CLASS OF 1862
The death of Mr. Cummings, the secretary of his class, was noted in the last issue of THE MAGAZINE. The following sketch of his life was prepared by Charles R. Corning, A.M., 1887:
The death of Horace S. Cummings at his home in Washington on the 7th of December, 1911, has brought a deep sense of sorrow to his friends in New Hampshire. Although long a resident of Washington he possessed a strong and constant love for the old state in which he spent his youth. New Hampshire and Dartmouth College were always the objects of his affection.
His father was the Rev. Jacob Cummings, whose wife, Harriet Tewksbury, was the daughter of John Sargent Tewksbury, a well-known citizen of Winthrop, Massachusetts. Mr. Cummings senior was a Congregational minister, having charge of the society at Southboro, Massachusetts, where the son was born July 1, 1840. Three years later a call from Hillsborough brought the family into New Hampshire. From that town the minister soon removed to Exeter, where the childhood and youth of the son were passed amidst social and intellectual influences which were never forgotten.
Exeter was ever afterward intimately associated with his life; he never forgot the early friends, and to him there was no pleasure so keen as those yearly visits he made as long as his health permitted. Naturally he became a student in Phillips-Exeter Academy, where he prepared for Dartmouth, entering that institution in the autumn of 1858.
With some of his classmates he formed the closest ties, particularly with Edward Tuck, whose friendship continued loyal and intimate to the end. After graduation in 1862 Mr. Cummings returned to Exeter and studied law in the office of Charles H. Bell, subsequently governor of the state and a senator in Congress. Later he entered the Albany Law School, and was admitted to the bar in New York city in 1863. For some reason he put aside his profession for a time and spent several months in Washington, where he served as law clerk in the office of his friend, Dr. John M. Brodhead, Second Comptroller of the Treasury. In the summer of 1870 he resigned, and traveled in Europe until May, 1871. On returning to Washington he entered into the practice of his profession, and so continued until ill health compelled him to desist. In many ways he became interested in the business growth of the District; banking, street railways, and land development were among his activities, and no man's honesty and reputation stood higher. Politics possessed an interest, especially those in New Hampshire, and his acquaintance among the public men of the state was wide and comprehensive. Socially, Mr. Cummings was very popular, and his home on K Street was often the scene of gracious and unpretentious hospitality. To the visiting New Hampshire person, Mr. Cummings kindness itself, sparing nothing in the way of attention and entertainment. His love for Dartmouth was shown many years ago in preparing a history of his class, and a short time before his death he gave much time in arranging and writing a larger and more elaborate biography of his classmates, which was received with great favor. Surely, New Hampshire has lost in the death of Horace S. Cummings a loyal, kindly son, and his many friends will mourn a staunch and generous comrade.
