Cumming, Alfred

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1829

Biographical notes:

Alfred Cumming was born in 1802 in Augusta, Georgia. As Mayor of the city of Augusta, he achieved prominence by his active work in curbing a yellow fever epidemic. In May 1857, President James Buchanan appointed him the second Governor of Utah Territory, following Brigham Young. His trip West took several months and included a winter near Fort Bridger. He finally arrived in Utah with his wife, Elizabeth, in the spring of 1858. At the time, the territory was in conflict as the Mormon settlers resisted federal interference regarding slavery, polygamy, and states' rights. He was fairly successful in quieting the situation, and was backed up by an army detachment under Albert Sidney Johnston.

At the end of his four-year term, Cumming returned to Washington, D.C. His return to Augusta was postponed by the Civil War, and he arrived there the summer of 1864. His wife died in 1867; Alfred died in 1873.

From the guide to the Alfred Cumming Papers, 1792-1889, (David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University)