Carey E. Cummins Biography


	This biography is from "Memorial and biographical record; an illustrated
 	compendium of biography, containing a compendium of local biography,
	including biographical sketches of prominent old settlers and 
	representative citizens of South Dakota..." Published by G. A. Ogle & 
	Co., Chicago, 1899. Pages 969-970

	Scan, OCR and editing by Maurice Krueger,mkrueger@iw.net, 1998. 

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CAREY E. CUMMINS, a native of Shiawassee county, Michigan, was born 
February 18, 1859. His present home is on section 22 in Riverside 
township, Brown county, and he is one of the prosperous farmers of that 
region and one of the early settlers. 

The father of our subject, Jeptha Cummins, was the son of Aden Cummins 
and was born and raised in Canada and followed farming and 
blacksmithing. He was of Scotch descent and the mother of our subject, 
Phoebe H. (Dickerson) Cummins, was born and raised in New York state. 
Of their nine children our subject was the fourth in order of birth and 
was raised in Michigan on a farm, attending the district schools and 
during the winter of 1879-89 attended the Northern Indiana Normal at 
Valparaiso, at which place he was taken ill and returned home. He left 
Michigan for South Dakota in March, 1881, and arrived in Brown county 
May 3, after spending some time at Milbank, South Dakota, the delay 
being caused by the floods. He made the trip from Milbank with wagons 
and upon arrival tat the new home he and his father erected a 16 x 24 
shanty. This building was later used for a barn and during the summer 
our subject put up his shanty, 14 x 1 6 feet, on the southeast quarter 
of section 15, township 124, range 61. He had a team of oxen and a plow 
and his first crop was sod corn and was a total failure. In 1882 he had 
one of the best crops he has ever recorded and his success was assured. 
His father returned to Michigan and our subject rented his farm and 
later purchased his father's interests. He now has four hundred and 
eighty acres in three quarter sections of land and operates a farm of 
six hundred and forty acres. His father erected the present barn in 
1887, 50 x 60 feet, one of the largest in the neighborhood. His house 
is in three parts and is commodious and modern in every way. He 
purchased a steam threshing rig in 1892 and each season since has 
engaged in that line, and he also runs the feed mill on his place with 
the engine. There were but few shanties in that locality when he 
settled there and Yorkville, on the James river, was the nearest post 
office. 

Mr. Cummins' mother died in Dakota in July, 1887, and the father 
returned to Michigan. Our subject was married January 9, 1881, to Miss 
Lettie M. Bellman, a native of Detroit, Michigan. Her parents moved to 
Langsburg, Michigan, when she was about three years of age, where the 
mother died. The family later moved to Perry, Michigan, and her father 
was a harness maker by trade, and followed it until 1882, at which time 
he disposed of his business and purchased a farm of one hundred and 
twenty acres, which he still cultivates. He was of English descent, and 
was born in Kentucky. Her mother was born in Detroit, and was the 
daughter of John C. Sabine. Six children have been born to Mr. and Mrs. 
Cummins, as follows: Nora, Carl, Erwin, Lula, Lee and Ray, all of whom 
were born in South Dakota. Both our subject and wife are members of the 
Methodist Episcopal church, and Mr. Cummins is prominent in public 
affairs. He served as supervisor in his township from 1885-88, and 
later served as township treasurer for eight years. He is a Populist in 
political sentiment, and has attended numerous conventions of his 
party. He has prospered since locating in Dakota, and is one of the men 
in whose coming to the county the citizens of Brown county may well 
rejoice.