Jay Lee and Bessie (Cummings) Rogers

Webpage Addendum for Bessie’s Family of Origin

Bessie (Cummings) Rogers

Note: Webpage is in preparation.

Bessie (Cummings) Rogers and her husband and descendants are described on a companionwebpage. The webpage for Jay’s parents, Jeremiah and Martha (Bennett) Rogers, may be found on another companion webpage.

The purpose of this addendum to Bessie and Jay Rogers’ webpage is to present a number of relevant photos on Bessie Cummings’ family. The photos were mostly obtained from Bessie’s nephew, Charles Anderson, during a scanning session in Oacoma, SD in 2010. Where designated, the photos also come from other sources, including Bessie’s children Ferne (Rogers) Roggow and Helen (Rogers) Tagtow Byrum.

Contents

Webpage Credits

Photos of Bessie Cummings Family Members

Webpage Credits

Thanks go to Charles Anderson, Oacoma, SD, for making the family photos for Bessie Cummings available. Thanks also to Ferne Roggow and Helen Byrum for making their albums available. Some of the photos were found in their albums.

Charles Austin Cummings and Siblings

Bessie’s grandparents, Amos and Eleanor (Houck) Cummings arrived in South Dakota from New York, with a stop in Iowa. All of their children are shown below except for Ada (the oldest), who may not have come to South Dakota with the family. “Pat” appears to be a nickname for Edgar Cummings.

From Ferne Roggow album, “Unnamed Oldest”. Notation:

Moms – Father & Aunt & 4 Uncles. 

Jessie – Charlie – Pat – Geo – Bill.

Charlie, George, Jessie, Bill and Edgar (“Pat”) Cummings are shown below.

Home Place of Charles Austin Cummings

Upper photo clearly earlier. One of the two women is likely to be Dora Cummings. Note the “dinner bell” on the left side of the house.

Photo from Charles Anderson. Notation from Ferne Roggow.

Gr pa & Gr ma Cummings

House at Bijou Hills S.D.

Gr pa in Buggy & Uncle Bert

Photo from Ferne Roggow album, “Unnamed Oldest”

Notation:

Gr Ma in house in Bijou Hills.

Cummings. 1941.

The old house was still standing in 2010. Photo includes Linda and Raymond Roggow. Taken by website author.

The location of Charles Cummings’ quarter section of land, where the home was located, was in Section 35 (SE 1/4) of American Township. This location is near Bijou Hills in Brule County, South Dakota. The image below is from the webpage on Jeremiah and Martha Rogers (click here).

Note the quarter section owned by Oscar Anderson in Section 33. Oscar’s son, Arthur V. Anderson, married Charles Cummings’ daughter, Maude, and then daughter Grace Cummings after Maude died.

Bessie Cummings with Husband Jay Lee Rogers and First Three Children

This picture, taken in 1917, is of Jay and Bessie and their first three children, Ferne, Vernon and Helen. Ferne’s handwritten caption: “Dad. Mom. Ferne by Mom. 6 yr old. 1912. Vernon by Dad knee. 3 yr old. 1915. Helen on his lap. 1-1/2 yr old. 1917.”

Bessie Cummings’ Parents, Charles and Dora Cummings

Charles and Dora Cummings are shown below with Bessie’s sister. From Ferne Roggow album: “GrPa & GrMa Cummings & Aunt
Grace”. Grace later married Arthur Anderson.

Bessie Cummings Sisters

Grace (left) and Maude Cummings are shown below. From Doris Matucha Album B5, p 3. Also from photo collection from Charles Anderson, which identified the two sisters.

Dora Cummings Children

Bert, probably Maude, and probably Grace Cummings. Photo from Charles Anderson collection

Grace Cummings

Photo from Charles Anderson collection.

Linnie Cummings, Gertrude Cummings, and Spouses

Linnie Cummings, oldest sibling of Bessie Cummings, is shown on the left with her second husband, Amsy Frank. Gertrude Cummings is shown with her husband, Ray Frank, the brother of Amsy Frank. Linnie’s first husband was Lewis Alfred Ellis. Gertrude was Linnie’s cousin and one of two daughters of William Cummings (brother of Charles Austin Cummings). Photo from Charles Anderson collection.

Burt and Anna (Turgeon) Cummings

Burt was Bessie Cummings only brother and the second oldest child in the family. Photo from Charles Anderson collection.

Maude Cummings and Arthur Anderson

Maude and Arthur were married on May 7, 1913. Their wedding picture is shown below. Maude apparently died young (perhaps in childbirth?), however, and Arthur married her younger sister, Grace Cummings. Photo from Charles Anderson Collection and Ferne Roggow album, “Unnamed Oldest”.

Grace Cummings and Arthur Anderson

Grace married Arthur Anderson after her sister, Maude, died. They were married on January 16, 1917. Their wedding photo is shown below. From Charles Anderson collection. Also in Ferne Roggow album “Unnamed Oldest”.

Arthur and Grace (Cummings) Anderson Family

Back row, left to right, are Charles and Albert Anderson, Mr. Saes, husband of Marilyn, and Marilyn Anderson. Arthur and Grace Anderson are seated in the front. Photo from Charles Anderson collection.

Jessie (Cummings) Lotz and Family (and Neices)

Back row, left to right, are George, Ethel, and Della Lotz and Carrie Cummings. In the front are Eleanor Cummings and Edythe, Jessie B, and Ernest Lotz. Jessie Lotz was Bessie Cummings’ aunt (sister of Charles Austin Cummings). Eleanor Cummings was a cousin, the daughter of George Mortimer Cummings. Carrie Cummings was also a cousin, the daughter of William Cummings. Carrie’s sister, Gertrude Cummings, is shown in a photo above with Linnie (Cummings) Frank. Photo from Charles Anderson Collection.

Unknown Family in Nebraska

This photo is from the Charles Anderson Collection, but the family has not yet been identified. The family may be from the “Cummings side” of Charles Anderson, but it may also be from the “Anderson Side”.

Unknown Grandma Cummings

The photo below, also from the Charles Cummings Collection, is labeled “Grandma Cummings”. If she was Charles’ grandmother, it would be Dora Cummings. If she was Grace’s grandmother, it would be Eleanor (Houck) Cummings, which seems unlikely.  So at this point she remains a “mystery child”.

Webpage History

Webpage initiated December 2014.