom, adds the maiden surname of his mother. If our family had followed this practice, I would be called by the less splendid name of ‘Stuart John Cumella and Smith’.
There is the usual information about Tadeo from censuses and other public records, but one unusual source is his application in 1874 to be naturalised as a British subject. This is now kept in the National Archives in Kew, and includes a summary of his life to that date, together with testimonials from various ‘natural-born British subjects’, and a statement from the Chief Constable of Liverpool that during his time in this country Tadeo “has borne a good character and moved in a respectable position in life”.
The biographical details on the application reveal that Tadeo was born in Barcelona on 16th April 1836, and worked from 1861 as a storekeeper to the engine room on a Spanish ship called the ‘Tajo’, which plied between Spain and England. He was married in June 1863 and in February 1865 finally settled in Liverpool. The application does not give the name of his wife, but other records identify her as Matilda Jane Davenport. The application notes that his wife was English and that they were married in St Brides Church in Liverpool. A marriage in the Church of England suggests that Tadeo had dropped any allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church by this time. This is in line with what I know of my family, who are not noted for their spirituality. By the time of the application, Tadeo and Matilda had five children: Tadeo Robert Hugh; John William; Ezra; Daniel; and Matilda Jane.
Tadeo’s first job on land was as a shipsmith with Caleb Smith & Co. But in November 1868, he went into partnership with a Basque living in Liverpool named ‘Juan Bautista Marcelino De Abaitua’. Their firm was known as ‘Abaitua and Cumella’, described as ‘shipwrights’. 1874 was an eventful year for Tadeo. After the naturalisation process was completed, the partnership was dissolved and Tadeo set up in business independently as a ships’ chandler. His wife and his son John William both died, but a new daughter, Ruth Davenport was born. It is possible that his wife died in childbirth, but I will need to get copies of death certificates to confirm whether this was the case. Tadeo married again, to Hannah Roberts, in 1877. They had one child, John Cumella, who was my paternal grandfather. Tadeo died on the 21st May 1900, and Hannah in 1904.
Beyond these records, I have little information about the Cumella family. My father was born after both his paternal grandparents had died, and I was born several years after the death of John Cumella. There was therefore no opportunity for the fruitful discussions across the generations that can take place between grandparents and grandchildren. I must therefore rely on any other records I will find in future.
I would like to thank the compiler of the de Abaitua family history on Ancestry.com for the photograph of Tadeo Cumella. I would also like to thank my son Andrew for gathering material at Kew and finding the de Abaitua website.
See also: Antoni Cumella: the greatest Cumella of them all
