Background
John Cummings was born on Feburary 12, 1785 in Woburn, Massachusetts, the sixth child of Ebenezer and Jemima (Hartwell) Cummings. Both his father and grandfather were tanners as well as farmers.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
John Cummings
Edit ProfileEducation
John received a meager education and followed his forebears.
Career
He started in the business of tanning on his own account in 1804, and until his retirement forty- three years later was a prominent figure in the industry.
These years were important in the history of the leather industry, for they spanned the period of change from primitive methods to the modern, factory, machine-made product, and in this progress Cummings was a leader.
When he commenced tanning he personally collected the hides and bark from the farmers, and having tanned them, hawked them about the country in small lots.
About 1830 he took up the manufacture of “chaise leather” as a specialty, and was so successful that for many years he largely supplied the needs of the chaise manufacturers of the New England States. When enameled leather came into use and took the place of the old-fashioned chaise leather, Cummings immediately began its manufacture, becoming one of the largest slaughter leather tanners in Massachusetts. He was appointed almoner of the fund contributed by the leather interest for the benefit of Samuel Parker of Billerica, the inventor of this machine.
The Cummings factories gave rise to the village of Cum- mingsville in Woburn.
Achievements
-
Cummings was important in the early history of the leather business not only because he was quick to adopt new methods, but also because of the many men, later influential in the trade, whom he trained and assisted. He is credited with being “the first tanner who appreciated the value of the splitting machine which has been of the greatest service in facilitating the finishing of leather”.
Connections
He was married May 2, 1811, to Marcia Richardson of Woburn, by whom he had three children.
References
- The Cummings Memorial: A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Isaac Cummings, an Early Settler of Topsfield, Massachusetts - Primary So
- Cumming: The Origins of the Clan Cumming and Their Place in History (Scottish Clan Mini-Book)
- The Cummings Memorial: A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Isaac Cummings, an Early Settler of Topsfield, Massachusetts
- The Cummings Memorial: A Genealogical History of the Descendants of Isaac Cummings, an Early Settler of Topsfield, Massachusetts (Classic Reprint)
