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Gummere Family of
the USA
Richard Mott Gummere
Born on 3 August 1883 at Burlington,
New Jersey; the son of Francis
Barton Gummere and his wife Amelia Smith Mott.
Married 30 June 1908 at Villa Nova, Pennsylvania
to Christine Robinson.
Died in December 1969 at Cambridge, Middlesex, Massachusetts
aged 86 years.
Buried at Haverford Friends Burial Ground (Orthodox), Buck
Lane, Haverford Township, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, row 1, grave
number 15.
Christine
Robinson
Born 1885 in Pennsylvania.
Died 1964.
Buried at Haverford Friends Burial Ground (Orthodox), Buck
Lane, Haverford Township, Delaware,
Pennsylvania, row1, grave
number 15.
Children:-
- Eleanor Gummere born 1909 at Haverford, Delaware,
Pennsylvania; died 1964, buried in Phillips Academy cemetery, Andover,
Massachusetts.
- Richard Mott Gummere (aka Buzz) born 23 September 1912 at
Haverford, Delaware, Pennsylvania; married 14 March 1941 to Margaret
(Peg) Mowry; died 13 May 2007 at Barrytown, New York.
Richard came to Haverford as a small boy when his father took up a
professorship there, and grew up in the house on the Circle in the college
grounds (now known as College
Circle). He entered the college in 1898 and
graduated with honours in 1902, particularly in Greek and Latin. While at
Haverford he played in the cricket team and captained the soccer team, and
also belonged to the Phi Beta Kappa (becoming president of the Haverford
Chapter in 1918-19).
Soccer, or association football as it was
originally known, first became a college sport at Haverford during the
1901-02 winter season. It was introduced to Haverford by Dr. Wilfred Pirt Mustard who had enjoyed the game at Toronto University. Around the turn of the
century the cricket clubs around Philadelphia
began to play soccer during the winter season, and in January 1902 Haverford
formed a team, electing Richard Mott Gummere as
their first captain. Haverford became a charter member of the Associated
Cricket Clubs Foot Ball League of Philadelphia, and soon after won their
Manheim Cup. Since that time soccer has been a popular college sport at
Haverford, making them oldest organized college soccer team in the country.
Richard spent 1902 and 1903 working for the Provident Life and Trust
Company in Philadelphia, before going to Harvard University from 1903 until 1907.
During his Harvard Ph.D. studies he organised a soccer team in autumn 1904,
which lead to a game between the Harvard
University team and Haverford College on 1 April 1905 - it was won
by the Haverford team 1-0.
After Richard graduated from Harvard with a Ph.D. in the Classics, he
returned to teach at Haverford in 1907 as an assistant to Dr. Mustard in the
Latin Department. He succeeded Dr Mustard as head of the department and
became Associate Professor of Latin, before later becoming Assistant to the
President in 1915. In 1918 he left to become Headmaster at the William Penn
Charter School, which at that time was situated in downtown Philadelphia at 8
South Twelfth Street (where the Philadelphia Savings Fund Society building
stands today). William Penn Charter is a Quaker school established in 1689 by
William Penn and today is the oldest Quaker school in the world. During
Richard’s tenure as headmaster property was purchased “in the country”
at a place called Pinehurst on Schoolhouse
Lane so that the boys could enjoy fresh air for
their athletics. In 1923-4 a new modern facility was built at Pinehurst to
replace the downtown Philadelphia
school building. The present facility opened at Pinehurst on Schoolhouse Lane
with the graduating class of 1925.
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William Penn
Charter School,
Schoolhouse Lane,
founded 1689.
Gummere wrote Seneca the Philosopher,
and His Modern Message in 1922, and was awarded an honourary
M.A. by the University
of Pennsylvania in
1923.
Richard Mott Gummere returned to Harvard University in 1934 to become the Dean
of Admissions, an office which he held for 18 years until 1952. During his
long term he reformed their admissions program, admitting the best young men
he could find from all parts of the country to study for Harvard's B.A.
degree.
He was elected a member of the American Antiquarian Association in April
1957; and elected a member of the American
Academy of Arts &
Sciences in 1959, he later became a fellow. In 1959 he became curator at the
Lowell Institute in Boston,
Massachusetts, an educational
foundation providing free public lectures.
Dr. Richard Mott Gummere died in December 1969
in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is buried with his wife,
Christine, in the Friend's Burial Ground at Haverford.
If I have something wrong I would greatly appreciate being corrected, or
if you have something to add to the story then please email me .
Return to main Gummere page.
References:-
Haverford College: A History and Interpretation,
by Rufus M. Jones, published 1933.
Biographical Catalogue of the Matriculates of Haverford College,
1833-1922.
Four Generations of Oral Literary Studies at Harvard University,
by David E. Bynum, 1974.
Haverford Men's Soccer History, by John Douglas, Haverford College,
2006.
A Century of College Soccer, by John Douglas, Haverford College 2004.
Photo of the old William Penn Charter
School from "…better than
riches: a tricentennial history of William
Penn Charter
School,
1689-1989” by Wilbert L. Braxton.
Photo of the current William
Penn Charter
School taken by Brad
Rosen from http://www.pbase.com/brosen/philly
URL=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~gomery/gummererichardm.html
Last revised: 16 March 2012
© Linda Hansen 2012
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