James Harvey Cummings (November 8, 1890 – November 1, 1979) was a Tennessee farmer,

attorney Attorney may refer to: * Lawyer ** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions * Attorney, one who has power of attorney * ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film See also * Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...

and political figure.The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture-James H. Cummings
/ref>

Biography

Cummings was born in Cannon County, Tennessee, USA, east-southeast of

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

. Other than during the course of his higher education he was a resident of that county throughout his life. He was first elected to represent that area in the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

in 1928 and served for ten consecutive terms. He was then elected Tennessee Secretary of State by his fellow legislators, serving from 1949 to 1953. He then returned to the legislature and served ten more consecutive terms prior to his retirement in 1972. During this time he became known as the "Dean of the Legislature" and also "The Last of the $4 a Day Men", in reference to his service at a time when Tennessee state legislators were allowed no salary at all and were paid only $4/day in expense money. Cummings was very popular among his constituents and seldom faced any organized efforts to defeat him for reelection, and was honored by his peers during the last day of the 1972 session prior to his retirement. Later, the portion of State Route 53 between the Cannon County seat of Woodbury and Interstate 24 was named the ''Jim Cummings Highway'' in his honor. He is buried three miles outside of Woodbury.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cummings, James H. 1890 births 1979 deaths People from Cannon County, Tennessee Secretaries of State of Tennessee Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians