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{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{For|other people with the same name|Alfred Cumming (disambiguation)}}
{{For|other people with the same name|Alfred Cumming (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox officeholder
{{Infobox officeholder
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| alt =
| alt =
| caption =
| caption =
⚫
| office1 = 2nd [[List of Governors of Utah|Governor of Utah Territory]]

| president1 = [[James Buchanan]]
⚫
| office1 = [[List of mayors of Augusta, Georgia|Mayor Augusta, Georgia]]
⚫
| predecessor1 = [[Brigham Young]]
⚫
| term_start1 = 1836
| term_end1 = 1837
| successor1 = [[John W. Dawson]]
| preceded1 = Samuel Hale
| term_start1 = April 12, 1858
| succeeded1 = John Phinizy
| term_end1 = May 17, 1861
⚫
| office2 = [[List of mayors of Augusta, Georgia|Mayor of Augusta, Georgia]]

⚫
| term_start2 = 1836
⚫
| office2 = Governor of [[Utah Territory]]
| term_end2 = 1837
⚫
| predecessor2 = [[Brigham Young]]
| successor2 = [[John W. Dawson]]
| preceded2 = Samuel Hale
| term_start2 = April 12, 1858
| succeeded2 = John Phinizy
| term_end2 = May 17, 1861
| birth_date = {{birth date|1802|9|4}}
⚫
| birth_place = [[Augusta, Georgia]], U.S.

| birth_date = {{birth date|1802|9|04}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1873|10|9|1802|9|4}}
⚫
| birth_place = [[Augusta, Georgia]], United States
| death_date = October 9, 1873 (Aged 71)
| death_place =
| death_place =
| restingplace = [[Summerville Cemetery]], [[Augusta, Georgia]]
| restingplace = [[Summerville Cemetery]], Augusta, Georgia
| restingplacecoordinates =
| restingplacecoordinates =
| birthname =
| birthname =
⚫
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| citizenship = American
| nationality =
⚫
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]]
| otherparty =
| otherparty =
| spouse =
| spouse = Elizabeth Randall Cumming
| partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| partner = <!--For those with a domestic partner and not married-->
| relations =
| relations =
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}}
}}


'''Alfred Cumming''' (September 4, 1802 – October 9, 1873) was appointed governor of the [[Utah]] territory in 1858 replacing [[Brigham Young]] following the [[Utah War]], when [[President Buchanan]] wanted a non-Mormon governor. He was born in [[Augusta, Georgia]].
'''Alfred Cumming''' (September 4, 1802 – October 9, 1873) was an American politician who served as the governor of the [[Utah Territory]] from April 12, 1858, to May 17, 1861. Cumming succeeded [[Brigham Young]] as governor following the [[Utah War]].


==Career==
Cumming also served as: mayor of Augusta, Georgia, [[sutler]] to [[Zachary Taylor]] during the Mexican War and at Jefferson Barracks in [[Missouri]], and superintendent of the Upper Missouri Indian Superintendency
Cumming served as mayor of [[Augusta, Georgia]] from 1836 to 1837. While he was mayor, he worked to curb a [[yellow fever]] epidemic in the city.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfred Cumming papers, 1792-1889 - Archives & Manuscripts at Duke University Libraries |url=https://archives.lib.duke.edu/catalog/cummingalfred |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library |language=en}}</ref> His father, Thomas Cumming, had previously held the mayoral position as “intendent” in 1798.<ref>{{Cite web |title=March 26, 1798: Augusta elects early leader Cumming |url=https://www.augustachronicle.com/story/news/2021/03/26/time-machine-augusta-ga-local-history/4790622001/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The Augusta Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>


During the [[Mexican–American War|Mexican-American War]], Cumming worked as a [[sutler]] to [[Zachary Taylor]]’s army and at [[Jefferson Barracks Military Post|Jefferson Barracks]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alfred Cumming {{!}} History to Go |url=https://historytogo.utah.gov/alfred-cumming/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=historytogo.utah.gov}}</ref>
Cumming was a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] and was appointed by President [[James Buchanan]].
He served as governor until 1861 and returned to Washington, DC. His wife Elizabeth died in 1867. He was the brother of [[Henry Harford Cumming]], and the uncle of his son, [[brigadier general]] [[Alfred Cumming (general)|Alfred Cumming]].<ref>[http://historytogo.utah.gov/people/governors/territorial/cumming.html Alfred Cumming]</ref><ref>[http://www.media.utah.edu/UHE/c/CUMMING,ALFRED.html Alfred Cumming]</ref>


Cumming was appointed superintendent of the Central Superintendency under the [[Superintendency system|Superintendency System]] on April 23, 1853.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yZ4WAQAAMAAJ&q=alfred&pg=PA2 |title=Records of the Central Superintendency of Indian Affairs: 1813-1878 |date=1972 |publisher=National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration |language=en}}</ref> In 1855, he participated in negotiating the Judith River Treaty with the [[Blackfeet Nation|Blackfeet nation]], which established the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=TREATY WITH THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS |url=https://leg.mt.gov/content/Committees/Interim/2013-2014/Water-Policy/Meetings/March-2014/1855-Judith_River_Treaty.pdf |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=leg.mt.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Blackfeet Nation |url=https://blackfeetnation.com/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=blackfeetnation.com}}</ref> After this, Cumming arrived in Utah in the spring of 1858, to negotiate the Mormon question, along with other topics like slavery and polygamy, in the Utah Territory.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CUMMING_ALFRED.shtml |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=www.uen.org}}</ref>
⚫
== References ==

Being [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], Cumming was appointed as the second governor of the [[Utah Territory]] by President [[James Buchanan]]. On July 13, 1857, he received this commission and set out that same September with an attachment of soldiers led by [[Albert Sidney Johnston|Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston]] as part of the [[Utah Expedition]]. At the time, Brigham Young, leader of the [[Church of Jesus Christ (Latter Day Saints)|Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints]], was acting as interim governor of the Utah Territory. Young did not wish to give up his position and feared that the approaching army was coming to attack. He therefore declared [[martial law]] and sent Utah militias to delay the Expedition. Johnston stationed his army at Camp Scott near [[Fort Bridger]], which was destroyed by the militias to slow their approach.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=The Utah War in Wyoming {{!}} WyoHistory.org |url=https://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/utah-war-wyoming |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=www.wyohistory.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Smithsonian |title=The Brink of War |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-brink-of-war-48447228/ |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=Smithsonian Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Buchanan offered a deal that would pardon all Utahns for their “seditions and treasons” if they let the army into [[Salt Lake City]] and welcomed Cumming as governor.&nbsp;Coupled with negotiations from [[Thomas L. Kane]], Young allowed the new governor and his entourage into the city on June 26, 1858.<ref name=":2" /> Cumming’s governorship was met with apprehension within the territory as he was a non-Mormon and was replacing the popular Brigham Young.

Accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth Randall Cumming, he was escorted to [[Utah]] by a large force under [[Albert Sidney Johnston|Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston]]. Upon arrival, Cumming was reappointed to a full term as governor. On orders of Brigham Young, [[Salt Lake City]] was almost abandoned when he arrived. Cumming was determined to avoid violence, and the so-called Utah War was quickly settled. Cumming's concerns as governor included the unusual powers of the local probate courts; Indians; construction of roads and bridges; the sale of public lands; mail service; lawlessness, including cattle rustling and murder; and poor penal conditions. Additionally, Cumming's wife shared the difficult winter near [[Fort Bridger]] and with her husband occupied the [[Devereaux House (Salt Lake City)|Devereaux House]] during the three years of their stay in Utah. Her letters provide a rare insight into events of that time, and record her impressions of the Utah landscape and social life as well as politics among the federal appointees, especially during 1857 and 1858. <ref>{{Cite web |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/t/TERRITORIAL_GOVERNORS.shtml#:~:text=Acting%20on%20rumors%20that%20the,Cumming%20(1857-61) |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=www.uen.org}}</ref>

At the end of his four-year term, Cumming returned to Washington, D.C. He settled the details of his administration and prepared to return to Augusta. However, his return was postponed by the Civil War until the summer of 1864, and not repositioned by president [[Abraham Lincoln]]. His wife passed away in 1867, and Cumming himself died in 1873 at the age of seventy-one. His term as governor of Utah Territory had been one in which the issues of self-determination, shared sovereignty, and territorial/federal relationships were tested as in few other times in the long American effort to create a democratic substitute for centralized colonial rule.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Utah History Encyclopedia |url=https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CUMMING_ALFRED.shtml |access-date=2024-06-03 |website=www.uen.org}}</ref>

==Personal life==
Cumming was born in Augusta, Georgia. His wife, [[John Witt Randall|Elizabeth Randall Cumming]], accompanied him on the Utah Expedition and wrote frequently about the experience.<ref name=":2" /> After arriving in Utah, she helped her husband with his official duties and wrote about Utah and its people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=DEFYING EXPECTATIONS: ELIZABETH RANDALL CUMMING'S JOURNEY TO UTAH |url=https://www.utahhumanities.org/stories/items/show/299 |access-date=May 26, 2024 |website=utahhumanities.org}}</ref> She died in 1867. Alfred Cumming was the brother of [[Henry Harford Cumming]] and the uncle of [[Alfred Cumming (general)|Alfred Cumming]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web |title=Alfred Cumming |url=https://historytogo.utah.gov/people/governors/territorial/cumming.html |website=Utah History to Go |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20181125132952/https://historytogo.utah.gov/people/governors/territorial/cumming.html |archivedate=November 25, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Citation | last = Peterson | first = Charles | title = Utah History Encyclopedia | publisher = University of Utah Press | year = 1994 | chapter = Cumming, Alfred | chapter-url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CUMMING_ALFRED.shtml | url = https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240321165140/https://www.uen.org/utah_history_encyclopedia/c/CUMMING_ALFRED.shtml | archive-date = March 21, 2024 | isbn =9780874804256 | access-date = March 25, 2024}}</ref> After his time as governor in the Utah Territory, he travelled to [[Washington, D.C.|Washington D.C.]] where he was waylaid until 1864 due to the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. He then returned to the Cumming’s family home in Augusta.<ref name=":2" /> He died on October 9, 1873.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Agency Histories {{!}} Utah Division of Archives and Records Service |url=https://archives.utah.gov/research/entities/4959/ |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=archives.utah.gov}}</ref>

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==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME = Cumming, Alfred
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Governor of the [[Utah]] territory
| DATE OF BIRTH = September 4, 1802
| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Augusta, Georgia]]
| DATE OF DEATH = October 9, 1873
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumming, Alfred}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cumming, Alfred}}
[[Category:1802 births]]
[[Category:1802 births]]
[[Category:1873 deaths]]
[[Category:1873 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century mayors of places in Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Governors of Utah Territory]]
[[Category:Governors of Utah Territory]]
[[Category:Mayors of Augusta, Georgia]]
[[Category:Mayors of Augusta, Georgia]]
[[Category:People from Augusta, Georgia]]
[[Category:Politicians from Augusta, Georgia]]
[[Category:Utah Democrats]]
[[Category:Utah Democrats]]
[[Category:People of the Utah War]]
[[Category:People of the Utah War]]

Latest revision as of 18:25, 5 November 2024

For other people with the same name, see Alfred Cumming (disambiguation).
Alfred Cumming
2nd Governor of Utah Territory
In office
April 12, 1858 – May 17, 1861
PresidentJames Buchanan
Preceded byBrigham Young
Succeeded byJohn W. Dawson
Mayor of Augusta, Georgia
In office
1836–1837
Preceded bySamuel Hale
Succeeded byJohn Phinizy
Personal details
Born(1802-09-04)September 4, 1802
Augusta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 1873(1873-10-09) (aged 71)
Resting placeSummerville Cemetery, Augusta, Georgia
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseElizabeth Randall Cumming

Alfred Cumming (September 4, 1802 – October 9, 1873) was an American politician who served as the governor of the Utah Territory from April 12, 1858, to May 17, 1861. Cumming succeeded Brigham Young as governor following the Utah War.

Career

[edit]

Cumming served as mayor of Augusta, Georgia from 1836 to 1837. While he was mayor, he worked to curb a yellow fever epidemic in the city.[1] His father, Thomas Cumming, had previously held the mayoral position as “intendent” in 1798.[2]

During the Mexican-American War, Cumming worked as a sutler to Zachary Taylor’s army and at Jefferson Barracks.[3]

Cumming was appointed superintendent of the Central Superintendency under the Superintendency System on April 23, 1853.[4] In 1855, he participated in negotiating the Judith River Treaty with the Blackfeet nation, which established the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.[5][6] After this, Cumming arrived in Utah in the spring of 1858, to negotiate the Mormon question, along with other topics like slavery and polygamy, in the Utah Territory.[7]

Being Democrat, Cumming was appointed as the second governor of the Utah Territory by President James Buchanan. On July 13, 1857, he received this commission and set out that same September with an attachment of soldiers led by Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston as part of the Utah Expedition. At the time, Brigham Young, leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-day Saints, was acting as interim governor of the Utah Territory. Young did not wish to give up his position and feared that the approaching army was coming to attack. He therefore declared martial law and sent Utah militias to delay the Expedition. Johnston stationed his army at Camp Scott near Fort Bridger, which was destroyed by the militias to slow their approach.[8][9] Buchanan offered a deal that would pardon all Utahns for their “seditions and treasons” if they let the army into Salt Lake City and welcomed Cumming as governor. Coupled with negotiations from Thomas L. Kane, Young allowed the new governor and his entourage into the city on June 26, 1858.[8] Cumming’s governorship was met with apprehension within the territory as he was a non-Mormon and was replacing the popular Brigham Young.

Accompanied by his wife, Elizabeth Randall Cumming, he was escorted to Utah by a large force under Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston. Upon arrival, Cumming was reappointed to a full term as governor. On orders of Brigham Young, Salt Lake City was almost abandoned when he arrived. Cumming was determined to avoid violence, and the so-called Utah War was quickly settled. Cumming's concerns as governor included the unusual powers of the local probate courts; Indians; construction of roads and bridges; the sale of public lands; mail service; lawlessness, including cattle rustling and murder; and poor penal conditions. Additionally, Cumming's wife shared the difficult winter near Fort Bridger and with her husband occupied the Devereaux House during the three years of their stay in Utah. Her letters provide a rare insight into events of that time, and record her impressions of the Utah landscape and social life as well as politics among the federal appointees, especially during 1857 and 1858. [10]

At the end of his four-year term, Cumming returned to Washington, D.C. He settled the details of his administration and prepared to return to Augusta. However, his return was postponed by the Civil War until the summer of 1864, and not repositioned by president Abraham Lincoln. His wife passed away in 1867, and Cumming himself died in 1873 at the age of seventy-one. His term as governor of Utah Territory had been one in which the issues of self-determination, shared sovereignty, and territorial/federal relationships were tested as in few other times in the long American effort to create a democratic substitute for centralized colonial rule.[11]

Personal life

[edit]

Cumming was born in Augusta, Georgia. His wife, Elizabeth Randall Cumming, accompanied him on the Utah Expedition and wrote frequently about the experience.[8] After arriving in Utah, she helped her husband with his official duties and wrote about Utah and its people.[12] She died in 1867. Alfred Cumming was the brother of Henry Harford Cumming and the uncle of Alfred Cumming.[13][14] After his time as governor in the Utah Territory, he travelled to Washington D.C. where he was waylaid until 1864 due to the Civil War. He then returned to the Cumming’s family home in Augusta.[8] He died on October 9, 1873.[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Alfred Cumming papers, 1792-1889 - Archives & Manuscripts at Duke University Libraries". David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  2. ^ "March 26, 1798: Augusta elects early leader Cumming". The Augusta Chronicle. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  3. ^ "Alfred Cumming | History to Go". historytogo.utah.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  4. ^ Records of the Central Superintendency of Indian Affairs: 1813-1878. National Archives, National Archives and Records Service, General Services Administration. 1972.
  5. ^ "TREATY WITH THE BLACKFOOT INDIANS" (PDF). leg.mt.gov. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  6. ^ "Blackfeet Nation". blackfeetnation.com. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  7. ^ "Utah History Encyclopedia". www.uen.org. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d "The Utah War in Wyoming | WyoHistory.org". www.wyohistory.org. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  9. ^ Magazine, Smithsonian. "The Brink of War". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  10. ^ "Utah History Encyclopedia". www.uen.org. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  11. ^ "Utah History Encyclopedia". www.uen.org. Retrieved June 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "DEFYING EXPECTATIONS: ELIZABETH RANDALL CUMMING'S JOURNEY TO UTAH". utahhumanities.org. Retrieved May 26, 2024.
  13. ^ "Alfred Cumming". Utah History to Go. Archived from the original on November 25, 2018.
  14. ^ Peterson, Charles (1994), "Cumming, Alfred", Utah History Encyclopedia, University of Utah Press, ISBN 9780874804256, archived from the original on March 21, 2024, retrieved March 25, 2024
  15. ^ "Agency Histories | Utah Division of Archives and Records Service". archives.utah.gov. Retrieved May 28, 2024.
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Utah Territory
1858–1861 		Succeeded by


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