Career
He was mayor of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada for three months in 1854 and in 1856. James Cummings emigrated to Canada as a young manitoba He lived briefly in Montreal, Quebec before coming to Hamlton in the 1830s and 1840s where he established a successful wholesale crockery business.
Cummings had other business interests.
Cummings was elected to city council as an alderman in 1854. Following a rather bizarre election in which all ten aldermen were successfully nominated and defeated, Cummings was chosen as mayor.
The election was declared invalid, however, and he served for only three months. In 1875 he was appointed tax collector, a position he filled until his death.
A self-educated man with a fondness for literature, Cummings devoted himself to the public school system.
He was a school trustee and acted as chairman of the Board of Education from 1863 to 1875. During his tenure the two-hour recess and the monthly fee system to purchase free school supplies were introduced. He also carefully supervised the construction and repair of school buildings.
Cummings served on the Board of Education for over thirty years.
