Correspondence

This addition to the Cumming family papers, includes correspondence, scrapbooks, photographs, newspaper clippings, memorabilia, and certificates related to members of the Cumming family, with most pertaining to United States Surgeon General, Hugh S. Cumming, Sr. (1869-1948) and his son, Ambassador Hugh S. Cumming, Jr. (1900-1986). Items include materials related to Hugh Cumming, Jr.'s service in the United States Department of State, and to Hugh S. Cumming, Sr.'s study at the University of Virginia, as well as Hugh S. Cumming, Jr.'s study at the Virginia Military Institute.

Most of the correspondence relates to the social and professional lives of Hugh S. Cumming, Jr. and his wife, Winifred Burney West Cumming. The periods covered include Cumming’s time as United States Ambassador to Indonesia, but more broadly relate to his time in the United States Department of State. There is a small amount of correspondence relating to Hugh S. Cumming, Sr. and his career as Surgeon General of the United States, as well as travel documents and White House invitations mostly relating to Diana Cumming Kendrick and her husband, Manville Kendrick.

Many photographs include images of Hugh S. Cumming, Sr. and Hugh S. Cumming, Jr.’s public service careers along with portraits of members of the Cumming, Kendrick, Booth, and West families. Of particular interest is a series of inscribed and autographed regular and oversize photograph portraits of individuals involved in the careers of Hugh Cumming, Sr. and Hugh Cumming, Jr. Autographed portraits include those from Richard M. Nixon, Herbert Hoover, Lou Henry Hoover, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Cordell Hull, and Sukarno. There are eleven daguerreotypes of family ancestors and an included folder of commentary on their subjects by Hugh S. Cumming, Jr. Also, of note are photographs of the Department of State by Henry “Hank” G. Walker for Life Magazine.

Scrapbooks in this addition include Hugh S. Cumming, Sr.’s scrapbook (ca. 1900), which contains descriptions of his newborn children and photographs. An included copy of A.O Kaplan’s “The Baby Biography,” (ca. 1897-1898) describes the infancy of Lucy Booth Cumming and important events around the time of her birth, along with loose correspondence, parlor cards, and childhood photographs of her. This copy of “The Baby Biography” was filled in by her parents, Hugh S. Cumming and Lucy Booth Cumming. Diana Cumming’s scrapbook (ca. 1918) holds pasted-in letters, ticket stubs, photographs, and illustrations, among other items. The memorial scrapbook regarding Winifred Burney West Cumming is an unbound second volume of a series of photocopied condolence letters to her widower, Hugh S. Cumming, Jr.

Printed materials and miscellaneous items comprise Hugh S. Cumming, Sr.’s 1893 copy of the University of Virginia “Corks and Curls” Yearbook, newspaper clippings, and U.S. Department of State Commendations awarded to Hugh S. Cumming, Jr. It also includes a roster of the Virginia Military Institute’s Class of 1921 and an etching by Don Swann of the University of Virginia’s Rotunda. Oversize materials include a caricature and the official public service appointments of Hugh S. Cumming, Jr.