Archives West Finding Aid

Although he is probably best known as the general superintendent of Mormon Church schools this collection documents two earlier periods of the life of Horace H. Cummings. First, his short residence in Logan, Utah in the fall and winter of 1880-1881 and second, his Mormon mission to Mexico from 1885 to 1887. Cummings served as mission president for one year in 1887. The collection consists of correspondence, ledgers, notes for missionary discussions and Christmas cards.

The collection is comprised almost entirely of letters received by Horace Cummings. The bulk of the letters were written by Barbara Matilda Moses, or Tillie as she was called, to her fiancee, and later husband, Horace H. Cummings. She wrote the first group of letters in 1880-1881 while Cummings was living in Logan, Utah teaching at the Brigham Young College. Tillie wrote the second group of letters in 1885-1887 when Cummings was in Mexico. Her letters have been arranged chronologically. For most months there are four or five letters.

In addition, the collection includes letters from Apostle Erastus Snow, Apostle Henry B. Eyring, B.F. Cummings Sr., Julian Moses, and Helaman Pratt. These letters are arranged alphabetically by the author. Some of these letters, including those from Henry B. Eyring in Box five folders seven through eleven, are in Spanish.

The obvious gap in this collection is the lack of letters from Horace Cummings to his correspondents. Only a few of Horace's letters are represented. The reason for this gap is unknown. One important letter, in which Horace plays a practical joke on Tillie by telling her that he has taken a second wife in Mexico, survives. It can be found in box four folder twelve. Other letters from Horace can be found at the end of box four.

The collection also includes Cummings's Mexican mission account book, the 1880-1881 account book for the Logan Leader, and various personal and family ledgers dating from the 1860s to the 1930s.

Sizeable collections of letters written by nineteenth century Mormon women are rare. Tillie's letters are rich in information about the daily life of an average woman in territorial Utah. But what makes this collection unique is how it candidly reveals attitudes about polygamy. Tillie and her husband joke, and tease each other about polygamy in the letters. This is a highly unusual perspective on the subject. Additionally, this collection documents the Mormon presence in Mexico during the 1880s and the founding of the colonies there.