Introduction

Biography

Evelyn was the daugh­ter of Ed­ward Storrs At­wat­er, and wife of Al­ex­an­der G. Cum­mins, rec­tor of Christ Church in Pough­keep­sie, New York.

She at­tend­ed the Na­tion­al Ca­thed­ral School in Wash­ing­ton, DC, and the Mas­ters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

An ac­tive writer, she served as the as­so­ci­ate ed­it­or (1926–46) and pub­lish­er (1946–47) of The Chro­ni­cle, and was as­so­ci­at­ed with The Liv­ing Church (1926–29), and the Pough­keep­sie Ev­en­ing Star (1940–43).

In the ci­vic are­na, Cum­mins served with the Pough­keep­sie War Coun­cil, the Di­oces­an Board of Re­li­gious Edu­ca­tion, the Fe­de­ral Coun­cil of the Church­es of Christ, the Vis­it­ing Nurs­es As­so­cia­tion, the Young Wo­men’s Chris­tian As­so­cia­tion, the Pough­keep­sie Ci­ty Lib­ra­ry, and the Vas­sar Bro­thers Hos­pi­tal.

She be­came the first wo­man po­lice com­mis­sion­er in New York state, and was both po­lice and fire com­mis­sion­er in Pough­keep­sie, and served on the po­lice ad­vi­so­ry board for the New York State Safe­ty Di­vi­sion.