Charles F. Cummings Papers

Charles Franklin Cummings was born in Puerto Rico in 1937, the only child of Ola and Charles Cummings. The family moved to Maine shortly after his birth, but remained there only briefly. Charles, Sr. died young, and Ola headed south with her son. Cummings was raised in Virginia and graduated from Washington-Lee High School in Arlington, Virginia in 1955. He attended the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa (AB, 1959), did graduate work in American History at Vanderbilt University (MA, 1964), and later earned an MLS degree from Rutgers University.

Cummings arrived in Newark in 1963 and joined the Newark Public Library (NPL) staff on July 15th of that year. He worked first as a reference librarian in the New Jersey Information Center under the direction of Miriam Studley, who had led the department since the 1940s. Cummings subsequently held a variety of positions at the Library, including Assistant Director for Special Collections, Director of Statewide Outreach, and Acting Director of the NPL, but he is best known for his work as Head of the Library's New Jersey Information Center, which is now named for him. He added substantially to the Center's collections of Newark-related material, curated several historical exhibits, and became widely known as an authority on and advocate for Newark history. He also taught Newark history as an Adjunct Professor at Rutgers University-Newark.

His column, "Knowing Newark," appeared regularly in the Star-Ledger (1996-2005), and he wrote or co-authored a number of books, including "Remembering Essex: A Pictorial History of Essex County," "Newark: The Golden Age," Newark: An American City," and "History of Newark, New Jersey, 1666-2002.” Among the many exhibits that he curated were: “Photos by Dorer: American Photographer and New Jersey Chronicler”; “Remembering Newark’s Greeks: An American Odyssey”; “Through the Lens of the Star-Ledger”; “Faces of Newark, 1666-1999”; “The Vanishing First Ward: Newark’s Little Italy”; and “Lasting Impressions: The Jewish Legacy of Greater Newark.”

Cummings was a charter member of the Newark Preservation and Landmarks Committee, and was much in demand as a speaker and a leader of walking tours. At the time of his death Cummings was Newark City Historian, a position he had held since 1988 when appointed by Mayor Sharpe James and the City Council; and Assistant Director of Special Collections at the NPL. He was co-recipient of the New Jersey Council for the Humanities "Public Humanities Award” (2005), and received several other awards and honors.

Charles Cummings died suddenly on December 21, 2005. His funeral was held at Grace Episcopal Church, where he had been an active member; he was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.