Sylvester CUMMINGS

Born

2 January 1782 , Freetown, Crown Colony of Massachusetts Bay

Died

27 June 1886 , Taunton, Massachusetts, USA

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Parents & Family of Sylvester CUMMINGS

Parents of Sylvester CUMMINGS

Father

Alanson CUMMINGS

Mother

Drusilla CHASE

Grandparents of Sylvester CUMMINGS

Paternal grandparents

John CUMMINGS Hannah KILEY

Maternal grandparents

Maternal grandfather not yet recorded Maternal grandmother not yet recorded

Spouses, Marriages & Children of Sylvester CUMMINGS

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Life & Records

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Birth — 1782
2 January 1782
Freetown, Crown Colony of Massachusetts Bay

1784 - The bifocal lens is invented (Benjamin Franklin, United States)

The oil lamp is invented (Aimé Argand, Switzerland)

1784 - The Continental Congress Ratified the Treaty of Paris Ending the Revolutionary War (January 14)

1787 - U.S. Constitution ratified (September 17)

1789 - George Washington becomes the 1st President of the United States

George Washington Genealogy

1791 - The Bill of Rights takes effect (December 15)

1793 - The cotton gin is invented (Eli Whitney, United States)

1797 - John Adams becomes President of the United States

John Adams Genealogy

1800 - Electric storage battery is invented (Alessandro Volta, Italy)

1801 - Thomas Jefferson becomes President of the United States

Thomas Jefferson Genealogy

1803 - Louisiana Purchase - The United States doubled its size by purchasing this territory from Spain. (October 20)

1805 - Lewis and Clark reach Pacific (November 15)

1809 - James Madison becomes President of the United States

The War of 1812 was a conflict between the United States and Great Britain, lasting from 1812 to 1815. It was primarily fueled by issues such as trade restrictions due to Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American sailors into the British Navy, and British support of Native American tribes against American expansion. The war ended with the Treaty of Ghent, restoring pre-war boundaries but resolving few of the initial disputes.

1817 - The bicycle is invented (Baron Karl de Drais de Sauerbrun, Germany)

1817 - James Monroe becomes President of the United States

1824 - Portland cement is invented (Joseph Aspdin, England)

1825 - The locomotive is invented (George Stephenson, England)

1825 - John Quincy Adams becomes President of the United States

1826 - The gas stove is invented (James Sharp, England)

1826 - Former U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams both die on the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence.

1827 - Matches are invented (John Walker, England)

1827 - The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad is incorporated, becoming the first railroad in America offering commercial transportation of both people and freight.

1829 - The sewing machine is invented (Barthélemy Thimonnier, France)

1829 - Andrew Jackson becomes President of the United States

1830 - The Indian Removal Act marks the beginning of the forced relocation of five tribes of native Americans, known as Trail of Tears

1837 - Martin Van Buren becomes President of the United States

1839 - February 24 - Steam shovel patented by William Smith Otis (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)

1840 to 1860s - French-Canadian emigration to the United States

From the 1840s through the 1880s, thousands trekked westward, carrying only a few belonging and supplies for the journey, and settling on the western frontier, forever changing the American West.

1841 - William Henry Harrison becomes President of the United States

1841 - John Tyler becomes President of the United States

1843 - The Christmas card is invented (Sir Henry Cole and John Callcott Horsley, England)

Artificial Freezer Patented (Nancy M. Johnson, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)

1845 - The rubber band is invented (Stephen Perry, England)

The refrigerator is invented (John Gorrie, United States)

1845 - James Knox Polk becomes President of the United States

1849 - The safety pin is invented (Walter Hunt, United States)

1849 - Zachary Taylor becomes President of the United States

1850 - Millard Fillmore becomes President of the United States

1853 - Franklin Pierce becomes President of the United States

1857 - Toilet paper is invented (Joseph Gayetty, United States)

1857 - James Buchanan becomes President of the United States

1857 - March 6 – Dred Scott v. Sandford: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that Blacks are not citizens and slaves can not sue for freedom, driving the country further towards the American Civil War.

1858 - March 30 - H. L. Lipman, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, patented the first pencil with eraser

1861 - February 8 – American Civil War: The Confederate States of America are formed, comprising the first six break-away states.

1861 - Abraham Lincoln becomes President of the United States

1863 - January 1 - President Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves.

1863 - October 3 – President Lincoln proclaims a national Thanksgiving day to be celebrated the final Thursday in November in the United States

1863 - November 19 – American Civil War: U. S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the military cemetery dedication ceremony in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

1864 - Pasteurization is invented (Louis Pasteur, France)

April 14, 1865 - President Abraham Lincoln was mortally wounded by John Wilkes Booth at in Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. He died the next day. Andrew Johnson becomes President of the United States.

1868 - The typewriter is invented (Christopher Latham Sholes, United States)

Thomas Edison applies for his first patent, the electric vote recorder.

1869 - Ulysses S. Grant becomes President of the United States

1870 - June 26 - Christmas becomes a Federal holiday in the United States. It was still illegal in some states.

1876 - March 7 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a United States patent for an invention he calls the telephone.

1877 - Rutherford B. Hayes becomes President of the United States

1877 - November 21 - Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph, a machine that can record sound.

1879 - Incandescent light bulb is invented (Thomas Alva Edison, United States)

1881 - The American Red Cross is established by Clara Barton.

1881 - March 4 - James A. Garfield becomes President of the United States

1881 - July 2 - James A. Garfield was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C., at 9:30 am on Saturday, July 2, 1881. He died in Elberon, New Jersey, two months later on September 19, 1881. The shooting occurred less than four months into his term as president. Charles J. Guiteau was convicted of Garfield's murder and executed by hanging one year after the shooting. Chester Arthur becomes President of the United States.

1884 - Photographic film is invented (George Eastman, United States)

The first gravity roller coaster amusement ride (LeMarcus A. Thompson, United States)

1885 - Grover Cleveland becomes President of the United States

Death — 1886
27 June 1886
Taunton, Massachusetts, USA
He died at the age of 104.

Postcards and Memories of Taunton, Massachusetts, USA (East Taunton)

RECORD HISTORY

About this genealogy record

Added 2/5/2026 7:50:43 PM

Last updated 2/5/2026 7:50:43 PM

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The name 'Massachusetts' originates with native Americans in the Massachusetts Bay area (from the language of the Algonquian nation). The name translates roughly as 'at or about the great hill.' (statesymbolsusa.org)

1620 - 1627 - Plymouth Colony, New England
1628 - 1686 - Massachusetts Bay Colony
1686 - 1689 - Dominion of New England
1689 - 1692 - Massachusetts Bay Colony
1692 - 1775 - Province of Massachusetts Bay
1776 - 1788 - Crown Colony of Massachusetts Bay
February 6, 1788 - Massachusetts becomes 6th U.S. state