OSCAR SAMUEL CUMMINGS

Dr. Oscar Samuel Cummings, homeopathic physician, was born in 1848 in Orford, New Hampshire, the eldest of four children. He received his MD degree from Dartmouth College in 1867 and initially practiced medicine in New Hampshire and Vermont. He moved to Honolulu on March 1, 1873, aboard the "D.C. Murray" from San Francisco, on the advice of his doctor. A few days later his business card appears in the "Pacific Commercial Advertiser" and gives his office as 63 Fort Street.

By the next year both the doctor and Homeopathy were doing well, judging from an item in the "Advertiser" which says "although no regular Court Physician has been appointed Dr. Cummings, the only Homeopathist in the islands, has been instructed to hold himself in readiness to attend His Majesty, King Kalakaua, and the Royal family".

He married Elizabeth H. Bryant in 1869, with whom he had two daughters. The older daughter died and Elizabeth died in 1871 giving birth to their second daughter, Bessie. It was with Bessie that Dr. Cummings moved to Hawaii. He married Maria (Mollie) Fenn Eckley in 1876, with whom he had two sons.

In 1877 Dr. and Mrs. Cummings decided to sell their household effects and return to the Mainland. A notice of the auction describes their furniture as "all new and elegant" and the paintings "both as to style and subject something rarely met with out here". Taking passage on the "Zealandia", the Cummings left Honolulu on April 28, 1877. However, Dr. Cummings returned to Honolulu in November, 1878, and by the following year his office and residence were at the corner of Fort and Beretania Streets.

The doctor was a member of the Knights of Pythias and of the Cousins' Society and was often a guest at court functions. He was a Master Mason in King Kalakaua's masonic lodge (Le Progres de l'Oceane).

Dr. Cummings, his wife, and their three children left the Islands for the last time on August 27, 1882 planning to move to Florida. On the way the family stopped in Valdosta, Georgia, known for its invigorating climate. Dr. Cummings died there on February 17, 1883, at the age of 35. *

*The photo of Dr. Cummings and additional biographical details were provided by his great-grandson, Dr. Stephen Porter, in June 2005.

Updated November 2005.

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