| Notes |
- Ada is the daughter of Caroline Gatchell & Nathaniel Lord Gerrish, of Maine.
1905 Sep 12 - Pioneer of Cadillac - James Hogg, one of the early pioneers of this section died here after a few weeks' illness. Mr. Hogg had resided in Cadillac for 1st quarter of a century. He is survived by 2 children, Mrs. Ida Cummer of this city & Will Hoag of Detroit.
1911 Jan 20 - Woman Aids Cadillac Library, - Mrs W W Cummer, of Jacksonville, Fla, has donated a check of $500 to the public library fund. Mrs. Cummer was a former resident of Cadillac.
Ref: Grand Rapids Press.
Wellington Willson & Ada Gerrish Cummer were among the first residents in the Riverside area of Jacksonville, FL. Wellington started the family's lumber business 1896. In addition to a large & modern saw mill located at Panama Park at the mouth of the Trout River, the Cummers also owned vast timber tracts in Baker, Alachua & Levy Counties, as well as a phosphate plant at Newberry, Florida. These various properties were connected by a 100 mile long railroad line constructed by the Cummer family. Named the Jacksonville & Southwestern Railroad, this line later became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. Pine, cypress, & oak, as well as phosphate rock, was brought by train to Jacksonville where it was shipped from the Cummer docks. In addition to being one of the largest employers in Jacksonville during the early 1900's, the Cummer land holdings had increased to the point that the family was the largest private landowner in the state with over 500,000 acres. The extensive Cummer holdings which included the sawmill, a box factory, & wood processing plant, came under the management of brothers Arthur & Waldo with the death of their father, Wellington in 1909.
Monument Inscription:
An oak has fallen - in the time of changing leaves & somber haze
A man has fallen - in his prime. And this the triumph o'er the tomb: The man who slumbers does not die His life doth other lives illume.
Obituary of Descendant of Ada & Wellington Cummer.1st: Will Cummer
November 01, 1938 - October 25, 2015
Will Cummer, of Wakefield, passed peacefully away at home, on October 25, 2015, with his family at his bedside. He was born in Jacksonville, FL, a son of the late Wellington Willson Cummer & Caroline Stevens Cummer. Will died of Cancer at age 76.
Will received his BA from Yale University & his PhD in Classical Archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania, studying at the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. Between his undergraduate & graduate programs, he was a Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps. In graduate school he met & married Sarah Boll Cummer. They had t2 children together. He was a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome, & a Director of the American Research Institute in Turkey. As a Professor at Cornell University & the Rhode Island School of Design, he taught Classical & Near Eastern Art & Architecture. He worked on Archaeological excavations in Greece, Italy & Turkey (including being a diver/excavator on a Roman shipwreck). In Rome he ran a course, “Illustrating Archaeology”, teaching how to survey & draw Archaeological sites, where he met his wife, Whitney, a fellow teacher.
He was interested in everything & did it all with great enthusiasm. A boat-builder & sailor, he restored his beloved 1936 Concordia sloop “Cinderella” back to her former glory, as well as building prams, skiffs & even a colonial punt for Smith’s Castle. He created a magnificent garden with ponds, waterfalls, a march, a birch grove, & every imaginable shrub, tree & flower. He loved kayaking, hiking in the Adirondacks, Bluegrass music, building theater sets, soccer (both as his children’s coach & as a diehard “Barcelona” fan), & volunteering – for Meals on Wheels, Welcome House, URI Watershed Watch, Hospice Care of RI, & the South Kingstown Land Trust. Will was a Trustee with his sister Cheryl, of the Cummer Family Foundation in Jacksonville, Florida. When he wasn’t volunteering, or helping his family & multitude of friends, he was on Narragansett Bay or in his garden. He passed on to all his family & friend show to live with joy, friendliness & humor, & to face illness with courage.
He is survived by his loving family - his wife Whitney Powell, his son Willson Cummer & daughter-in-law Michelle Breidenbach, his daughter Clementine Douglas Cummer, his son Samuel Ross Cummer, & his sister Cheryl Stevens Cummer & brother-in-law Jack Lyle. He also leaves his beloved grandchildren Magdalena Cummer Nacco, & Giuliana Cummer Nacco. He will be much missed by his sisters & brother- in-law, Deborah Abbott& Ross & Kate Powell, nieces Ada Cummer Chamberlain, Whitney Eno, & Kate & Jon Nazemi, & grandnieces Kate Chamberlain, Chloe & Maeve Nazemi, & grandnephew Ciaran Chamberlain.
A Memorial service will be held on May 14, 2016 at 2:00pm, at the South Kingstown Land Trust Barn, 17 Matunuck Beach Road, Matunuck, RI. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to Welcome House, 8 North Road, or the South Kingstown Land Trust, 227Robinson Street, both in Wakefield, RI 02879. - - -
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1853 - 1929 (76 years)