Career
This firm, then known as Newberry and Dole, sent out the first shipment of grain from Chicago in September 1839. In 1852 Dole retired, and the firm, which was for a time known as Rumsey Brothers, devoted itself exclusively to the grain commission business. Rumsey was identified with the history of Chicago for more than half a century.
During that period he was mayor, county treasurer, and president of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Mr. Rumsey always took an interest in national and state politics. In 1861, during the period that preceded the Civil War, he did much, as mayor, to arouse the enthusiasm of his fellow citizens in favor of the preservation of the Union, and at the mass meeting in Metropolitan Hall a few days after the firing on Fort Sumter, he delivered a stirring address.
During the Panic of 1873 he was president of the Corn Exchange National Bank. He is buried in Graceland Cemetery.
Rumsey Avenue, which runs North-East/Southwest between the intersections of 87th Saint & Pulaski and 85th Saint & Hamlin, on Chicago"s far Southwest Side, is named for him.