JOHN R. CUMMINS:

John Ronaldson Cummins was born July 24, 1834, in Ireland to George (1794-1847) and Matilda B. (Grubb) (1807-1866) Cummins. With his family he emigrated to the United States sometime prior to 1850, settling near Media, Pennsylvania. In 1856 he purchased a farm near Eden Prairie, Minnesota, settling there the following year. Except for two years' employment as a carpenter at the Upper Indian Agency on Leech Lake (May 1865-May 1867), Cummins remained in Eden Prairie until his October 1908 retirement. He then moved to Minneapolis but spent most of his time traveling throughout the United States, Europe, Central America, Canada, Jamaica, Cuba, and elsewhere. Cummins served on the Eden Prairie town board of supervisors (1862-1865, 1871-circa 1889), was town road overseer (circa 1871-1872), and was a member of the Minnesota Horticultural Society (circa 1894-1917) and the Minnesota Territorial Pioneers Association. He married Martha (Mattie) Ann Clark (d. 1908) on November 27, 1862 and Mary E. Nolan on October 1, 1912. Cummins died in Minneapolis on January 27, 1921 and is buried in Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis. His Eden Prairie farm house was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

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Materials give information on farming activities and methods, crops, prices, Cummins' involvement in local politics, social and church activities, numerous trips to the East Coast and throughout Minnesota, Cummins' employment as a carpenter at the Leech Lake Indian agency (1865-1867), and his life in Minneapolis and his travels (1908-1918) after retiring from farming. The collection includes account books giving information about Cummins' income and his farm, household, and travel expenses; an exercise book kept at Unionville Academy, Unionville, Pennsylvania (1850-1851); and memorabilia, letters received, and miscellaneous papers.

Included as well are letters received by and miscellaneous papers of Cummins' father, George Cummins, of Delaware County, Pennsylvania, himself a prominent horticulturalist.

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These documents are organized into the following sections:

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Access Restrictions:

Originals are closed. Access and use requires the curator’s permission. Please consult reference staff for more information.

Some of these files are located off site in Remote Storage. Advance arrangements are required in order to view the files.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. John R Cummins diaries and miscellany. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Microfilm available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Provenance:

See Minnesota History Bulletin, 1:327 and 4:71.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 1791; 1927; 1966B; 1999A; 11,096; 13,135; 16,909

Processing Information:

Processed by: Cheryl N. Thies, February 1982; additions by David B. Peterson, September 2014

Digitized by: Minnesota Historical Society, January 2019

Catalog ID number: 990017332990104294

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Location

Reel

M447

1

Essay book, correspondence, and miscellaneous papers, 1850-1916.

Includes Cummins' Unionville Academy essay book (1850-1851), his Civil War non-eligibility certificate for the Union draft and the receipt for his exemption-from-service payment (July 12, 1864); a letter (December 20, 1867) from E.B. French, U.S. Treasury Department, to Cummins concerning payment for Cummins' Upper Indian Agency carpentry duties, 1865-1867; notices to serve on the Hennepin County District Court grand jury (April 10, October 3, 1873); Mattie A. Cummins' Minnesota Territorial Pioneers Association honorary membership certificate (1899); a letter from Cummins to W.M. Babcock describing Cummins' Panamanian trip (1909); and numerous grocery, household, and farm business receipts and scale tickets (1865-1916).

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Diaries:

Volume 1, 1855.

Concerns his studies (January-February 24) and a trip to Philadelphia and Atlantic City (August). Includes a monthly cash account.

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Volume 2, 1856.

Details his first trip to Minnesota (May 4-October 2), including a trip up the Minnesota River, purchase of his Eden Prairie farm, and a trip to the National Exhibition in Philadelphia (October 9).

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Volume 3, 1857.

Describes a trip from Minnesota to St. Louis (March), settlement on his farm (May), and a grasshopper infestation (June-July). Includes a monthly cash account (January-November), daily cash spent entries (April-December), and related notes on crops and crop prices.

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Volume 4, 1858.

Describes a visit to an Indian camp at Hennepin (March 3) and a battle between the Dakota and Chippewa near his farm (May 27). Includes a monthly cash account.

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Volume 5, 1859.

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Volume 6, 1860.

Details crop prices and the construction of a mill near his farm (October).

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Volume 7, 1861.

Includes scattered entries on the Civil War and the construction of a nearby church; details a visit to Fort Snelling (June 11) and a trip to Media, Pennsylvania, and then with the 97th Regiment, in which his brother was serving, to Washington (November 4-December 24). Includes a monthly cash account (January, August-October) and a copy of a letter from his mother, M.B. Cummins (February 5).

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Volume 8, 1862.

Contains entries about his first election as Eden Prairie town supervisor (April 1); scattered comments on the Civil War, the mill, and the influx of western settlers during the Sioux Uprising, including the passage of 1790 Dakota women and children by his farm (November 12), and his marriage to Mattie Ann Clark of Minneapolis (November 27).

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Volume 9, 1863.

Civil War entries are scattered throughout the volume.

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Volume 10, 1864.

Includes entries on town business, particularly road upkeep and supervision, and Cummins' attempts to locate a substitute for the draft and his payment to avoid service (June-July).

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Volume 11, 1865.

Contains scattered war entries and, beginning on May 30, details of his trip to the Upper Indian Agency at Leech Lake, travels around the area, payments to the Indians (October 1-2), and daily life at the agency, including many visits to Hole-in-the-Day's farm.

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Volume 12, 1866.

Mainly entries about the agency Indians and daily activities at the agency, including maple sugaring (April-May), building of a stockade at Pine Point (May), crop planting (May), and the construction and operation of a launch on the lake (August-October). Includes scattered cash account entries, land descriptions, and a map of the Upper Indian Agency.

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Volume 13, 1867.

Concerns his dismissal from Leech Lake and the appointment of a new agent (January-May) and his return to farming at Eden Prairie (June). Includes a monthly cash account (January-July).

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Volume 14, 1868.

Includes memoranda on the amount of wood chopped and hauled and crops harvested by Cummins and McRae, a renter.

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Volume 15, 1869.

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Volume 16, 1870.

Numerous scattered entries on town road work and the mill.

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Volume 17, 1871.

Contains detailed descriptions of a trip to his wife's New Hampshire home, Boston, and Media (November 13-December 31). Includes crop records and a monthly cash account (November-December; January 1872).

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Volume 18, 1872-1874.

Continues descriptions of the eastern trip (January 1-February 15, 1872) and details his grand jury service (May 20-27, 1873). Includes genealogical notes, crop prices, an undated household and land inventory, monthly cash account (January-November 1872?), and account of workers' salaries (1872?).

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Volume 19, 1875-1877.

Contains entries on grasshopper infestations (August-September 1876) and an East Coast trip (September 4-November 2, 1876), including a visit to Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition. Includes crop notes, scattered cash entries, and traveling expenses (September 4-November 3, 1876).

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Volume 20, 1878-January 26, 1879.

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Volume 21, January 27-December 31, 1879.

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Volume 22, 1880.

Contains entries on grasshopper infestations (August-September 1876) and an East Coast trip (September 4-November 2, 1876), including a visit to Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition. Includes crop notes, scattered cash entries, and traveling expenses (September 4-November 3, 1876).

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Volume 23, 1881.

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Volume 24, 1882.

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Volume 25, 1883.

Details trips to Taylors Falls for trout fishing (July 30-August 1), to Duluth and Agate Bay (August 6-8), and to St. Paul for a celebration of the Northern Pacific Railroad opening (September 3).

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M447

2

Volume 26, 1884.

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Volume 27, 1885.

Includes notes on town roads and crops.

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Volume 28, 1886.

Contains entries on town road contracts, trips to Taylors Falls (June) and to Bayfield, Wisconsin, and Madeline Island (August 7-10), and Cummins' attendance at the state Republican convention (September 29). Includes an expense account (August, December).

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Volume 29, 1887.

Includes notes on town roads, supervisors' meetings, and crops.

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Volume 30, 1888.

Details his election as board of supervisors' chairman (March 13) and a camping trip through North Dakota, Montana, and Yellowstone (August 21-September 5). Includes notes on town roads, supervisors' meetings, and expenses.

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Volume 31, 1889.

Details a trip to Browns Valley, Minnesota (September 25-27).

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Volume 32, 1890.

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Volume 33, 1891.

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Volume 34, 1892.

Details his attendance at the Republican national convention in Minneapolis (June 10) and an East Coast trip, including a visit to Washington, D.C. (September 17-October 7). Includes expense accounts (September 18-October 7).

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Volume 35, 1893.

Details a trip to the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (October 7-16).

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Volume 36, 1894.

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Volume 37, 1895.

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Volume 38, 1896.

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Volume 39, 1897.

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Volume 40, 1898.

Details his plum and apple tree plantings and harvest.

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Volume 41, 1899.

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Volume 42, 1900.

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Volume 43, 1901.

Details a trip to Duluth, Port Arthur, and Isle Royale (July 27-30).

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Volume 44, 1902.

Describes an East Coast trip, including sightseeing at Washington and Mt. Vernon (October 2-26). Includes expense account entries and notes on various fruit trees.

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Volume 45, 1903.

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Volume 46, 1904.

Details a visit to the St. Louis Exposition (November 19-25).

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Volume 47, 1905.

Comments on a trip to Taylors Falls (October 6-8).

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Volume 48, 1906.

Describes trips to Taylors Falls (September 15-16) and Sault Ste. Marie (September 28-October 1).

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Volume 49, 1907.

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Volume 50, 1908.

Details Cummins' hospital treatment for an eye injury (May 10-21); trips to Brainerd, International Falls, and Canada (July 18-21) and to the East Coast (July 23-August 13); the sale of his farm (July 2); his wife Mattie's death (October 27); his move to Minneapolis (October 31); and a trip to the East Coast and Jamaica (December 10-31).

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Volume 51, January 1-December 27, 1909.

Continues very detailed entries on his trip to Jamaica (January 1-13); a trip from New York to San Francisco, via Panama, with stops in many Central American counties (February 13-26), travel around California (March 26-April 28) and back to Minnesota via Oregon, Washington, and the Canadian Pacific Railroad to Winnipeg (April 29-May 7); and a trip to Europe, including Ireland, England, Norway, Scotland, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Gibraltar, Spain and France (June 15-October 20). Also describes the purchase of a round-trip ticket to Texas and Mexico (December 27).

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Volume 52, December 27, 1909-December 27, 1910.

Continues 1909 entries on the trip to San Antonio, Texas, in the back pages of the volume. The 1910 entries detail travel in Texas and Mexico (January 1-15) and life at a friend's ranch near Palacios, Texas (January 16-March 26) and trips to Leech Lake and International Falls (July 6-16, September 12-17), to the East Coast to tour several Civil War battlefields (July 28-September 5), to Colorado (September 22-October 5), and to Texas and Mexico (November 1-23); and Cummins' purchase of a round trip ticket to Havana, Cuba (December 27).

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M447

3

Volume 53, December 28, 1910-1911.

Continues detailed description of his trip, via Florida, to Cuba, including a visit to a friend's orange plantation, and back to Minneapolis, via Washington and Pennsylvania (December 28, 1910-March 30, 1911); several short trips to Mankato (June 10-13), Taylors Falls (June 22-24, October 28-30), Park Rapids and Itasca (July 22-August 1), and Dorset (October 17-23); and trips to Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Yellowstone, Idaho, and Wyoming (August 15-September 2), and to Pennsylvania (December 27-31). Includes genealogical notes and addresses.

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Volume 54, 1912.

Details trips to Bermuda (January 1-23) and Europe, including Malta, Greece, Spain, Gibraltar, Algiers, Turkey, the Black Sea, Israel, Egypt, Italy, Monte Carlo, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Ireland (February 5-June 20); short hunting and fishing trips to Mankato (July 6-8), Taylors Falls (July 27-August 2), Leech Lake (August 8-14), and Glyndon (September 7-10); and trips to New York (August 23-September 5), the East Coast (September 19-October 21), and wintering in Alabama, Florida, and Havana (December 17-31). Includes an entry detailing his marriage to Mary E. Nolan in New York (October 1).

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Volume 55, 1913.

Describes travel in Florida and return to Minneapolis (January 1-April 5).

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Volume 56, 1914.

Details visits to Eden Prairie.

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Volume 57, 1915.

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Volume 58, 1916-1918.

Details an East Coast trip and summering in Milford, New York (April 18-October 4, 1916).

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Account books:

Volume 59, 1855-1871.

Some sections are divided into house and farm accounts.

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Volume 60, 1872-1908.

Almost daily entries.

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Volume 61, 1908-1909.

Includes entries detailing expenditures for his 1909 trips to Jamaica, California, and Europe.

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Volume 62, 1909-1911.

Almost daily entries, including his 1909-1910 Texas, Mexico, and East Coast trips and 1911 Florida, Cuba, and Yellowstone trips.

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Volume 63, 1877.

Scattered grain and hired worker salary accounts.

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Volume 64, 1900.

Scattered cash expenditures entries and a personal account.

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Location

301.F.5.10F

Letters received, 1851-1913. 2 folders.

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Includes letters from family (especially brother James R. Cummins of Philadelphia) regarding business affairs; from Thomas Williamson of Bourne, England, regarding horticulture and agriculture; and J.S. Harris regarding the affairs of the Minnesota Horticultural Society and apple growing. Also includes correspondence regarding Cummins' appointment as postmaster at Chippewa, Minnesota, in 1865.

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Miscellaneous papers, 1864-1912.

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Includes land deeds, membership cards, travel documents, and his appointment paper as postmaster at Chippewa, Minnesota, in 1865. The travel documents include a ticket (1912) in French, English, and Arabic to visit the antiquities of Egypt.

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Envelopes, undated and 1865-1916.

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Selected envelopes, without contents, either containing notes or return addresses that may be useful in conjunction with existing letters in the collection.

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George Cummins (1794-1847) papers:

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John R. Cummins' father of Rose Tree, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, was a prominent agriculturalist who experimented with new farming methods and crops and promoted the Delaware County Institute of Science.

Letters received, 1836-1843.

Principally letters from James and Richard Ronaldson discussing agricultural affairs and from Philadelphia attorney William J. Duane regarding legal matters.

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Miscellaneous papers, 1835-1848.

Includes land deeds, agreements, a copy of the will of James Ronaldson and an accounting of Cummins' estate (1847-1848).

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Other family members' papers: Letters received, 1848, 1850, 1931.

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Includes a partially printed letter (1848) denying the establishment of a post office at Rose Tree, Pennsylvania; a letter (1850) from W.J. Duane to James R. Cummins regarding the will of Mary Smith; and a letter (1931) from J.R. Baker regarding family matters.

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This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics:

Agriculture -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Agriculture -- Pennsylvania.

Dakota Indians -- Wars, 1862-1865.

Draft -- United States.

Education -- Pennsylvania.

Frontier and pioneer life -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Fruit-culture -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Ojibwa Indians -- Minnesota.

Roads -- Minnesota -- Hennepin County.

Persons:

Cummins, George, 1794-1847, author.

Cummins, Martha Ann Clark, -1908.

Cummins, Mary E. Nolan.

Hole-in-the-Day, Chief, 1828-1868.

Organizations:

Minnesota Horticultural Society.

Minnesota Territorial Pioneers (Organization)

Meetings:

Centennial Exhibition (1876 : Philadelphia, Pa.)

Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 : Saint Louis, Mo.)

World's Columbian Exposition (1893 : Chicago, Ill.)

Places:

Canada -- Description and travel.

Central America -- Description and travel.

Cuba -- Description and travel.

Eden Prairie (Minn.)

Europe -- Description and travel.

Jamaica -- Description and travel.

Leech Lake Indian Reservation (Minn.)

Media (Pa.)

Mexico -- Description and travel.

Milford (N.Y.)

Minnesota -- Description and travel.

Minnesota -- Politics and government.

New England -- Description and travel.

Palacios (Tex.)

Southwest, Old -- Description and travel.

Superior, Lake -- Description and travel.

Washington (D.C.) -- Description and travel.

West (U.S.) -- Description and travel.

Yellowstone National Park -- Description and travel.

Document Types:

Diaries.

Microforms.

Occupations:

Carpenters -- Minnesota.

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