Harry Sythe Cummings photograph collection
Abstract
This collection contains photographs of Harry Sythe Cummings, the first Black Baltimore City Councilman. Also included are portraits of his family members.
Dates
- 1890-1910
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Biographical / Historical
Harry Sythe Cummings (1866-1917) was a lawyer, first black Baltimore City Councilman, and fraternal leader. He was second eldest son of the eight children of Henry Cummings and Eliza Jane Davage Cummings. His father, Henry, was a chef and his mother, Eliza, conducted a lodging and boarding business in the family homes, 424 West Biddle Street and 1234 Druid Hill Avenue, Baltimore. One of Harry’s brothers, Aaron Cummings, became the first black United States Postal Service Supervisor in Baltimore. Ida Cummings, one of Harry’s sisters, was one of the first black kindergarten teachers in Baltimore. Cummings married Blanche Teresa Conklin and had two children, Louise Virginia Cummings Dorcas and Harry Sythe Cummings, Jr.
After early education in public schools and recognizing there were no opportunities for African Americans to attend high school in Baltimore, Cummings enrolled in Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. At the age of 16, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1886.
He read law in the office of Joseph S. Davis, Esq., common practice for African Americans wishing to practice law in Baltimore. In 1887, he entered University of Maryland School of Law as one of the first two African Americans to finish the program. It took a Maryland Court of Appeals deicision in 1936 (Pearson v. Murray) to reopen the law school to African American students after Cummings graduated.
He was admitted to the practice of law on May 30, 1889 and continued actively in that profession. At the age of 26 in 1890, he was the first African American to serve in the City Council of Baltimore. He was reelected in 1891, 1896, and again in 1907, serving until his death in 1917.
February 1, 1892, he introduced the ordinance which was passed and signed by Mayor Ferdinand Latrobe on February 16, 1892, founding the first Manual Training School for Colored Youth in the City of Baltimore. Ten thousand dollars was appropriated to the school and it was named Colored Polytechnic Institute. He was a constant worker for more African American teachers and more schools open to African American students.
At the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois in June 1904, he made one of the addresses seconding the nomination of Theodore Roosevelt for the Presidency of the United States.
He was an active member in many fraternal orders and from 1910 to 1912 was Grand Attorney for the Grand United Order of Odd Fellows.
Extent
3.0 Linear Feet (1 half Hollinger box; 2 flat boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
Photographs remain in the order in which they were received.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Mr. Harry S. Cummings, Jr. and Mrs. Louise Cummings Dorcas, 1996.
Scope and Contents
Twenty-seven items in three boxes and one framed photograph, spanning circa 1890-1910, most items are not dated. Contents include photographic prints, one etched plate with wood backing, and postcards.
- Title
- Guide to the Harry Sythe Cummings photograph collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- Jennifer A. Ferretti
- Date
- 2012-03
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Revision Statements
- 2020-02-25: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Mallory Herberger.
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org