Emma Gertrude Cummings (December 2, 1856 – October 12, 1940) was an American horticulturalist and ornithologist.

Early life and education

Cummings was born in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is a suburb in the Greater Boston metropolitan area, located directly across the Charles River from Boston. The city's population as of the 2020 United States census, ...

, and lived mainly in the town of

Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri, a village * Brookline, New Hampshire, a town * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookl ...

. She was educated at Boston Art School.

Career

"A street in Nassau" from her 1898 trip to the Bahamas Cummings was an active participant in Brookline civic life. In 1897 she contributed a chapter on botany to the town's publication ''Brookline: The History of a Favored Town''. The following April she published an account of the people and flora of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

, "A Spring Visit to Nassau" in

Popular Science Monthly Popular science (also called pop-science or popsci) is an interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is more broad ranging. It may be written ...

Cummings was the first woman to hold a town office in Brookline, when she was elected a member of the town's tree planting committee, from 1902-1939. Cummings was elected an Associate of the

American Ornithologists' Union The American Ornithological Society (AOS) is an ornithological organization based in the United States. The society was formed in October 2016 by the merger of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) and the Cooper Ornithological Society. Its ...

in 1903. Also in 1903, she gave a lecture to the

Massachusetts Horticultural Society The Massachusetts Horticultural Society, sometimes abbreviated to Mass Hort or MHS, is an American horticultural society based in Massachusettsbr>It describes itself as the oldest formally organized horticultural institution in the United States ...

about trees in the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

. In 1904 her ornithological pocket guide ''Baby Pathfinder to the Birds'', co-authored with Harriet E. Richards, was described in ''

The Auk ''Ornithology'', formerly ''The Auk'' and ''The Auk: Ornithological Advances'', is a peer-reviewed scientific journal and the official publication of the American Ornithological Society (AOS). It was established in 1884 and is published quarterly ...

'' as "a convenient and helpful ''vade mecum''", praised in the ''Journal of Education'' as a valuable guide that "no beginner or would-be beginner should be without", and cited by the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American conservative daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarde ...

'' as evidence of Cummings' exemplary status as a "twentieth century woman." She was a member of the tree planting committee from 1902 to 1939, and in 1938 published a book on the committee's history and notable trees of the town. Her book ''Brookline's Trees'' was praised by ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', and the ''

'' noted that it was "much used by teachers and in schools." Cummings was also a member of the Brookline Historical Society and gave talks to the membership on her travels, such as to Hawaii in 1923, and she was on the science sub-committee of the Brookline Education Society.

Personal life

Cummings lived with her sister Mabel Cummings, and died in October 1940 in

Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield metrop ...

Selected works

picture from "Baby bird-finder by Harriet E. Richards and Emma G. Cummings * ''Brookline's Trees: A History of the Committee for Planting Trees of Brookline, Massachusetts and a Record of Some of Its Trees'', 1938 * ''Baby Pathfinder to the Birds'' (with Harriet E. Richards), 1904 *''Trees in Brookline, Massachusetts: Map and Index'' (with Frances Prince), 1900

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, Emma G. American horticulturists American ornithologists 1856 births 1940 deaths Women horticulturists and gardeners American women ornithologists 19th-century American women politicians 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American women scientists 19th-century American biologists 20th-century American scientists Scientists from Massachusetts Politicians from Boston People from Brookline, Massachusetts 19th-century American women scientists Biologists from Massachusetts